A Knit before Dying

by Sadie Hartwell

  “But this isn’t like her,” Evelyn finished. “What’s that noise? It’s outside.”

  Josie listened. She heard it too. It sounded like . . . a power tool. She and Evelyn went to the window and looked out. The view wasn’t good enough, so they opened the front door and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

  Josie’s jaw dropped in surprise. “What the heck are you doing? You stop that right now,” she said.

  Chapter 35

  A man Josie had never seen before, wearing a ball cap and a utilitarian coat and pants with a lot of pockets, was pressing an electric drill to the metal lock plate on the door of Nutmeg Antiques & Curiosities. The bit made a buzz that made Josie’s fillings ache. Kai Norton and Taylor Philbin stood to one side. Kai, of course, had a camera in his hand.

  Josie marched over and tapped the guy on the shoulder, realizing too late that that probably wasn’t a good idea since he was holding a spinning drill in his hand. But he took his finger off the trigger and turned to her. “Just doing my job, ma’am.”

  Taylor had that insufferably smug look, the one Josie had seen more than once, on her perfect little face. Kai seemed keyed up, excited. He trained the camera on Josie. She was so angry, she didn’t even care.

  “You’re damaging my property with the intent to break in.” Josie pulled out her cell phone. “I’m calling the cops.”

  Taylor tilted her head and gave a little laugh. “Great,” she said. “They can help enforce this court order I have.” She held out a sheet of paper. Josie reached out for it, but Taylor snatched it away. She laughed again, then handed the paper to Josie. “Everything’s in order. The judge granted me access to the property.”

  Josie scanned the sheet. It looked official enough, even had an original signature written in blue ink. It was dated that same day. Evelyn, who had followed Josie out, snatched the paper from her hands and examined it.

  Josie narrowed her eyes. “You expect me to believe you got a Connecticut judge to give you an order on a Sunday? Sorry. Not buying it.” Could Taylor have managed it somehow?

  “Believe what you want. I don’t care. It’s legal. Now move out of the way so Burt here can get to work. I’m paying him by the hour.” She folded her arms over her chest, daring Josie to protest.

  Which she did. “Burt.” He turned to Josie. “I own this property. I never received any notice of this order. And I am disputing it. Tomorrow, Monday morning, I will call the court that supposedly issued the order and verify it. If it’s legitimate, you can come back. And Taylor can pay you again. But for right now, please put your drill away.”

  Evelyn glared at Taylor. “Young lady, you are making a serious mistake. Send this man home.”

  Taylor’s face hardened. Kai turned the camera on her. “How about if I call your friends at the Dorset Falls police station and have an officer come down and enforce this?” Taylor said.

  “Not if I call them first and have them stop it.”

  Burt looked from Josie to Taylor. “Look, Ms. Philbin. I don’t want to get in trouble. This business is my only source of income. I can’t lose my locksmith license.”

  “Why do you want in there so badly?” Josie asked Taylor. “You must have heard there was a new arrest in the murder of your uncle. Harry Oglethorpe will be out of jail soon. Maybe as early as tomorrow, depending on how fast he gets processed out. Why not just wait until then, and you and Harry can work out the details? You’ll have to do that anyway. What’s one more day?”

  “I’ll tell you why I want in there. Because it’s half mine, and we still haven’t found that partnership agreement. I want to know what I’m entitled to.”

  Entitled. That about summed it up. Josie opened her mouth to reply, when Kai butted in. “Tell you what, Burt. I’ve got a couple extra Ben Franklins in my wallet, and they say they think you should open that door. And you’ll be on television, too. I can do a close-up of your jacket showing your company name.”

  Burt hesitated. But not for long. He pressed the trigger, and the drill buzzed to life. He started working on the lock again.

  “You’re paying for that lock repair,” Josie said to Kai. She took her cell phone from her jacket pocket and dialed Sharla, but the call went right to voice mail. “Hey, it’s Josie. You still on duty? I’ve got a situation here at the antique store, and I could use your help. Thanks.”

  Evelyn spoke into her own phone. “Sharla, you get down here right now.” She turned to Kai and Taylor. “This order’s not worth the paper it’s printed on.” She handed it back to Josie.

