The Long Stitch Good Night: An Embroidery Mystery (3 page)

“Why don’t you want to talk about these…things?” she asked. “It all sounds pretty vague, if you ask me.”

“I don’t want to talk about my feelings because I’m still not sure how I feel. I like both men, Sadie. I’m just not sure which one I like best.”

She smiled. “You’ll figure it out. And since you don’t have to make a decision tonight, let’s go watch
Almondine
.”

“
Ondine
,” I corrected. “You’re thinking trout.”

“I am kinda hungry.”

The movie had just ended. Angus was asleep on his back in front of the television. His long gray legs would twitch occasionally, making me wonder what he was chasing. Sadie and I were sitting on my white, overstuffed sofa with an empty popcorn bowl between us. The credits were rolling, and we were debating who looked better scruffy—Colin Farrell, who had starred in this particular movie, or Johnny Depp, who had not. My vote was for Johnny.

“Come on,” I said. “Can you beat Johnny
Depp for scruffy, swarthy hotness? Captain Jack Sparrow, Mort Rainey…? Hello?”

Sadie smiled. “While I’ll admit—”

The phone rang.

I held up an index finger. “Hold that thought.” I answered the phone with a chirpy hello.

“Marcy, I need to speak to Sadie,” Blake said.

He sounded odd, so I didn’t tease him about drinking too much and needing his ride home. I merely handed Sadie the phone. “It’s Blake.”

“Are you ready for me to come get you?” she asked.

I watched her smile fade.

“You’re
where
? I’ll be right there.” She turned the phone off and returned it to the table. “He’s in jail.”

S
adie and I shared a look of fear and revulsion as we walked through the metal detectors and into the jail. I wondered if the place was always this crowded on Friday nights, or if Saint Patrick’s Day and an overabundance of green beer and other liquors was the cause.

Sadie stepped up to the counter where a forty-something female officer with her hair in a tight bun sat staring at a computer screen. “Excuse me,” Sadie said. “My husband is here, and I want to see him.”

The officer barely glanced up. “What’s his name?”

“Blake MacKenzie.” Sadie spoke softly, obviously not wanting to announce to everyone
within the sound of her voice that her husband had been arrested.

“Excuse me?” the officer asked. “You’ll have to speak up.”

“Blake MacKenzie,” Sadie repeated a little more loudly.

The officer typed what I assumed was Blake’s name into the computer. In a moment she instructed, “Wait here. I’ll have someone take you back.” She pressed an intercom button and called for Deputy Flaherty.

Within just a couple minutes, a red-haired policeman of average height and build arrived. “Mrs. MacKenzie?”

“That’s me,” Sadie said.

“Right this way,” he said.

“Is it okay if my friend comes too?” she asked.

“Sure.”

We followed him down a corridor that led to the cells. Prior to going through the door, Deputy Flaherty waved a metal detecting wand over us to further ensure neither of us was carrying a weapon.

“You may talk with your husband for about five minutes,” he told Sadie. “There is to be no physical contact, and I’ll remain with you
while you speak with him.” He pressed a button and the door opened automatically.

The nearly deafening din coming from inside the cellblock reminded me of stepping into a dog kennel at an animal shelter. And the similarities didn’t end there. As I looked into the eyes of those behind the locked cage doors, I felt compassion for some and fear of others.

And, of course, my heart broke for Blake. Now wearing a standard-issue orange inmate jumpsuit, he sat on a cot in a cell by himself looking hungover and sad. His usually gleaming hair was limp and sweaty. His face brightened a little when he saw Sadie. He stood and hurried over to the bars. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “Let’s just get you home.”

Blake looked ruefully at Deputy Flaherty and then back at Sadie. “That’s not gonna happen, babe. At least, not until Monday.”

“What?” Sadie stepped toward the officer until she was nearly nose to nose with him. “I can pay his bail right now. Why can’t he leave?”

“Bail hasn’t been set,” Deputy Flaherty said patiently. “And it won’t be set until the judge presides over the arraignment Monday morning.”

“Isn’t there something you can do?” she demanded. “Someone you can call? I don’t know what charges you have him on, but I’m certain this must be a mistake. My husband is a good man.”

The officer spread his hands. “I’m sorry. In cases as serious as this, the accused must appear before the judge for the arraignment and bond hearing before there is even a possibility of his being released.”

