The 12 Quilts of Christmas

by Arlene Sachitano

  “Was it the guy that got us?”

  “It seems to have been. They intended to hang him, but he was able to get into the secret room before they could do it. Unfortunately, the lock got stuck, and he had no cell reception.”

  “He was lucky you and Lauren went to check on him.”

  “Yes, he was.” James set two mugs on the table next to Harriet and took the chair next to hers. “Although I suppose Mrs. Vern would have gone looking eventually.”

  Luke, wide-eyed, had lost interest in his book.

  “Why is someone trying to kill all the shopkeepers in Foggy Point?”

  Harriet blew gently across the top of her steaming cocoa and took a sip.

  “I wish I knew. The only thing the Threads and I could come up with is Valery Melnyk’s wife or family coming from Ukraine to avenge his death.”

  “Didn’t Daniel die before Valery?” James asked.

  “I didn’t say it was a perfect theory. We’re missing something. I keep going over everything that’s happened since this all started. There’s something that’s just out of reach. If I could figure out what it is, this would all make sense.”

  James sipped his cocoa.

  “Lucky for you, that is Detective Morse’s job and she’s very good at it. I’m sure she’ll figure this out and put a stop to it.”

  “I hope so. But enough about that. Are you two sure you’re up to facing whatever awaits us at Aunt Beth’s house?”

  Luke laughed.

  “I keep telling you, if no one pulls guns or knives and we don’t have to call an ambulance for anyone OD-ing, I’ll consider the event a success.”

  Harriet shook her head, smiling.

  “I’m really sorry that is your measure of success.”

  James took her hand.

  “Luke’s right. We’ve all experienced Aiden’s poor behavior, and we are not going to let anything he does spoil our evening. Besides, isn’t Jorge’s son going to be there? I would think that might cause him to act a little more mature than usual.”

  “I hope so.”

  Harriet led the way to the front door of her aunt’s cottage. Colored lights surrounded the arched opening of the porch, and a large wreath surrounded the door knocker. Beth opened the door as Harriet stepped onto the porch.

  “Come on in.”

  Jorge stood behind her, resplendent in his colorful Christmas sweater.

  “Felíz Navidad!” he said, swinging the door wide.

  As Harriet passed her aunt on the way in, she realized Beth’s sweater matched Jorge’s. James caught her eye as he noticed the same thing. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “We won’t ever do that, will we?”

  Harriet suppressed a laugh.

  “Not a chance.”

  Jorge put his arm around Luke’s shoulders and guided him into the living room.

  “Come meet my son Julio. He’s a lawyer in Seattle.” He parked Luke beside his son. “Julio, meet James and Harriet’s son, Luke.”

  Luke’s cheeks flamed red. Julio smiled.

  “You’ll get used to my dad. He likes to make sure everyone has a good time.”

  Jorge brought Luke a cup of steaming spiced apple cider. Luke took the cup, grateful to have something to do with his hands.

  “My dad tells me you’re learning to ride out at the stable,” Julio continued.

  Luke looked uncomfortable, and Julio’s smile turned into a grin.

  “If you haven’t learned it already, everyone knows everything about everyone else in Foggy Point. You’ll get used to it. And if Aiden and I are any example, it will keep you from getting in trouble. Everything you do will be noticed by someone who knows James’s parents or Harriet’s aunt or my dad.”

  “It’s kind of nice that they care,” Luke finally said.

  “Yes, it is. And Foggy Point is a nice place to grow up. Have you lived here long?”

  Luke started to answer, but he was silenced, along with everyone else, by Aiden’s arrival—with his date.

  Harriet unconsciously took a step closer to James. He put his arm around her and squeezed.

  The girl on Aiden’s arm was a show-stopper. She equaled his six-foot, three-inch height and surpassed it with six-inch stiletto heels. Every time she stopped, she tilted her foot just enough to show off the signature red soles of her Christian Louboutin shoes. Her black leather skirt seemed more like a wide belt, and Harriet was pretty sure the white fur stole tossed casually over her silk blouse was real.

