Till Death Do Us Purl (8 page)

Philip Lassiter’s wife tugged on his sleeve, but he shook her off.

“. . . I will not sit down,” he roared. “Let me go.”

He turned back to his sons and jabbed his finger in the air.

“You . . . you bastard . . . get out of here! Before I have you thrown out!” Then he spun around, looking for one of the many security guards, Lucy assumed.

Jeremy’s twin, Alec, stood very still. He looked down at the floor, a small smile appeared on his face. Jeremy said something to him and touched his arm, then ran down to his father. He took his father aside and they talked behind a large floral arrangement, away from the guests.

A signal was given and the musicians began a lively interlude, playing almost in a frenzy.

When the two men returned, Philip Lassiter was still seething, but he dropped into his seat, ignoring his wife’s attempts to comfort him. Jeremy returned to his post, squaring his shoulders as he took his place beside his brother.

Lucy had no idea of Alec’s transgressions—real or imagined—but she thought Jeremy showed a lot of character to stand up for his brother and include him in the wedding. It was obviously very important to him. Philip Lassiter was clearly a strong patriarch . . . and perhaps even a bit of a bully. Hadn’t all the wedding
plans been changed to meet his demands?

But, what did she know? Nothing.

The musicians started the bridal march again, at a sedate pace, and everyone came to their feet once more, this time murmuring about the little family drama that had just occurred.

An adorable flower girl, spreading rose pedals in her wake with tender care, quickly distracted them. “That’s my sweater,” Phoebe whispered. “Suzanne, get a picture . . . hurry!”

“Got it, don’t worry,” she whispered back, clicking away.

Three bridesmaids came next—two were close friends of Rebecca’s and one was Jeremy’s older sister, Claudia, Lucy read in the program. Once again she could easily tell the relationship. His sister unfortunately had not inherited their mother’s looks, but very much resembled her father, her features heavy and severe.

The wraparound shrugs looked even better on the bridesmaids than they had blocked on Maggie’s worktable. The knitters quietly admired their handiwork.

Finally, it was time for the bride. Lucy checked her program and learned that the older man escorting Rebecca down the aisle was her uncle. She remembered that Nora was a widow, Rebecca’s father had died when she was in high school.

If Rebecca had looked beautiful in the dress in the shop last Tuesday, she looked ten times more so at that moment, making her grand entrance. All eyes in the room were on her. The subtle but effective makeup, her hairstyle, and her veil were the final touches that transformed Rebecca into a bona fide fairy-tale princess.

She would have made
a stunning bride in any gown, Lucy realized. But her original creation drew gasps of surprise and amazement. Even in this haute couture environment, the handmade dress was garnering great reviews. The entire room buzzed with the news that the bride had knit it “all by herself!”

“Not quite,” Maggie corrected under her breath. “But Rebecca must get all the glory today. I guess this is the first time I’ve ever been a ghost knitter,” she whispered to her friends.

The bride finally reached the flower arch and was presented to her groom. Jeremy lifted her veil and gently kissed her cheek. Hand in hand they faced the minister and the real ceremony began.

Like most weddings, which took months or even years of preparation, it seemed the most important part—the ritual of words and blessing, and the exchange of “till death do us part” vows—passed much too quickly.

Before Suzanne could find her tissue pack, the couple was pronounced husband and wife. As they smiled into each other’s eyes and shared a long kiss, the sedate group of well-wishers broke into applause.

A spritely melody started up and the couple swooped down the aisle, beaming with happiness, smiling at their friends and family on either side of the aisle.

“Somebody grab this camera, will you? I can’t have a good cry and take pictures at the same time.” Suzanne waved the camera in the air with one hand, dabbing her eyes with the other.

Dana grabbed it just in time, and snapped away as the couple passed and the rest of the wedding party followed. Finally, the rows of guests began to
file into the center aisle, heading for the receiving line.

