Needled to Death

by Sefton, Maggie

  “You—you’re crazy, I never—”

  “We scanned them, Geri,” Jayleen spoke up, walking across the room to the file cabinet beside the door—blocking any sudden escape, Kelly thought. “I found Raja in your barn last night. And Raleigh’s in our pasture right now. If you don’t believe me, we can go out and scan him again. I verified the ID number with the vet. It’s Raleigh.” She leaned against the file cabinet and fixed a hard gaze on Geri.

  “Is that how it started? Stealing Raja?” Kelly went on. “But you needed more, didn’t you? That’s when you went to Vickie, right? Did you ask her for more money, and she turned you down? Did she find out what you were doing with Raja? Did she threaten to turn you in to the police?”

  Geri leaped out of her chair, her fury evident. “I am not going to sit and listen while you two trash me! To hell with both of you!”

  Jayleen stepped forward. “Sit down, Geri. You’re not going anywhere until you answer our questions,” she said in a low voice.

  Geri pulled herself up, clearly indignant. “Who are you to ask me questions?”

  “You and Vickie had a fight, didn’t you?” Kelly continued, as if Geri hadn’t said a thing. “When she refused to give you money, you accused her of stealing from her friends by taking commissions from Jayleen. Am I right?”

  Geri glared at Kelly, then Jayleen, then sank back into the chair. “You bet I was mad about those commissions. That’s illegal, and she knew it. Dammit! She knew how hard it was for me to make everything work, and she was stealing from me all that time. And she had the nerve to refuse me when I asked for an extension on my loan payment. That’s all. Just one extension, so I could catch up. She went on and on about bills to pay and exhibition fees and how she was depending on that money and how I was causing her trouble. Hell, she had plenty of money in the bank. I knew it.”

  Geri stared toward the window for a moment. Kelly deliberately didn’t interrupt, watching different emotions flash across Geri’s face instead.

  “That’s when she started her sermon,” Geri continued with a sneer in her voice. “On and on. I couldn’t listen to that crap again. So I snapped back at her. That’s when she really went off on me. Accused me of gambling. I don’t know how she guessed, but she ranted and raved. How could I do that after she’d bailed me out years ago? Didn’t I learn my lesson? Over and over, like she was some kind of preacher. Finally, I just had it, and I yelled at her to shut up.”

  Geri’s face darkened. “Well, that did it. She told me she was finished with me. Told me to get out of her sight. Never wanted to see me again. She was through helping me, because I didn’t appreciate it. Told me to get out.” Geri gave a derisive snort. “She was supposed to be my best friend, and she treated me like dirt. I couldn’t believe it. And then, she had the nerve to warn me that I’d better never be late with my loan payment again. ‘Remember, I’ve got a lien on your ranch,’ she said.”

  Kelly watched the storm clouds rage across Geri’s face, and gambled. “Is that when you picked up the bust and hit her?”

  Geri gave Kelly a look that chilled her all the way to her toes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Bob Claymore killed Vickie so he could get her money.”

  “No, he didn’t, Geri.” Kelly dropped her voice to the floor. “You killed Vickie in a rage. Then you stole her money. You found the account numbers in this folder, didn’t you?”

  Geri’s gaze darted to the desk, then back to Kelly. “You’re crazy if you think you can pin this on me,” she said, then sprang out of the chair again. “I’m getting out of here right now!”

  This time, Jayleen stepped right in front of Geri, hands on hips, as if she dared Geri to get around her. “Geri, you’re makin’ me mad. You’d better start tellin’ the truth about what happened that night, or I swear I’m gonna break your arm.”

  “Back off, Jayleen. You don’t scare me,” Geri said scornfully as she pushed against her. Jayleen grabbed Geri’s arm in one smooth movement and twisted it behind her back. “Stop, you’re hurting me!” Geri cried out.

  Jayleen let go and shoved Geri back into the chair. “Start tellin’ the truth, Geri, or I’ll really get mad,” she warned.

  “I am telling the truth,” Geri whined, rubbing her shoulder. She shot a belligerent look at Jayleen.

