“That does sound cool,” Lucy said. “I think I read about it somewhere.”
“I think I read about it, too. The question is…why?” Suzanne had entered the meeting info into the BlackBerry, then stood up and gathered her things.
“Because of the awesome colors you can’t get with regular dye,” Phoebe explained patiently. “And it smells really good. It really gets you in the mood to eat Jell-O. I’m going to bring some, so you won’t be tempted to stick your fingers in the dye baths.”
“My mother used to make amazing Jell-O molds. Remember those things?” Dana smiled, remembering. “They were about a foot high and had ten different layers.”
“There’s a real art to a good Jell-O mold,” Maggie agreed.
“A lost art,” Lucy said.
“Right…and it can stay lost, if you ask me.” Suzanne rolled her eyes and waved good-bye. “Time to show a house. What a barn. Seller has to drop his price seriously. He’ll figure it out…. See you tomorrow at the Black Sheep?” She looked at Maggie.
Maggie nodded. “Definitely. See you then.”
L
ucy woke up Thursday thinking about Maggie, wondering if she really would open the shop today, as she had promised. It would be hard for her, no question about that. No one could blame her if she decided to keep the door locked and stayed home again. But Lucy hoped Maggie hadn’t slipped out of the spirited frame of mind they’d left her in yesterday—the Maggie that everyone was used to, the one who would always pull up her skirt and plough on.
Lucy showered, made coffee, and kept looking at the phone. It was too early to call Maggie, even if she was home. Lucy didn’t know what she could say that wouldn’t sound condescending, as if she was watching her, like a patient in a ward.
While Lucy considered the possibilities, Tink caught her eye, hopping up and down near the kitchen door. Lucy felt like a bad mother. Thank goodness the dog had a strong bladder.
She pulled on her jacket, leashed the dog, and headed into town. Tink provided the perfect cover for stopping by the Black Sheep so early. Hopefully, this time, she wouldn’t find any police raids or major upsets.
When they reached the shop, Lucy was relieved to see activity inside. She tied Tink’s leash to the porch railing in a spot near the large front window and promised to be back quickly. Lucy knew Maggie wouldn’t mind having the dog inside, but considering Tink’s weakness for eating yarn and all the snout-level baskets, it seemed best to keep her out of temptation’s path.
She walked into the shop to find Maggie sitting at the oak table in back. A coffee mug sat to her right and the newspaper was spread out on the other side. Meanwhile, her wooden umbrella swift was clamped to the table as she read, sipped, and furiously wound away. The swift was whirring around so quickly, she didn’t even notice Lucy until she stood nearby.
Then again, maybe she did. Before Lucy could say hello, Maggie lifted her head and looked at her over her reading glasses.
“Good morning, Lucy. You’re out early.”
“I had to take Tink for a walk. My new routine. I thought I’d stop by.” Not entirely a lie, though she knew darn well Maggie saw through her easier than a lace poncho. She glanced at the front of the shop. Tink had gotten up on her hind legs and was staring through the window.
“You can bring her in. At least until customers come.”
So, she expected customers after all? That was a good sign.
“Thanks, but I’d rather not. I’m trying to cut back on the yarn in her diet.”
“I get it. How’s it going with the dog? I never got a chance to ask.”
“Pretty good.” Lucy nodded and took a seat at the table. She couldn’t help smiling. “She did chew a sock. That was my fault, I shouldn’t have left it on the floor. But she’s not much trouble, so far. And I don’t feel like I’m walking around the house talking to myself anymore.”
“That’s a plus,” Maggie agreed. “And how’s it going with the veterinarian?”
Lucy was surprised Maggie remembered the vet with everything she had on her mind. But she had a feeling Maggie was trying hard to normalize today and talk about anything but that horrible night and the murder investigation.
“Not bad on that front, either,” Lucy reported. “He called to see how Tink was doing and when I caught up with him yesterday, he asked me out.”
Now Lucy couldn’t help smiling.
Maggie glanced at her. “So he asked you. Just as well. Men say they like women to make the first move but I don’t think they really do. I think it scares them.”
Lucy mostly agreed with that observation.
“Maybe they like it, but it also scares them,” Dana offered. Nobody noticed that she’d walked in and was already close enough to hear their conversation.
Dana set her large coffee cup on the table and slipped off her coat. “So, which of you is planning on scaring a man—and who is he?”
“Lucy was invited on a date. She was going to ask him, but he asked her first.”
Dana sipped her coffee. Her eyes widened over the edge of the cup. “Uh-huh,” she said as she put the cup down. “Let me guess…Dr. McDougal?”
