The 12 Quilts of Christmas

by Arlene Sachitano

“He’s staying with me. He stays in during the day. As you might imagine, he’s got tattoos that might draw attention on the streets of Foggy Point. He went out the first couple of nights he was here to the local bars and wherever else his type hangs out, and put the word out that if anyone came near me, they’d regret it.” Tears started to fill her eyes. “Are you going to tell the police?”

  Harriet considered for a moment.

  “If you’re honest with us about Jade, I don’t see why you or your brother needs to come into this.”

  Sunny closed her eyes and let out a breath. “I feel like I’m throwing her under the bus.”

  Connie took Sunny’s hand.

  “Just tell us the truth. If Jade has been killing people, she needs to be caught before anyone else dies. She needs help.”

  “She’s not the killer,” Sunny protested. “She could never do anything like that.”

  “If you say so,” Harriet said. “If not, she is in grave danger. She needs to talk to the police and let them protect her.”

  “She’s afraid. Our letters all said no police or we’d regret it. She’s afraid if the killer can’t get to her, they’ll kill her horse.”

  Harriet ate a bite of her lemon cupcake.

  “They’ve increased the security at the stable, but I’m sure Jade knows that, because I know she’s been staying there.”

  “So, why don’t you talk to her there?” Sunny asked.

  “Because she isn’t there anymore,” Harriet said. “She disappeared.”

  The color drained from Sunny’s face. “Do you think the killer has her?”

  Harriet paused and went over to the cooler adjacent to the front counter for a glass of water.

  “I don’t think the killer got her. I think the stable manager helped her leave without being seen. But she needs real protection.”

  Sunny pulled a cell phone from her pocket and scrolled through her recent calls, holding the screen up so Harriet could see, as if that made what she was saying more believable.

  “She calls me every night so we can be sure we both survived another day, but her number is blocked.”

  Harriet thought for a moment.

  “Would you be willing to talk to our detective friend? We won’t tell her about your brother, and will leave it up to you if you even want to tell her you’ve been a victim of the blackmailer. Maybe she can talk to Jade when she calls you tonight, maybe talk her into coming in.”

  Sunny looked Harriet in the eye.

  “Swear you won’t tell her about my brother?”

  “If you don’t want her to know you’re a victim, that’s your business. As for your brother, that’s none of our business.”

  Sunny rubbed her hands over her face.

  “I can’t promise she’ll call. Can you ask your detective friend to come buy cupcakes like she’s a regular customer? Tell her to come just before closing, and that Jade will possibly call.”

  Lauren turned her screen lock on and slid the tablet back into her bag. “We can do that.”

  Sunny stood up.

  “Would you like some coffee to go with your cupcakes?”

  Connie smiled. “That would be nice, honey.”

  Harriet pulled her phone from her pocket and tapped in a text message to Detective Morse. Have a lead on Jade. Can you be at the bakery just before five? she typed, and pushed send. Her phone rang before she could put it away.

  “What have you got?” Jane asked.

  Harriet explained what Sunny had told them.

  “Tell her I’ll be there,” Morse said, and hung up.

  Harriet picked up her empty plate and carried it to the counter.

  “Detective Morse will be here just before five,” she told Sunny.

  Sunny took the plate and set it on the pass-through ledge that connected the sales area to the kitchen.

  “What do you think she’ll say to Jade?”

  “I don’t know. She’ll probably ask if she knows who is doing this and why she’s hiding at the stables instead of coming to the police.”

  “That isn’t going to go anywhere. Jade will say the same as I did—the note said ‘no police’. And obviously, she’s hiding to avoid being killed. I asked my brother if he’d protect her, but he said he’s already exposing himself helping me. His people, or whatever they are, understand protecting blood, he says. They’re already worried he’s too conspicuous to be operating in a such a small town. He says a clever policeman could cause him problems.”

  “You’re right. Hopefully, Morse has a better plan than just asking Jade to fill out a report about her blackmail.”

