"Doesn't it seem a little strange that if only one piece has gone missing it would turn out to be Lauren's?” Harriet wondered aloud once they were gone.
"It's pretty convenient for Selestina. Or it would be if she wasn't beyond caring."
"That's the part that doesn't make sense.” Harriet was quiet for a moment. “Maybe we're making this more complicated than it is. If Lauren has been her usual charming self in class, maybe she offended a classmate and they took her quilt in retaliation."
"Would her teacher know?"
"I'm not sure. I know she and Connie have been taking classes together, but the two-year students have some kind of advisor as well. Let's go see if any teachers are in the offices."
Harriet opened the next door they came to and led Robin into the honeycomb of offices and work spaces that made up the center of the building. In the third cubicle they went into they found three teachers sitting at a small table with coffee mugs and a plate of chocolate chip cookies in front of them.
Harriet explained only that her friend Lauren had been upset at lunch and was worried she'd offended some of her classmates. A large woman in baggy black corduroy pants and a purple felted vest over a red silk blouse leaned back in her chair.
"You either got some bad soup at lunch, or there are two Laurens here and we haven't met the second one.” She looked over the top of her black-rimmed half-moon reading glasses. “The Lauren we know has raised offending classmates to an art form."
"Any classmate in particular?” Harriet asked.
The woman looked at the other two teachers before speaking. One shrugged and the other went back to reading her newspaper without comment.
"Lauren came to me with accusations that Selestina had copied her work.” She shifted in her chair as if she suddenly couldn't get comfortable. “I'm her advisor now, but the students rotate through a series of teachers depending on which skill they are focusing on during any given term. The piece in question was made while she was taking class from Selestina. I had seen the piece as it developed, but I didn't pay close attention at that point. I knew I would see it before Selestina sent it to England for inspection."
Harriet's eyes widened.
"All the fiber arts department heads inspect work before it goes to be judged in England. So, I would have seen it, and I haven't."
"So, if Lauren's piece hasn't been sent off to be judged, where is it?” Harriet asked.
"I'm sure I have no idea. I wouldn't put it past her to have taken it down just for dramatic effect."
"No, that's not Lauren's style. She over-reacts, but she wouldn't create a crisis from whole cloth,” Robin said.
"Are you sure?” Harriet asked. “She seems a little flighty to me."
"You've only seen her in stressful circumstances. She's not like this all the time. There has to be another explanation."
"Come on, let's go back to the Tree House."
Robin thanked the advisor for talking to them before following Harriet back to the hallway.
"I'm going to call Aunt Beth and see if she's found the picture of the European quilt yet. If she has, I'll have her fax it to the office. We've all seen Lauren's piece. If we see the other one we can get an idea of how similar they are. I can ask at the office about whether there's some innocent explanation for Lauren's quilt being gone. If Lauren was her usual charming self, she might not have gotten anywhere with them."
With that settled, they left the fiber arts building and returned to the Tree House. Darcy was in the kitchenette when they arrived.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Fourteen
"Did you find out anything at the office?” Harriet asked.
"You mean besides how obnoxious Lauren can be when she's upset?"
Harriet laughed. “Yeah, besides that."
"No, not really. Lauren's attitude pretty much put an end to any information we might have gotten."
"I'm going to go call Aunt Beth and get her to fax us a copy of that picture."
"I'll walk that way with you,” Darcy said. “I got cell reception out near the road. I'm going to check and see if my guy is anywhere close to getting here. Every minute that goes by means it's less likely we can collect a clean sample."
Aunt Beth had good news when Harriet called her. “I've found the picture I was telling you about,” she said after they had exchanged greetings. “And speak up, I can hardly hear you."
Harriet turned her back to the woman sitting at the desk the phone was on. She raised her voice slightly.
"Good. Can you fax it to me?"
"Honey, I could, but that would be in black and white. I really think you need to see this in color. Ask and see if they have a Kinko's or something like that,” she instructed. “I'll send it to your e-mail. Can you access your e-mail remotely?"
Harriet assured her computer-savvy aunt that she could.
"Do you have a phone book?” she asked the woman at the desk.
"I do, but if you're looking for a Kinko's there isn't one on the island. There is a UPS store that has computers and printers you can use by the hour.” She looked up at Harriet and had the good grace to blush. “Sorry, your aunt talks sort of loud."
"How far is it to the UPS store,” Harriet asked after she'd said her good-byes to Aunt Beth and hung up the telephone.
"It's about a mile and three quarters. Turn left out of the driveway then right at the first corner. Go straight up the hill on Harbor Drive. When the hill levels off, you'll see it on the right—you can't miss it."
She and Darcy were almost to the door when Patience emerged from an adjoining doorway. “Did I hear you ladies were headed to town?"
"I'm going to the UPS store to use the computer. My aunt is emailing me a picture,” Harriet said. “Can I bring you something?"
Patience dabbed at her nose with a tissue. “If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you bring me a bottle of aspirin from the pharmacy? I have a pounding headache, and I'm all out. I found a few packets in the first-aid kit...” She waved two small white packets. “...but these aren't coated. If I keep taking them my stomach will rebel. I'd really appreciate it."
