by Jan Fields
Mr. Gold shrugged. “If you work with promotion, you pay attention to details. At any rate, that’s probably why no one stopped him from wandering around the convention area in the middle of the night. Vendor access ran until after eleven o’clock last night.”
“And why were you in the room so early?” Stella asked.
“Nervous fretting,” Mr. Gold said. “Those things are very valuable and completely irreplaceable. Security here isn’t exactly impressive, so I managed to worry myself right out of any chance at sleep. I came down to check on everything, because I thought that seeing it all safe and sound would help me stop worrying. Then I was going to try to catch a short nap before everything started today. That didn’t happen, of course.”
“I know the things are valuable to me and my family,” Annie said. “And I know there was a kind of rush right after Gram passed away, but surely that’s not the case anymore.”
“If anything, the value has grown,” Mr. Gold said. “That little display is worth many thousands of dollars. The large portrait alone … I couldn’t imagine what that would sell for.”
“How could anyone sell it?” Mary Beth asked. “Once it was stolen, you couldn’t exactly convince a buyer that you came by it honestly. You couldn’t take it to Sotheby’s or anything like that.”
“No, selling something like that would have to be very under-the-table,” Mr. Gold said. “A thief would really have to already know who would want it.”
“How would he know that?” Annie asked.
Mr. Gold shrugged. “Maybe he was some kind of art thief. Though you would expect a cat burglar to look more mysterious and successful. I mean, the man needed a shave, and he was wearing department-store jeans!”
Mary Beth thanked Mr. Gold for talking to them. “I really have to run now,” she said. “The masters’ classes start in a couple minutes.”
“I’ll go with you,” Stella said.
“But Cat could have been kidnapped, and God only knows where she is and what is happening to her!” Annie exclaimed. “I still need to find Detective Matthews!”
“I just saw him,” Mr. Gold interjected.
“Really?” Stella turned sharp eyes toward the slender man. “Did he need to question you again?”
“Not me, no,” Mr. Gold said with a shake of his head. “He was talking to some of the waitstaff. I happened to notice because the detective stands out in this crowd. I mean, really, what could stand out more than a cowboy at a crafts convention?”
“Could you point me in the right direction?” Annie asked. “I really must speak to him.”
Mr. Gold gave them directions, and Annie turned to Kate. “Do you still want to come with me?” she asked. “I’ll understand if you’d rather not miss any of the master’s class. You’re much more of a master at crochet than I am.”
Kate reluctantly shook her head. “No, I’ll go with you. You shouldn’t have to talk to him alone, and I saw the guy grab Cat too.”
Mr. Gold’s eyes went wide. “You saw a crime?”
“Was it the woman you were looking for?” Mary Beth asked.
“Yes,” Annie said. “I promise to tell you all about it, but you should go to your class, and I should go find the detective.”
At that, they separated and Annie wove through the crowded hallway with Kate just behind her. Finally, the crowd began to thin as most of the people headed to the masters’ classes. Annie turned into the hallway Mr. Gold had directed them to, and they saw the detective’s dark head of wild hair as he bent over his notebook, flipping pages. He was alone in the hall, and Annie was glad to have caught him before he left.
“Detective?” she called.
The man raised his head, and his face lit up with recognition. “Ah, the ladies of Stony Point, Maine,” he said with a grin. “How can I help you?”
“Could you tell me if Cat Reed contacted you?” Annie asked.
The detective shook his head. “No, I’ve talked to a number of people, but no one by that name. Does she know something about the murder?”
“Murder?” Kate said. “So you’re sure now?”
“We’re leaning that way,” the detective said. “Now what about Cat Reed?”
“I met her yesterday,” Annie said. “We talked about some trouble she was having with her boyfriend. Then when I talked to her again this morning, I found out her boyfriend was Max Lessing.”
The detective raised his eyebrows. “Interesting.”
“She didn’t know he was dead,” Annie said. “And she was very upset when I told her. She promised me that she was going to call you.”
“I never heard from her,” the detective said. “I checked in with the office just a few minutes ago.”
“Maybe she’s on your voice mail,” Annie said. “When I tried to call your cell, the call rolled over to voice mail.”
“The department wouldn’t have given her my cellphone number,” he said. “And it’s not on my cards.”
“It was on the one you gave me,” Kate said. “You wrote it.”
He smiled crookedly at her. “That was special.”
“Oh!” Kate said, clearly surprised.
“There’s more about Cat,” Annie said.
“Of course—what else?” the detective asked pulling his gaze away from Kate with some reluctance. “Did you get her phone number?”
“No, though I imagine the convention organizers have it. She is one of the models in the fashion show,” Annie said. “But when Kate and I walked outside this morning to get a good signal on my phone, I saw Cat waiting near the parking garage. A black SUV drove out of the garage, and the driver got out and pushed her into the backseat. She didn’t look like she wanted to go.”
“You’re saying it looked like an abduction?” The detective frowned. “Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”
“We were kind of far away,” Annie admitted. “But Cat definitely didn’t look like she wanted to get in.”
“Did you get a good look at the driver of the SUV?” he asked.
