Ethan, the director from the Craftee Channel, called wanting to know when they could come by and see the Hookers in action creating the Make-and-Take project. Even though the group hadn’t made one of the bracelets at our gathering yet, I had no doubt they could manage it with ease. I was concerned about Rory and so put them off until the next week.
I checked on the order for the supplies we needed to make up the kits. As I was about to leave the store, Marianne called and invited me over. I’d never say no to a chance to get more information, and I had found that I really liked her. I picked up a red eye on the way out and headed to her place.
I loved working at the bookstore, but still there was a feeling of freedom as I drove away. Finding the private street was a nonissue now, and I continued on through the open gate when I got to the end of the cul-de-sac. A truck with gardening equipment was parked close to the opening to the grassy area. Two men in nondescript work clothes were walking back and forth onto the lawn. I wondered if they realized that the tarps they were walking over covered the spot where Connie had been found.
I pulled behind the truck and got out of my car. Another man in similar work gear was steering a riding mower around the large lawn. I looked at this as a bonus opportunity. I knew the gardeners had talked to the cops, but maybe they’d have something else to say to me.
I greeted the two men, and they stopped what they were doing and looked up.
“That’s a lot of yard to take care of,” I said, glancing around the property. “What are you working on?”
One of them pointed to a strip of dirt that ran along the back of the lawn, and I saw the flats of pansies nearby. “Last week we took out the dead plants. This week we put in flowers.”
“It must get kind of boring. Too bad you don’t have some music,” I said in a nonchalant, friendly tone. Both men seemed to flinch.
“No, no music,” one of them said emphatically. “We like it quiet.” The man driving the riding mower drove past us and went through the open garage door and cut the motor. Trying to act as if my snooping was just me being friendly, I followed him in and asked him about the riding mower, like I was interested in getting one.
He looked at me, shrugged, and mentioned another brand he liked better. Meanwhile, I had a look around. There was metal shelving on the wall, and I noticed a number of old appliances. It wasn’t a stretch to think the radio could have come from there.
Another man in work clothes came into the garage and barely seemed to notice me as he walked to a box on the wall. I had something similar at my house and recognized it as automatic sprinkler controls. I tried to get a look at what he was doing. “I have the same thing at my house, and I’ve never figured out to operate it,” I blathered. “Mind if I watch?” Since he didn’t object, I got closer to see what he was doing. I hadn’t exactly been truthful about not knowing how to operate the sprinkler controls, and as I watched him I saw that he was checking the times and length of watering.
“Was there some kind of problem?” I asked.
He seemed annoyed. “How did this happen? You don’t run sprinklers for an hour.” He muttered that it was good that they had turned off the system.
“You mean someone reset the sprinklers?” I asked. He looked at me, suddenly suspicious.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
Just then, Marianne stuck her head in the open door. “There you are. We heard someone drive up, but nobody came to the door.” I wished the gardener a nice day and went outside and saw that Janine was with Marianne. Marianne took one glance at the area covered by the tarp, and I tried to read her expression. It was pointless because her face had the blank masklike look that seemed to come from the drugs.
“Why were you talking to the gardener?” Marianne asked as we walked to the house. It was hard to tell from her tone if it was just an idle question or something more.
I could hardly tell her the truth, so I made something up on the spot. “I saw they were planting pansies and I had a question about growing them.” I glanced at her to see if she’d bought it, but I couldn’t really tell.
We got to the door and went inside just as the old clock I’d seen in the living room struck the hour with a repetitive bong. Marianne stopped inside the entrance and glanced toward the living room and then in another direction. “We’ll go into the den.”
Janine lagged behind me as Marianne led the way to a large room at the back of the house. I remembered that when I’d come over before, there had seemed to be an issue about the room making her uncomfortable. When I saw the view, I understood why. It looked across the lawn to the guesthouse, though the spot where Connie had fallen wasn’t visible.
The den had a southwestern feel with rusty red–colored pavers on the floor covered with some Native American–print rugs. There was a seating area with a couch and some chairs around a coffee table made out of a weather-beaten old door. The furniture was comfortable looking and appeared as if it had been there a long time. There were some modern touches, like the flat-screen TV that hung above the fireplace. I noted some video equipment and a stack of DVDs.
Janine was hanging in the doorway. “I don’t want to interrupt your conversation,” she said, taking a step back.
“Could you get us some sparking water?” Marianne said.
“Sure,” Janine answered, quickly leaving the room.
Marianne and I sat down. She seemed tired and sank into the couch. Marianne swallowed a few times, and I could tell that her mouth was dry. “It was a rough morning. I felt exhausted and achy.” She looked in the direction that Janine had gone. “And she wasn’t much help.”
Janine came in with a tray with two glasses and two bottles of sparkling water. She set them on the table and was already on her way to the door. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”
“I certainly don’t have to worry about her hovering too much.” Marianne poured some of the sparkling water in her glass and quickly drank some.
“It must be easier now that you have a permanent replacement for Connie,” I said.
