Hounds of the Basket Stitch

by Anne Canadeo

  Maggie smiled. “Exactly, for the humans. Along with garlic bread and Dana’s salad. For the dogs, bone-shaped meat treats. My first attempt was a flop but Lucy loaned me a bone-shaped cookie cutter.”

  Dana and Lucy followed Suzanne to the back of the shop. “Of course,” Dana said. “I should have guessed. Did you make the dogs cookies for dessert, Lucy?”

  “I made them pup cakes, carrot and peanut butter flavor.” Lucy was balancing a plastic container and her knitting bag on one arm and holding onto Tink and Wally’s leads with the other.

  She set the bag and container on the oak table, then dropped the leads and instructed the dogs to lay under the oak table, which they instantly and miraculously did.

  Maggie could see her own surprise reflected in Suzanne’s expression. “Do those pup cakes have doggie tranquilizers in them? Tink and Wally look suspiciously chill tonight, Lucy.”

  Lucy laughed, but Maggie could see she was pleased by the compliment. “Rose gave me some tips and I’ve been working with them.”

  “And doing an excellent job,” Maggie noted. “Let’s see how they do when Rose arrives with her dogs. That’s the real test. Holly just sent me a text. They’re running a little late but they will be here soon,” she told the others.

  “Where’s Phoebe?” Dana asked. “Isn’t she joining us tonight?”

  “Maybe she’s protesting, as a dedicated fan of felines,” Suzanne said.

  Maggie laughed. “Nothing like that. Phoebe loves all furred and feathered creatures. You know that. She was in Boston today, scouting out new sources for the shop. She’ll be a little late as well. But it will be interesting to see the samples that she brings back. I’ll welcome your opinions.”

  It was convenient to have a handy focus group for the shop and Maggie often called in her friends for suggestions on the yarn she should stock and other improvements. She had not set the table yet, but the plates, napkins and cutlery, as well as wineglasses, were set out on the sideboard and her friends quickly got to work on the task.

  Dana took the stack of plates and set one at each place on the table. “I’m so glad Holly feels well enough to come. Her doctor said she’s almost recovered and there won’t be any lasting damage to lungs or heart. He’s very pleased with her progress. A night out is a real milestone.”

  Maggie was happy to hear that news, too. “I think healing has a lot to do with a person’s state of mind. Holly has been carrying a terrible burden all these years. She must have been so relieved when this ordeal ended.”

  “She was,” Dana replied. “But of course, she had mixed emotions about her secret being out. She still feels responsible for Chip Lynch’s death and Rose’s injury. And Jeremy’s prison sentence. Though at least she knows now that his feelings for her never changed and he has no regrets about claiming that he was the driver.”

  Suzanne sighed, nearly swooning. “Wow, if that’s not romantic, I don’t know what is.”

  “Romantic or not, what about the issue of false testimony?” Maggie asked. “Will there by any consequences for Holly and Jeremy?”

  Maggie certainly hoped not. After all Holly had been through, the last thing she needed was legal charges and lawsuits.

  Dana was setting out the wineglasses with care and suddenly looked up. “I thought I updated everyone on that question. The time period for bringing charges has expired, thank goodness. Holly and Jeremy are both free and clear.”

  Lucy placed a linen napkin, knife and fork beside each plate. “I’m sure she felt relieved but she must have also felt embarrassed, And even afraid of what you and Jack would think.”

  “She was worried that we’d judge her, but we assured her that we didn’t. And assured her that we loved her, no matter what. We’re just happy that’s she’s safe now, and getting stronger every day. Everyone makes mistakes and Holly does feel sincere remorse about what happened. She told me that, at the time, she felt there was no other way than to let Jeremy take the blame. Though she knows now she would have acted differently if she had to decide again.”

  Suzanne had brought two bottles of wine, one red and one white. She stood at the oak server and started to open them. “No one’s perfect and she was very, very young when it happened. She has to give herself a break for that reason alone. All these years, Holly has taken such good care of Rose. That should be some comfort to her.”

