Dyeing Up Loose Ends

by Maggie Sefton

  “Our former Saturday night sitter, before we started using Cassie,” Steve replied as he set down a platter of freshly cut fruit. “We didn’t want to lose our place on her list. She’s really good with Jack, plus he likes her.”

  “Thank goodness,” Kelly said with a sigh, as she placed some plastic dessert plates and forks at the end of the granite counter.

  “Marty, are you eating chips and dip?” Megan exclaimed from the great room. “You said you were stuffed right after dinner.”

  Marty checked his watch. “That was half an hour ago. Stuffed is a temporary condition.” He snagged two bright red strawberries before he returned to his chair beside Megan.

  “Very temporary,” Kelly teased as she picked up a cold bottle of cola before reclaiming her place beside Steve on one of the living room sofas.

  Kelly had suggested that the Gang all gather tonight at Jennifer and Pete’s house instead of Megan and Marty’s. She sensed being surrounded by her close friends tonight would help Jennifer ease back into a normal routine after the recent tragic event. Plus, Megan and Marty and Lisa and Greg knew very little about Julie’s death, just the fact that one of the café’s waitresses—a close friend of Jennifer and Pete—had been killed in the café parking lot.

  Jennifer sat close beside Pete on another sofa across the room. Pete had his arm around Jennifer’s shoulders while she sipped from a bottle of iced tea.

  “What did you bring for dessert, Megan?” Greg asked from his chair beside Lisa. “Watching Marty eat is making me hungry again.”

  “You have to be kidding!” Lisa exclaimed. “We had pork barbeque for dinner half an hour ago. How can you be hungry again?”

  “My appetite is a force of nature,” Greg said with a deadpan expression. “I have no control over it.”

  Lisa simply rolled her eyes while soft laughter drifted around the great room.

  “I brought a cheesecake with fresh blueberry topping,” Megan said. “I made a lot of topping, too. Otherwise, Marty and Greg would start to whine and then beg us to share.”

  “Good, because I’m not sharing mine,” Steve said with a grin. “Your cheesecake is fantastic, Megan.”

  “Thank you, kind sir,” she said with a smile. Then she glanced to her husband. “Only one piece for you, Marty. There’s a second cheesecake at home for you.”

  Marty curled his lower lip into a pout.

  “He gets his own cheesecake?”

  “Good Lord.”

  “How much can one stomach hold?”

  “Marty’s like a camel. He has two stomachs.”

  “As much as I hate to change the subject away from cheesecake,” Greg spoke up, “I was curious what, if anything, the police have learned about your friend Julie’s death. Pete mentioned something when we first arrived.”

  “I was shocked to hear that,” Lisa spoke up. “I’d never had a chance to talk with Julie often, but she was always so friendly and helpful whenever I was at the café. Mimi had told me Julie was expecting, so I have to admit, I couldn’t imagine her ending her life.”

  “Neither can I,” Megan spoke up angrily. “And I don’t believe it was suicide. I’ll bet you anything some drugged-out loser wandered out of an Old Town bar and walked over to her car.”

  “Kelly, have you heard anything from Burt?” Marty asked.

  “Yesterday I spoke to him on the phone. He’s still staying at home with Mimi. She was heartbroken to say the least, he said. All of us, including Julie, have become like daughters to her.”

  “That’s for sure,” Jennifer said quietly.

  “Burt told me what he’d learned so far from his old detective partner Dan,” Kelly continued. “They’re still waiting on the medical examiner’s report, but the initial police investigation determined Julie was killed by a single bullet to the head. They also found a nine millimeter pistol on the floor of Julie’s car.”

  The entire room fell silent as the gritty and violent details clearly affected everyone. Lisa shivered. Jennifer closed her eyes and leaned even closer to Pete.

  Steve finally broke the quiet. “Pete, had Julie ever mentioned that she’d bought a pistol? Or was taking firearms training?”

  Pete shook his head. “No. Never. But that doesn’t mean much. A lot of people here in Colorado have gun licenses. In fact, I read the other day that young single women have been purchasing fire arms in record numbers these past few years, and they’re signing up for training, too.”

