by Donna Kelly
Mary Beth wiped sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand, leaving her short gray hair matted. “Can you believe I’ve worked up a sweat when it is still so blustery outside?” She looked from Alice to Annie. “So, what’s your news?”
Annie made a funny face at Alice. “Don’t you think we should wait until everyone else arrives before we share?”
“Spoilsport,” Alice replied, mimicking Annie’s expression.
“You two are hysterical,” Mary Beth said with a smile, her mood seeming to brighten a little. “Well, Kate is in the storeroom, and Stella is homebound with a cold. Jason called and said she didn’t want to spread her germs around the group. So we are just waiting on Gwen and Peggy. I shouldn’t have to wait long to hear your news.” She leaned against the counter and glanced around, grimacing at the scene. “Suppose we could fit six chairs here in this open area near the register?”
By the time Gwen arrived and Peggy came breezing in, breathless after sprinting from next door, Annie and Alice had arranged their normal cluster of chairs in a dry area surrounded by stacks of relocated stock. They took their seats when Kate returned from the storeroom.
“Vanessa asked me to give you an update on the fundraiser. It’s scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. two weeks from Saturday at the community center. They’ve booked a number of entertainment acts, from magicians and balloon artists to school musicians and community groups,” said Kate, sitting in her chair with a steno pad of notes on her lap and a pen in her hand. “She asked me to make a list of what the Hook and Needle Club will be selling.”
Gwen pulled a pink-and-lavender work-in-progress from the canvas bag at her feet. “I found a pattern for this adorable cellphone cozy online. Can’t you see a teenage girl grabbing one of these? I hope to get several made by the day of the event.”
Peggy held up her nearly finished Noah’s Ark baby quilt, the colorful zoo animals eliciting oohs and aahs from her friends. “Isn’t this sweet? I should have it done by our next meeting.”
Looking around the room, Kate shook her head. “I’ve not had time to think about it since we had our own personal flood in the shop. I thought for a while there that we should be building an ark. Then there’s the National Fiber Arts Convention this week. But I have half a dozen reusable shopping bags I crocheted earlier this year. I can donate those to the cause.”
“I have a dozen cross-stitch bookmarks of varying designs,” said Alice, pulling a fistful from her bag. “I thought we might pair each with a donated book.”
When it was Mary Beth’s turn to speak, she shrugged her shoulders. “The roof leak derailed my plans. I don’t know if I’ll pull it together fast enough to finish anything or not, but maybe I can find something in the shop to offer at our table. She paused, closing her eyes in concentration. “Oh, when Jason called to tell me Stella was homebound, he said she was knitting a herringbone belt for the fundraiser.”
Alice cleared her throat, her eyes twinkling. “Annie has place mats and coasters.” She paused, allowing a dramatic silence to fill the air before she continued. “And she has a new mystery!”
Hands on hips, Peggy adopted her best aggravated parent look. “A new mystery and you’ve waited this long to tell us!”
All eyes were on Annie as she removed the photographs and matchbook cover from her bag. “It all started when I decided to have the portraits of Gram, Grandpa, and Mom restored.”
Annie described the search for the negatives and her discovery of them on the backs of the frames. One by one, she held up the prints of her mother and grandparents so everyone could see. “In the middle of the negatives for these photos, I found this.” She passed around the image of the singer so everyone could see it.
“She’s beautiful! Who is she?” Peggy was sitting on the edge of her seat. “Do you know where this was taken?”
Alice gently took the matchbook from Annie’s fingers. “This is where I come in. Bear with me as I set the stage.” Using her hands to describe her discovery of the crawl space and old tin, she finally revealed it held old photo negatives of jazz musicians, the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, and Tommy Dorsey. “This empty matchbook from a New York jazz club was in there too. We assume the blonde was a jazz singer since she was in with all of the others, but no one recognizes her.”
The matchbook was also passed around in a grown-up version of the grade-school favorite, show-and-tell. Gwen, who enjoyed weekend shopping trips to New York City, rubbed her neatly manicured fingers over the front of the cover. “It’s a long shot, but do you suppose the club is still there?”