“Am I that obvious?”
Maggie and Dana glanced at each other.
“In a good way,” Dana offered. “You’re very…sincere.”
“When are you seeing him?” Maggie stopped the swift a moment to untangle a strand.
“Friday night. Dinner and a movie.”
“Time to talk and get to know each other. But the movie takes the pressure off,” Dana noted with an approving smile.
“Tomorrow is soon,” Maggie said abruptly.
“Last time I checked…. Has there been some change I didn’t hear about?” Lucy glanced at her.
“It’s soon, that’s all I mean.” She shrugged.
Lucy had a feeling she was about to say something more.
Ask Lucy what she was wearing or suggest she get a haircut. But then she stopped herself, because she didn’t want to sound like Lucy’s mother.
Actually, that was her sister Ellen’s territory. Lucy’s mother never asked those kinds of questions, instead she’d want to know where the man had gone to college and what were his politics.
“I might get a haircut. Just a trim,” Lucy revealed. She tugged a clump of her hair and checked the ragged ends.
“You’re gorgeous just the way you are. Just be yourself,” Dana insisted. “But a good haircut does give your self-confidence a boost.”
“You should have seen her the other night…and she was just going to visit the dog at the animal hospital.” Maggie glanced at Lucy. “If she really works on herself, this guy’s in trouble.”
Was that a compliment, or was Maggie suggesting she should “work on herself” more?
“Thanks for the vote of confidence in my bombshell potential, guys. But I don’t think he’s looking for a Malibu Barbie.”
“They’re all looking for Malibu Barbie,” Dana whispered. “Don’t kid yourself.”
“She’s getting coached by Phoebe on this one,” Maggie murmured. “Heaven help us…”
The last bit of yarn flew off the swift with a flourish and the little machine kept spinning.
“Where is Phoebe? Isn’t she working today?” Lucy wanted to share the small victory with her dating coach, though Phoebe would probably suggest that she get her nails done neon green, or antimatter black, and a faux nose ring might be a nice touch.
“She’s around,” Maggie nodded. “She told me her class was canceled and she’ll be here all day.”
Lucy wondered if the class really had been canceled or if Phoebe didn’t want to leave Maggie alone in the shop this afternoon, easily falling prey to unhappy thoughts if there were no customers. Or if some customer or fellow shopkeeper came in and said something nasty.
Phoebe seemed to be a space cadet most of the time, but was surprisingly aware of other people’s needs and feelings. And she did give fairly good advice, despite what Maggie thought.
“She came down when I opened up,” Maggie added, “but I let her go back upstairs for a while. To work on her Jell-O project.”
“Oh, right. Tonight is the Jell-O and fiber fest. That concept could catch on with knitters in a big way,” Dana pointed out.
It was a scary thought, but true.
Lucy stood up and glanced out the window. Tink had found a sunny spot and finally lay down, looking out through the railings at the world passing by. Pretty good, she thought, though she wouldn’t take her chances and leave her out there much longer. She wasn’t sure how well the leash was tied and if a cat or squirrel caught her eye, she might turn into Houdini dog.
Just before she turned away from the street view, she saw Suzanne’s SUV pull up. So they’d all had the same idea: coming here to check on Maggie this morning.
“Suzanne’s here,” Lucy said, turning back to the others.
“We might as well have the meeting this morning,” Maggie said drily.
Of course they couldn’t stay and knit. They all needed to head off for work in a few minutes, Maggie was just being sarcastic. Lucy was sure she knew why they’d all dropped by this morning, she just didn’t want to talk about it.
Suzanne entered the shop at a swift no-nonsense pace. She was either in a hurry to get to her next appointment or had some news.
“Good…you’re all here. Guess what I just heard? Peter Goran was taken to the police station this morning. Now he’s being questioned. It’s about time, wouldn’t you say?”
“I expected them to bring him back in,” Dana said. “But why do I feel like the police are just spinning in circles? I’m not sure they’re making any progress.”
“I heard the police have linked him to the incident at Seabold’s Hardware, too. That’s progress,” Suzanne insisted.
“He fakes a break-in attempt at another shop to throw the police off his trail and make it look as if there is some berserk burglar on the loose. When that didn’t work, he planted the hat block in Maggie’s shop. He’s been desperate to create some diversion, to keep the police from zeroing in on him.”
“Maybe,” Dana replied. She still didn’t seem convinced.