  “Could you and Lauren come back when the detective comes? She scares me.”

  “I can come back, but the Foggy Point Police have made it very clear I’m to stay out of police business.”

  Sunny gave her a weak smile. “Still, I’d feel better if you were here.”

  Harriet sighed.

  She could hear Morse echoing in her head, but she needed to ask Jade about Becky, didn’t she? Surely, Morse would be able to see that. Besides, Lauren would be disappointed if they didn’t come back, and she couldn’t let her friend down, could she?

  “Let me check with my family and see if they have any plans for us.”

  CHAPTER 36

  Harriet met Lauren at Sunshine Bakery at quarter after four.

  “I don’t know about you, but I can’t eat another cupcake this soon,” she told Lauren

  “I don’t think Sunny will mind if we have hot cocoa.” Lauren said. “I’m guessing your men had something to keep them busy while you’re here.”

  Harriet laughed.

  “You could say that. They barely looked up when I said I was leaving for a while. James’s dad got a table saw for Christmas. They went over to help him set it up, and they’ve moved straight on to Grampa Will teaching them how to make wooden boxes. Luke is working on a carrier for Major’s brushes and beauty accessories.”

  “I didn’t realize horses were into beauty.”

  “You’d be surprised.”

  “Do you guys want anything?” Sunny asked from behind the counter. She looked like she’d aged ten years since the last time they’d been there.

  Harriet smiled and did her best to look encouraging.

  “Do you have any of that peppermint hot chocolate?”

  “Sure,” She turned and went into the kitchen, returning a few minutes with two mugs and a carafe. She set all three on their table and returned to the kitchen without saying anything.

  Harriet picked up her mug and took a sip.

  “She looks a little the worse for wear since we were last here.”

  Lauren pulled a plastic bag full of homemade ginger cookies from her messenger bag.

  “Here.” She handed Harriet a cookie. “Yeah, she does look more worried than I would expect her to be if meeting with Morse was the only problem. Hard to guess what else has happened, though.”

  Harriet looked toward the kitchen.

  “I think someone else is in the kitchen. I just saw someone flash by the little window. I wonder if it’s the brother.”

  “Not sure why that would stress her out any more than she already is.”

  They sipped their cocoa in silence and munched cookies. Harriet held a cookie up before taking a bite.

  “These are really good.”

  “It’s my grandmother’s secret recipe.”

  The front-door chime sounded as Detective Morse came into the shop. She shook her head as she came over to their table.

  “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to find you two here.”

  “Hey,” Harriet protested. “Sunny asked us to be here when you came.”

  “Did she, now?”

  Lauren smirked. “She’s afraid to be alone with you.”

  “She said that?” Morse asked.

  “Why else would we be here?” Harriet said with a smile.

  Sunny appeared and asked Morse if she wanted anything to eat or drink. Morse smiled
at her in an obvious attempt to put her at ease.

  “Coffee would be great.”

  Sunny was gone longer than she should have been if all she was doing was pouring coffee. She finally reappeared carrying Morse’s mug of coffee…and followed closely by Jade Meyers.

  Morse looked Jade up and down.

  “A lot of people have been looking for you. They seemed to think you left the country.”

  Jade’s face turned red.

  “I’m sorry for that. I didn’t want to leave my horse unprotected, but I wanted whoever has been killing people to think I was gone so they wouldn’t come after me.”

  Morse took her notebook from her purse and flipped the cover open.

  “I find it a little strange that our murders seem to have happened with no prelude, and now after they’ve killed several business people in town, you’re asking me to believe the same person wants you dead but is fooling around trying to steal your horse and burn your business.” She turned to Sunny. “And you were blackmailed, and yet no attempt has been made on your life, either.”

  Sunny just stared at Harriet and shrugged.

  Morse looked around the small room.

  “Okay, Ms. Meyers, I’d like to talk to you over there.” She pointed to a table diagonally across the room. “Ms. Mason, I’ll talk to you when I’m done.”