  “Prove it,” Taylor said. She put her hands on her hips and watched the drilling.

  Josie didn’t notice Margo Simmons until she came up and stood beside her. Margo glanced around at all the players, taking in the scene. “The police are on their way,” Josie said. “Did you find Helen?”

  Margo shook her head. “No one’s seen her. She didn’t go to the general store.”

  Evelyn put a hand to her mouth. “In all this excitement, I forgot about Helen for a moment. Josie, if you don’t need me here, I’ll go back to the yarn shop. We left the door open. And someone should be there in case Helen calls the business phone.”

  “Thanks, Ev,” Josie said. “Hopefully I’ll be back to join you shortly.” Evelyn went next door.

  “Gwen’s not back yet?” Margo asked. “I can’t stand the sound of that drill. It reminds me of the dentist.”

  “No, and neither can I. Where’s Sharla, anyway?”

  No sooner had Josie asked the question than a squad car pulled up out front. At the same moment, the drill shut off. Burt put his hand to the doorknob, and the door swung open. Heedless of the police, Taylor rushed inside, giving a shove past Burt. Kai followed her with the camera to his eye.

  It wasn’t Sharla who emerged from the car. It was Officer Fleming, the young cop who’d taken Josie’s statement after she’d discovered Lyndon’s body. Great. “Come on inside,” she said. “And I’ll explain.”

  “You,” Fleming said to Burt. “You come in too. I’ll want to talk to you.”

  Burt packed up his drill and went in, not protesting. Of course, he still hadn’t received his couple of Benjamins, so he was probably in no hurry to leave.

  Margo said, “I’ll track down Gwen, see if she’s found anything. We can rendezvous back at Miss Marple’s when you’re done here.”

  Josie nodded and followed Officer Fleming inside the antique store.

  Taylor stood there with her hands on her hips, surveying the room. Apparently she hadn’t considered how big a job this search of hers would be. Where would she start? Josie had a feeling the agreement wasn’t even here. Taylor shook out her hair, letting it settle around her shoulders, as Officer Fleming approached her.

  “There’s really no need for you to be here, Officer.” She had turned on the charm. “Though I’m glad you are. My uncle was the one who was killed here.” She managed a fetching little catch in her voice. “And the landlord wouldn’t let me in. This is my business now, and I’ve got to be responsible.” Taylor turned those big green eyes on him.

  Kai didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he gave a little smile.

  Officer Fleming, to his credit, seemed unaffected. Josie gave him a mental fist pump. She scolded herself. Just because he was young didn’t mean he wasn’t a good cop. He turned to Josie. “I know you own the building. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on here?”

  Josie explained. She held out the order. “I’m fairly sure this is a fake, but I won’t be able to verify that until tomorrow. And even if it isn’t, there’s no reason for all the drama.”

  Fleming glanced from Josie to Taylor. “What are you looking for?”

  Taylor rolled her eyes. “As I’ve told Ms. Blair here, I don’t know how many times, I’m the executrix of my uncle’s estate. I need his computer, or his paper files at least, and I can’t find them. Legal business, you understand.”

  “I can’t think of too much legal business you need to conduct on Sunday
afternoon,” he said. “Ms. Blair? You own the building. What do you want to do?”

  Good question. Josie was worried about Helen. But she had an obligation to Lyndon and Harry, too. “All right,” she said. “Nothing leaves the property. You’ve got fifteen minutes to search. You don’t need more than that since you’ve already been here and apparently didn’t find what you were looking for.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Taylor said. “I’ve never set foot in this building.” But she must have decided not to argue with Josie’s fifteen-minute time limit because she started at the street-view side of the room and began to search.

  “I’ll be back here,” Josie said to Officer Fleming. “I want to check on the broken lock on the back door.” She made her way behind the counter. The door appeared to be in the same shape as when she’d left it, secured with a hasp and padlock she’d had Darrell Gray install for her. Based on Taylor’s latest stunt with the probably fake court order, Josie didn’t think she’d try the back door again anyway.

  Taylor continued searching. Kai continued filming. Officer Fleming continued standing there, impassive, watching the show.

