Knitting 06 - Fleece Navidad

by Maggie Sefton

  Kelly exchanged glances with her friends. Lisa and Jennifer smiled. Megan rolled her eyes. They’d been listening to Hilda complain about Claudia and her “shameless behavior” for several days now. Clearly, Hilda wasn’t pleased with Lizzie’s new social companion. The “Merry Widow,” as Lisa called her.

  “Sounds like you’ve been out on the town again, Lizzie,” Jennifer interjected. “I swear, you go out more than I do. Maybe I should join the senior singles.”

  Jennifer’s lighthearted comment brought Lizzie’s smile back as well as soft laughter around the table. “You’re too young, dear,” Lizzie said as she withdrew the lemon yellow baby blanket.

  It was still unfinished, Kelly noticed. Apparently Lizzie’s social schedule had interfered with her knitting time. “Let’s see, Lizzie . . . you’ve been to the senior singles’ dinner and the movie club and the lunch club and a wine-tasting group and—”

  “And the travel club and the book discussion group and the knitting group of course,” Lizzie picked up the list, cheeks flushed with pleasure. “And last night I joined the square dancing club.”

  “Lizzie, I’m so proud of you,” Megan enthused. “You really did take our advice. And now you’ve met all sorts of new friends.”

  “Oh, yes, and picked up friendships with people I’d lost track of over the years.” Her fingers worked the stitches rapidly.

  “Is the Merry Widow coming with you to all these groups, too?” Lisa asked.

  Hilda made a disgruntled noise as she worked the azure blue yarn in her lap. More mittens.

  Lizzie didn’t even glance at her sister. “Claudia comes to some of them, but she has her own interests. So she introduced me to several of her friends and got me launched, so to speak. Frankly, once I discovered all the fascinating activities that are happening there . . . well, I couldn’t wait to get involved.”

  Claudia had obviously opened a whole new world to Lizzie, and Kelly was pleased. She couldn’t resist asking, “I take it some of Claudia’s other interests include the widower Jeremy. Is she still seeing him?”

  “Ohhhh, yes. In fact . . .” Lizzie paused and glanced at her sister before leaning over the table to whisper, “She spent the night with him.”

  Jennifer smiled. “Now it’s getting interesting.”

  “I told you she was a loose woman. Using her wiles to trap poor Jeremy.” Hilda wagged her head, a frown etched into her lined face.

  “Poor Jeremy?” Jennifer cackled. “It sounds like he’s having the time of his life being trapped.”

  “Face it, Hilda, Claudia is lively, funny, and pretty,” Megan added. “Most men Jeremy’s age would be interested.”

  “She’s still a schemer and a gold digger,” Hilda declared. “Look at that list of husbands. She’s looking for a meal ticket, that’s all.”

  “Maybe she’s just lonely,” Jennifer said without looking up from her needles. Hilda simply sniffed and didn’t reply.

  “I think you may be right, Jennifer,” Kelly ventured, hoping to lower the temperature around the table. It didn’t feel right to have Lizzie and Hilda arguing.

  “We loose women have to stick together,” Jennifer said with a wink before sipping her coffee.

  Lisa snickered. “I’ve never met this librarian you guys told me about, but I have a feeling Jeremy’s forgotten her.”

  Lizzie wagged her head. “I know, I know. I confess I’m torn. I’ve known Juliet for years, and I was so happy she’d found someone. But now—”

  “But now, that brazen hussy has stolen him away,” Hilda declared, fingers working the yarn so fast the mittens danced on her needles.

  Here we go again, Kelly thought, about to interject another moderating comment, when the familiar click-clack of high heels sounded in the next room. The Brazen Hussy herself. Kelly sneaked a peak at Hilda, who looked as though she’d just bitten into a sour apple.

  “Well, well, well, we’ve got a full house this afternoon,” Claudia announced as she sashayed into the room. “How lovely to see everyone.”

  Claudia settled into a chair beside Kelly and removed the magenta shawl she was knitting. Kelly noticed Claudia was wearing one of the two designer suits Kelly recognized. Not the latest fashion, but stylish nonetheless. “Lizzie has been filling us in on her latest senior center excursions. Sounds like her social calendar is getting full.”