“I’d rather have no replacement, but sadly my brother has convinced me that I need someone to keep tabs on things.”
“I suppose that Connie knew what you needed and now it’s like starting out all over again. And since Connie was with you so much, you must have become somewhat friendly.”
“Errol reminded me that I’m not supposed to talk about her. My lawyer’s sure that her death is going to be ruled accidental and the cops will drop it, but for now he’s supposed to be the only one doing any talking about what happened.” She turned to me. “But I’m sure it’s okay to talk to you. It’s not like you’re looking to turn me in or anything.”
Her words struck me as strange, and I looked to see if it was another attempt at a joke, but her expression was impossible to read. “What’s your lawyer afraid you’ll say?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I had a strange arrangement with Connie. My brother hired her, and I think she viewed him as her boss. She was unrelenting when it came to stuff he wanted her to do.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“Like making sure I took all my meds.” I could hear her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth, making it hard for her to speak. She drank some more of the sparkling water and swallowed a few times to get rid of the cottony feeling. “I know they’re supposed to help, but it makes it so hard to do anything.” She put her head down in shame. “She caught me trying to dump the pills in that plant.” She pointed to a small olive tree growing in a planter.
“I suppose having someone around all the time meant she was in the middle of your business, too. I don’t know how I’d feel about that,” I said.
“It’s the pits. I hate this. I have no privacy. I’m not a child. I couldn’t believe it when Connie started commenting on what she’d overheard.”
“Like what?” I asked, trying to sound off-handed.
“She overheard my brother talking to me about selling this place. She th
ought it might be a good idea. At times it almost seemed like she was trying to talk me into it.”
“But you must have been upset about what happened to her,” I said.
“Of course.” She closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
“Did you know much about her life away from you?” I asked. “Like what she did on her day off?”
“Not really. That was the point of a day off.” Marianne managed a little smile. I remembered that she’d said that she used to be funny and that the drugs messed with her timing. She hadn’t totally lost either attribute.
“How horrible that you were the one to find her,” I said. I remembered my conversation with Mason. “It’s lucky for you that you didn’t get electrocuted or shocked yourself.”
“By then the grass had dried out,” she said. There was no reaction in her voice, but it was impossible to tell if that was her or merely the drugs.
“There you are,” a man’s voice said. We both started at the interruption and turned to the doorway to the room as Errol Freeman came in, though I wondered how long he’d been there before he announced his presence. His gaze stopped on me and he seemed distressed. “You’re here again?” Then he turned to his sister. “Where’s the new woman—what’s her name? Why isn’t she in here with you?” He sounded impatient and annoyed.
“There was no reason for her to stay in here,” Marianne said. “I’m not as incompetent as you seem to think. I can have a friend over without someone standing over my shoulder.”
At last I understood why she’d invited me over. She looked upon me as a friend. That didn’t sit well with him.
“What were you two talking about?” he said in a worried tone.
“I don’t know, just stuff,” Marianne said. “What are you here for?”
He appeared frustrated. “You have a new helper and I was just checking to make sure it was going okay. Where is she?”
“She went to her room.” Marianne seemed displeased. “I think we should have her move into the guesthouse. There’s nothing—”
“Enough,” Errol said, interrupting. “I’ll take it from here.” He gave me a death stare, and I figured our visit was over.
Chapter Sixteen
On Wednesday, it was back to normal at Shedd & Royal. I got there early and stayed all day. Adele put on story time and was dressed as a female pirate complete with eye patch as she greeted the kids. Adele was very big on the idea that women could be anything. The supplies for the Make-and-Take kits were delivered, and I moved the boxes to the back room. By afternoon, I was already looking forward to our happy-hour gathering and seeing everyone.
Around four thirty, I grabbed my second red eye of the day and headed for the back table to get things ready for the Hookers. I hoped Marianne would show up. My exit had been rather abrupt after her brother’s arrival, and I hadn’t had a chance to encourage her to come today. I was still thinking about her as I removed a few stray skeins of yarn that had been left on the table and picked up a coffee cup someone had left. Each time I’d seen her, I’d gotten more of a sense of what her life was like. And a better idea of what her relationship with Connie had been. At first it had seemed as if Marianne had been in charge of Connie, but after the last visit, it seemed like the one in charge was really Errol. I felt for her. It was almost like she was a prisoner in her own home.
Everything was in order and I was straightening the chairs when Mrs. Shedd came over.
“Any progress with Rory Graham? It didn’t seem very promising when I saw her in action the other day,” my boss said, looking toward the spot Rory had occupied.
“I’ll talk to the group,” I said. “Maybe if they understand what’s at stake, we can figure out a way to get through to Rory that there isn’t going to be someone to step in for her on the show.”
This seemed to put Mrs. Shedd’s mind at ease, at least for the moment, and she went back across the bookstore to her office. She just missed passing CeeCee as our leader came back to the yarn department.
“How’s it going with the prep for the taping?” she asked, putting down her large tote bag. I considered talking to her about Rory but decided to wait until everyone was there. “The Craftee people want to see the group making a bracelet.”