Sadie went back to stand before Blake. “When you called, you said there had been some trouble at the bar. I thought you’d been in a fight or something. What do the police think you’ve done?”

Blake sighed. “Graham Stott is dead.”

She gasped. “Graham? How? What happened?”

“He was shot,” Blake said.

Shot? At the bar? What on earth had happened after we’d left? Was Todd okay?

“B-but who? Why?” Sadie’s eyes filled with tears.

Blake simply shook his head.

“The police think you had something to do with it?” she asked.

He nodded.

The automatic door swung open, and another
uniformed officer—this one short, heavy, and bald—escorted Todd into the cellblock.

“Todd?” I asked, relieved to see that he did appear to be all right. Like Sadie, I was desperately trying to get a handle on what was going on.

He managed a weak smile. I noticed his hands were cuffed.

The officer instructed us to step back while he placed Todd in the cell with Blake. After shutting the door, he had Todd put his hands through the bars so he could remove the cuffs.

Sadie spun around to face Deputy Flaherty. “Will somebody please tell me what’s going on here?”

“Mr. MacKenzie and Mr. Calloway have been charged with the murder of Graham Stott,” he said.

Sadie, her face drained of color, turned back to Blake. “What…what happened?”

“We don’t know,” Todd said.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Sadie said, her eyes boring into her husband’s downcast eyes. “What happened?”

“It’s like Todd said, we don’t know,” Blake said.

“How can you
not
know?” Sadie demanded. “You had to have been there, or else you wouldn’t be here now.”

Deputy Flaherty cleared his throat. “I’m afraid your time is up, Mrs. MacKenzie. You and your friend will have to leave now.”

“How can I help?” I asked Todd quickly.

“Go check on the pub. Make sure the manager, Robbie, took the receipts to the bank and put them in the overnight depository. He’s probably home by now, but I doubt he’s gone to bed yet,” Todd said. “I’d also like you to talk to my dad first thing tomorrow morning. I don’t want to call him tonight and scare him and Mom to death, but I need his help with this mess. His name is Nolan, and both his and Robbie’s—Robert Barlow’s—information is in the Rolodex on my desk.”

“In your office at the Brew Crew?” I asked as Deputy Flaherty took me by the arm and began nudging me toward the door.

With his other hand, Deputy Flaherty began propelling Sadie out of the cellblock.

“Yes,” Todd called.

“I’ll take care of it,” I said. “Anything else?”

“No.” He sighed. “Just—thank you. I appreciate this.”

“Blake, I’ll be back,” Sadie called over her shoulder.

“Not until tomorrow morning,” Blake said. “Please. You need your rest.”

She scoffed. “Like I’m going to be able to sleep while you’re in jail.”

“You can sleep with me!” one of the inmates yelled, setting off a round of wolf whistles and catcalls.

“I’ll be back in the morning,” she shouted to Blake.

Deputy Flaherty escorted Sadie and me back to the lobby.

“I’ll go now and see if the police will let me take a look at that Rolodex,” I said to Sadie.

“I’ll go with you,” she said firmly.

“What’s the deal with Blake and Todd being charged with murder?” Sadie asked the officer. “That’s ridiculous. Graham was their friend.”

Deputy Flaherty shrugged. “All I know is that when our men arrived at the Brew Crew to investigate a reported shooting, Graham Stott was dead. The gun used to murder him was registered to Mr. Calloway, but the fingerprints of both Calloway and your husband were on the weapon. And they were alone in the room with the victim.”

When Sadie and I arrived at the Brew Crew, the crime scene technicians were still scrutinizing every inch of the pub. There was yellow
crime scene tape up as well as a barricade overseen by two officers—one at each end. Sadie tried to barrel past anyway and was threatened with arrest.

“On what charges?” she shouted.

“Trespassing, interfering with the investigation of a crime, tampering with evidence,” one of the officers began rattling off.

I spotted Ted and waved both arms to get his attention.

“Something told me I’d be seeing you tonight,” he said wryly as he approached Sadie and me. “But I didn’t expect you so soon.”

Ted looked more unkempt than I’d ever seen him. But, like Johnny Depp, Ted looked good scruffy. His black hair—shot through with a sprinkling of premature gray—was going in all directions, as if he’d been running his hands through it in frustration. There were shadows beneath his cobalt blue eyes, and there was some stubble on his cheeks and chin.