A mock coughing sound blurted from the other side of the circle. “Good point, Gwen!” Mary Beth was grinning. “Sounds like a great reason for Annie and Alice to take my place at the conference. You can craft during the day and sleuth at night.”
Peggy plucked the matchbook from Gwen’s hand, maneuvering it around her long, curved acrylic fingernails. “Annie, she’s right, this is the perfect opportunity for you to look into whether or not the jazz club still exists and see if anyone knows anything about the unknown singer, not to mention how the tin of negatives landed in your attic.”
Annie looked at Kate. “What do you think?”
Kate waved the photos that had made their way around the circle to her. “I think I’m happy to have two friends going to explore New York with me! Do you want me to drive since I have a van?”
Annie and Alice quickly agreed.
“Great!” Kate said. “I’ll pick you both up around eight o’clock Thursday morning.”
The issue settled, the group dispersed, with Peggy and Annie walking next door to the diner—Peggy to return to her shift and Annie to ask Breck about taking care of Boots.
“I’m going to have a quick chicken salad sandwich,” Annie told Peggy before heading to a booth. “Would you send Breck over to see me when he has a spare minute?”
****
Annie was filled with satisfaction Wednesday afternoon as she checked off another item on her to-do list and looked at the old grandfather clock. With Breck due to arrive any minute to meet Boots and pick up the house key, little was left for her to do. She had already called to stop the newspaper delivery for the rest of the week, finished most of her packing, and called Chief Edwards to request a special patrol drive-by for the house while she was gone. Even Ariel’s pooch sweater was en route to Texas!
And she had a surprise for Alice and Kate. A quick computer search had brought good news: Ian was right. The Avant-Garde was still open and very much a hot spot for jazz!
The doorbell rang just as the clock began to chime the six o’clock hour. Boots wandered into the living room when Annie opened the door for Breck to enter.
“Hi, Breck. Welcome to Grey Gables.” Annie scooped the cat into her arms. “And this is Boots. She pretty much rules the roost, or at least she thinks she does!”
The gangly teen scratched the cat’s head. “Hi, Boots.” He looked up at Annie. “Hi, Mrs. Dawson. Cool cat.”
Closing the door, Annie released a purring Boots, who kept Breck immobilized while making figure eights around his legs. “She likes you already! And Boots is a really good judge of character.”
Annie motioned Breck toward the kitchen. “Her food and water bowls are in the kitchen, near the mudroom door.”
After demonstrating the correct proportion of dry to canned cat food for each meal, Annie gave him a copy of the house key. “Sometimes I let Boots roam outside, but it’s been so cold that I think you should keep her inside. She has the run of the house. Just check her food and water each day.”
Annie showed Breck where to find the cat litter and scoop under the sink. “Please check the litter box and clean it out if necessary,” she said. “You shouldn’t need to change the litter unless Boots goes wild and empties it onto the floor.”
Breck stared at the litter box with raised eyebrows. “Does that happen often?”
Laughing, Annie gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. “D
on’t worry, she’s pretty neat.”
They crossed the hall to the library. “I cancelled the newspaper delivery for the rest of the week. But if the deliveryman leaves one anyway, just put it on the desk in here with the mail. That’s about it, but I do want to warn you about the front door.”
Annie explained the old lock and how easy it was to get locked out of the house if the mechanism on the door edge just below the deadbolt was depressed. “The deadbolt key won’t help you if this happens. Just make sure you don’t accidently press this button. When you close the door, give it a bit of an upward pull so it will close all the way.”
Breck nodded. “I understand. We have an old house too.”
Annie watched with satisfaction as Breck knelt to rub underneath the cat’s chin, causing the purring to grow louder and the furry gray head to tilt back to one side. “I think the two of you will get along famously.”
****
The first flickers of daylight cast odd shadows along the bedroom wall when Annie woke to find Boots curled up near the pillow, gently flicking the tip of her tail as a wake-up call. “Good morning. You’re up early.” She rubbed her eyes and stared at the clock. It wasn’t even six thirty yet. “You know something’s going on, don’t you?”