  “Oh, my, yes. Lizzie took to the senior club scene like a duck to water,” Claudia said with a little laugh. “I’m delighted—”

  “If you ladies will excuse me, I must speak to Mimi about my yarn order,” Hilda announced as she gathered her knitting and stalked from the room.

  A noticeable silence descended for a few seconds, then Claudia spoke in a quiet voice. “I’m sorry that Hilda doesn’t like me, but I seem to irritate a lot of women. I guess I’m too outspoken for their tastes.”

  “Don’t mind Hilda,” Lizzie said, glancing over her shoulder. “She’ll come around.”

  Claudia shook her head with the air of someone used to these encounters. “Noooo, I don’t think so. It happens all the time.” She gave a little shrug. “I can walk into a room and feel it. There’s something about me that annoys the living daylights out of most women.” The multicolored yarn formed into neat, lacy rows on her needles.

  Jennifer chuckled. “I know what you mean, Claudia. A lot of women don’t like me, either. But that’s okay. I kind of like rattling cages.”

  “We’ve noticed,” Lisa said.

  Kelly held up her coffee mug. “From one cage rattler to the next,” she saluted both Claudia and Jennifer. Claudia seemed to relax after that. Her shoulders were no longer hunched.

  “Lizzie tells us you and your new boyfriend seem to be getting more . . . how shall I say it? . . .” Jennifer paused dramatically. “More involved.”

  Kelly stared at her double-point needles, wondering if Claudia would take the bait.

  She did. Claudia gave a sly smile. “You might say that.”

  Jennifer briefly glanced over her shoulder at the browsing customers. “So, how’s ol’ Jeremy stack up? Compared to your other husbands, I mean.”

  “Jennifer . . .” Megan rasped, nodding toward the customers prowling the shelves and yarn bins in the room.

  “What?” Jennifer said innocently. “Hilda’s gone, so I thought we could talk.”

  Kelly chuckled over her coffee and watched Lizzie eye Claudia expectantly with that bright-eyed robin look.

  “Jennifer, you are too much,” Claudia said after she finished laughing. “Let’s just say that Jeremy is a good student, and I’m an excellent teacher.”

  Lisa hooted out loud at that, which elicited several smiles from the nearby customers who had been obviously eavesdropping.

  “Still waters run deep, as my mother always said,” Megan offered.

  Jennifer grinned at Megan. “What would you know about still waters? You’ve got Marty. He’s a veritable fountain.”

  Megan choked on her coffee, she started laughing so hard, as did everyone around the table.

  “Waterfall is more like it. Never stops.”

  “No, a Jacuzzi. It comes in bursts.”

  “Stop, you guys, I’ve spilled my coffee,” Megan pleaded between laughs.

  “I bet Megan is the still water in that relationship,” Claudia said.

  Kelly noticed a woman who was browsing in the corner yarn bins suddenly turn and survey the table. Her stern gaze fell on Claudia. “I see you’ve already ingratiated yourself with the locals. You don’t waste time, Claudia. You’ve been in Colorado less than two months.”

  Claudia stared back at the woman and blanched, her busy needles dropping to her lap.

  A hard smile appeared on the woman’s thin, pinched face. “Surprised to see me, I take it.”

  Who the heck is this? Kelly wondered, as she stared at the woman and at Claudia’s reaction. Claudia was clearly shocked speechless, her blue eyes huge.

  “How . . . how did you know where—” Claudi
a stammered.

  “You mean, how did I find you?” The woman’s smile hardened at the corners of her mouth. “I tracked you here from Florida. It took a while, I admit. You were very clever, slipping away in the middle of the night like that. Not telling anyone. Everyone at the retirement home thought you’d simply moved out.”

  Claudia stared stricken at the woman, not answering.

  “But stealing that old woman’s car was a masterstroke, I must admit.”

  “I did no such thing!” Claudia protested. “Mary Ann Howard gave me that car, so . . . so . . . I could—”

  “So you could escape, right?” The woman’s gaze narrowed. “You forgot about the credit card bill. All those travel expenses you ran up on that stolen card. That’s how I tracked you.”

  Two customers glanced apprehensively over their shoulders and moved their browsing to another room.