  Kelly had only one thing left to gamble with, and it was a bluff. She took a deep breath and deliberately changed her harsh tone to one of sympathy. “You and Vickie had an argument that got out of hand, didn’t you? You killed Vickie in a rage. Then you stole thousands of dollars from her investment account. That’s how you paid up your mortgage, isn’t it, Geri?”

  “I told you! I got that money from breeders.”

  “We went to the bank, Geri. They have pictures of you at the ATM. And we know you lost money gambling. We’ve been to the casino to ask about you.”

  Geri paled in an instant. Kelly watched fear dart across her face briefly, then it was gone, replaced by a hate-filled glare. Her eyes narrowed. “You have no right to pry into my private life. You don’t know what I’ve been through.”

  “We know you were struggling. You were about to lose your house and ranch and everything you’d worked for. That’s why you went to Vickie for help. You were desperate. And when she refused you and threw the gambling in your face, you snapped. That’s what happened, isn’t it?”

  Geri’s mouth flattened into a thin, angry line as she stared out the window for a long minute. Even from the side, Kelly could see different emotions raging across her face.

  “She told me I didn’t belong in the business since I was so careless with money. She said I deserved to lose my ranch,” Geri continued in another voice—a voice Kelly hadn’t heard before. This voice seethed with animosity. “Vickie had everything, everything. And she still wanted more. Stealing from her friends. From me. And I was the one she called on whenever she needed help. Always. Never once did she pay me. Never. She didn’t even give me a break on stud fees, either. Even when she knew I was scraping by, trying to build my herd. Selfish bitch. She had it all and wanted to take mine, too. I knew what she was thinking. She was planning to grab my herd. Steal them. That’s why she didn’t lend me the money. She wanted my animals. Well, I wasn’t going to let her steal everything I’d worked for. Took years to build. No way. I stopped her. She’ll never get her hands on my ranch. Never.”

  Kelly sat mesmerized. A bone-deep resentment oozed out of Geri, pooling at her feet in a rancid puddle. Kelly could almost smell the stench.

  Geri turned another face to Kelly, and Kelly caught her breath. There was someone or something looking out from Geri’s eyes. “Yes, I hit her,” Geri continued in that strange, calm voice. “I only wanted to hurt her, but once I saw her lying on the floor, then I knew I needed to finish it. That’s when I pulled out my knife and slit her throat. Then I watched her bleed to death on that new rug of hers.” Geri’s mouth twisted into a chilling smile. “Served her right. She was too arrogant. It was time to settle accounts.”

  Kelly watched the strange light dance in Geri’s eyes as she recalled killing her best friend. “Did you leave that bracelet there?”

  “Yes. Eva dropped it in Denver, practically under my nose. I was going to sell it to a guy at the casino. Then I had a better idea. I knew the cops would trace it to Eva, and she would point right back to Bob.” She sneered. “Those two deserve each other.”

  After a moment, Kelly asked softly, “And, Debbie? Why kill her? She was harmless.”

  “No she wasn’t. She had a mean streak like her mother. When she saw those statements, she started asking questions. Too many questions. So . . . I shut her up.” Geri smirked. “It didn’t take much. She started to have one of those attacks, and I just helped it along. Then I destroyed those statements so you wouldn’t find them.”

  Chilled by what she’d just heard, Kelly stared back at Geri, or whatever Geri had become. A slight movement from Jayleen caught Kelly’s attention. Jayleen gestured out the win
dow and nodded. The police.

  In an attempt to appeal to what was left of Geri’s sanity, Kelly spoke up. “You’re going to want to get this off your chest, Geri. You can’t live with something like this.”

  Geri snickered. “Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no proof that I had anything to do with Vickie’s death. Or Debbie’s. You have nothing.”

  “We have those photos at the bank,” Jayleen spoke up, picking up Kelly’s ruse where it left off.

  “That proves nothing. I’ll simply say Vickie gave me permission to withdraw the money to pay my mortgage. You can’t prove otherwise.” Geri rose from the chair and shoved her hands in her jeans pocket. She smirked at both Kelly and Jayleen. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a ranch to attend to.”

  Kelly rose from her chair and leaned across the desk. “I think you’ll be staying a while longer, Geri. The police will want to talk to you.”

  “Give it up, Kelly,” Geri said disdainfully. “You’ve got nothing on me. It’s just your word against mine.”