“Then we absolutely have to have everyone make one tonight.” She looked over the empty table. “Maybe Sheila can help Marianne. They seem to have a rapport.”
CeeCee shushed herself as Marianne and Janine came toward us. There seemed to have been a shift in their relationship. Janine took the chair next to Marianne instead of wandering off into the bookstore.
By five, everyone was there but Rory, and CeeCee looked to me.
“No delays this time,” I said, and spoke to the group. “I heard from the Craftee people, and they want to see us actually make a Gratitude Circle. I got them to push back until next week, but—”
“I get it,” Rhoda said. “We need to be smooth and we haven’t even made one yet.”
“Exactly,” CeeCee said.
Elise got up and handed out the same kits she’d handed out before. I kept looking at Marianne, wondering how I could ask Sheila to help her without letting on. I was pretty sure Marianne was aware of her crochet limitations, but I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. But then, maybe because she had helped Marianne before, Sheila sat down next to her unbidden and helped her unload the bag.
I glanced toward the front of the store, hoping to see Rory making a ripple of Dance Breaks as she made her way through, but it was all quiet. Adele was watching for her, too, and I noticed my coworker seemed a little tense. Thank heavens that Adele had changed out of the pirate outfit.
Dinah picked up on my worried look and offered me a reassuring smile.
I grabbed one of the kits and emptied the contents in front of me. “Okay, let’s make a bracelet.” The table went silent as we all gave our full attention to the project.
The focused silence lasted only a few minutes before it seemed as if everyone had an idea for a variation. “I think heavier cord would be more masculine,” Eduardo said.
“But then you’d have to use big clunky beads,” Rhoda said.
Elise wanted to add a lot more beads onto hers and change the name to the Count Your Blessings Bracelet, and then CeeCee stepped in.
“You’re getting it all wrong. We all have to make the same bracelet—exactly the same bracelet. You need to follow the instructions exactly. They want to see what we’re going to be offering. And remember, this Make-and-Take project is supposed to be easy enough for anyone who stops in.”
The table fell silent again, and everyone made the same bracelet. Sheila helped Marianne, and she turned one out that looked quite good. Janine even made one. Everyone slipped theirs on and admired their achievement.
I looked at Rory’s empty seat and shook my head with dismay before standing up and taking the floor.
“There’s something else we need to discuss,” I began. “It’s great that we all made sample bracelets tonight, but there’s another much bigger problem.”
I focused on Adele at the end of the table. Instead of looking at me, she was staring down at something she was making out of lime-green yarn. I could see her hook moving along the piece. Was she avoiding looking at me because she knew what I was going to talk about?
“I don’t know if all of you realize this, but Rory sold herself as a crochet expert to get the gig hosting Creating With Crochet. I think she thinks she can somehow fake it for the show. But I met the producer at an event.”
“An event? What kind of event?” Rhoda said. “Who’d you go with?”
“It was one of those charity dinners,” I said. “I went with Mason.”
“How come you didn’t say anything about it?” Elise asked. “You’ve been pretty mum about your social life. So you’re with Mason now, and Barry’s gone from the scene for good?”
I saw Dinah looking at me with a smile, and I rolled my eyes. “We’re getting off the point I’m try
ing to make. It doesn’t matter where I went or who I was with; the fact is, the producer recognized me from the bookstore, and he asked about Rory’s yarn abilities. And then he told me that if she wasn’t the wizard with a hook that she’d presented herself as, there would be a big mess and the taping here could get postponed or dropped altogether.”
Adele’s head shot up. “But can’t they just film my hands if they have to and make it look like it’s her? Just like she said, I could be her crochet double.”
“No, Adele. I tried to tell you before. You’re supposed to be helping Rory, not trying to arrange a spot for yourself on the show.”
“I’m doing the best I can,” Adele said, jiggling her head with annoyance so that the flower on her beanie wiggled. “She isn’t the easiest student.”
I gave Adele a hopeless expression. “Mrs. Shedd is almost in a panic over this. I know how much having the program tape here means to her. She’s got dreams it will turn Shedd & Royal into an international destination, which I admit is a little far-fetched, but we all owe her. The Hookers wouldn’t have a home if it weren’t for her letting us meet here.”
“And she supports our charity projects by providing the yarn,” CeeCee said. “We do owe it to her to make sure this comes off. Rory is so typical of the new crop of celebrities. All they care about is getting attention, not how they get it. The idea that she would mispresent herself as a master crocheter is appalling. What can we do?”
Janine was ignoring the whole conversation while Marianne seemed to follow it closely. The rest of the group looked to me for some kind of answer.
“I tried to talk to her, but maybe if the group says something, she’ll actually listen.”
“I know what we should do,” Rhoda said. “We surround her and tell her what’s what.”
“You mean like an intervention?” Sheila asked.
“Exactly,” CeeCee said.
It seemed like we were all in agreement about what to do, but there was only one problem. We needed Rory to show up.
Hooks Can Be Deceiving Page 13