"Sure, it's no problem."
Patience dug in her pocket and pulled out a crumpled five-dollar bill. “This should cover it,” she said, and handed the bill to Harriet then left the office.
Harriet hoped Patience's runny nose was the result of crying sad tears or maybe an allergy rather than something contagious, since she'd had no choice but to take the proffered bill. She looked around for signs of a restroom and then spotted a pump bottle of hand sanitizer. She reached across the counter and helped herself to a good squirt. She wasn't going to leave with a cold if she could help it.
"It's getting kind of late to be walking, isn't it?” Darcy asked.
Harriet stepped out onto the porch. The sun was low in the sky.
"I think I can make it if I hurry. I really want to see the picture Aunt Beth has."
"If you get hung up, call me. If I don't answer, call the office and make them find me. That road is steep, and it's not well-lit."
Harriet hadn't even made it out of the driveway when rain started to fall as a fine mist. She took the purple hat out of her sweatshirt pocket and covered her hair. The mist was turning into a steady drizzle, and she was thinking about turning around when a white pickup pulled onto the shoulder, blocking her path.
"Going my way?” Aiden said as he leaned out the window and rested his chin on his bent arm.
Harriet ignored him and tried to walk around the truck, but he eased it forward, blocking her way again.
"Come on, you're going to catch your death of cold out here in the rain,” he pleaded. “And you know me well enough to know I'm not going to leave until you get in."
She stood, pondering her options. She didn't have time to fool around.
"Don't make me come out there,” Aiden said, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Fine.” She pulled the purple
hat off her head and shook the raindrops from it as she climbed in.
"Buckle up. I'm on my way to the No-tell Motel to have some fun."
She swatted him with the hat. “Brat!"
"I notice you're not getting out."
"I'm confident you aren't out trolling for women,” she said and set her hat on the console between them. “What are you doing out and about at this time of day, anyway? I thought you were in surgery from dawn to dark."
"We were about to run out of anesthetic, and since I'm the newest, I had to drive to a clinic on the other end of the island. Besides, in case you haven't noticed, it is almost dark.
"And your school is donating quilts for the recovering patients to rest on, which I'm supposed to pick up when the teachers get out of their staff meeting. As soon as I deliver the drugs, I'm coming back here to do that, which is why I am at exactly this spot in the universe just when you need me most."
"Lucky me."
"Are you running away from school? You're traveling kind of light if you are."
"Very funny. Class was canceled this afternoon, and I am going into town to find a public computer."
"Are you one of those people who obsessively check their e-mail? You know the kind—they can't go twenty-four hours without checking, even if it means walking through a driving rainstorm to get to a computer. I never would have guessed."
"I am not obsessively checking my e-mail. It happens that my aunt is sending me some information that will help clear up a little problem we're having.” Harriet quickly explained Lauren's belief that her work had been copied and the subsequent disappearance of that work.
"You're not one of those people who see trouble around every corner, are you? Do you have to have drama in your life constantly?"
"I don't see that my dramatic needs are any of your concern,” she said, and turned to look at him.
"If I'm going to be your boyfriend, I need to know these things."
"You are not going to be my boyfriend. You stood me up."
"For the last time, I did not stand you up. You never called me back. I waited a reasonable amount of time, and then I went to the exhibit—alone, I might add."
"You didn't look very alone to me, and besides, I did call you back. I left a message with your assistant."
Aiden pulled to a stop in front of the UPS Store.
"I don't have an assistant. I'm the low vet on the totem pole. Notice how I'm the guy being sent to pick up supplies."
"Okay, call her what you want, I'm telling you, your phone was answered by a woman. I told her what time, and she assured me she'd give you my message."
"When did you call?"
Harriet thought for a moment. “It must have been around five."
"I was in surgery until almost six. My phone was in my jeans pocket in the locker room."
"Wasn't your locker locked?"
He leaned back and frowned at her.
"We're not exactly in inner-city Detroit here. I don't think the lockers at the pet shelter even have places to put locks. They're more like kitchen cabinets."
"So anyone could have answered your phone."
"I suppose, but you said it was a woman. That narrows it a little. There is one woman vet, although her voice is pretty distinct, I think there are three female vet techs. After four, the receptionist is a high school girl, and I think there's at least one lady janitor. Take your pick.
"The point is, any one of them could have heard my phone ring, answered it and then forgotten to tell me. The point is,” he repeated with emphasis, “that although I technically did stand you up, I didn't know I was standing you up because I never got the message."
"Okay, smart guy, that explains why you weren't at the show with me, but that doesn't explain the blond arm candy you were sporting."
"That's Doctor Johnson's assistant—and his granddaughter, I might add. She asked me to join her at the pottery show, and given her relationship to the boss, I didn't feel like I could say no. And why am I explaining myself to you? I didn't do anything wrong."
Harriet kept silent.
"I think this is the part where you say, ‘Oh, Aiden, I'm so sorry I misjudged you ... again,’ and then we kiss and make up."
