“Oh yeah. He’s definitely related to us,” Steve joked.
Kelly laughed as she clicked off her phone. Then, a reminder came front and center. “Call or text Burt,” it said.
She checked her directory, found Burt’s name, and typed out a text message to her mentor and friend: “Take care of Mimi. We can talk tomorrow. Police may have more information by then. I visited with Jennifer. She’s holding up. She and Pete will tell Cassie tonight. Everybody’s coping the best they can with this awful news. Take care of yourself and Mimi.”
Twelve
“Tonight we’re meeting at Megan and Marty’s house, right?” Steve asked as he reached for his oversize architect’s folder.
“Yes, we’ll all have dinner at home then gather for one of Megan’s desserts,” Kelly said as she walked with her husband toward the kitchen door that led to the garage.
Steve paused before opening the door. “Are you going to call Burt? He must have learned something from his old detective partner by now.”
“I sure hope so. But I’m going to wait for Burt to call me. I know he will. Plus, we all want to know how Mimi is doing.” She set her half-filled coffee mug on the counter.
“Poor Mimi,” Steve said, staring out into the kitchen. “She sure has seen more than her share of deaths in her circle of friends over the years.”
“Way more, that’s for sure,” Kelly said in a sad voice.
“Okay, gotta go. Keep me posted if anything changes, okay?” Steve leaned over and gave Kelly a quick kiss. “Hold down the fort.” He gave her a wink.
Kelly laughed softly. “I’ll do my best. Thank heavens for the Cassie and Eric Cavalry. They can dart and weave way faster than we can. They’re riding close herd on that bunch.”
Steve laughed. “More like cowboys chasing the steers.” He reached for the doorknob until another voice piped up from the great room.
“Daddy, look! I’m building a castle! It’s going to have walls and everything!” Jack pointed proudly at the half-finished configuration of blocks on the living room floor.
“Wow! That looks great, Jack!” Steve said with a big grin. “Make sure you save it when you finish, so I can see it again tonight.”
“I will!” Jack chirped as he sank beside the wooden building blocks on the floor again.
“I wonder where he got that from,” Kelly teased her husband with a grin. Steve smiled proudly as he opened the door to the garage.
* * *
• • •
Kelly settled into the tall high-backed chair at the gray, white, and black granite counter in her kitchen. This was a good time to check on Don Warner’s accounts. He may have seen a property that caught his fancy, and she would have to find a way for him to make the purchase. On his terms, of course. Kelly never ceased to be amazed at Warner’s persuasive abilities.
She had just opened her laptop and was about to fire it up when the cell phone on the counter beside her elbow played her recent musical selection, a classic country song. Old-time country as some people would say. But a few Texans she knew called certain singers and their songs “outlaw country.” Kelly wasn’t knowledgeable enough to be able to make those judgments, but she always knew what she liked.
She spotted Burt’s name and number on her cell phone screen and eagerly clicked on. “Hey, Burt. I hoped I’d hear from you this morning.”
“You know I’ll always keep you in the loop, Kelly,” Burt’s voice sounded over the phone. There was a sadness in his tone Kelly had heard many times before over the years she’d been part of the Lambspun family. As a retired police detective, Burt had seen more than his share of deaths.
“Have police been able to learn much so far?” she asked gently.
“They’ll learn more once the medical examiner has finished and given them his report. But they were able to see from their initial investigation that Julie was killed by a single bullet wound to the head. It went straight through her brain and exited the other side of her head. Then it went through the passenger window and landed in the dirt and gravel of the driveway. Detectives were able to retrieve the bullet casing during their investigation. It was a nine-millimeter bullet.” Burt paused for a few seconds before continuing. “They found a nine-millimeter pistol lying on the floor. It had evidently slipped onto the floor after . . . after Julie’s hand collapsed back onto the car seat.”
Kelly paused. Her next question was obvious, but she still wanted to ask it. Logical, methodical accountant brain needed to know. “So . . . it sounds like police believe this was actually a suicide,” she said in a quiet voice.