  Luke was staring, mouth open, at the creature who had just entered. Harriet wasn’t sure if it was the short white hair with red and green streaks or the red fishnet stockings—or both—that had him mesmerized.

  Aiden grinned, obviously aware of the effect his date would have.

  “This is my friend, Calithea.”

  Jorge recovered first.

  “Welcome, Calithea. Can I get you anything to drink?”

  “Do you have celery juice?”

  “I think I do in the kitchen. I’ll be right back.” He turned to his son. “Julio, take their coats.”

  Julio had gotten up and started to do as asked when a dark-haired young woman came out of the kitchen and, with a smile at him, took Aiden’s jacket and Calithea’s stole. Harriet assumed this was Julio’s fiancée.

  Calithea laughed at whatever Julio said, resting her hand on his shoulder. Harriet noticed the fiancée visibly tense. Calithea scanned the room, her gaze passing over Luke and coming to rest on James.

  Beth emerged from the kitchen and joined Harriet and James.

  “Merry Christmas.”

  James raised his mug in salute. “Merry Christmas to you, too.”

  “Is it?” Harriet asked dryly.

  The smile left Beth’s face.

  “It was until our latest entry,” she murmured. She looked at Harriet. “I shouldn’t have insisted you come. You were right. We could have had a lovely dinner tomorrow night and maybe Aiden wouldn’t have felt the need to upstage Julio.”

  “Well, if it’s any consolation, I didn’t expect him to arrive with an exotic maneater on his arm, either.”

  Beth smiled a grim smile.

  “You notice the way she’s been taking the measure of all the males here?”

  James sipped his cider.

  “As long as she leaves Luke alone, we’re good. I can handle her if she takes a run at me, but I feel sorry for Julio’s fiancée.”

  “Julie’s got a good head on her shoulders,” Beth said.

  Harriet laughed. “Julie? Really? Julie is going to marry Julio?”

  Beth put her hand on Harriet’s arm.

  “You hush. What do you expect them to do? Change their names?”

  Harriet was still smiling.

  “No, I guess not. The heart wants what the heart wants.”

  Jorge brought a glass filled with pale-green liquid to Calithea. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Beth glared at them. James squeezed Harriet’s arm.

  “I’m going to see if I can help Jorge in the kitchen. Will you be okay?”

  “I’ll be just fine. Aiden and his antics won’t bother me.”

  James and Jorge returned a few minutes later, James carrying a tray of canapés, Jorge a tray with glasses of champagne and sparkling cider. They carried both around until all the dinner guests had a snack and a glass of something bubbly.

  Jorge set his tray on the coffee table and picked up his glass and held it up.

  “If I may have your attention, please.”

  Conversation stopped and everyone turned toward him, glass in hand.

  “I’d like to welcome everyone to this gathering of family and friends as yet another Christmas day is coming to a close. Over the next few days, we shall begin reflecting on the last year, our highs and our lows, and we will begin making plans for the new year. Before all that, I’d like to thank you all for joining Beth and I.” He raised his glass in the air. “To friends and family.”

  Everyone raised their glasses and too
k a sip. Harriet watched Julio. He was nervously fingering something in his pocket. She smiled. Her aunt had been right. He was about to propose.

  Aiden left Calithea’s side and stepped into the middle of the room. Wow, Harriet thought, Julio must have an elaborate proposal planned if he’s having Aiden give a pre-speech.

  Aiden cleared his throat.

  “As Jorge just reminded us, this is a time for reflection and a time to think of the future.” He turned to Calithea. “I can’t imagine a future without you in it.” He dropped to one knee and pulled a black velvet box from his pocket and popped it open. “Calithea, will you marry me?”

  Harriet looked at Julio. The color had drained from his face, and his fists were clenched at his sides, the muscle in his jaw twitching. Calithea took the ring from the box and squealed. Aiden stood up, and she threw her arms around his neck.