Lucy and her friends took their place in line, chatting as it slowly moved along. “Short and sweet . . . and very tasteful,” Dana said.

“Except for that outburst by Jeremy’s father. What was that about?” Suzanne’s voice was on low volume, for once.

“Serious issues there. No question,” Dana noted. “But weddings will bring out all the buried tensions.”

They came to Nora first and offered their congratulations.

“Thank you so much. Thank you all for everything. So glad you could come,” she said, bubbling over with happiness.

Philip and Sonia Lassiter were next. No conversation was necessary. A quick, polite handshake—no eye contact, Lucy noticed—and they finally reached Rebecca and Jeremy.

The newlyweds couldn’t have looked happier.

Not only were they beaming with joy but they both looked so relaxed and ready to enjoy their celebration. Lucy hadn’t even realized how nervous and stressed they must have been on Tuesday night at the shop.

Before the line swept along, Rebecca paused to give Maggie a special embrace. “Thank you so much, Maggie. This is the happiest day of my life. You helped make it absolutely perfect.”

“No need to thank me, dear,” Maggie demurred. “It was an honor to play a small part in this fabulous wedding. Right ladies?” she asked her friends.

The Black Sheep Knitters had to agree.

While the rest of the wedding guests moved into another large room for the start of the reception, the knitters lingered in the foyer. They finally decided
to skip the cocktail hour and head back to the village. Each had her own plans for the evening and it was getting late.

There had been only a little time to dish about the wedding on the way back to town and Lucy was pleased to find an e-mail from Suzanne on Monday night with a photo of the bride and groom attached.

Got some great wedding shots! Printing them out right now. I’ll drop them off at the shop on my way to the office tomorrow. Come by for coffee before you all start work? I’ll be there.

XO, Suzanne

Lucy had worked hard all day and into the night, starting a new project. She woke up early Tuesday morning, ready for some exercise before sitting at the computer again. Tink was more than ready for a walk to town.

The weather had warmed a few degrees, though she still needed a down vest and heavy sweater. But the wind was gone and the sunlight streaming through the winter branches seemed stronger. Small green buds on the trees and bushes looked about to unfold.

When Lucy arrived at the shop, the rest of her friends were already there, coffee cups in hand. They sat in the small alcove near the front door, where Maggie had set aside a cozy work space for her customers and smaller classes.

“Sorry I’m late. Are those the photos?” Lucy noticed a pile of pictures on the marble-topped coffee table. She sat in an armchair and pulled open her vest.

Suzanne nodded, but Lucy
suddenly noticed her friend was weeping again. This time, they were not tears of joy. Curled up in the rocking chair, Phoebe stared into space, her eye makeup smeared. She’d been crying, too, Lucy realized. Dana and Maggie, who sat together on the love seat, weren’t crying, but wore blank, shocked expressions.

“Hey . . . what’s up? What’s going on?”

Maggie met her gaze. She silently shook her head and looked over at Dana. Dana cleared her throat and finally answered.

“We just heard some bad news, Lucy. There was an awful accident at At-Las. Very late last night. It started in Jeremy’s lab . . .” Dana’s low voice grew suddenly shaky and thin. “They don’t know yet what caused it, but there was an explosion and fire. Jeremy was there and . . . he’s dead.”

L
ucy gasped. She felt as if someone
had just punched her in the stomach. “Jeremy? Are you sure? That can’t be true . . .”

“It’s true, Lucy. I’m sorry,” Dana said quietly. “Suzanne heard about it from Edie at the Schooner and I saw it on the local news this morning.”

“But I thought they were going on a honeymoon. To Thailand,” she suddenly recalled. “Why was he even in his laboratory last night?”

“They were scheduled to leave for their trip tonight. Jeremy had some work to clear up before he left town.” Maggie reached over and squeezed her hand. “It’s a horrible tragedy. Poor Rebecca. What a shock for the family . . .”

Her voice trailed off as if she couldn’t say another word. The news was inexpressibly sorrowful.

