“Oh, thank you, Kelly,” Zoe said, reaching for the mug of creamed and sugared tea.
“Thank Jennifer. She makes tea exactly the way Mimi likes it. Lots of cream and sugar. I hope you like it.”
Zoe took a sip, then another, and she seemed to relax a bit. “Ohhhh, it’s so good.”
Kelly took that as an opening to ask a question and perhaps give Zoe a chance to relax a bit more. “How wonderful that you won a trip to New York, Zoe. Did you enter a contest or something?”
Zoe nodded. “Yes, the magazine Bridal Fashion has a contest for designs. I entered a bridal gown design and was chosen one of the top ten winners.” She took another sip of tea. “And all ten are invited to attend a fashion show in New York and also speak with a designer.”
“Wow, Zoe, that’s wonderful,” Kelly enthused. “And it’s quite a coup for your bridal business.”
A small smile tugged at Zoe’s mouth. “Thanks, Kelly. I was really excited when I got the phone call last week.” The smile disappeared. “But now, I don’t know if I’ll be able to go. I mean . . . everything’s turned upside down . . . I don’t know.”
“Don’t you worry about that now, Zoe. The trip isn’t until next month, October, right? Your life will settle down before then. Thanks to the women’s shelter, you’ll be able to stay in a safe environment.” Mimi sipped her creamy tea.
“But . . . what about during the day?” Zoe said, the anxious look claiming her face again. “What if Oscar leaves work early or something and . . . and comes over to the shop? That’s where my workshop is. I have to go to the shop.”
Zoe’s voice traveled up the scale again, clearly fearful. Kelly adopted Mimi’s technique and reached across the table, placing her hand on Zoe’s. “Don’t even think about that, Zoe. There are ways to keep you safe. You could always come over here and work if you had to. I mean, there’s some space in the storage room behind Mimi’s office. I bet she wouldn’t mind if you set up shop there for a while.”
Mimi’s eyes lit up. “That’s an excellent idea, Kelly! I wouldn’t mind at all. In fact, it would be exciting for our stitchery folks to have you there.”
Zoe looked doubtful. “Are you sure, Mimi?”
“Absolutely,” Mimi enthused. “We would love to have you at Lambspun. Now you see why I like having Kelly working on her accounts here. She’s just a font of good ideas.”
Kelly laughed softly. “Well, I’m not sure about that, but I did get another thought right now.”
Mimi looked over at Zoe as she gestured toward Kelly. “You see.”
“I thought it might be a good idea for Burt to have a little man-to-man talk with Oscar. To remind him that he needs to get control of his temper and suggest some of the counselors here in town that he might call. Kind of giving Oscar a friendly warning. He might also let Oscar know what charges are possible.”
Zoe’s eyes went wide. “Ohhhh, I don’t know . . . that might make Oscar madder. He hates cops. He swears they beat him up when he was younger, and he was arrested in Old Town. He was probably drunk and started cussing them out.”
“Well, Burt has experience talking to everybody,” Mimi reassured her. “He’ll simply have a friendly chat with him. Maybe that will help Oscar straighten out.”
Kelly had her doubts, judging from what she’d heard about Oscar. “Zoe, do you want some of us to go with you to get your belongings from your house? Is Oscar working away from home during the day?”
“Yes, thank goodness,” Zoe breathed. “Thank you, Kelly. I wanted to go over there today, but I was afraid he might be waiting for me. Or show up while I was there.”
“I’ll call Lisa and ask if she has time to come with us. Believe me, Oscar won’t give you any trouble with the two of us there,” Kelly said.
“That’s a wonderful idea, Kelly,” Mimi said, pushing away from the table. “You can call Lisa right now, then I’ll call the shelter contact and the lawyers. Come with me, Zoe, I’ll show you that space in the back room.”
Zoe looked from Mimi to Kelly and back again. “Thank you, Mimi, I knew you’d know where to find help. And thank you, Kelly. I . . . I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your offering to come with me.”
Kelly looked into Zoe’s eyes and saw the traces of fear still lurking. “You’re welcome, Zoe. You’ve got friends here. You’re not alone.”
Zoe turned her head, clearly trying not to tear up, as she pushed back her chair and followed Mimi down the hallway. Kelly drained her cup of coffee, then pulled her smartphone from her jeans pocket.