  “A great comfort, I’d think,” Maggie said. “And I’m sure that being reunited with Jeremy has made Holly’s whole world much brighter.”

  Maggie had set out a plate of crudité on the server and Dana picked up a few celery sticks “Yes, they’re together again. For good this time, it looks like. Their reunion was like a romance novel.” She rolled her eyes a bit and smiled. “Rose is delighted, too. She always liked Jeremy and is so grateful for the way he saved both of them from the fire and saved her from Beth Duncan’s ploy.”

  “Everyone is grateful for that,” Lucy agreed. “I still don’t know how we missed the connection between Beth and the Pipers. But there was no picture of Chip Lynch’s family in the newspaper articles, which reported his sister’s name as Tabetha. That didn’t help.”

  Dana cast Lucy a sympathetic look. Maggie did, too. Lucy obviously felt bad that her research had not yielded the important link between Beth Duncan and the Pipers.

  “It was a tricky one, Lucy,” Dana replied. “Beth told the police she’s always despised the name Tabetha and went by the nickname Beth whenever possible. Except for formal documents, like a driver’s license or passport, and her employment records. But I’ll get to that later,” Dana noted. “Duncan was her married name. She was divorced a few years ago, but never changed her last name back to Lynch. She told the police she wasn’t intentionally trying to hide her identity, but the name change had been amazingly convenient once Rose turned up as a patient at the clinic.”

  Lucy wasn’t convinced. “I still think I should have dug a little deeper. I should have smelled a bone buried down there. I guess it was just a fluke that she was working at the center when Rose came in as a patient. And as Dr. Curtis’s assistant, Beth was privy to all kinds of confidential information about Rose and everything Rose said in her sessions.”

  “Including a recollection of Holly behind the wheel the night of the accident,” Dana noted. “Which Dr. Riley didn’t know about or had missed when reviewing Dr. Curtis’s notes.”

  “It’s a pity about Dr. Curtis,” Maggie said. “Did Beth confess to her murder as well?”

  Dana stepped over to the oak server and poured herself a glass of wine. “She resisted at first, but finally told the police everything. It seems that Dr. Curtis discovered the connection between Beth and the Pipers, but she never realized how dangerous Beth actually was. Beth told the police that when Rose’s memory started to come back, Dr. Curtis began looking through information about the accident. Maybe the same newspaper articles Lucy found were also in the file at the clinic? Dr. Curtis put that information together with Beth’s employment records, where her full and formal name was listed—Tabetha Lynch Duncan. So Dr. Curtis realized that Beth’s older brother, Chip was killed in the car crash that had injured Rose. She spoke to Beth about it, in a kind and concerned way and asked Beth to follow professional ethics and drop out of Rose’s care team. Beth readily agreed, then quickly managed to stage Emily Curtis’s suicide before anyone else found out about the connection.”

  Maggie sipped her wine, recalling the day she’d been waiting in the hallway for Dana and had overheard the two doctors arguing. “What a tragedy. How is Dr. Riley doing? Will he be able to keep the clinic open without Dr. Curtis?”

  “He may bring in a new partner, but he hasn’t made any big changes yet. He’s still reeling from the loss,” Dana’s tone was somber. “I’m sure he has some deep regrets.”

  Suzanne had poured herself a glass of red wine and sat at the table in her usual place. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but my money was on Toby Nash. I still think that guy belongs
behind bars for something. Did we ever find out if he was the one who snuck into the hospital and disconnected Holly’s oxygen?”

  “I thought he might have been responsible for that, too,” Dana replied. “But the video from security cameras at the hospital showed a woman. She was wearing a lab coat and looked like a member of the medical staff. She walked into Holly’s room, disabled the alarm and disconnected the oxygen supply. The facial image wasn’t clear due to the low light, but Beth eventually confessed to that, too. She’d overheard the Holly was waking up and was ready to talk to answer questions about her attack. And was liable to tell the police that she was being blackmailed, too.”