  Josie sat on the stool behind the counter, then leaned her elbows on the scarred wood, so similar to the counter next door at Miss Marple Knits. She rested her chin in her hands. It had been a long day. She dropped one hand to the counter and began to trace the old grooves in the wood. Something rolled under her finger. Something light and fine, but she could feel it. Josie looked down, picked the thing up, and held it up to the light.

  The strand of hair was more than a foot long. Wavy.

  And an unmistakable shade of red.

  “Officer Fleming? Do you have a plastic bag?”

  He came over. “A small one. Why?”

  Taylor and Kai both looked in their direction.

  “Didn’t Taylor just say she’d never been in this shop?”

  “That’s right,” Taylor said, defiant. But she looked a little nervous, just the same.

  “Because I’ve got a long red hair here that says you’re lying.”

  Officer Fleming held out the bag, and Josie deposited the strand inside it. He zipped it closed, then pulled a pen out of somewhere and made some notations on the bag.

  “You want to press charges?” Fleming said. “That B&E case is still open.”

  “Yeah, I probably do.” More than probably. Josie couldn’t take another minute of Taylor Philbin or Kai Norton. And she was getting more worried about Helen by the minute.

  Taylor glared. “Even if I did do it—and you know I’ve got an alibi—it’s not breaking and entering if it’s your own property.”

  “I’m sure you can convince a judge of that, the same way you convinced a judge to give you this worthless court order. Fifteen minutes is up. You’re done here.”

  “Burt, you can go,” Fleming said. He turned to Josie. “I’ll take these two down to the station and charge them with B&E.”

  “You might want to confiscate that camera, too,” Josie said.

  Chapter 36

  Josie stood on the street and watched the squad car pull away. She wasn’t counting on Kai and Taylor being tied up too long. One or both of them had broken in, but there was no evidence anything had been taken. But they were out of her hair for now.

  She made her way through the familiar doorway of Miss Marple Knits.

  Evelyn and Margo sat on the couch, knitting and crocheting away, respectively. Evelyn’s hands flew faster than usual, a sure sign she was agitated. They looked up when Josie came in.

  “Any word on Helen?” Josie asked.

  “No,” Margo said. “Gwen went to her house. Her car was in the driveway. The front door was locked, and when Helen didn’t answer, Gwen found a partly open window and crawled inside. Helen wasn’t there.”

  Evelyn yanked up some more yarn and continued her furious knitting. “There are only so many places she could be. And we’ve checked them all.”

  “Time to call the police,” Josie said. “Although I have to think we’ve searched everywhere they would.”

  Josie’s cell phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the display. The number was not one she recognized. She picked up. “Hello? If you’re trying to sell me solar panels, you picked the wrong day—”

  “Josie?” The voice was thin. Weak.

  “Helen?” Evelyn and Margo sat up straight and turned toward Josie. “Helen, we’ve been so worried! Where are you?” Josie’s heart pounded. Thank goodness.

  “I . . . fell. Hit my head, and I think I’ve been unconscious for a while. Can you come and help me? I don’t want an ambulance,” she added quickly.

  “Of course I’ll come. But I can’t promise I won’t call an ambulance. Where are you?”

  “I’m across the street. In my building.”

  Josie frowned. “Helen, are you sure you’re thinking clearly? I was over there less than an hour ago, and I looked in every room. And where did you find a phone? Yours is here at the yarn shop.”

  There was a pause, as if Helen were thinking. Poor thing. She was probably disoriented. “I’m in . . . the basement. There’s an old phone—a landline—I’ve been paying the bills on for years. For emergencies.”

  Which this was. “I’m on my way. Be right there, Helen. Stay put. I’ll find you.” Josie rang off. If she needed to call back, the number was captured in her phone.

  “Where is she?” Evelyn demanded. “Is she all right? I’m coming with you.”

  “She says she’s across the street and she fell. I’d rather have you stay here, Evelyn. No matter what she says, we’re taking her to the emergency room. Can you make sure you’ve got a blanket, and maybe a bottle of water, in your car? You’ve got more room in your Buick.”

  “Then I’ll come,” Margo said. “Although I think I should call Darrell. He’s on the Fire Department EMS unit.”