Maggie suddenly looked upset. She tugged on the swift, winding the ball of wool even faster. Lucy knew that wasn’t the best way to do it. She was pulling too hard and would stretch the yarn—a tip she’d learned from Maggie herself—but didn’t say anything to stop her.
“Did they search his house or anything like that?” Lucy asked.
“Not that I heard,” Suzanne said.
“You ought to call Christine later and see if she’s heard anything,” Dana suggested to Maggie.
“Yes, I plan to. I have to speak to her anyway.”
Suzanne dropped her voluminous leather bag on the table but didn’t sit down. She pulled out a thick datebook and flipped it open to check something. “Maybe by tonight we’ll have good news. Maybe the police will finally arrest Peter Goran and Maggie won’t have to worry anymore.”
Lucy was never one to be cheered by anyone else’s misfortune, even when that person seemed to deserve it. But for all the easy banter and good humor between her friends this morning, there was no getting around it—a cloud of unease hung over the Black Sheep.
The police had already come here once without warning and taken Maggie away. They all knew that until someone else was arrested for Amanda’s murder, it could easily happen again.
When Lucy got home a short time later, she was relieved to find an e-mail from her client. The health benefits brochures were finally accepted and the last set of initials, signed off. The big boss had actually liked the new photo, where the kid blowing bubbles looked like Titan.
As Oscar Wilde said, “In matters of taste, there can be no argument.” Lucy wasn’t going to argue, as long as she was getting paid.
On to her next adventure, a children’s book. The project was nonfiction, an oversize, chockful-of-facts volume called
The Big Book of Things That Creep and Crawl.
Arranging the photos, illustrations, sidebars, and text was definitely a design challenge…or nightmare, depending on how you looked at it. The book was the first in a series and she wanted to do a good job so she’d be called back for the others.
The project was way more interesting than dull insurance-benefit pamphlets and paid better, too. Lucy was excited about it, at least for now.
That was the upside of having her own business. If one job was torture, you could always look to the next for relief. Sometimes that worked out and sometimes the next one was just as torturous—but in a different way.
Lucy opened the first file of the book. Slimey and wiggly-legged creatures filled her oversize computer screen. Fortunately, she wasn’t squeamish about bugs.
Immersed in the new project, Lucy stared at her computer the whole day, taking short breaks to stretch her legs, make tea, and let Tink out for quickies in the backyard. She’d faced the fact that she wasn’t going to lose five pounds—or even two pounds—in time for her date tomorrow night. But she dutifully ate salad for dinner and decided she would wear lots of black. Easy. Beyond that, it was pretty much a take-it-or-leave-it proposition for the good doctor.
It was dark outside by the time she shut down and got ready to leave for the knitting club meeting. She needed to get an early start in order to make a stop beforehand at the big discount drug mart on the turnpike. Lucy had a long shopping list of items that were crucially needed before tomorrow night. The winter had gone on forever and Lucy felt like a she-bear emerging from a cave.
She wondered how Maggie’s day had gone. She’d thought about making some excuse to call the shop today, but that seemed too transparent.
If there had been a problem with customers today, Lucy doubted Maggie would even tell her. She’d seemed very subdued this morning, not her usual self, and resigned not to talking about her situation—being a suspect in a murder investigation.
The news about Peter Goran being taken in for questioning again and being linked to Seabold’s Hardware store should have cheered Maggie, Lucy thought. But she didn’t seem particularly happy or even relieved.
The truth was, until someone was actually arrested, Maggie was still under suspicion and that had to be an awful feeling.
When Lucy finally pulled up at the Black Sheep later that night, she could tell from the cars outside that she was the last to arrive. She entered the shop but didn’t see anyone at first. Then she heard voices, coming from the storeroom, and walked back to find that Phoebe had already begun her demonstration.
Phoebe had set up her wool dyeing operation on the counter near the microwave and the rest of the group stood in a tight circle around her.
“Hi, everyone. How’s the Jell-O experiment going?”
Suzanne turned to her first. “I know I was skeptical but look at what Phoebe made so far.” She pointed to the small table where there were several skeins of yarn, some bright colors, some muted, but all very interesting and definitely unique.
Lucy couldn’t get close to the counter so she picked up the Jell-O-dyed samples and looked them over. She’d only tried dyeing her own wool once or twice, with formulas she’d ordered online. She’d never quite gotten the colors she expected and had nearly ended up dyeing the entire kitchen and some of her best cookware. The experimentation and playing with the colors, hand painting different colors on the same skein, still appealed, so she wasn’t quite ready to give up the idea. Jell-O could be the answer.