A Wicked Yarn

by Emmie Caldwell

  Mathis coughed and cleared his throat a few times, clearly not having expected this. Probably he’d assumed Lia had come with a pitch for a community fund-raiser.

  “Mrs. Geiger,” he finally said, “it’s early days to be saying with any surety what I will or won’t be doing on any of Darren’s plans. I’m sure you can understand what a huge loss his death was to us, as well as a terrible shock. We’re all still reeling from it.”

  Mathis didn’t look particularly reeling, and Lia remembered Charlotte’s description of the office doing business as usual at Mathis’s direction, the day after the murder. But Lia nodded. “You have my sympathy, of course. And I am sorry to be bringing this up at a time like this. But I’m sure you can see that Darren was acting simply to hurt Belinda. Their divorce had been bitter. Any business decision made on that basis can’t be a good one, can it?”

  “Well—”

  Lia decided to switch tactics, using honey rather than vinegar. “Belinda always said you were the savvier of the two.” She watched one eyebrow go up on Mathis’s face, but she caught a slight nod as he apparently agreed. “You must see how tearing down a historic barn would be very bad for your firm’s image.”

  Mathis suddenly frowned. “Have you been talking to Martin Brewer?”

  Uh-oh. Lia recalled a little too late how Brewer had caused a ruckus at that office more than once over the barn. But she could truthfully answer “no” without explaining that she’d listened to the man but had never spoken to him. “I’m just pointing out what you surely know already, that it’s simply good business to avoid antagonizing future clients.”

  “Mrs. Geiger, my future clients are probably far more interested in the affordable housing I can provide for them. But you may have a point. It’s something to consider, at least, and I definitely will keep it in mind. Now, if you’ll forgive me, I do have a busy schedule ahead of me.” This from the man who never checked his day’s appointments.

  He stood, not having far to go from his already high seat, and held out his hand once again, bringing an end to the discussion. Since Lia had hoped for but not really expected more, she was able to smile as though satisfied.

  “Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Mathis.”

  “My pleasure, Mrs. Geiger.” He came out from behind his desk to escort her to the door. “It’s always great to meet someone who cares about her friends and her community.”

  “And such a wonderful, and active, community, isn’t it?” Lia smiled sweetly. “Just this last Saturday, they put together a terrific performance at the center, with all the proceeds going to rebuild the children’s playground at Gunther Park. Did you happen to go?”

  “Saturday? Uh, no. My wife and I had tickets to a show in Philadelphia.”

  “Oh! How lovely. What did you see?’

  He paused—Searching his memory?—then brightened. “Chicago.”

  “Lucky you! I heard Renée Zellweger was wonderful reprising her role.”

  “Yes. Very good.” He opened the door for Lia and pressed one hand on her back to ease her out.

  The door closed behind her, and Charlotte looked up from her computer, eyebrows raised questioningly.

  Lia waved for her to step out into the hallway.

  “How did it go?” Charlotte asked.

  “I didn’t get him mad. At least I don’t think so.”

  “How disappointing,” Charlotte said with a wicked grin. “Ah well. Did you get what you wanted?”

  “I learned one thing that might be important. But there’s something else. Maybe you can tell me.” Lia glanced back at the outer office. “Does Mathis have any connection to Joan Fowler?”

  Charlotte’s eyes widened at the question. “The artist who was killed yesterday?”

  Lia nodded.

  “I don’t know.” Charlotte hesitated. “But . . . there were several phone calls for Mr. Mathis lately. From a woman who wouldn’t give her name.”

  “He took the calls?”

  “Uh-huh. And they always put him in a horrible mood.”

  Chapter 30

  Lia smiled as she saw her daughter’s burgundy Nissan pull up in front of the house, and she hurried out to meet her.

  “Hi, Mom!” Hayley called over the top of her car as she climbed out. She popped her trunk and reached in for a suitcase and duffel bag. “Sorry, I’m a little later than I said. I stopped at the alpaca farm.”