  “Look outside. They’re here now,” Kelly said.

  Geri stared at her, incredulous for a split second, then went to the window. “Son of a . . .” Geri let loose a stream of expletives that made even Jayleen stand up straighter.

  “You better start practicing those lies, Geri. It’s easy for the police to trip you up. You may forget and slip and make a mistake,” Jayleen warned.

  Geri flashed both of them an incendiary glare. “You two are desperate, aren’t you? Well, it won’t work. I told you, you’ve got nothing on me. Nothing! It’s just your word against mine.”

  Kelly reached over the desk and picked up the small tape recorder, tape still running. She held it up for Geri to see. “I think we’ve got all the words we need.”

  Geri’s jaw dropped as she stared at the recorder. Her look of shock changed to rage in an instant. “Damn you!” she swore and lunged forward.

  Jayleen stepped in front of the desk, as if to block her, until voices called out from the living room.

  “Ms. Flynn? Lieutenant Peterson, here. Where are you?”

  Jayleen stepped away and drew back. “I think I’ll let the police handle it from here,” she said.

  “I’m in the back, Lieutenant,” Kelly called out. “In the office.”

  Geri stared from one woman to the next, panic darting across her features as she backed into the corner. There, another transformation occurred. Kelly watched the malevolent Geri disappear like smoke and leave a terrified Geri crumbled in a heap, collapsed in the chair.

  “Don’t let them touch me, don’t let them touch me,” she whimpered. “Please! Please, I didn’t mean to do it, please.”

  Lieutenant Peterson appeared in the doorway, and the sight of him elicited a wail from the corner. Peterson peered at Kelly. “Ms. Flynn, exactly what is going on here?”

  “I think you’ll want to hear this, Lieutenant Peterson,” she said, holding out the recorder as she approached. “Then you may have some questions for Ms. Norbert.”

  “Ms. Norbert is going to need a lawyer, Lieutenant Peterson. She’s not in real good shape right now,” Jayleen said, gesturing to Geri, who was hunched over and weeping softly in the corner.

  Peterson accepted the recorder, then glanced from Kelly to Jayleen to Geri, then Kelly again. “Ms. Flynn, why don’t you and I go into the living room and have a little talk? We’ll start from there.”

  The silky fibers caressed her skin as Kelly wrapped the finished scarf around her neck. “How’s it look?” she asked her friends seated at the knitting shop’s library table.

  “Fabulous,” Lisa commented, glancing up from the fringed string she was turning into a vest.

  “Told you it was easy,” Jennifer teased, relaxing with a mug of coffee. “It looks great.”

  “See, you are getting better. Lots better. I can’t wait to see your sweater when you’re finished,” Megan said, another bright boa eyelash yarn in her lap.

  “Where is that sweater, Kelly?” Mimi asked, holding a china cup and saucer—her afternoon appointment with Earl Grey.

  “Well, it’s back at home, spread out on the table, waiting for my love affair with the scarves to stop, I guess.” She fingered the luxuriously soft yarn. The love affair may never end, she thought.

  “That’ll never happen,” Jennifer joked. “There are too many luscious yarns that keep coming into the shop.”

  “It’s all Mimi’s fault,” Kelly said with a laugh. “She keeps buying yummy yarns. I could spend my whole salary here, if I let myself go.”

  She turned to Burt, who was sitting in his favorite spinning spot at the end of the table. “Burt, stop spinning. No more mohair and silk or other gorgeous yarns. Mimi’s going on a yarn diet.”

  “Never!” Mimi protested with a laugh as the others joined her.

  “I think we should start Kelly spinning. Then maybe she’d get hooked on that rather than running around solving crimes and getting into trouble and worrying all the rest of us in the process,” Burt said, hands methodically working the roving as it fed onto the wheel. He glanced up at Kelly and gave her a wink.

  “Knitting’s complicated enough for me, Burt,” Kelly said, stroking the silky fibers again.

  “That’s one incredible story,” Jennifer said, staring out into the room. “Who would have thought that nice Geri Norbert had all that hate inside her.”

  Lisa and Megan nodded silently as they bent over their busy needles. Mimi set her teacup on the table and leaned back into her rocker as she continued a light blue sweater, the color of Colorado skies.

