Yarn Over Murder

by Maggie Sefton

  “Thank God, those firefighters were tellin’ the truth. The ranch house is still there. In one piece.”

  Thank God. Kelly sent a brief prayer above, totally forgetting that she hadn’t prayed in years. “Oh, Jayleen, I’m so happy for you and relieved.” She felt herself relax inside. “I’ve been worried that those firefighters might have been mistaken.”

  “You and me both, Kelly-girl. We had to go in with police supervision, so it took longer to get up there. I swear, I felt muscles I didn’t even know I had relax when we turned onto the driveway. I jumped out of Curt’s truck before it even rolled to a stop. I just had to get up close and take a look.” She released a long sigh. “The entire ranch house is intact and so is the garage. The corrals and barn are okay, too. There’s fire damage in the front pasture and below and along the sides. Some of the fences were burned, and that outbuilding in the pasture I used for corrals and storage was completely burned. Of course, there’s that pinkish red fire retardant slurry over everything, but that’s okay. Bless the retardant, I say. That helped keep blowing cinders from igniting. I’ll live with a pink and red ranch. I’m grateful.”

  Kelly hadn’t realized how worried she’d become until she’d felt herself relax. Even though it wasn’t her property, Kelly felt like she was halfway invested in it. She was Jayleen’s accountant, she’d overseen the financing, and she’d drawn up a new budget for her. Plus, and more important, she was Jayleen’s friend and didn’t want to see her lose everything she’d spent the last twenty years building for herself.

  “I agree, Jayleen. And don’t worry about that fire-fighting retardant. All of us will help you clean it off.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It wears off. We’ll have enough to do repairing fences and hauling away burned wood and brush. Most of the ridges on the north and west of the ranch are almost completely burned. So we’ll have plenty to clear out on those hills as well. Then we’ll have to do some restoration work there. Otherwise the monsoon rains will come in July and wash away both hillsides. Dirt, soot, charred soil. Everything in a black slush.”

  “Well, we’ll be there. Steve’s been champing at the bit, wanting to help. Marty and Megan and Greg and Lisa said the same thing. When do you think authorities would allow nonresidents to drive into the canyon?”

  “I don’t know, Kelly. We’ll just have to wait and see on that. But I sure am grateful that you folks want to help out. That means the world to me. You know it does.”

  “I do, indeed, Jayleen. Watching you building your ranch and alpaca business step-by-step with hard work and smart decisions, well . . . that makes my little CPA heart sing. You’re a role model, you know that?”

  Jayleen gave a snort. “Well, I wouldn’t go that far, Kelly. But it’s nice to have your hard work recognized. Thank you for that.”

  “It’s the truth.” Kelly walked over to the cottage kitchen counter and poured the last of the coffee in her pot into a large tumbler glass.

  “Tell me, what kind of song does a CPA’s heart sing?” Jayleen teased.

  Kelly chuckled. “I don’t know, probably that television program theme song ‘Money, money, money . . .’”

  Jayleen cackled. “Kelly-girl, you are a hoot and a half. Listen, Curt’s waving me over to the barn. He’s figuring out how we can transport my herd back to the ranch without disturbing you folks like last time.”

  “Hey, we wouldn’t mind. There’s no smoke to choke us now.” Kelly grabbed several ice cubes from her freezer bin and dropped them into the glass with her coffee. Iced coffee was becoming a necessity these days.

  “And last time there was a murder, so Curt and I both figure it’ll be better if we simply bring them over two at a time. Don’t want to tempt Fate.”

  Kelly could tell Jayleen was kidding, trying to hide the fact that she didn’t want to ask all her friends to give up another summer weekend for her. “Whatever you say, Jayleen. I’m gonna text the gang right now and let everyone know the good news.”

  “Oh, thank you, Kelly. That would really help me out. I’ve got enough folks to contact myself.”

  “No problem, Jayleen. Talk to you later.”

  Kelly clicked off and slowly walked to her patio screen door. A warm breeze was blowing through. Carl was snuffling in the flower beds in the backyard, finding faint odors of squirrel feet, no doubt. Elusive, enticing. Brazen Squirrel was nowhere in sight.