  Claudia stared, horrified. “I didn’t steal her credit card. Mary Ann gave it to me so I could come here. I was going to pay her back.”

  More heads turned from the adjoining room, and Kelly glanced at her friends. Each of their expressions mirrored her own. What is going on here?

  “Sheila, why have you come here? All you had to do was ask Mary Ann. She’ll tell you.” Claudia’s voice contained an uncharacteristic tone of pleading.

  Sheila’s mouth twisted. “Mary Ann had a massive stroke and died right after you ran off.”

  Claudia gasped, then stared at Sheila, mouth hanging open.

  Lizzie placed a hand on her friend’s arm and asked in a tremulous voice, “Claudia . . . who is this woman?”

  Color rushed back into Claudia’s face. “She’s . . . she’s my stepdaughter, Sheila Miller.”

  “Was her stepdaughter.” Sheila bit off the words. “Until she killed my father.”

  Five

  Lizzie’s horrified gasp hung in the air. Kelly stared at Claudia, who was visibly shaken, blue eyes tearing up, and Kelly’s protective instincts rose up full force. She leaned back in her chair and fixed Sheila with a cold stare of her own. Corporate skills were always useful.

  “Ms. Miller, you might want to be careful what you say to someone in public. That last comment would be considered slander in a court of law.” She held her stare until Sheila blinked.

  Sheila glanced away. “His death was no accident, I’m sure of it.”

  “Still, you cannot go around accusing people like that,” Kelly continued, her voice in the cellar. “That’s for a judge to decide—”

  “Excuse me, ladies, is there a problem here?” Mimi’s anxious voice sounded from the classroom doorway. “Several customers have told me there’s an argument going on. Kelly? Lisa? What’s happening?” She approached the end of the table, her face revealing her concern.

  “Sheila got a little tense for a minute, Mimi, but I think she’s calmed down now,” Kelly reassured her.

  Mimi settled into Hilda’s empty chair. “Sheila, I’m Mimi Shafer, and I own the shop. I like to think this is a nurturing place for people to gather. So if there’s a problem of any kind, maybe I can help.” She glanced at Claudia’s red face and back to the visibly angry Sheila standing at the other end of the table.

  Sheila crossed her arms tightly across her chest and glared at Claudia again. “No one can bring my father back,” she said in a tight whisper.

  “I’ll leave,” Claudia said softly. Grabbing her knitting bag, she withdrew a red pom-pom with keys attached. “It’s me she’s after . . . she’s been harassing me ever since her father’s death . . . saying terrible things . . . awful . . .”

  “Telling the truth,” Sheila snapped.

  Claudia turned a tearful gaze around the table. “Don’t believe what she says, she hates me!” She fled from the room, her knitting bag clasped to her chest.

  “You can’t run away from the police! They’re right behind me,” Sheila called, stepping away from the table as if to follow Claudia.

  Kelly immediately jumped to her feet, blocking Sheila’s path. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Sheila. Why don’t you sit with us for a while?”

  “Yes, please.” Lisa spoke up in her calm therapist voice. “We want to know what’s caused this trouble. Tell us, please.”

  “Yes, Sheila, please tell us, help us understand,” Mimi pleaded in her soft maternal tone. “Let me get you something warm to drink.” She motioned to one of the shop girls hovering in the doorway, eyes wide.

  Kelly also noticed someone else hovering in the doorway. Hilda. Watching and listening with obvious interest.

  “Please sit, Sheila. It looks like you need to talk.” Kelly gestured to a chair at the other end of the table.

  Sheila hesitated for a minute before sitting. “I’m . . . I’m sorry if I disturbed your customers. It’s just that I’ve been tracking Claudia for two months and to finally find her laughing and talking as if nothing ever happened . . .” She stared at the bookshelves. “It just tears me up inside.”

  “When did your father die, Sheila?” Lisa asked, her fingers busy.

  Sheila’s thin lips pursed. “Almost a year ago. I was out of town on a business trip when it happened. I’m a research consultant with a legal firm so I travel regularly. I had to hear about my father’s death over the phone from that . . . that woman,” she said bitterly. “I was devastated.” She crossed her arms tightly under her breasts as she sat ramrod-straight.