  Her soft voice spoke up. “Well, I’m glad it’s over and justice has been done. Thanks to our Kelly.”

  Kelly smiled. “I was just trying to help, that’s all. So was Jayleen. I couldn’t have done it without her. Or, her muscle.”

  Jennifer chuckled. “That Jayleen is something else, isn’t she? We’ll have to see more of her.”

  “Maybe she’d like to teach a class,” Mimi said. “I could ask her.”

  Kelly was about to encourage that suggestion when Rosa appeared around the corner, her face white with concern. “Mimi, someone just called and said Ruth Stackhouse is in the hospital. She’s had a heart attack. A real bad one.”

  Mimi’s needles dropped to her lap. All color drained from her face. “Ohhhh no!” she whispered. “I knew something was wrong. I just knew it! When did it happen? Who was it that called?”

  “I don’t know who it was, Mimi. She said she was calling all Ruth’s friends. Apparently it happened yesterday. She’s in Front Range Hospital Cardiac Unit.”

  Mimi gathered up the yarn in her lap. “I’m going there right now,” she announced.

  Burt appeared by her side. “I’ll drive you over there, Mimi. I don’t want you on the road worrying like you are now. You could have an accident.”

  Kelly unwrapped her scarf and shoved it gently into her bag as she stood up. “I’m going, too. We can all go together.”

  “Don’t worry, Mimi, I’ll close up like usual. Everything will be fine,” Rosa promised. “You go see Ruth. I’ll say a prayer for her.”

  “I’m so sorry, Mimi,” Megan spoke up. “I didn’t know Ruth, but I heard wonderful things about her.”

  Jennifer looked up at Kelly. “I’ll say a prayer, too. I remember a few from all those years ago.”

  Kelly glanced around the table at the concerned faces of her friends. She was lucky to have such good friends. And she kept making more friends. Expanding the circle. Friends who cared about her, and she cared about them. The longer Kelly stayed here, the harder it was to leave. She didn’t want to leave these friends.

  She gave Jennifer a pat on the shoulder. “That’s sweet, Jen. Prayers are good.”

  Burt and Mimi hurried to the door, Kelly following behind. She paused in the doorway and glanced back to her friends. “I’ll be there tonight for practice.”

  “Promise?” Lisa called after her.

  “Promise,�
�� she yelled over her shoulder before she stepped outside into the late-July sunshine. Kelly always kept her promises.

  Tropical Shell in 4 sts/in

  This sleeveless shell is great for summer or to wear as a vest or under a jacket or cardigan in colder weather. It’s made in the round up to the armholes and the shoulders are knitted together.

  FINISHED MEASUREMENTS IN INCHES:

  MATERIALS: Heavy worsted weight yarn or any combination of yarns to obtain gauge.

  NEEDLES: US Size 7—24- or 32-inch circular needle (for ribbing). US Size 9—24 -or 32-inch circular needle (or size necessary to obtain gauge).

  ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES: Stitch holders, tapestry needle, size G or H crochet hook

  GAUGE: 4 sts and 5.25 rows = 1‘

  SEED STITCH PATTERN: Row 1: *k1, p1*. Repeat from * to * to the end of row. Row 2: Purl the knit stitches and knit the purl stitches.

  INSTRUCTIONS:

  BODY: With smaller circular needle, CO 120 (132, 148, 156, 180) sts. Join in a round being careful not to twist stitches. Place a marker at the beginning of the round. Work in k2, p2 ribbing for 1‘ from the beginning. Change to larger needle, and st st. Work until piece measures 9‘ from the beginning. Change to Seed Stitch Pattern, and continue working in the round, until piece measures 101⁄2 ‘ or desired length from the beginning.

  SPLIT THE WORK AS FOLLOWS: Work 60 (66, 74, 78, 90) sts in seed stitch. Place the remaining stitches on a stitch holder. Work back and forth in seed stitch for the remainder of the pattern.

  BACK:

  SHAPE ARMHOLES: BO 3 sts at each side, once. BO 2 sts at each side, once. BO 1 st at each side, once. [48 (54, 62, 66, 78) sts remain.] Continue working remaining sts until piece measures 14 (141⁄2, 15, 151⁄2, 16) inches from the beginning. End on a WS row.