A white paw lightly reached out and nudged Annie’s cheek in response. She rubbed a hand down the cat’s back from neck to tail. “You are such a comfort, Boots. Whatever would I do without you?”
At six thirty, Annie stretched, crossed the cold floor to don her robe, and wandered downstairs to start a pot of coffee so it would be brewing while she showered. It was useless to try to sleep any longer when she was just hours away from experiencing the excitement of The Big Apple and possibly discovering clues to the mystery singer’s identity! By the time Kate and Alice drove up in Kate’s minivan, Annie’s suitcase, craft bag, and a large insulated carafe of coffee and three travel mugs in a small canvas bag were already sitting by the front door of Grey Gables.
“Good morning!” Annie threw open the door as Alice and Kate stepped onto the front porch. “I’m all ready. I just want to leave a quick note for Breck and say goodbye to Boots.”
Alice still looked sleepy. “Is that coffee?” she asked, peeking into the bag. “Bless you! I’ll grab your bags if you’ll share your coffee.”
Annie snickered. Alice must have been half asleep if she didn’t notice the three mugs by the carafe. “Grab away. I’ll just be a minute! Kate, please make sure Alice doesn’t run into anything before I get back out here.”
Taking quick, long steps through the house, Annie double-checked the cat’s water and food bowls before jotting a quick thank-you note to Breck. On her way back to the front door, she made sure timers were set on the lamps by two of the living room windows. Just before leaving, she bent down to give Boots a rub before walking onto the front porch. “Be good, Boots. I’ll see you Sunday!”
11
“Get a load of that spaghetti bowl!” Alice cast aside her cross-stitch, eyes bouncing from the endless line of slow-moving traffic to the massive knot of roads at the Interstate 95 interchange in New York City.
Kate’s knuckles turned white on the van’s steering wheel as she took a deep breath and tried to focus on the traffic in front of her. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Sort of makes Hartford look like a hole in the wall, doesn’t it?” Her voice was soft, the words lifting slowly into the air. Her heart was thumping so fast she wondered if her friends could hear it. “It might take longer to travel the last twelve miles than it did the rest of the trip combined.”
Annie, sitting in the passenger side backseat, leaned as far forward as her shoulder strap would allow. “Not even all the automobile trade shows Wayne and I attended in Detroit prepared me for this.” She looked at her watch. Three o’clock. “I read a blog suggesting travelers get through this spot by three o’clock because it becomes gridlocked during rush hour. Man, they weren’t kidding!”
Tapping her fingertips on the steering wheel, Kate searched for a balance between staying alert and remaining calm. She risked a glance in the rearview mirror. “Annie, did you and Wayne go on a lot of business-related trips?”
Distracted for a moment as a dilapidated old brown station wagon crawled alongside the van, Annie watched the young woman driver talk on a cellphone while two toddlers sat side by side in car seats in the back. “We went to Detroit each year and attended a state association convention annually, but mostly we networked with the local chamber of commerce.”
Kate sighed. “You two must have spent a lot of time together.” What would it be like to have a real partnership with a man who loved and respected her? Harry was too busy battling his own demons—drinking and self-doubt—to be a partner with any woman. The divorce had been both painful and a relief. “I miss having a man in my life. I stayed in touch with that detective we met in Texas, but it’s hard to keep a long-distance relationship going. Oh well, I’ve grown to value my independence. Still, it would be nice to have the love of a good man.”
Alice cringed next to her and pressed an imaginary brake pedal with her right foot, and Kate wondered if her friend was reacting to the conversation or the shiny yellow sports car cutting in front of the van.
“Oh, I don’t know. I enjoy having a man to accompany me to concerts, movies, and the occasional dinner, but mostly I like making my own decisions,” Alice said, releasing her foot from the floorboard.
Traffic picked up more speed, and Kate looked for a sign indicating how far they were from the downtown exit. She’d feel better if she knew where she was going. As if reading her mind, Alice began punching keys on her cellphone GPS, and soon, with Alice’s help, Kate was navigating the van through the spaghetti bowl. “We have two exits coming up quickly.”