* * *
Kelly lifted the heavy suitcase into the trunk of her sporty car. She had to wedge it in. The trunk wasn’t that large. Her backseat was already filled with shoe boxes and a garment bag with Zoe’s clothes.
“Okay, I got the other suitcase in my trunk, and the backseat is full, too,” Lisa said as she hurried up to Kelly. “We need to take these things to Zoe’s shop now; we can’t carry any more.”
Noticing Zoe rush down the front porch steps, arms full of boxes, Kelly checked her watch. “Mimi said she’d be waiting at Lambspun. Maybe we should take Zoe over there first. My antennae are starting to buzz.”
“You’re right. Let’s get Zoe away from here before that guy shows up.”
Kelly glanced around the suburban neighborhood. Neat two-stories and ranch houses lined both sides of the street. Yards and flower beds, children playing in the yards. Clearly a family neighborhood.
Kelly hurried up to Zoe and took a box. “I think we need to leave now, Zoe. Let’s shove these in your passenger seat and get you away from here.” Kelly opened the passenger door of Zoe’s sedan and held it wide.
Zoe glanced apprehensively over both shoulders, then dumped the boxes into the front seat. “Okay, I guess I’ve got most everything,” she said, hurrying around the car. Zoe opened the driver’s door as she dug into her jacket pocket. “Where are my keys?” Her voice rose, clearly agitated.
“Here they are,” Kelly said, withdrawing the keys from her own pocket. “I took them for safekeeping when we got here. Don’t worry, Zoe, we’ll be away from here in a minute. Now start your car and follow after Lisa. She’ll head straight for Lambspun.”
“Follow me, Zoe,” Lisa said over her shoulder as she headed toward her own car.
“I’ll be right behind you, Zoe,” Kelly said and slammed Zoe’s car door shut.
Zoe nodded then glanced over her shoulder and started her car.
Kelly hurried to her own car, Zoe’s nervousness starting to make her jumpy. Revving the engine, she watched Zoe pull away from the curb and follow after Lisa, who’d already reached the corner. Kelly pulled into the street, but not before seeing a gray truck speeding around the corner behind them.
Something told Kelly it was Oscar, and she quickly sped up to close the distance between Zoe’s car and hers. Sure enough, the gray truck pulled up right behind her. The driver started to blow his horn. Kelly closed all her windows and flipped the door locks closed. Then she grabbed her phone from the center pocket between the seats and pressed Lisa’s number.
“Hey, Lisa, this has gotta be Oscar behind me, leaning on his horn. It’s a good thing we’re going straight to Lambspun. There are more people there. I don’t know what this idiot is going to do.”
“Good Lord, I can hear him all the way up here with my windows closed. I’m speeding up now. Better call Zoe. I’ll call the shop and see who’s there.”
“Got it,” Kelly said, then clicked off.
Fortunately, an intersection was straight ahead with a red light, so Kelly could search her call log for Zoe’s number. Finding it, she was about to punch it in, when she felt a bump. Her car jerked forward a bit.
“Son of a . . . sailor!” Kelly said out loud. One of her dad’s old Navy curses in cleaned-up form. She checked her rearview mirror and saw the scowling visage of a dark-haired man, clearly mouthing curses of his own. “Bastard, you better not scratch my car.”
Kelly turned aro
und and glared at him. Then pressed Zoe’s number. Zoe’s frightened voice came on quickly.
“Kelly! That’s Oscar! He’s following us! What—what are we gonna do?”
“We’re going to Lambspun, Zoe. There are more people there. Oscar won’t be able to hurt you. We won’t let him get near you. And if he tries something, we’ll call the cops,” Kelly promised as the light turned green again.
“Oh, my God! Oscar will jump out of his car as soon as we get to Lambspun! He’ll grab me.”
Kelly let Zoe’s car move ahead, then nosed in behind her. Once again, Oscar started blaring his horn as they drove along the busy street, faster now, Kelly noticed. Lisa had picked up the pace, just above the speed limit.