  “Yes, yes, yes.” She slid the ring onto her finger. “I love it.”

  Julio spun on his heel and left the room. His girlfriend, standing next to Aunt Beth, looked confused.

  Jorge cleared his throat loudly. The fire in his eyes was at odds with the words coming out of his mouth.

  “It seems congratulations are in order.”

  CHAPTER 31

  Aunt Beth asked Julie to join her in the kitchen, and Harriet took the opportunity to search out Julio. She found him standing on the back patio.

  During the day, the patio offered a panoramic view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. At night, everything was dark. She stood beside him.

  “Hey.”

  “Is Julie okay?” he asked.

  “Aunt Beth has her helping in the kitchen.”

  “How could Aiden be such a total jerk?”

  “I’ve asked myself that on more than one occasion lately.”

  He turned to face her, the hurt plain on his face.

  “He knew I was proposing to Julie while we were here. How could he not see that my dad was introducing my proposal?”

  Harriet shrugged.

  “Who is this Calithea person, anyway?” she asked.

  “I’ve never met her until tonight.” Julio started pacing. “He’s so self-centered. He can’t accept the fact that you got tired of his antics and moved on with someone who treated you better. And now he does this. He’s my best friend…or was my best friend. Now I don’t know.”

  “If I could figure out what to do or say to make him move on in a healthy way, I would,” Harriet said. “I won’t go back to him. I have a family now. And besides, it’s not clear to me his behavior would get better if I did go back to him.”

  “I’m not blaming you. And don’t think I’m suggesting you should go back to him—I’m not.” He ran both hands through his hair. “I just can’t believe he ruined my proposal. He’s known for weeks I was going to do it.”

  “Not to defend Aiden, but did he know you were going to do it tonight?”

  “I didn’t tell him specifically the day and time, but come on! I said I was going to propose while we were here for Christmas.”

  “Did Julie know tonight was going to be the night?”

  “Not specifically. I mean, I’m pretty sure she suspected it was coming during the holiday, and she probably guessed it would be tonight, but she didn’t know for sure.”

  “So, what’s your plan B?”

  “Plan B?”

  “Surely you had an alternative in case dinner went sideways.”

  He chuckled grimly.

  “Not really. I would have never guessed my best friend would torpedo my proposal. Now I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  They stood in silence for a few moments, staring at the black water.

  “I think I may have an idea for you,” Harriet said. “I need to talk to James first. In the meantime, you may need to rescue Julie—my aunt’s idea of a distraction may feel more like kitchen servitude.”

  James slid his arm around Harriet’s waist and pulled her to him when she came back inside.

  “How’d it go out there?”

  “He’s feeling betrayed, as you might imagine. Aiden knew Julio was planning on proposing to Julie over the holidays. He feels like Aiden stole his thunder, which, of course, he did. The sad thing is, Aiden probably wasn’t trying to do anything to Julio. He’s just being his usual self-centered self.”

  “Don’t you think he was trying to do something to you, and Julio was just collateral damage?”

  “He seems willing to go to any lengths to get my attention—”

  “You mean to hurt you?” James interrupted.

  “I just feel for Julio. Aiden is his best friend, and he betrayed him without even giving it a second thought.”

  “I wish there was something we could do for him.”

  “There might be. I have an idea.” She explained her plan to him.

  He smiled. “I can make that happen.”

  Julio had followed her inside and gone into the kitchen to find Julie. Aiden sat in the living room with Calithea glued to his side, admiring her new ring. Harriet glanced toward Aunt Beth’s guest bedroom. Luke had gone there to check on the dogs and was still with them.

  “I’m going to check on things in the kitchen. If I can, I’ll tell Julio I need him to help me with something in the garage and explain the plan,” she said and stepped behind the sofa, avoiding Aiden and his fiancée. “How soon till dinner?” she asked her aunt.

  Aunt Beth looked at her watch and then Jorge. They exchanged a look, and he gave a small nod.