Burt released a long sigh. Kelly could tell from the quiet sound that came over the phone. She only recognized that sound as a sigh because she’d sat across from Burt over the years as he expressed his sadness at hearing about an unfortunate event in someone’s life. Especially someone in the Lambspun family.
“It looks like it, Kelly. Despite . . . despite the . . . uh, the circumstances. Julie being pregnant, and all.”
“Thank you for telling me, Burt,” Kelly said softly. “I know how hard this must be for you and Mimi. You two have become like second parents for some of us. So losing anyone in the Lambspun family is . . . is too painful for words. Especially someone we all had become close to over the years like Julie. She was a sweet, gentle soul.”
“She certainly was, Kelly. Maybe too gentle and trusting.” Burt’s voice hardened in its tone. “Especially if it turns out it wasn’t a suicide and she was actually shot by some lowlife coming up to her car at night, robbing her.”
“Or stoned out of his mind. That’s what Jennifer thinks.”
“Oh yeah. That’s a definite possibility, too.” Burt’s voice sharpened. “We’ve been seeing an increase in all kinds of drug overdoses these past few years. Hard drugs, opioids, methamphetamine, and all kinds of painkillers. It’s happening all over the country, Kelly, as I’m sure you’re aware. All any of us has to do is watch the news on television at night.”
Kelly could picture Burt shaking his head at this point in their conversation, and an old memory from the past suddenly appeared in her mind. “Good Lord, Burt,” she mused out loud. “It’s been years since that stoned-out-of-her-mind college student appeared in my backyard one night, and we thought it was bad then. But you’re right. It has gotten worse. Opioids were just beginning to come onto the scene back then, and now”—she paused—“now they’re everywhere.”
The phone line between them lay silent for a few seconds. Then, suddenly, Kelly’s phone rang sharply, and her client Don Warner’s name and number flashed on the screen.
“Sorry, Burt,” she apologized, “but one of my clients is calling. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Get back to work, Kelly. It’s healing in a strange way. Talk to you later.” His phone clicked off.
“Healing in a strange way,” Kelly said as she repeated Burt’s words. He was right.
* * *
• • •
Kelly unlocked the gate to the cottage backyard and pushed it open. Carl bounded into the yard with what looked like a joyous leap. Even though their newer house in the north of town had a larger backyard than the cottage, Kelly had noticed that her Rottweiler still preferred the cottage backyard. She figured it must be because there was a large—really large and tall—cottonwood tree shading this yard. Huge, spreading branches that reached from behind the backyard’s chain link fencing all the way over into a corner of the cottage backyard, and those branches were filled with large wide green leaves and, more importantly . . . squirrels.
As expansive as the new house’s yard was, the trees inside and outside the fence were only thirty feet high at most. Newly constructed housing developments could rarely plant anything taller. Those trees were leafy already, but still, no comparison to the eighty-plus-year-old trees on the edge of the golf course beside Lambspun. Plus, the squi
rrels that lived in a nearby taller tree never visited Carl’s new yard. The Rottie’s presence was intimidating enough, but in addition, the new backyard had an expansive jungle gym setup and an imitation log cabin, which dominated one side of the backyard. A covered shaded patio with picnic table, chairs, and chaise lounges made up the other side. Clearly, the squirrels had decided the odds of being chased or stepped on were too high. Thus, the squirrels frolicked in the neighbor’s yard. No small children or large friend gatherings there.
“I don’t see any squirrels yet, Carl,” Kelly observed out loud. “But I bet if you bark a couple of times, Brazen Squirrel and friends will appear before you know it. They live to torment you.”
Carl obediently uttered two sharp barks as he stood up at the fence, front paws on the sturdy chain link.