Lucy took a deep breath. She felt as if she might cry, but somehow the tears wouldn’t come. “So, have you been in touch with Nora?”

“I called the house and spoke
to Nora’s brother, Gary. Remember him? He walked Rebecca down the aisle.” As Lucy nodded Maggie continued. “He’s going to let us know when the family has made funeral arrangements. It sounds like there’s some tension between Rebecca and the Lassiters.”

“Tension? What can they be arguing about at a time like this?”

“About who’s in charge of planning Jeremy’s memorial, that sort of thing. Philip Lassiter and Jeremy’s mother both want to plan it and are forgetting all about Rebecca,” Maggie explained. “You’d think they’d all take some pity and abide by her wishes. She was his wife, however briefly.”

“I hate to judge people by appearances, but Philip Lassiter looks like the type who thinks he’s entitled to running every show. Jeremy’s mother doesn’t look like any pushover, either,” Suzanne said.

“The news report said the cause of the fire and explosion were being investigated,” Dana said. “That will slow things down, as well.”

“Do the police have some reason to think it wasn’t an accident?” Suzanne sounded surprised.

“Gary told me that they assume it was,” Maggie replied. “Jeremy’s work involved dangerous chemicals. But Dana’s right, the fire department and police need to determine exactly how it happened. The insurance companies will want to know, too,” she added.

“Absolutely. They’ll want to know most of all,” Dana agreed. “Jeremy probably had life insurance and the company must be insured for the damage to the building. But I’m sure they’ll be able to hold
a funeral before all that’s figured out.”

Lucy nodded, feeling numb. Almost light-headed. She was totally shocked by the news. Funeral arrangements? They’d just gone to the young man’s wedding, what . . . two days ago? He had been beaming with joy.

“I’m sorry . . . I can’t believe it.” She shook her head and closed her eyes. “He was so young and they looked so happy on Saturday. Poor Rebecca. They were married only . . . two days?”

“It is unbelievable,” Maggie agreed.
“What are the chances of something like that happening? Probably ten million to one.”

“Just goes to show you, you never know what’s going to happen in life. Day to day. Hour to hour,” Suzanne offered between wiping her tears.

“But we rarely seem to remember, and live as if we have all the time in the world.” Maggie sighed. “I just keep thinking of poor Rebecca. How radiant and joyful she looked on Saturday. She told me that it was the happiest day of her life. At least they had that much together.”

“Rebecca is heartbroken. No question,” Dana said. “But she’s young. She’ll get through this, eventually. In a way, I feel even worse for his parents. One never expects to outlive a child.”

How true. It was impossible to say which perspective was more pitiable—Jeremy’s newlywed bride, or his parents, Philip Lassiter and Patricia Moore.

“He was brilliant, wasn’t he? A real genius,” Suzanne said quietly.

“No question,” Maggie agreed. “His death will be a blow to At-Las Technologies. He was their senior scientist and, Nora said, the real brains and talent of the operation.”

Suzanne leaned over and scooped up the photos. “I’m going to put these away. For a long time, actually,” she added.

A customer came in and Maggie sat up alertly and whisked a tissue under her eyes. “I look a wreck, don’t I? I hope I don’t scare the poor woman away.”

“You look fine, Maggie.” Dana soothed her.

The customer had made a beeline for a display of needles and other tools that stood just past the checkout counter.

“May I help you with something?” Maggie called out. The woman turned and nodded.

“I’ll go.” Phoebe got up and trotted over.

Maggie sat back and watched Phoebe for a moment. “It’s not that I don’t trust her, but I’d better get back to work.”

“We understand.” Dana stood up and slipped on her jacket. “I have to run, too. I have a patient in a little while.”

Suzanne and Lucy said their good-byes as well, though Lucy knew it would be very difficult to focus on work this morning in her quiet cottage. That was the downside of working on your own. You were basically alone with your own thoughts and moods, for better or worse.