  She sent a brief text message on her smartphone to her friends, including Mimi and Burt, spreading Jayleen’s good news. Then she checked her phone directory and found Arthur Housemann’s number. His secretary answered.

  “Good morning, this is Kelly. I wonder if Arthur is in. I have some good news to tell him.”

  “He’s meeting with an investor right now. I’ll have him give you a call as soon as he finishes.”

  “That would be great. Thank you so much.” Kelly clicked off, dropped her phone into her briefcase bag, already filled with her laptop and the day’s account files, and checked Carl’s jumbo water dish to make sure it was still full before heading to the knitting shop.

  The moment Kelly stepped into the shop foyer, Mimi looked up from a nearby yarn display and beamed. “Kelly! I just got your text. That’s wonderful news! Oh, I’m so thankful that Jayleen’s ranch is okay. Burt and I were so worried.”

  “I know. We all were. She said she’d have us all up to the ranch as soon as she was allowed.” Kelly walked into the main room and set her briefcase and iced coffee on the table.

  Mimi followed after her. “That news has made my day. That, plus the fact that Connie found something that can help establish her whereabouts that Saturday evening.”

  Kelly blinked. “You’re kidding! What was it?”

  “Connie’s lawyer told her to check carefully and see if she had any receipts from that Saturday evening that she could use to establish when she’d left the canyon. So Connie dug around in her purse and her car and found a crinkled receipt down between the front car seats. It showed that she’d stopped at that restaurant near the crossroads in Landport at eight forty-five p.m. And she remembers now that she talked to a waitress she knows.” Mimi’s face shone with excitement as she talked. “That proves Connie was in Fort Connor by that time. So she couldn’t have been up Poudre Canyon.” Mimi looked triumphant.

  Kelly smiled at her dear friend. Mother Mimi. Always looking out for and worrying about others. “That’s definitely good news, Mimi. Let’s hope it’s enough to satisfy the detectives.” She didn’t say anything else. Kelly figured that Detective Dan was already on the trail of another suspect—Jim Carson.

  Mimi let out a long sigh. “I declare, I feel like a load of bricks has been lifted off my shoulders, worrying about Connie and Jayleen at the same time.”

  Kelly reached over and gave Mimi a hug. “We’re all relieved, Mimi. I felt the same way. Worry sure weighs a lot.”

  Mimi hugged her back. “It surely does, Kelly.” Mimi’s distinctive cell phone jingle sounded. She dug it out of her shirt pocket. “Oh, I’ve got to take this, Kelly. It’s that vendor I’ve been calling since yesterday,” she said as she walked toward the shop front.

  Kelly was about to settle in for some accounting in the quiet morning when her cell phone rang again.

  Arthur Housemann’s name and number flashed on the screen. “Hey, Arthur, I heard some good news from my Bellevue Canyon friend Jayleen Swinson. She was able to go up to her property yesterday afternoon. So, that must mean all of you Poudre Canyon folks ought to be able to see your places this weekend, don’t you think?”

  “I sure hope so, Kelly. People have been calling me all morning with that good news. We’ve got a meeting tonight with the authorities, and I pray they’ll give us the green light for tomorrow.”

  “I’ll keep my fingers crossed, Arthur.”

  “I tell you, all of us are straining at the bit, dying to get up t
here. Please tell me that Jayleen’s house was spared.”

  “Yes, the ranch house, barn, and corrals near the house were okay, but the property was burned all around the pasture edges. Fences were burned and an outbuilding was destroyed. Several trees were gone not far from the house, cut down by firefighters to help make a fire line around the house.”

  “I’d say she was damn lucky. Just about everyone up Whale Rock Road got burned out, from what I’ve heard.”

  “Be prepared for reddish pink fire retardant slurry. Jayleen said that slurry was all over the ranch house roof and the barn and on the ground around the house. So brace yourself just in case.”

  Arthur laughed. “I’ll take it. Slurry wears off. It’s still better than burned.”

  “Don’t forget, Dennis told Jayleen that the wildfire didn’t get all the way down to your house or his. So, you may luck out entirely, Arthur.”