As if by magic, two squirrels suddenly skittered down a cottonwood branch and stared at their worthy opponent below. Carl yelped two more sharp barks, then began his normal morning cottage backyard routine: sniffing out the smells from all the animals that had dared to intrude into his yard while he was gone last night. Night creatures. Raccoons, foxes, and maybe a mountain lion—puma—checking out the nighttime hunting.
Kelly closed and locked the gate to the fence, then headed across the driveway toward the front entrance to Lambspun. She had studiously avoided parking along the café garden patio side of the curved driveway. It would be a while before Kelly would be able to park there again. That was where Julie either was killed by some lowlife or chose to take her own life.
She pushed open the wooden entry door to Lambspun and stepped inside the foyer, deliberately pausing to drink in the bright summer colors of the yarns. The raspberry reds, shamrock greens, lemon yellows, and blueberry blues surrounded her, bathing her in their rainbow.
Rosa stepped into the foyer then, the expression on her face anxious. “Oh, thank goodness you came in, Kelly. I’ve been wanting to ask questions, but Mimi and Burt are both at home. Jennifer, too, and Cassie’s doing the babysitting job. Pete came in really early, but he doesn’t have time to talk. He’s totally swamped, the new guy Larry said. Pete’s having to wait tables along with Candace. Bridget is doing a class project in Denver today, and Pete couldn’t get anybody else on short notice. Thank goodness Eduardo came back today. I don’t think Larry could handle the grill all by himself.”
“Come on in here, Rosa,” Kelly said, gesturing for Rosa to follow. “Let me set my briefcase bag on the table.” She slipped the bag from her shoulder. “Sit down, and I’ll tell you what I know. None of us knows much, other than Julie died from a bullet to her head as she sat in her car out in the driveway.”
Kelly settled into a chair beside the knitting table while Rosa scurried around the table to find a seat nearby. “Did she kill herself?” Rosa whispered. “Eduardo doesn’t think she would do that since she was carrying the baby, but Larry thinks she might have.”
Kelly shrugged. She found she didn’t have the energy to repeat this tragic tale yet again. “Who knows, Rosa? I find it hard to believe Julie would do that, especially since she was pregnant. But nobody knows. Jennifer has been in tears, and so has Cassie, as you can imagine, and Mimi. People will slowly start coming back to the shop. Probably tomorrow.” She took a deep drink from her coffee travel mug.
“I feel so sorry for everyone. I didn’t know Julie as well as most of you did, but I could tell she was a really nice person whenever I spoke with her. I even got to meet her boyfriend, Andy, one day when I was leaving the shop the same time Julie was leaving the café. Andy had pulled in beside my car.”
“Oh really?” Kelly’s curiosity perked up. “What did you think of him? I never got to meet Andy.”
Kelly watched Rosa stare out into the main knitting room. The shop was empty of customers so far. The summer “knitting doldrums,” as Mimi called this in-between season. People were vacationing, and not many were thinking of wool fibers.
“He was nice. I recognized him from one of my business courses at the university last year. He was one of those students who always had his hand up answering all the professor’s questions.” Rosa gave a crooked little smile.
Intrigued, Kelly asked, “I didn’t know you were taking business classes at the university. I like to keep track of the students we know here at the shop. That curriculum gets harder as you proceed through the classes. How far along are you now?”
“I’ve been working for six years taking a couple of courses a semester, so it’s been a slow grind, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. Only two more courses to go this fall, and I’ll be finished. Yay!” Rosa said with a little laugh.
“Well, congratulations, girl! We’ll have a little celebration for you. That’s quite an accomplishment, especially taking only a couple courses a semester.”
“Thanks. My family is pretty proud of me, and that feels really good. My husband has had to be the primary wage earner in the family, so he’s happy I’ll be able to start helping with that financial burden. Once I’m finished, I’d like to get a position with one of the accounting departments at the university. Good salaries plus excellent benefits. We’ve still got kids at home.”
“That’s a marvelous idea, Rosa,” Kelly enthused. “You’re right, those are good jobs with excellent benefits. There are nearly ten different schools at the university, and every school has lots of separate departments, and every department has an entire staff of accountants and other financial people to keep up with all of those records. So there are new positions opening and hiring every month.”