  Lia hugged her and took the duffel from her hand. “The alpaca farm?”

  Hayley grinned sheepishly. “A sudden impulse. I just wanted to see those cuddly things again. They were so sweet the last time! I think I made a special friend this time. Rosie.”

  “Rosie?” Lia started toward the house.

  “She’s fawn colored and has the cutest white face. She wanted to go home with me. I had to explain how she wouldn’t fit in my car.”

  “Yes, that would have been tricky. Not to mention what you’d do with her after that.”

  “Well, I’d have a steady supply of alpaca yarn for you, I guess.”

  Lia laughed. “Right, if it happened to drop off of Rosie all washed, spun, and ready to go!” She placed the duffel near the stairs as Daphne jumped down from the chair where she’d been dozing.

  “Daphne!” Hayley bent down to ruffle the cat’s fur. “Did you miss me?” Daphne circled Hayley, sniffing intensely. “Hah! I bet she smells Rosie. Don’t worry, Daph, I didn’t bring her with me. Oh, Mom! I got you something.” She unzipped the duffel and pulled out a skein of alpaca yarn. “I saw you lingering over it when we were there,” Hayley said. “I thought maybe you could make a scarf with it? It would go with your winter coat, wouldn’t it?”

  Lia took the supersoft yarn—a lovely periwinkle blue—touched, both by the unexpected gift and by the idea that Hayley had picked up on Lia’s fondness for the yarn. The fact that she’d probably need a second skein for a decent-sized scarf didn’t need to be mentioned. Lia pressed the yarn against her cheek, loving the feel of it, then hugged her daughter a second time. “Hungry?” she asked.

  “Not really. But I’d love some coffee.”

  “Why don’t you take your bags up to the spare room, and I’ll get it ready.” As Lia headed to the kitchen, she thought about how she hadn’t referred to her guest room as Hayley’s room, even though her daughter was the only one who’d ever used it, so far. Much as Lia would enjoy having Hayley with her, she knew it wouldn’t be good to encourage that, except on a visiting basis. Hayley needed to be on her own, to have the satisfaction of being a responsible adult who could take care of herself. She’d been on the road to independence for the last few months, but the trip had taken a surprising detour.

  Lia sighed and slipped the first pod into her coffee maker, then put crackers, cheese, and a few cookies on a plate for nibbling. She brewed a second mug for herself, then loaded it all on a tray to carry into her living room, giving a shout-out to Hayley that the coffee was ready.

  Hayley tramped downstairs. She quickly stirred milk and sugar into her coffee, then took a long swallow. “Oh, that’s good.” She sat back and patted her lap as an invitation to Daphne. “So,” she said as the cat jumped up. “Tell me what’s happened since yesterday. No more bodies, I hope?”

  Lia winced. “Two is enough.” She set down her mug. “First, tell me what your plans are, now that you’ve left your nice-paying job.”

  Hayley grinned. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll be fine.” She grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and bit into it. A fallen crumb caused Daphne to sniff at but then ignore it.

  Lia said nothing and simply waited.

  “Okay,” Hayley said. “I have something in the works. But it’s not definite yet, so I’m really not ready to talk about it.”

  “Something in Philadelphia?”

  “Uh-uh. Not going to say. As soon as I start giving out small bits, I’ll end up blurting
out the whole thing. I just don’t want to jinx it.”

  “It’s something you’re really happy about?”

  Hayley smiled. “I am. And I feel it’s right for me, where the other place wasn’t. I think I know what I’m doing, so I hope you’ll just trust me for a little while, okay, Mom?”

  Lia relented. “Of course I will. I’m curious, but I can wait.” But, please, not too long.

  “So what’s happened here since I called?”

  Lia told Hayley about her separate meetings with Eva and Adam Mathis and gave her impressions of the two.

  “Sounds like an odd pair.”