“I promise we won’t let Oscar get to you, Zoe,” Kelly said, not exactly sure how she would guarantee that. From what she could see in the rearview mirror, Oscar looked kind of beefy. Beefy and mad as hell. “Listen, we’d better hang up and drive. We’ll be at Lambspun in a few minutes. Just be ready to run inside. Grab your purse and that’s all, okay?”
“O-okay,” Zoe said, clearly frightened by her husband’s angry, threatening behavior.
Oscar’s horn blared, and Kelly punched the buttons on the car’s radio. Switching to a rock-and-roll station, she turned the volume up. This way she could drown out Oscar’s belligerent tactics.
Finally, the little caravan neared the intersection with the Big Box discount store that dominated the shopping center across the street from the pie-shaped corner that held the Lambspun knit shop. Lisa merged into the left turn lane as she neared the corner. Zoe followed suit, and so did Kelly. Oscar brought up the rear.
At least he didn’t blow his horn right away, Kelly thought, watching the left turn light change to green. Lisa sped around the corner, with Zoe right behind her. Kelly, however, stayed put at the intersection, deliberately letting the left turn arrow disappear while she stayed parked in front of Oscar’s car.
True to form, Oscar leaned on his horn again, letting it blare even longer. Kelly glimpsed him in the rearview mirror, and the sight was chilling. Oscar’s face was bright red and he was clearly shouting his curses this time.
“Sorry, Oscar, but this is the only way I can make sure Zoe gets inside the shop to safety before you get there,” Kelly said out loud as the left turn light finally switched to green again. A good three minutes had passed, and Kelly had seen both Lisa’s and Zoe’s cars turn into the driveway behind Lambspun. Safe, she hoped.
Speeding around the corner, Kelly headed for the familiar driveway and quickly turned into it. She’d gotten ahead of Oscar, who probably was expecting her to delay again. Kelly nosed her car into a space between two other cars and switched off her engine. Oscar’s truck rumbled into the driveway and pulled to a stop.
Thankful for her daily running and athlete’s speed, Kelly sprinted down the sidewalk bordering the shop and up the front steps. Oscar jumped out of the truck but moved considerably slower, due to what Kelly surmised were at least fifty extra pounds around his belly.
Kelly stood in front of Lambspun’s door, her cell phone in her hand, bracing herself for the confrontation.
“Who the hell do you think you are!” Oscar yelled as he came up the steps. “Where’s Zoe? Is she in there?” He moved toward Kelly.
“Back up, Oscar,” Kelly ordered. “This isn’t your house. You can’t—”
“I’ll do what the hell I want, bitch!” Oscar swore, giving Kelly a push.
She swayed but held her ground. “Oscar, I’m gonna call the cops if you don’t back off—”
Lambspun’s front door opened then, and Lisa stepped beside Kelly. “Cops are on their way, Oscar. I just called them. I saw you push Kelly. That’s assault.”
“What the hell? I barely touched her.” Oscar scowled at the two of them, the red fading from his face, Kelly noticed.
“That’s not the way it looked to me,” Lisa said. “We’re not Zoe, so you don’t scare us.”
Kelly couldn’t have put it better herself, and she watched Oscar struggle with his anger, sputtering obscenities.
“Better get out of here, Oscar, unless you want me to press charges when the cop comes. They’ll find you at your work.” Kelly stared right into his angry, bloodshot eyes.
Oscar’s expression turned ugly. “Bitch! You can’t keep a man from his wife!”
“We can if she wants to leave you,” Lisa added. “Now you’d better stay away from Zoe, or we’ll go to the police. We’re all watching over her. She’s not alone.”
Oscar muttered more curses, looking from Kelly to Lisa. Then he started to back up.
At last, Kelly thought, feeling a glimmer of relief.
“Zoe! I know you’re in there! You can’t just walk away from me, you hear?” Oscar bellowed at the top of his voice. “You’re my wife, dammit! You can’t leave unless I say so!”
Kelly took a deep breath. “You can leave, Oscar. And you’d better before the police get here.”
Oscar scowled at Kelly again and muttered another curse, then backed down the steps.
Kelly waited for him to climb into his truck and actually drive away before she turned to Lisa. They both exchanged a worried look.
“I’m afraid we haven’t seen the last of Oscar,” Lisa said.
“I’m afraid you’re right.”