  “Honestly, she seemed a little embarrassed,” Josie said. “I do think you should call Darrell, before we take her to the ER. I’ll help her back over here, and we can say Darrell just happened to be here. To pick you up or something.”

  Evelyn nodded in approval. “Then he can check her out discreetly and see if she really does need an ambulance. It’s not easy getting older, you know. If we can leave her her dignity, we should. I’ll warm up the car and have it ready.”

  “Then it’s settled,” Josie said, and left.

  She let herself in the front door of Bea Ryder’s old dress shop using Evelyn’s keys, which she hadn’t yet returned. The stairs to the right of the door, which led to the apartments upstairs, didn’t go down. Which meant there had to be a stairway to the basement somewhere in the storefront part of the building.

  It didn’t take long to locate it in the back. This store had a wall along the back with an opening that led into a hallway. A light was on overhead. A stairway was visible through an open door. Several other doors lined the other end of the hall.

  Why would Helen keep any of Bea’s things down there? She had a whole building. And really, if Josie had known Helen would go to all this trouble, go into that dank basement that Josie could smell even from here, let alone hurt herself, Josie would have told her not to bother. It was just a thimble, and Josie hadn’t needed it that badly. “Helen?” Josie called into the stairwell. “I’m coming.”

  As she put her hand on the railing, a faint noise sounded from her right. She started, then turned. Just a short hallway, dimly lit by the leftover light from the single bulb over her head. Probably a mouse, though there was no sign of one. Maybe Josie would bring Coco over tomorrow. If there was a rodent, her cat would find it, kill it, and drop it at Josie’s feet as a disgusting love offering.

  She put out her foot to take the first step.

  And jumped back, almost losing her balance, when she caught movement in her peripheral vision.

  A hand reached out and grabbed her arm, steadying her. Josie’s heart pounded from her near-death experience.
She looked up, then blew out a breath.

  “Dougie,” she said. “You surprised me. What are you doing here?”

  The mayor grabbed her by the shoulders and gave a shove, pushing her back against the wall. “What the hell are you up to?” he said, voice menacing. “Ever since you came to town you’ve been sticking your nose into other people’s business. It ends here.” His face was dark with rage.

  Josie’s gut tightened, but she got her New York on. “I don’t know what your problem is, but you touch me again, and I’ll knee your nuts up into your sinuses.” She eyed him. He had fifty or sixty pounds on her, but he was out of shape. She wasn’t exactly in fighting form after a few months of shepherd’s pie and no gym, but she was a lot younger and was pretty sure she could outrun him.

  Dougie snorted. “Did you belong to a gang back in New York City? They won’t get here in time.”

  Keep calm and keep him talking. Evelyn and Margo knew she was here. If she didn’t come back soon, with Helen, they’d call for help. “Dougie, settle down. Let’s go back to Miss Marple Knits, or to the general store, and you can tell me whatever it is you want to talk about.”

  “I’ll tell you now. Drop this Bea Ryder nonsense. The woman’s been dead for years. It’s nothing to you.” He took a step closer, still holding onto her arm.

  “Isn’t it already solved? You confessed what you knew today, and now everybody knows it was Richard Steuben who killed her. And Rick Steuben who killed Lyndon to keep Lyndon quiet. So what if I’m interested in where Bea’s body is? Lots of people are interested in mysteries and true crime.”

  Dougie’s words repeated in her head. It’s nothing to you. “It’s nothing to you either. Is it?” she asked.

  He yanked on her arm. She backpedaled and hit the wall, harder this time. Dougie’s breath was ragged and smelled like some kind of spicy sausage. Lorna’s lentil soup from today’s lunch. Josie turned her face to the side so she wouldn’t have to breathe it in.

  Why was he doing this? She had to get to Helen.

  Josie dodged to the side, breaking his grip, but she’d gone the wrong direction and was trapped in the hallway. Dougie was faster than she would have given him credit for. His fingers closed hard around her wrist, and he pulled. “Shut up!” He dragged her toward the door to the basement. She leaned back in resistance, but his greater weight gave him the advantage, and she felt herself being pulled along.