  Sunny crossed the floor and collapsed into the chair opposite Harriet.

  “She doesn’t believe us,” she said in a shocked tone.

  Lauren sipped her cocoa and set her mug down.

  “You’ll be lucky if she only thinks you aren’t targets of the murderer. She could very well be thinking you two are the murderers.”

  “How could she think that?” Sonny screeched.

  Morse looked up from her discussion with Jade. “You okay over there?”

  “We’re fine,” Harriet told her.

  Morse turned back to Jade. Sunny’s eyes filled with tears.

  “Can’t you tell her I didn’t have anything to do with the murders?”

  “What I think doesn’t matter. Morse needs evidence,” Harriet said.

  “Do you know anything that can help her look in another direction?” Lauren asked her.

  Sunny pushed her hair off her face with both hands.

  “I keep trying to tell everyone—all I know is one day I was minding my own business, becoming a successful bakery owner, and the next I was being blackmailed to within an inch of my life.”

  Harriet leaned back in her chair and thought a moment.

  “Are you positive Jade isn’t involved in this in some way?”

  Sunny took a deep breath.

  “I don’t think so,” she said slowly. “I mean, why would she? She’s like me—trying to build her business up.”

  Harriet sipped her cocoa.

  “Do you think she might have suspected Daniel of being the blackmailer and killed him, only to discover it wasn’t him?”

  Sunny looked shocked.

  “And then she killed Mr. Melnyk?” she said with a note of sarcasm in her voice. “And then the guy that worked for Millie? Killing each, thinking they were the blackmailer and moving on to the next one when she found out it wasn’t?”

  Lauren smiled. “When you say it like that, it does sound a little crazy.”

  Morse got up and approached their table, Jade on her heels.

  “All right, Ms. Mason, can I talk to you over there?”

  Sunny looked panicked, but she got up and followed Morse to the other table.

  The color had left Jade’s face when she sat down.

  “Can I get you a cup of cocoa?” Harriet asked her.

  Jade gave her a wan smile and nodded.

  Harriet went to the kitchen and found a mug, pouring from the carafe on their table when she returned. She pressed the mug into Jade’s hands.

  “Here, drink this.”

  Jade sat and sipped and gathered herself. The color returned to her face.

  “What can I do?” she asked. “That detective thinks I killed three people. Because the real killer tried to steal my horse and burned my business, that means I’m guilty? This is a nightmare.”

  Harriet took a napkin from the dispenser on the table and wiped her mouth.

  “Let’s think about this again. What do we know so far?”

  “The first victim had AIDS,” Lauren said. “Or at least he was HIV-positive.”

  “And he is friends with Ole Melnyk, who also has AIDS,” Harriet added.

  Lauren got her tablet out and started a list.

  “And,” she said as she typed, “Valery Melnyk is Ole’s father, and we think he was also being blackmailed.”

  Harriet tore bits of paper from the edge of her napkin, rolling them into little balls.

  “Millie’s helper William Crowe was a convicted felon,” she said, “but as far as we know, he doesn’t have any ties to anyone we know. We know Millie was being blackmailed.

  “Luke and I did see the mystery figure in Millie’s basement after he killed Mark, but that doesn’t help much. They could be male or female—we heard them talk but their voice was disguised, and they were covered head-to-toe in black, so we only know they were tall and sort of slender.”

  Lauren tapped that into her tablet. Harriet waited until she was finished typing.

  “Our killer attempted to kill Vern Jenkins, and only because of the hidden room in his store basement did he survive. We know the Melnyk family sued Vern, unsuccessfully, for selling Val’s daughter a faulty kayak after she died.”

  Lauren entered the information.

  “So, that covers our murders or attempted murders. All but William Crowe seem to have a connection to Valery Melnyk’s family.”

  “Which brings us to Jade,” Harriet said. She glanced at the woman. “We’ve been told you sold drugs to Valery’s daughter.”