  “Definitely not your average couple—if there is such a thing. Belinda called Adam a snake, and she’s known him much longer than my few minutes with him. But in that brief time, some of his shadiness came out.” Lia shared how he’d lied about accompanying his wife to the Philadelphia theater.

  “Then he has no alibi for Joan’s murder?”

  “None that I know of. But I haven’t come up with a connection between the two, either.” She told Hayley about the mysterious calls to Mathis that Charlotte said had agitated him. “But there’s nothing to say that they came from Joan.”

  “Curiouser and curiouser.” Hayley sipped more coffee. “You know her Facebook and Twitter accounts are gone, don’t you?”

  “Joan’s? No, I never checked. When were they closed?”

  “I don’t know. I just saw last night that they weren’t there.”

  “Maybe she had second thoughts about what she’d done?”

  Hayley shrugged. “Who knows?”

  They both fell silent for some moments, thinking, until Lia said, “Annie.”

  “Huh?”

  “Did I tell you about the fight Annie had with Joan? You remember Annie, don’t you?”

  “The potter? Sure. There was a fight?”

  “On Saturday afternoon at the craft fair. They kept their voices down, but there was clearly something very heated going on between the two. By Sunday, Annie was still visibly upset over whatever it was about and refused to discuss it.”

  “Hmm. So what was she doing Saturday night?”

  Lia sighed. “She’d probably say she was home with her family, but that doesn’t mean much anymore.” She told Hayley what she’d learned from Jen Beasley at the knitters meeting about Annie’s late-night visits to the 7-Eleven. “Apparently it wasn’t unusual for her to work on her pottery while everyone in her household was sleeping, and then to step out for a little break.”

  “Or a little murder.”

  “I hope not.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s hard not to feel bad about all she must be dealing with because of her husband’s awful accident. But, Mom, even if Darren was responsible for that, it doesn’t excuse murder.”

  “I know.”

  “And a second murder? That’s going on a rampage!”

  “Maybe it wasn’t Annie,” Lia said. “After all, we don’t know the exact time of Joan’s death. All I’ve heard so far is ‘sometime Saturday night.’ If the only time Annie could slip away unseen from her house was close to midnight, it doesn’t make sense that Joan would open her door at that time, and especially for Annie.”

  “True.” Hayley’s eyes lit up. “Maybe I can find that out from Brady. I mean find out the time of death.” She grabbed her phone and tapped at it, apparently sending a text message to him, and didn’t have to wait long for a response. Hayley grinned. “He’s on duty, but I can meet him in half an hour when he takes his break!” She downed the rest of her coffee, then trotted upstairs to freshen up, returning in a few minutes to double-check with Lia on the location of the café Brady had named.

  “Sounds walkable,” she proclaimed. “But I’d better start now. See you!”

  Lia waved her off, then settled down to knit, expecting to have a good amount of free time ahead of her. But she’d done only a couple of rows when her phone rang. It was Belinda, who asked, “Did you eat yet?”

  “No.” Lia ran over what she’d planned to fix for Hayley and herself. She didn’t know when or if Hayley would be back to actually eat it, but either way there was plenty. “Want to come over? I can put something together in a flash.”

  “Don’t. I’m in the mood for Chinese. I’ll pick that up. Okay?”

  Chinese. Lia knew what that meant. Back in their single days, when Belinda was feeling particularly down and wanted to talk, it was always over Chinese food.

  “That sounds good.” Lia didn’t bother giving Belinda her choice. It was always moo goo gai pan, which her friend would remember, just as Lia knew Belinda would pick General Tso’s chicken.

  “Be there in half an hour.”

  They hung up, and Lia stared at the phone, thinking. Her friend obviously needed at least a shoulder to lean on. In case there was anything more, Lia should be ready.

  Chapter 31

  At least Lia’s table was ready when Belinda arrived. Holding a large brown bag that sent out amazing aromas, she bustled in, all business, and unpacked the white cartons briskly, apparently able to accurately tell what was in each by smell. Or was it simply luck? Either way, no time was wasted.