  “That’s a sobering thought,” Greg observed.

  “Let’s consider the other possibility,” Marty ventured. “Megan is convinced Julie wouldn’t kill herself because she was expecting a baby. If that’s true, then someone else shot Julie, and it’s more likely that someone was trying to rob her in order to buy drugs, and that means the gun would belong to him.”

  “And something must have gone wrong, or he got scared in order for him to kill her,” Pete offered. “Julie would have given him everything in her purse.”

  “That’s for sure,” Kelly agreed.

  “If the gun belonged to him, then why would he throw it on the floor after he shot her?” Megan asked, clearly skeptical.

  “To make it look like a suicide,” Steve ventured. “Maybe he wiped the gun and put it in her hand, then let it fall on the floor.”

  “That’s diabolical,” Greg offered. “And too diabolical for our drugged-out loser stumbling from an Old Town bar.”

  “Good point,” Lisa observed.

  “Okay . . .” Marty continued. “Then we have to examine a third possibility. If the drugged-out loser wouldn’t think about wiping his gun then putting it in Julie’s hand, that means the person who killed Julie wasn’t drugged-out at all but was in full capacity of his mental abilities, and that means he wanted to kill Julie.”

  “Oh Lord . . .” Jennifer closed her eyes again.

  “Was Julie on the outs with anyone?” Greg asked. “It doesn’t sound like she would have any enemies. Did Julie ever mention anyone, Jennifer?”

  The room fell silent again. Kelly probed her memory. She couldn’t recall a time when Julie was angry with anyone, and certainly no one had ever expressed anger toward her.

  Then Jennifer spoke up in a quiet voice. “Actually, yes. Her brother was giving Julie a hard time ever since their mother died last year. He learned that Julie had their mother’s jewelry box, which was filled with beautiful jewelry. Real jewels, not imitations. Tony wanted his share right away, but Julie insisted on giving her friends a chance to choose jewelry first. Tony was really steamed, Julie said. I heard him yelling at her last week when he met her in the parking lot after the café closed. He told Julie he had a lot of gambling debts. Apparently, he loved taking those cheap flights to Vegas.”

  “Uh-oh,” Lisa said.

  “Yeah, that doesn’t sound good,” Greg said.

  “Hey, he’s her brother,” Marty interjected. “Brothers and sisters always argue and fight over things.”

  “By the way, Burt and Mimi had the jewelry appraised for Julie,” Kelly added. “Burt said there’s over twenty thousand dollars’ worth of jewelry there.”

  “Wow. That sounds worse and worse,” Greg observed. “Do you think this Tony was mad enough to threaten Julie with a gun?”

  “Dude, she’s his sister,” Marty countered.

  “Hey, I never had a sister,” Greg explained, “but if she gave away some of the family inheritance, I’d be pretty mad, too.”

  “Yeah, but he’s not gonna kill his own sister over jewelry,” Marty insisted.

  “Most people wouldn’t do that, true,” Steve interjected. “But we don’t know anything about this guy Tony. Maybe he’s a loose cannon.”

  Jennifer nodded. “Always has been, according to Julie. When he was younger, Julie was constantly getting him out of trouble. But I don’t think he could shoot Julie.
” She shook her head. “He’s a loser for sure, but he’s not a killer.”

  “What if he was taking drugs that night?” Megan ventured in a speculative tone. “Did he do drugs, Jennifer? Do you know?”

  Jennifer shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I never heard Julie mention any of that, and if Tony had messed with any drugs, Julie would have dragged him to the Fort Connor Treatment Center right away.”

  “Do you still have the jewelry box, Jennifer?” Greg asked.

  “Actually, Mimi and Burt locked it in the Lambspun safe right after Julie insisted all of us choose jewelry we liked and would wear. That was very important to her. She wanted to make sure each of us would choose something we loved looking at every day.” Jennifer touched the striking jade bracelet that adorned her left wrist. “I do love this piece, and I don’t think I’ll ever take it off. Except in the shower, of course.” She gave a brief hint of a smile.