Rosa’s grin spread. “Yes, I know. I’ve already taken a look at some of those listings on the university website.”
“Well, you keep me posted with the classes you’re taking, and when you’ll be graduating. I’ll put some feelers out with my university friends.”
Rosa’s brown eyes went wide. “Oh, Kelly . . . that would be wonderful. Thank you. I appreciate that so much.”
“You’re a hardworking employee, Rosa, and you’ve got great people skills from working here,” Kelly said with a little laugh. “You’d be an excellent catch for any university.”
Rosa leaned over and gave Kelly a quick hug. “Thank you, Kelly. You’re a sweetheart.”
“No, I’m just a good business person and I’ve learned to spot quality when I see it,” Kelly said, returning Rosa’s little hug. Suddenly, a new thought popped into Kelly’s head. “By the way, Rosa, I’m curious. Is Andy almost finished, do you know?”
“Oh yes. He’s going to graduate at the end of next semester, too. Since he’s one of the top business school students, he’s been getting all sorts of job offers. A couple of investment corporations out in California, and another big company on the East Coast. New York, I think.”
“Wow, that is impressive,” Kelly said, her attention focusing on that information. “Has Andy indicated which one he may accept?”
“I think so. A couple of weeks ago, I overheard him talking to another student as I was gathering up my books after class. He and this other guy were seated right behind me. Andy mentioned he was leaning toward taking that New York City offer. It’s with a big name investment company.”
“Well, New York is the place to be if you want to start in the big league investment world,” Kelly remarked.
“That’s for sure.”
“That move would have been a big adjustment for Julie,” Kelly added. “I mean, all her friends and everyone she knew was here in Colorado.”
Rosa frowned. “You know, I never heard Andy mention Julie once when he was talking about this new job in New York, and that conversation happened at least two weeks ago while Julie was still alive. He and that other guy were each talking about their new job offers. I remember Andy saying, ‘I’m going to find an apartment near the Stock Exchange.’ I kept my mouth shut, because I have friends in New York City, and those rents in that area are sky high. Way
higher than a beginning-level investment analyst earns. Andy went on and on about what he was going to do, and not once did I hear him mention Julie. Or even the words ‘my girlfriend.’” Rosa looked up then and caught Kelly’s eye.
Kelly couldn’t miss the wry expression on Rosa’s face. She also couldn’t hide her surprise at hearing this new information. “Wow. It sounds like Julie wasn’t in Andy’s future plans at all, and that makes me wonder if Andy was stringing Julie along all this time.”
“Who knows, Kelly. It wouldn’t be the first time a fast-talking guy has taken advantage of a sweet, innocent young woman.”
Rosa’s voice had developed an edge, Kelly noticed, and she had to admit, her own feelings matched Rosa’s. “If that’s true, Rosa, then Andy has to be the Scumbag of the Year.”
“Amen,” was all Rosa said.
A woman walked into the main room then, holding two skeins of the Fourth of July Red yarn. She glanced around the room.
She had to be a customer, Kelly thought, and was about to speak to her when Rosa addressed the woman.
“May I help you find something?” Rosa asked and pushed back her chair.
“Yes, as a matter of fact,” the woman answered, extending the yarn skeins. “I was looking for the other two flag colors, the Star-Spangled Blue and the Independence Day White. But I can’t seem to find them.”
Rosa rose quickly. “They’ve been selling so well that we’re almost out. But I think we have a few in one of these side bins in this room. Let’s take a look,” she suggested as she walked into the central yarn room, the customer eagerly following behind her.
Thirteen
Marty reached across Jennifer and Pete’s kitchen counter and snagged a potato chip, then scooped up a hefty amount of bean dip. “Who’s babysitting Cowboy Jack tonight?” he asked Steve before popping the dip-laden chip into his mouth.
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