  Lucy was peering under the table, checking on her dogs, who were both so perfectly calm and well behaved Maggie had almost forgotten they were there. She suddenly looked up. “What about dear, old Toby? Where is he now?

  Dana smiled and sipped her wine. “Thanks to Maggie’s clever scheme, which allowed us to look inside that mysterious envelope, Toby had to explain to the police why he was trying to obtain Holly’s signature on a health proxy and power of attorney document under such suspicious circumstances. Jack isn’t sure if Toby can be charged with any actual crime, since he didn’t carry through with his plan, but the questioning put a good scare into him. He’s already left town.”

  “I doubt Holly and Rose will see him anytime soon. Or even get a Christmas card,” Suzanne said. “That’s one good thing to come out of all of this drama. The second good thing, when you count Holly and Jeremy’s reunion.”

  “And Rose has made real progress with her memory and her stress issues the past few weeks,” Dana added. “It’s as if a great cloud that has been hanging over Holly and Rose for years has finally lifted.”

  “That’s a lovely way to put it,” Maggie agreed. “I think that’s very true.”

  “Aside from the Pipers, how about the new member of your family, Maggie? The one who has brought so much love, laughter, and licks?” Lucy gave Maggie an “I told you so” look. “That’s another good thing if you ask me. A big one, too.”

  Maggie smiled despite herself. Then glanced over at the plush puppy-size bed tucked under the counter. “She’s still napping, the little sprite. I thought Tink and Wally would wake her, but she sleeps like a baby sometimes.”

  “She is a baby, ” Lucy pointed out. “She’ll be a big dog in no time.”

  “I know.” Maggie walked over to her new puppy’s basket. She picked up the little dog and cradled her in her arms. “But not too soon, I hope.”

  Maggie tried not to smile too widely as she brought the puppy out to show her friends. But she did feel a secret thrill, a little like being a new mother, she realized, though she’d never admit it.

  “She’s still sleepy but she’ll wake up soon.” she said. Her friends huddled closer, oohing and ahhing.

  “Look at her yawn. She’s impossibly cute,” Dana said. “I’m not even a dog lover.”

  “She’s adorable. Her fur is so soft, too. Like velvet.” Suzanne stroked the puppy’s head with one finger and sighed. “I wonder if Barkley would like a little friend? I had to leave him home tonight. He was all set to watch the Red Sox with Kevin. Once he saw the popcorn bowl come out, he wasn’t going anywhere with me. I could use a little pal of my own, don’t you think?”

  “At one time, I might not have agreed,” Maggie admitted. “But I’m all for the idea now. I think Bella has another pup or two left in her litter. Though I do think we picked the cutest one.”

  Charles had been thrilled with the idea of taking in a dog, and Maggie had had no trouble choosing the one she wanted. As Rose had told her, the puppy had already chosen her. Luckily, it had been love at first sight for Charles, too. Their puppy was too young for real walks, but Charles was a sight, leading the little dog around the backyard on her leash, tossing her toys and already teaching her basic dog manners. He did enjoy the dog’s company when Maggie was at the shop and Maggie felt the pup’s arrival had made their new home complete.

  Lucy took a turn, admring the pup and stroking her fur “I know you chose the right one and I love the name you chose, too.”

  “That was easy. Since she came from a nursery, Charles and I agreed it should be something botanical. We considered the name Lily, since that was George Piper’s favorite flower. But it seemed too serious for her. Charles came up with Daisy. It’s such a bright, cheerful flower and she always make us smile.”

  “That’s the perfect name,” Dana agreed.

  “It’s very cute, just like her,” Suzanne said.

  “She’s definitely a Daisy and I’m glad it’s working out so well.” Lucy took a step back and folded her arms over her chest. “Isn’t there something you want to say to me, Maggie?”

  Lucy met her gaze with an expression that made Maggie laugh. Dasiy rested her head on Maggie’s arm, and closed her eyes, sighing with contentment. Maggie sighed, too.

  “You were right. We needed a dog. Thank you for . . . hounding me?”