  “Megan chose that necklace.” Marty pointed to the stunning silver links around her neck.

  “Beautiful, Megan,” Kelly said.

  “What did you choose, Lisa?” Jennifer asked. “I forgot to ask.”

  Lisa held out her right hand, revealing an old-fashioned gold ring with a delicate opal in the center. “I love this,” she said. “And I will always think of Julie whenever I wear it.”

  “What about you, Kelly?” Greg asked. “I don’t see any necklace or bracelet.”

  Kelly held out her right hand, displaying the beautiful emerald and diamond ring in its gold setting. “I’ve never worn any jewelry on my right hand, but I will from now on. To remember Julie. I think she was very pleased we chose these pieces of her family history,” she said, admiring the ring.

  “I think Julie is watching us right now, and she’s happy,” Lisa said in a soft voice.

  “Wow, we’re getting really metaphysical now,” Marty said. “I’m not sure I can handle that on a half-full stomach. I may need to eat again.”

  Laughter started bouncing around the room as all the friends teased Marty. Marty simply grinned in his usual fashion and went to the kitchen to serve himself a slice of Megan’s blueberry cheesecake.

  The following Monday

  Kelly closed the door to the cottage, shifted her briefcase bag on her shoulder, and started across the driveway toward the café garden patio. The June morning was so lovely, Kelly did not want to miss a minute of the higher-altitude fresh air and beautiful Colorado weather.

  Walking through the deep green of the half-sunny, half-shady garden, Kelly chose one of the outside tables that was farther away from the others. It was easier to work there, especially if she had a phone call from one of her clients. Inside the Lambspun shop, Kelly knew she’d be disturbing the customers if she got in too deep with the accounting details. Plus she would breach the confidentiality of her clients’ information by sharing details where other people could overhear.

  Kelly settled into one of the black wrought-iron outdoor chairs and glanced around the garden. Several other customers had chosen to enjoy a late breakfast outside, she noticed. It was too pretty to be inside. Kelly looked around the garden again and caught herself searching for Julie’s smiling presence—like she had for several years. A poignant little pang registered inside.

  She slid her laptop out of the briefcase bag, popped it open, and fired it up in her usual morning fashion. Regular routines were lifesavers. They kept people on track and from dwelling on painful memories.

  Clicking on one of Arthur Housemann’s spreadsheets, Kelly immersed herself in the calming, almost restful business of accounting. Every amount belonged somewhere on that spreadsheet, and Kelly went about finding the correct column and line item. She was completely absorbed in the numbers so that she didn’t even hear her name being called at first. Only after Burt had walked closer to her table in the patio garden did Kelly hear his voice.

  “Good morning, Kelly. You’ve started working already, I see.”

  Kelly looked up and gave him a smile. “Hey there, Burt. How are you doing?”

  “Not bad, considering,” Burt said as he pulled out a chair across the table from her.

  “More importantly, how is Mimi? Not trying to diminish you, Burt, but we’re all worried about Mimi.”

  “I was, too. But I noticed today that she’s starting to come back to herself, so to speak. She actually sat at the kitchen table for nearly an hour, and we talked. Just talked.” Burt gave Kelly a hint of a smile.

  “That sounds like progress to me, Burt,” Kelly said in an encouraging voice. “I hope she feels comfortable enough to return to the shop in a few days. Getting back into the daily routine of running Lambspun could actually help Mimi feel better. I’ve always sensed all the gorgeous fibers and colors inside are actually healing in some strange way. I know that sitting in Lambspun and knitting peacefully has always helped me . . . oh, what’s the word . . . stay centered, I guess is the best description. Lisa says Lambspun has ‘good energy.’”

  Burt smiled a real smile this time. “I think Lisa is right.”

  Kelly gave a little shrug. “I don’t know about all the energy stuff. But I do know that there is something special about the shop, not only the people there, but the shop itself. I can feel it when I’m there. Something special.”

  “I agree completely, Kelly, and I’m going to tell Mimi you said that, too. I bet it will help her decide to come back sooner.”