  Kelly felt a twinge of sympathy for Sheila. She’d lost her own father years ago to cancer. But at least she had been with him until the end. And she’d been able to say goodbye.

  “I’m sorry, Sheila. I lost my father several years ago, too. I still miss him,” she said. “I’ll bet you were really close to your father.”

  Sheila darted a wary look to Kelly, but her stiff pose started to relax slightly. “Absolutely. He was my best friend. My mother died years ago, and ever since it’s been just my father and me.”

  “Do you have any other family, Sheila?” Mimi probed gently.

  “My father and I were family. We didn’t need anyone else. We were so close. I was his closest confidante until she came along.” Sheila’s body tensed up again. “Claudia seduced my father away with sweet talk and lies. It would never have happened if I hadn’t been away on a three-month research trip abroad. She never would have gotten past me.” Sheila gave a stiff nod.

  “Maybe he was lonely, Sheila,” Mimi said. “I know what it’s like to live alone.”

  Sheila shook her head several times, as if she was trying to convince herself as well as Mimi. “No, no, Claudia seduced him away. My father was old and in poor health. That’s why she chose him, I’m sure of it. She probably thought she’d get a large inheritance, but I took care of that.”

  “How?” Lisa asked.

  Something resembling a smile tweaked the corners of Sheila’s mouth. “Fortunately all of my father’s estate was in a trust, and I was still the sole beneficiary. All of it went to me. And I made sure Claudia didn’t get a dime.”

  Kelly exchanged glances with her friends. “Well, at least you have all of your father’s things.”

  “That’s not enough!” Sheila snapped. “She needs to pay! Claudia stole my father twice and I’ll never forgive her, ever!”

  “Twice?” Jennifer echoed, looking at Sheila.

  “Once when she tricked him into marriage, and again when she killed him.”

  “Careful, Sheila,” Kelly warned.

  Sheila turned an intense, dark gaze around the table. “She did it for the money. I know she did. His death was no accident. Dad always listens to the radio when he’s bathing. It relaxes him. She must have dropped that radio into the water. I’m sure of it.”

  Kelly caught the quick, astonished glances of her friends. It was clear that Sheila was focused on Claudia. She hated her for splitting up the cozy little family arrangement she had with her dad. But deliberately dropping a radio into the water to electrocute someone . . . whoa.

  Sheila continued, her voi
ce as intense as her expression, clearly trying to convince her audience. “She married him for his money. That’s what Claudia did before. I’ve searched into her past and those other two husbands of hers. They were both older men, and they both died under strange circumstances.” She gave a righteous nod. “She got away with it those other times, but she’s not getting away with it now. I’m seeing to it that justice will be done.”

  The table fell silent while the café waitress brought a tray with pots of tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. Mimi busied herself with pouring cups for everyone. Meanwhile, Kelly considered what Sheila said.

  Strange circumstances. True, it was unusual for a widow to lose three husbands in a row to accidental deaths, but to assume that Claudia had played a part, well, that was a stretch.

  Noticing that Sheila chose a mug of hot chocolate, Kelly hoped the warm milk would mellow out the woman’s mood. Hot chocolate had a wonderful calming effect. Instead of challenging Sheila on her assumptions about Claudia, Kelly decided to keep her questions to a subject that was less inflammatory—and give the hot chocolate a chance to work.

  “You said you’d been tracking Claudia for two months? How did you manage that? Did you hire an investigator?” She allowed admiration to fill her voice.

  Sheila brightened, her pinched face relaxing. She appeared to be in her forties, but it was hard for Kelly to tell. “Oh, no, I did it all myself,” she said proudly. “I’d been checking into Claudia’s past for several months after my father’s death. I even went to the towns in Missouri and Texas where she’d lived and interviewed anyone who remembered Claudia or her former husbands.”

  Kelly caught the incredulous gazes of her friends and gave them a spare nod, hoping they’d pick up her line of questioning. “Wow, that must have taken months,” she said. “How’d you manage your job and all that interviewing at the same time?”

  Sheila shrugged and took a drink of her hot chocolate. “It wasn’t easy. I was driving around all day talking with people and working practically all night. But it was worth it. By the time I returned to Florida, I’d compiled an entire file of damning evidence.”