  Arthur’s voice sobered quickly. “Ah, poor Dennis. Have the police decided to charge him with anything yet?”

  “Yes, Burt told me he’d heard they were going to charge Dennis with theft. I have no idea how much jail time is involved with that. Apparently he only withdrew the amount of Andrea’s funeral bill and hospital charges.”

  “Well, I certainly hope the police go easy on the poor guy. He’s a good man. Rough but good-hearted. He’d go out of his way to help you if he could. He helped me lug a huge old truck engine into my garage once. Even helped me cut down some sucker trees on the outer edge of my property, near his place. I asked him if I could borrow his chain saw, and he volunteered to cut the trees down. Of course, he might have been worried that I’d cut my hand off. Maybe that’s why he offered.” Arthur chuckled.

  “That’s probably what was going through his mind. I won’t get near a chain saw. I’d cut down a beautiful plant by accident. I can reduce a forsythia bush to a hassock with long-handled garden clippers.”

  This time Arthur laughed out loud. It was good to hear him laugh. She hadn’t heard Jayleen or Arthur laugh loud and deep for the past two weeks.

  “Kelly, that image will stay with me forever. I can picture you now trying to make that unruly bush behave. God help the forsythia.”

  “Sad, but true. Some of us should never be allowed to prune anything but numbers.”

  “I also can’t get poor Dennis out of my mind,” Arthur said. “I can understand the police charging him with the theft, but I certainly hope they’re not serious about charging him with his ex-wife’s death. What have you heard?”

  “Well . . . to be honest, it sounds like Dennis is at the top of the suspect list, principally because of his taking Andrea’s money. Detectives learned about his financial problems. He was behind in his mortgage payment—”

  “Oh, no.”

  “Yes, and the police are thinking he may have had his eyes on Andrea’s money as a way to solve his financial woes. The detective learned Dennis wanted to reconcile with his wife—”

  “Oh, no . . .”

  “And the detective also learned that Dennis was really disappointed that his wife was serious about this other guy. That guy was also there with her in the canyon, so Dennis could see them together. I mean, he’d told Jayleen many times and I’m sure she told the police when she and Curt were questioned.”

  “Yes, you’re right. Dennis told me how he wanted to get back with his wife, and I’m only his neighbor.”

  “I was there in the canyon helping bring alpacas to Andrea’s ranch. You could tell that those two guys, Dennis and Jim, were like two stags in mating season. They couldn’t wait to tangle antlers. And they did. Jim pushed Dennis and Dennis grabbed Jim by the shirt and yanked him. He was ready to deck Jim, you could tell, until Steve and Greg stepped between them.”

  “Oh, brother. That’s not good. No wonder the police have got him on their list.”

  “Yeah, and he’s moved higher, now. Thank goodness our friend Connie who works at Lambspun remembers talking to a café waitress she knows that night and has a receipt that shows she was back in Landport the evening of Andrea’s death. That will help her move from the top of the list.”

  “And poor Dennis moves up,” Arthur said with a sigh. “I swear, if your friend was able to find a waitress that helped establish her whereabouts, then Dennis ought to be able to find people who can vouch for him. I saw him earlier that evening, at sunset. He told me he was going up to keep watch on the ridge in case the wildfire started moving our way. I know he wasn’t up there alone, because I’ve talked with others since then who said they were up there, too. Maybe I should call one of those guys. Maybe some of them could vouch for Dennis with police. The wildfire crossed over that night, and firefighters and police were driving around evacuating everyone. I don’t see how Dennis could be up on the ridge keeping fire watch and killing his wife at the same time.”

  Kelly pondered what Arthur said. “You know, Arthur, that makes sense. I guess I figured that Dennis would have already asked his friends or neighbors to vouch for him. But, then, he may have been embarrassed to admit that police suspected him of involvement in Andrea’s death.”

  “I think that’s exactly what went through his mind. Dennis strikes me as a stoic sort, who doesn’t like to ask for help. He’ll offer you help readily, but I wish he’d been more forthcoming with how bad his financial problems were. I’ve helped others in town in similar circumstances. Some people just go through a rough patch and need a little help.”