  Jade hung her head.

  “That was a long time ago. Not something I’m proud of, but I’ve turned my life around.”

  “But it fits with the Melnyk connection. Still, why try to steal the horse?” Lauren asked as she typed.

  Jade sipped her cocoa.

  “If it’s someone who knows me, they would know nothing could hurt me more than harming Becky.”

  “You’re thinking the killer was going to torture you by taking Becky and then would come back and kill you?” Harriet asked her.

  Jade blew out a breath. “It’s all I could think of.”

  “What’s that?” Morse asked as she and Sunny rejoined the others.

  Lauren turned her pad around so Morse could read it.

  “We’re just grinding on the same few facts we all know.”

  Morse raised her eyebrows.

  “There are a lot of connections with the Melnyk family.”

  “That’s what we thought,” Harriet said. “We’ve wondered if Valery’s wife came back to exact revenge. The only problem is Millie’s guy, Mark. He doesn’t seem to connect to anyone. He was convicted of killing a person, although you could argue it was more of an accident than murder.”

  Morse pulled out a chair and sat down.

  “I can’t figure out how he fits in with this, either. Of course, it’s always possible the killer is choosing random victims, and it just happens they all have a Melnyk connection due to the size of our town.”

  Harriet put a hand over her mouth and stared thoughtfully out the window for a moment.

  “What?” Lauren asked when she turned back to face them.

  “If everyone’s willing to be a little creative, I think I might have an idea.”

  CHAPTER 37

  Morse shook her head.

  “As you well know, the Foggy Point Police Department isn’t known for its creativity, but let me hear it.”

  Harriet took a deep breath.

  “Okay, correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems like you aren’t getting anywhere on this case.”

  “We’ve eliminated a lot of suspects—the usual friends and family—but
it would be fair to say we’re getting nowhere,” Morse agreed.

  Harriet continued.

  “It seems to me the killer particularly wants Jade to suffer before he kills her. So, why don’t we give her to him?”

  Morse began shaking her head. “I thought you had a real idea.”

  “Hear me out. We don’t really give him Jade, but we make him think he can get to her. He wanted to hurt her horse, so what if we make him think he can get to her horse? You could put the word out that a group of horse thieves were caught operating in the Puget Sound area. Then you could remove all the extra security from the stable. Or at least appear to. You could even have a policewoman dress like Jade and be obviously visible at the stable. Just for good measure, you could move Becky somewhere else.”

  Morse chewed on her bottom lip while she considered.

  “I generally don’t like elaborate plans, but this has possibilities. And as you pointed out, we aren’t getting anywhere.” She looked at Jade. “What do you think?”

  “As long as Becky and I aren’t directly involved, I guess it’s okay. But where will we go that’s safe?”

  “We have a relationship with some of the volunteers in the King County Sheriff’s Posse. One of them lives in Gig Harbor. I think she would be willing to put up Becky for a few days,” Morse told her.

  “That’s so far away,” Jade protested.

  Morse looked at the ceiling.

  “It’s about an hour-and-a-half-drive. That’s not bad. It’s far enough to keep her out of harm’s way. You could go with her, if you want. I’m sure the woman I’m thinking of would let you stay there.”

  Jade turned to Sunny.

  “If you’re asking me, I’d say go for it. Anything to get away from here until it’s safe,” Sunny told her.

  “But how will you get Becky out without anyone knowing?”

  Harriet poured more cocoa into her mug.

  “If it were me, before I reduced the security at the stable, I’d take Becky out for a ride. I’d take her through the woods to the road, where I’d have her trailer waiting. If you wanted to be really sneaky, you could bring another horse in the trailer and ride that horse back to the stable.”

  Morse held her cup out to Harriet, and Harriet refilled it.

  “I’m not convinced this will be enough to lure the killer in, but I’ll run it by my lieutenant. I can call the posse woman and make sure she’s on board.”