  Lia poured green tea from the blue willow teapot her mother-in-law had gifted her with one Christmas, and within minutes they were digging into their dinners, Belinda using chopsticks and Lia sticking with a fork. Little was said beyond small talk concerning the restaurant that supplied the food, how long it took, or how good everything tasted.

  When neither of them could eat a single bite more, Lia poured a second cup of tea for both, settled back in her chair, and waited.

  Belinda took a sip and set her cup carefully onto its saucer. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

  Lia’s stomach clenched. Do what, exactly? Surely not that she couldn’t keep up a pretense anymore.

  “My blood pressure is sky-high. I’m sleeping, like, ten minutes a day. And this”—Belinda waved toward the stacked cartons—“this is the most food I’ve managed in days.”

  Lia relaxed. These were normal problems. Her friend wasn’t about to confess to two murders—not that Lia truly expected it. “I’m glad you came. Sitting home alone is not good for anyone in times like this.”

  “Lia, sometimes I feel I’m losing my mind. Can all of this actually be happening? All I wanted was to earn a decent living at what I do best—management. A reasonable goal, right? What everyone in the world wants. And maybe to settle down with a decent life partner. I couldn’t even do that! Instead, I picked a rat, who I should have seen through from the beginning if I’d had my eyes open. Here I am, going along thinking I’ve got brains and a certain amount of common sense, willing to work hard, and this is what it’s come to?”

  Belinda dropped her face into her hands, her shoulders shaking. Lia scooted over to wrap her arms around her.

  “Don’t do this to yourself, Belinda. None of this is your fault! Yes, you’re in a miserable situation right now, but not because of anything you’ve done. Someone out there is killing people, people who happen to have a connection to you. But whoever it is won’t get away with it!”

  Belinda looked up, wiping her face. “But they are getting away with it. The police are looking at me!”

  “At you and probably many others. It’s what they do, Belinda. But I’ve been looking around, too, you know, and I’ve turned a few things up.” Lia described her visit with Adam Mathis and catching him in a lie about his whereabouts on Saturday night.

  “Adam!” Belinda spat out the name. “He’d lie to his own grandmother about the time of day if he thought it worked for him. I’d love to see him finally caught on something. But I don’t see that he’d have anything to do with Joan.”

  “His assistant told me about several phone calls he took from an unnamed woman that agitated him. Might it be Joan? Could she have had infor
mation on him that he needed to keep quiet?”

  Belinda thought about that. “Joan was a troublemaker, that was true. But it always was about herself. She wasn’t one to go poking into other people’s business, mostly because she didn’t care about other people. If they crossed her in some way, that was different.”

  “Okay, might Adam have crossed Joan? Maybe in a financial situation? Or, oh, I don’t know, sexual?”

  Belinda gave Lia a side-eye. “Joan? And Adam? You’re kidding, right?”

  “I’m just throwing out whatever I can. Think about it, okay? Maybe something will come to you.”

  Belinda nodded but looked less than hopeful. She sighed. “You know you’re wrong about none of this being my fault. If I’d walked away after that first date with Darren, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

  “Belinda.”

  “No, it’s true! I had reservations, right from the start. But I quashed them. It’s not like I had guys beating down my door, you know.” She smiled puckishly. “Unlike you.”

  Lia laughed. “What? You call two serious boyfriends before Tom a mob?”

  “There were plenty others who wanted to ask you out but didn’t think they had a chance. Don’t deny it. But I scared off anyone who even glanced my way. That’s probably what attracted me to Darren. He didn’t scare easily. Not the best reason to marry someone, right?”

  “I’m sure he did his best to convince you he was wonderful. He fooled a lot of people.”

  “But not you, right? Or Tom?”

  Lia hesitated.

  Belinda laughed. “Don’t worry. I could tell. But I convinced myself for a long time that you just didn’t see his positive side. Oh, the things we do to ourselves! I was really great at rationalizing.”