Four
Kelly paused at one of the flower beds near the sidewalk that bordered the knitting shop and the inviting garden nestled behind. Pete’s Porch Café at the back of Lambspun took advantage of Fort Connor’s early springs, long summers, and extended fall seasons to expand their dining area to the part-shady, part-sunny garden. The tables were usually all taken. Few could resist enjoying breakfast or lunch or even coffee surrounded by lush greenery.
A Spanish-style stucco wall wrapped around one side, separating the entire garden area from the traffic noise along the busy avenue that bordered the property.
Walking along the flagstone path that wound through the garden, Kelly stopped to admire a particularly lovely shade of purple. Cheerful yellow sunflowers stood next to salmon-colored tea roses and spiky bright red salvia.
Everything was still blooming, thanks to the brilliant Colorado sunshine and the forbearance of the chillier temperatures of autumn.
Glancing toward the golf course, Kelly observed the sun shining brightly, still high in the sky. That would change noticeably this month as the seasons marched inexorably toward the autumnal equinox. September twentieth or twenty-first. Kelly always noted that day because it marked the last day of summerlike daylight. Twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness. From that point on, there would be less and less daylight, as winter approached. Inescapable.
Kelly heard Carl’s bark of recognition and spotted Burt walking from the driveway to the garden pathway. “Hey, I was hoping to see you,” Kelly called to him as he neared. “Do you have time for coffee? I’m taking a well-deserved break after wrestling accounts through lunch.”
Retired Fort Connor police detective Burt Parker gave Kelly a warm smile when he drew closer. “Perfect timing, Kelly. I wanted to update you regarding that encounter you and Lisa had last Friday.”
“Oh, good, I was hoping you would,” she said as they walked past wrought iron tables crowded with people lingering over lunches. They continued along the pathway as it curved around to the café entrance on the other side of the building, then up the wooden steps to the glass door. Inside, the tempting aromas of lunch floated on the air, and Kelly was glad she’d already eaten.
Most of the tables were already taken in the main part of the café except one small one beside the window. She pointed to it. “Let’s grab that one,” she said. “There’s so much lunch noise, no one will overhear our conversation.”
Burt waved at Jennifer, who was taking care of her customers. Both experienced waitresses, Jennifer and Julie managed the entire café. “Join me in a late lunch, Kelly? We can share one of Pete’s wicked burgers.”
Kelly pulled out a chair and dumped her briefcase at her feet. Temptation had reared its ugly head. “I’d better not, Burt. I had some leftover grilled salmon filet and a salad an hour ago. I’ll watch you enjoy a wicked burger.” She gave him a sly smile. “I promise I won’t rat on you to Mimi.”
Burt chuckled as he settled across the table from her. “Good girl. I try to stay away from those things, but sometimes they just call my name. Like now.”
Jennifer approached their table, trusty waitress pad in hand. She brushed her dark auburn hair behind one ear. “Hey, you two, what can I get you for lunch?”
“Well, Kelly here is being good, but I feel like having one of Pete’s wicked burgers. How about the Philly cheese with onions.”
Kelly groaned, counting up the calories. “Whoa, Burt, that’s not slipping off your diet, that’s jumping feet first down the hill.”
“I know, I know . . .” Burt gave a good-natured smile.
“Don’t let her give you a hard time, Burt. Everybody needs a bad burger break every now and then,” Jennifer said, grinning, brown eyes alight.
“You’re gonna have to run an extra ten miles to mitigate the damage.” Kelly couldn’t resist teasing her fatherly mentor and advisor on all her previous forays into investigating criminal behaviors. Sleuthing, her friends called it.
“Leave Burt and his burger alone, Kelly,” Jennifer chided. “Burt’s made excellent progress on his diet. Besides, special people are allowed special privileges.” She gave Burt a wink. “Coffee for both of you, I take it.”
“You got it, Jennifer, and thanks for the absolution,” Burt joked. “Although it won’t cut any ice with Mimi.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t tell,” Kelly promised. Jennifer returned with a coffeepot and cups and poured a black stream of Eduardo’s strong brew for both of them. “You and Pete are probably booked with catering jobs all this weekend, aren’t you? We haven’t seen much of you guys,” Kelly said.
Cast On, Kill Off (A Knitting Mystery) Page 4