  Lucy smiled, looking satisfied, “That’s all you had to say. I really don’t know why it took you so long.”

  Maggie had to laugh. She hugged her puppy even closer. “I don’t know why either, Lucy. Honestly.”

  Notes from the Black Sheep & Company Bulletin Board

  Dear Knitting Friends,

  I have a big announcement! There’s a new member of our staff, and my little family as well—Daisy, our new puppy. She’s a beautiful mix of Portugese Waterdog and Labrador Retriever, and who knows what else. Charles and I are totally enthralled with her. I know that not all my customers are dog lovers, but I hope you won’t mind Daisy being about some of the time? If you give her half a chance, I think you’ll find she’s a little charmer. She loves to just sit quietly at my feet when I knit, and I didn’t even need to train her to do that!

  I suppose you’re thinking now that my shop has gone to the dogs. (If you can excuse the awful pun . . .) But I recently learned so much about canines that I’d never imagined, and saw firsthand their intelligence, loyalty, loving, and brave natures, in action. What can I say? I was completely won over, and little Daisy hooked me at “Woof.”

  My conversion to a canine devotee started with a simple lesson on finger knitting I prepared for Holly and Rose Piper, who own Piper Nursery.

  As you may know, Rose also rescues dogs and trains some to be companions that help the disabled. Her work is simply amazing, especially when you consider her own challenges.

  But as Rose often says, her success is simply proof that dogs are not only our best friends, they’re our best therapists, too. I don’t know if our friend, Dana would agree. But in Rose’s case, I have to say it’s true.

  Here are links to the finger-knitting lesson that started the Pipers off. And by popular demand, I’m posting my recipe for flatbread with various toppings.

  And, a more recent discovery, a recipe for homemade dog biscuits. Daisy loves them and they’re much healthier for her than the store-bought kind. Only the best for our new pup.

  Happy finger knitting!

  Love & Licks—

  Maggie & Daisy

  FINGER KNITTING LINKS:

  A simple search on Google of the term “finger knitting” will produce a dirth of instructive videos and project ideas. This technique is so easy, you’ll only need to watch once or twice before you catch on.

  Here are a few you can try. Enjoy!

  HOW TO FINGER KNIT FOR BEGINNERS /

  Bean Creative

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3BEgP5s9PgFinger knit basics with clear, visual demonstration and

  captioned instructions.

  3 SIMPLE WAYS TO FINGER KNIT—wikiHow

  https://www.wikihow.com/Finger-KnitThis Wiki-How video has instructionson finishing off and a Q&A section that is very helpful.

  20 GORGEOUS FINGER KNITTING PROJECTS &

  HOW TO FINGER KNIT VIDEO

  Flax & Twine

  https://www.flaxandtwine.com/2017/05/new-finge
r-knit-video

  This link includes a finger knitting demonstration video and instructions for 20 fabulous finger knitting projects, from area rugs to hair ornaments.

  MAGGIE’S FLATBREAD

  This is an amazingly versatile and forgiving recipe. In fact, it’s hardly a recipe at all. I’ve noted ingredients for a mushroom, goat cheese and fresh herb topping, but also listed a few variations below. Which are truly endless. Just check your leftovers and figure out a tasty combination.

  You can serve these flatbreads for lunch or dinner with a big salad, or serve them as an appetizer at your next party. Everyone will call it “pizza” but it tastes delicious by any name.

  Regarding the dough, I rarely make my own, though it’s not very difficult, just time consuming. I buy raw dough from our local pizza shop. They are happy to sell it to you, packed in flour or oil. I find flour is best, so ask for that. Or, you can find frozen dough in most supermarkets. That works fine, too.

  Instructions:

  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

  Grease two cookie sheets. Rimless is easiest to use if you have them.

  Ingredients:

  1 lb. pizza dough

  Quality olive oil

  1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced

  1 medium-sized onion, diced to small pieces

  1 lb mushrooms, sliced (white are alright if that’s all you

  can find; mini-portabello or even large portabello or

  shitake are tastier)