“You’re exhausted,” I said softly.

He smiled slightly. “I’m okay.”

“Of course
you’re
okay,” Sadie said. “You’re not in
jail
. What do you mean having Blake and Todd arrested?”

“They were the only people in the room with the victim after the shots were fired,” Ted
said in a low, calm voice. “They were still with the deceased when officers arrived on the scene, and the murder weapon was on the floor between them.”

“Of course they were with Graham. He was their friend.” Sadie anchored her trembling hands to her hips. “Did you even talk with them before having them hauled away, Ted? You know they aren’t murderers!”

“That’s just it,” he said. “They wouldn’t say anything—to me or to anyone else.” He looked from Sadie to me. “And given the considerable circumstantial evidence, we had to arrest both men.” Ted stepped closer to me. “It’s not just our department either. Tallulah County’s major crime team is involved.”

“I don’t care if the president of the United States is involved,” Sadie said, on the verge of tears. “I want Blake released into my custody tonight. He is
not
staying in that jail!”

Ted looked at me again, an obvious plea for help. I knew from a couple of my more unfortunate incidents here in Tallulah Falls that the major crime team was made up of several detectives and detective supervisors from police agencies throughout the county. They were the best, they were tenacious, and they were sticklers for following the rules.

I patted Sadie’s back soothingly. “Everything will be okay.”

“Will it?” she asked, whirling to face me. “Will my husband get to come home tonight?”

“It doesn’t look that way,” I said, glancing at Ted for confirmation. “From what I understood from Deputy Flaherty, Blake and Todd can’t be released until they’ve been before a judge.”

“Then I’ll find a judge who’ll hear their bond testimony tonight,” she said adamantly.

“Sadie, think about it,” I said. “If you rush things, you might do more harm than good. Get Blake an attorney and go about things the right way.”

“She’s right,” Ted said. “I made sure they were put in a cell together and by themselves. They’ll be safe.”

Although she still looked mad enough to spit, Sadie nodded slightly.

“May I go inside?” I asked.

Ted shook his head. “Not until Crime Scene finishes up. What do you need?”

I told him I needed the address and phone number of Todd’s dad and the night manager. “Nolan Calloway and Robert Barlow. Their information is in the Rolodex on the desk.”

“I’ll copy it down and bring it back out to you,” he said.

“Everything will be all right,” I said, trying once again to reassure Sadie. I half expected her to accuse me of siding with Ted, but she was beginning to realize that he’d done only what he had to do.

“Why do you think they refused to talk with anyone?” Sadie asked.

I couldn’t imagine why they wouldn’t defend themselves. I supposed they weren’t talking because they were either hiding something or that one was protecting the other, but I didn’t dare say that to Sadie. I found it almost impossible to believe Blake or Todd would intentionally kill someone. Maybe it had been an accident. Maybe neither of them
knew
what had happened.

“I don’t know,” I said to Sadie. “That’s probably the first thing you should try to find out.”

She closed her eyes. “Suddenly, I’m so weary, I can barely stand here.”

“Why don’t we swing by your house and get a few things so you can stay with Angus and me tonight?” I suggested. “You don’t need to be alone.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.”

Ted returned with the addresses and phone numbers I’d asked for. “Here you go.”

“Thank you, Ted.” I took the paper from him
and looked at Mr. and Mrs. Calloway’s address. “Is 4935 Old Mill Road very far from here?”

“Only about five miles,” Ted said.

“Good. Todd asked me to go break the news to his parents in person first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Want me to tag along?” he asked quietly.

I glanced out of the corner of my eyes at Sadie. “Probably not a good idea. Sadie is staying overnight with me, and…well, I can’t imagine Mr. and Mrs. Calloway would be all that pleased to see you either.”

“Excellent point,” he said. “This might not be the best time to ask, but do you care if I come by the shop with lunch tomorrow? We might be able to put our heads together and figure this thing out.”

“That’d be great. Thanks.” I squeezed his forearm. “Get some sleep.”

“I will…eventually.”

A few feet away from us, Sadie was alternating between shifting from one foot to another and checking her watch to craning her neck to see if she could see any activity inside the Brew Crew.