"That would be a lie. In my book, a guy who moves on with a blonde, boss's granddaughter or not, is not a guy to trust. And since we don't have a relationship, there's nothing to make up."
He sighed. “You are making this really difficult, and as much as I'd like to continue working on our relationship issues, I've got to get the drugs back to the clinic."
He jumped out of the truck and came around to Harriet's door before she could get out. He opened it and pulled her into a kiss before she could react—or at least before she could react the way she would have if she'd been able to think.
Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and felt the hard muscles of his back quiver under her touch. Her traitorous hands worked their way up his spine, and then her fingers tangled in his glorious black hair. He deepened the kiss and slid his hands down to her bottom and pulled her toward him. A part of Harriet wanted to know what was going to happen next, but a blue BMW started to pull into the parking spot next to Aiden's truck and they had to separate and move to the sidewalk to avoid being run over.
Two boys who looked like they were ten or eleven got out of the back seat and followed their mother into the UPS Store. As they passed Harriet they made faces and stuck their fingers in their mouths to simulate gagging.
"Hey, just wait a few years, guys,” Aiden said and smiled. He turned back to her and leaned in for another, quick kiss. “I'll swing back by here in about twenty minutes, and if you're done, I can give you a ride back down the hill,” he said then got back into the truck and drove away.
Harriet went into the UPS Store and, in a matter of minutes, had her e-mail open in front of her. True to her word, Aunt Beth had sent a full-page colored scan of a quilt that was almost identical to Lauren's exhibition piece.
"Wow,” Harriet said.
The young woman at the counter looked up from the forms she was studying.
"It's a good picture,” Harriet explained sheepishly and looked back at the computer screen. She pressed the print button and, when asked, selected eight copies—she knew the Loose Threads would each want a copy to study.
When the printing began, she forwarded the e-mail to each of them.
She looked at her watch. Aiden would be back by in about five minutes. She shut the computer off and went to the register to pick up and pay for her prints. The rain, which had let up when she'd entered the store, had begun falling in earnest again. She reached into her sweatshirt pocket for her purple hat and realized she'd left it in Aiden's truck, so she stood under the store awning to wait.
Five minutes passed. She felt the crumpled, germ-encrusted five-dollar bill in her pocket and remembered her aspirin mission. She looked at the other stores in the block and spotted a convenience store three doors down. She was back in front of the UPS Store in seven minutes, but there was no sign of Aiden.
If it hadn't been raining, she would have set out, but she waited another fifteen minutes, hoping for either Aiden or a break in the weather. She had just decided she was going to have to walk home in the rain when Darcy pulled into the parking lot in her county car.
She rolled down her window. “You better get in."
Harriet pulled the door open. “I'm glad to see—"
"I'm not here by chance,” Darcy interrupted.
"What's wrong,” Harriet asked, feeling the blood drain from her face. “Is it Aunt Beth?"
"No, Beth is fine, but there's been an accident."
"Who? What happened?” she said in a rush, instantly feeling guilty at her relief that it wasn't Aunt Beth.
"Aiden,” Darcy said, and rested her hand on Harriet's arm. “He's okay. He's bruised and shaken, but he was up walking when I found him. He asked me to find you."
"Take me to him.” Ice gripped her heart as memories of S
teve's death came flooding back. It must have shown on her face.
"He's going to be fine,” Darcy assured her.
"But?” She turned to face her.
"His passenger didn't fare as well."
"His passenger?” Harriet said in a wooden voice.
"Apparently, he picked up an assistant from the animal hospital where he picked up the drugs and was giving her a ride back to the spay-neuter clinic."
"What happened?"
"His truck went off the road and rolled. The passenger side door was down when they hit a rock outcrop. Bad news for the passenger."
"But why did he go off the road?"
"Well, that's where it gets interesting. According to Aiden—and understand, I only spoke to him briefly before they took him to the hospital—he was run off the road. He says someone actually bumped him and forced him over the hillside."
"Why?"
"Everyone would like an answer to that one,” Darcy said, and pulled out of the parking lot and pointed the car toward the hospital.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Fifteen
Darcy filled in the details as she drove. She had gotten a call from the Angel Harbor PD about a preliminary toxicology report, and she was on her way to pick it up when she'd come across Aiden stumbling along on the shoulder of the road. She'd called an ambulance, but he would only agree to treatment if she would go pick up Harriet.
"They were still extracting the girl when I left to go get you,” she finished.
"How bad is it?"
"She wasn't conscious, and her leg was pinned. They were cutting the side of the truck apart to free her."
"That's horrible.” Harriet wondered if it was the blonde.
Darcy drove up to the walk-in door of the emergency room. “I'll park the car and come find you,” she said.
Harriet went to the information desk and was directed to cubicle three. Aiden sat in the bed holding an ice bag against his left temple. His eyes were closed, and he jumped when Harriet gently touched his shoulder. He dropped the ice bag and opened his eyes. The left was surrounded by red, giving his exotic white-blue iris an eerie look. His cheekbone was scarlet, and he was going to have a nasty shiner by morning.
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