Before long, Kate was getting a crash course in driving among urban maniacs in Midtown Manhattan. She winced as a taxi careened around a corner in front of her and slid to a stop in front of a swanky-looking bistro. “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Stony Point anymore.”
Annie’s eyes followed the harried taxi patron dashing from the vehicle to the restaurant. “I have to tell you, Kate, I’m so glad you are the one driving on this trip!”
Kate smiled for the first time since approaching the city. “I must admit I’m happy Mary Beth splurged on the on-site parking. I’m prepared to learn the ins and outs of taxi and subway travel for the duration of our stay.”
Alice let out a long, low whistle and pointed to a towering glass-and-steel building just ahead. “And that, ladies, is our humble abode for the next three nights.”
The sound of Annie’s humming filtered from the backseat as Kate pulled the van up to the valet parking stand. Before the parking attendant reached for the door handle, the three friends broke into song, “It’s up to you, New York, New York!” The trio retrieved their luggage from the back of the van during the final chorus.
Laughing with relief, Kate accepted the claim ticket from the tuxedo-clad attendant. “I’ve never been so glad to see my vehicle driven by someone else!” she said, watching the van disappear into the parking area.
Annie placed a hand on Kate’s shoulder. “Really? You seemed as cool as a cucumber. I never would have guessed you were stressed. Impressive.”
Following the bellboy to the polished marble front desk, they looked around in awe while waiting to check in. Large glass elevators zoomed visitors up what seemed like forty floors or more. Gift shops and restaurants were tucked among large indoor gardens and fountains, and a large marquee listed various events currently held in the convention center.
“Mary Beth really splurged on this convention. What a shame she can’t enjoy this with us,” Annie said.
Alice nodded. “We should get something special to thank her for inviting us to go with Kate.”
While Alice and Annie continued to scout out the lobby, Kate was motioned to the counter to sign the registration forms. After a long day on the road, she felt rumpled and plain stand
ing in front of the sophisticated attendant in her sharp business suit, upswept hair, and perfect makeup.
“You’re all set.” The attendant, who identified herself as Adrian, handed Kate a copy of the registration form, a list of businesses located in the convention center, and room key cards. “Welcome to New York City.”
Kate turned away from the counter and handed Annie and Alice a room key card. “Our room is on the forty-sixth floor,” she said. The women moved to the elevator, which sped them to the top of the building. “Wow!” Kate exclaimed. “This is the tallest building I’ve ever stepped foot in.”
The bellboy led the three friends to their room. Upon arriving there, he opened the door, stood back, and motioned to them to enter first. They went straight to the window and looked down on Times Square as he deposited their bags on luggage racks. After asking if he could be of any other assistance, he quietly accepted a tip from Annie and ducked out of the room.
“I can’t believe we’re here,” Kate murmured, watching people far below meandering around each other like ants raiding a picnic blanket. She kicked off her shoes, pulled her hair from its ponytail, and wrapped the band around her wrist before stretching out on the bed closest to the window. “I just need to doze a minute after that drive into the city.”
****
Rested, refreshed, and dressed for urban adventure, Annie, Alice, and Kate slid into chairs around a high-top table in the hotel’s casual but trendy restaurant, Frank’s Place.
“I have a surprise for you,” Annie said as soon as a handsome young server finished taking their food and drink orders. She pulled a paper out of her purse and set it in the middle of the table, grinning—thought Kate—like the Cheshire cat in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. “The Avant-Garde is still going strong in Greenwich Village. According to these directions, we are but a mere thirty minutes or so away from a clue to the mystery singer’s identity!”
Alice’s jaw dropped while Kate reached for the paper, mentally preparing for returning to the streets of New York City in her van. Was she ready for it again so soon? Relief spread throughout her body when she saw the directions consisted of a twenty-minute train ride and a ten-minute walk. “No driving; that works for me! I’m up for an excursion to the club. You?”