  “You’re a sweetheart, Arthur.”

  “Don’t let it get around. I’ve got to protect my hard-driving businessman image.” Arthur chuckled.

  “I promise, I’ll never tell. Meanwhile, why don’t you call some of those guys and see if they can vouch for Dennis’s whereabouts that night.”

  “I think I will, Kelly. Of course, if they can, that may move your friend Connie back into first place on the police list.”

  “There’s someone else who’s shown up on their radar screen now, so I’m hoping he’ll take the police spotlight off Dennis and Connie. And it’s all because of what you told me about that late-night rider. You know, the guy you gave a ride to the night of the wildfire.”

  “Really? I’ll be damned. Who is he?”

  “Jim Carson. Andrea’s boyfriend. He was the guy who was helping Andrea load Jayleen’s alpacas that day. The one who Dennis squared off with at Andrea’s ranch. He also happens to be our friend Connie’s husband.”

  “Oh, brother. That is one messy situation. It really is a soap opera.”

  “When you said that guy wore a KISS tee shirt, that caught my attention fast. Jim Carson had on a shirt like that. I’d also noticed his dragon tattoo when I first saw him at Jayleen’s ranch. That’s why I was asking you more questions about his appearance. Once you said he had a tattoo of a dragon on his arm, my little buzzer went off loud and clear.”

  “My word, Kelly. You really are quite a sleuth. You shared all this with the police, I imagine.”

  “I told Burt. His old partner Dan was in charge of the case. Apparently Jim told Dan in his interview that he left the canyon while it was still light. So, Detective Dan was quite interested in your account of the late-night rider.” She smiled.

  “Well, that certainly does sound suspicious. Let me know what happens, please. I’m worried about Dennis. By the way, I remembered that you wanted to know if anyone was hiking or camping around Andrea’s and heard anything that night.”

  Kelly brightened and sat up straighter in her chair. “Yes, was there anyone?”

  “That friend of mine who lives in the canyon near there, well, his kids came up from Denver that weekend, and his son and girlfriend went camping right around Diamond Peak. They heard on their radio about the Bellevue Canyon wildfire and worried that it might come over into Poudre Canyon. They’ve seen how fast those canyon fires around Denver spread. So they decided to hike out in the early evenin
g while it was still light and they could see. They packed up their gear and started hiking along the river, heading toward the mouth of the canyon and Landport. Anyway, they told my friend they passed by one house where a man and a woman were having a loud argument on the deck in the back. The man was yelling at the woman, and she was yelling back. They said they hurried past really fast to get away from it.”

  Kelly’s little buzzer went off again. “Oh, really? That’s interesting. And there was a deck in the back, huh? I think Detective Dan would find that interesting, too.”

  “And that campground is right above where you said Andrea’s ranch was located. So, that could be important. Maybe a lover’s quarrel in progress.”

  Kelly had to laugh. “Sounds like it to me, Arthur. Thanks so much for that information. I’m going to call Burt right now. I’ll bet Detective Dan will want to interview you.”

  “Anything that can help out poor Dennis, I’m glad to do. You keep me posted, okay?”

  “You bet, Arthur. Take care, now.” She clicked off and scrolled through her directory to Burt’s number and pressed it. Leaning back in the chair, Kelly listened to Burt’s phone ring then revert to voice mail. As more customers came into the shop and started browsing through the yarn bins, Kelly started recording a message for Burt, detailing Arthur’s intriguing information.

  Suddenly Burt’s voice cut in. “Hey, Kelly. It sounds like you learned something new from Arthur Housemann this morning. I’m tied up over here at the Ranch, helping out. Why don’t you call Dan yourself and tell him what you learned.”

  “Me? But Dan is used to talking to you. I don’t want to interrupt him.”

  “You won’t interrupt him. Believe me, Dan will be happy to take your call. You’ve helped out a bunch of investigations. Besides, you know what a friendly guy Dan is.”

  Kelly remembered meeting Burt’s former partner several times over these last few years she’d been sleuthing. Burt was right. Dan was a friendly, good-natured guy. “Okay, I’ll give him a call. Main Police Department number, right?”