  “Excellent,” Kelly replied. At that moment, a memory danced from the back of Kelly’s mind and in front of her eyes. “Oh yes, Burt. An abrupt change of subject, but I wanted to tell you something I learned. All of us were over at Jennifer and Pete’s house enjoying Megan’s blueberry cheesecake the other night.”

  “Oh boy. I wonder if she still has a piece left.”

  Kelly grinned. “I bet she does. Megan was positively vociferous in protecting it from Marty.”

  Burt chuckled then asked, “So what was it you learned, Kelly?”

  “We were all talking about Julie’s awful murder and brainstorming theories about who would want to kill Julie, and after going through all of Marty’s and Greg’s theories, Jennifer suddenly remembered something. We were all saying that nobody held any ill will against Julie. Then Jennifer remembered Julie saying that her brother Tony was really mad at her because she didn’t want to sell their mother’s beautiful jewelry right away after her death. Julie wanted to give all of us the chance to pick out a piece of jewelry we would like.”

  Kelly paused and drained the last of the morning coffee she’d made at the cottage earlier, then she continued. “We had all just chosen pieces that afternoon, then Julie gave the jewelry box back to Mimi to put in your safe again to keep it secured. She’d said she was going to give the rest of the jewelry to her brother the next day. But she never got the chance. She was killed that very night, or very early the next morning.”

  Burt’s pleasant expression changed. His gaze narrowed. “This is Julie’s brother, Tony, we’re talking about, right?”

  Kelly nodded. “Yes, and for what it’s worth, all of us last night could not believe that brother Tony could or would kill his sister over a box of family jewelry.”

  Burt eyed Kelly with a wry smile. “Stranger things than that have happened in families, Kelly. It’s amazing what kinds of emotions come to the surface when relatives learn that their recently passed relative had several valuable possessions. The jewelry in that box is worth a lot of money. Fights over money and the pursuit of it unfortunately bring out the worst in human nature.”

  “You’re right, Burt. I wish it weren’t true, but the sudden discovery of money or stocks or other investments can totally change family relationships. I’ve witnessed that in various client situations over the years. When I was working at that big Washington CPA firm, I had to determine the financial situation of several client’s estates. Then issue income statements and b
alance sheets. The clients who had set up revocable trusts were in good shape. Either the client’s will or the trust itself would specify how the assets would be disbursed upon the client’s death. Unfortunately, some clients did not even have a will prepared, let alone a trust. That’s when the situation gets messy and angry sometimes.”

  Burt nodded. “That’s typical human behavior, I’m afraid. Too many people avoid making plans for how their assets will pass to their surviving family members. If at all.” He gave a wry smile. “I still remember when one of the richest widows in Fort Connor passed away a few years ago. She was ninety-six years old. All of her family members were almost salivating at getting their hands on some of their great-aunt’s wealth. She had never married, so her relatives from near and far gathered for the reading of her will. They came from all over the United States and even some foreign countries.” He chuckled.

  Kelly stared out into the garden patio’s deep green. “You know, I think I remember reading something in the newspaper a couple of years ago about her. She was a huge supporter of the arts, as I recall.”

  “Yes, indeed,” Burt said with a smile. “And she left a very nice amount to the Fort Connor Symphony and the Choral Society as well as the Open Stage Theatre and the smaller Bas Bleu Theatre. Oh, and another tidy amount to the Fort Connor Gallery of Art.”

  “That’s right,” Kelly remembered. “And didn’t she also leave money to the Fort Connor Mission and the local food bank as well? I remember Jayleen talking about how grateful the Mission workers were to receive that generous gift.”

  “Good memory, Kelly. She gave generously to all the local charities and arts groups.” Burt’s smile spread to a grin now. “And she gave smaller amounts to each of those relatives. Not as much as the charities and arts group received, but nice amounts. Then, she bequeathed the remainder of her fortune to three research hospitals to be used specifically for research in cancer, emphysema, and diabetes.” Burt chuckled. “I tell you, Kelly, I would have given anything to be sitting in the lawyer’s office as he gave the news to those avaricious relatives. Just to see the expressions on their faces.”