  “Thirty minutes,” Beth said.

  Harriet gave her a long look, and Beth nodded, indicating she understood she needed to go with whatever was said next.

  “Can we use that holiday platter I brought you from Sweden?” Harriet asked.

  “Sure, it’s in the garage in that blue box. Maybe Julio can reach it for you.”

  “Lead the way,” he said.

  When they were in the garage and the door was shut, Harriet went to a shelving unit and collected the blue box.

  “As you can see, I didn’t need help. I wanted to offer an alternative that might salvage your special proposal.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “James has given the staff at his restaurant the next two days off, so it will be closed. We would like to offer it to you. James will do up some finger foods for you, and have champagne. If you want to invite your dad, my aunt, or anyone else, it’s up to you. Just let us know so the set-up will be right.”

  “That’s incredibly generous of you.”

  “I can’t help but feel partly responsible for your ruined chance tonight. I know Aiden is responsible, but I also know I’m the trigger for his recent bad behavior.”

  “You’re not responsible at all. He’s been messed up since his mom died. He needs to talk to someone. I suggested counseling, but he wasn’t ready to hear it.”

  Harriet shifted the box in her hands.

  “I better take this inside. If you can get James alone, you can refine the plan and agree on a time. Again, I’m really sorry your proposal was ruined.”

  Beth and Jorge were alone in the kitchen when they came back in. Julio went on to the living room to find James.

  “I don’t know what’s gotten into that boy,” Jorge was saying to Beth.

  “I don’t know, either,” Harriet said, joining their whispered conversation. “James’s restaurant is closed tomorrow, so we’ve offered it to Julio as an alternative proposal location.”

  Jorge smiled. “Tell James I can prepare food for them. He’s my son, after all.”

  Beth put her hand on Harriet’s arm.

  “If James wouldn’t mind, I could bring all these poinsettias I bought for today over there to decorate.”

  “I think that would be lovely,” Harriet said. “I better go check on Luke. He’s been hiding in your spare room with the dogs.”

  Jorge laughed. “I wish I could hide with the dogs.”

  To say the dinner was painful would have been an understatement. Jorge
tried to keep a conversation going, talking about Christmas traditions and then entertaining everyone with past holiday cooking disasters. Aunt Beth’s turkey was perfection, and Jorge’s Mexican hot chocolate and cookies were the perfect dessert, but Harriet could hardly taste them.

  She and James started carrying empty dishes to the kitchen as soon as they reasonably could. Julio and Julie joined them.

  “Could I ask you a favor?” James asked Julio.

  Harriet and Julie paused, dishes in hand, curious as to what the favor might be.

  “Sure, what’s up?” Julio asked.

  James looked at Harriet as he spoke.

  “Your dad may have told you what’s been going on in Foggy Point?”

  Julio wiped his hands on a Santa-patterned dish towel and flipped it onto his shoulder.

  “He said a couple or three business people had been killed recently.”

  “Harriet and Luke stumbled into another killing in the basement of the yarn store the other day, so we—or at least I—have been a little paranoid about security. Anyway, there’s been a car parked a few houses from Harriet’s a few too many times lately. And tonight it followed us here.”

  Julio drew his brows together.

  “Have you told the police?”

  Harriet froze and stared at James, wondering what this plan of his was.

  “Yeah, Harriet mentioned it to a detective earlier today, but we don’t have a plate number,” James went on. “and besides, with the murders, we’re sort of low on the list, especially since whoever it is doesn’t seem to be doing anything but watching.”

  “How can I help?”

  “I was hoping you could follow us home, from a distance,” James explained. “If he’s still out there, he’ll pick us up within a block of here. If you leave a few minutes after us, you could follow him and see if you can get a license number for us.”

  “Don’t do anything risky,” Harriet cautioned. “If he stops, drive right on by.”

  “Definitely,” James agreed.

  Julie looped her arm through Julio’s.