Annie shook her head. “The door blocked my view. I could tell it was a man, but that’s all.” Annie took a deep breath and finally added. “When we were coming to the convention, I thought a black SUV was following us. It might have been my imagination, but I just wanted to add that.”
“Max Lessing drove a black SUV,” the detective said. “We found it in the parking garage here.”
“Do you think whoever grabbed Cat was using Max Lessing’s car?” Annie asked.
The detective shook his head. “There are a lot of dark SUVs around, and we impounded the victim’s car, so I’m sure it wasn’t the same vehicle.”
“Detective Matthews,” Annie said. “Cat seemed genuinely broken up when I told her that Max Lessing was dead. She clearly cared about him. I don’t think she had anything to do with his death.”
The detective nodded, writing in his notebook. Then he looked up at Kate. “Do you have anything to add, Mrs. Stevens?”
Kate turned to look at Annie. Then she said, “Annie got part of the license plate.”
“Oh, right!” Annie said. “I completely forgot. Yes, I wrote it down.” She read off the numbers to the detective, and he wrote them in his notebook.
“You ladies have been very helpful,” he said. “You wouldn’t be part of the Stony Point mystery club would you?”
“Now you’re making fun of us,” Kate said. “We were just trying to help.”
He held up his hands. “Not making fun, I promise. Maybe just teasing a little. But you have been helpful. I’m going to put out an APB, and we’ll begin looking for Cat Reed immediately.”
Kate looked at him skeptically, but the detective seemed sincere.
“OK,” Annie said. “We’ll leave you to your work. We’re going to go back to enjoying the convention. Oh, I just thought of something. Mr. Gold said Max was wearing a vendor’s tag. Was he a vendor here?”
The detective shook his head. “No, we tracked that down. Appa
rently he took it from someone’s jacket during the dinner hour.”
“Oh,” Annie said. She wondered if a lot of clues just turned out to be nothing.
“Well, thank you ladies again,” he said. “Are you both staying through until Sunday?”
“Right after Sunday brunch is the ceremony honoring my grandmother,” Annie said. “We definitely won’t be leaving before that.”
He nodded, though his gaze had wandered back to Kate. “Well, I hope the rest of your convention is pleasant. I’d hate for any of you to go home with a dim view of Texas.”
“Not likely to happen,” Annie said.
They turned and headed back toward the convention areas, leaving the detective alone with his notebook. “Well, that settles that,” Annie said, once they were out of earshot.
“What?” Kate asked.
“He definitely likes you.”
Kate stopped walking, disbelief on her face. “Where do you get that from?”
“It certainly wasn’t me that he was staring at the whole time we were there,” Annie said.
“Right,” Kate said. “He stares at me with those suspicious eyes.”
Annie laughed. “I definitely didn’t see suspicion in his eyes when he looked at you.”
“Let’s be realistic,” Kate said. “I’m the mother of a teenager. And the men of Stony Point are not exactly lining up to date me.”
“That’s because they’re scared of Harry,” Annie said, “and because you respond to male interest by assuming the man thinks you’re a killer.”
Kate just shook her head. “OK, OK,” she said. “I’m sorry I ever took part in teasing you about Ian. You don’t have to try to get me back.”
“I’m not,” Annie said. “I just don’t think you need to worry about being a suspect. His interest in you is not because he thinks you’re a killer. I promise, no teasing—but you really don’t have to worry about him slapping the cuffs on you.”
Kate looked at her for a second. “Thanks,” she said finally. “Now we should get back to the convention. I’m so ready to think about crochet for a while.”
They did exactly that for the rest of the afternoon. They even banished mystery talk from the dinner table after Annie and Kate told the others about seeing Cat abducted.
“We’ve told everything to the detective,” Annie said. “Now I’d like to just enjoy the rest of the convention.”
“OK,” Mary Beth said agreeably. Stella looked less enthusiastic, but she didn’t argue. “I know I’m having a great time,” Mary Beth added. “I’ve found two new yarn vendors for A Stitch in Time. People are going to love these gorgeous handmade yarns.”
“That’s great,” Kate said. “I love working with that kind of yarn. It has so much personality. I’d also like to try needle felting like they talked about in the workshop today. I was going to see about getting some wool roving from the Two Ewe Spinnery.”
“That was an interesting workshop,” Annie agreed. “What are you thinking of making?”
“Flowers,” Kate said. “I could picture this Alpine-styled, short jacket with embroidered accents and felted flowers—all in muted colors.”
“Sounds great,” Annie said. She could definitely imagine wearing a jacket like that on the nippy spring days in Maine.
“Are you nervous about the fashion show tonight?” Mary Beth asked.
“Me? Or Kate?” Annie asked in return.
“Both,” Mary Beth answered. “But you’re the one who’ll be in the public eye.”
“I’m hoping that if I don’t fall down or faint during the fashion show tonight, it will give me confidence for Sunday,” Annie admitted.
“You’ll be fantastic,” Mary Beth said.
“So, you’ve seen all the clothing in the fashion show,” Stella said. “How stiff is Kate’s competition?”
“You know I love Kate’s work best,” Annie said. “The competition is fierce though. I saw so many really beautiful things, and not just knitted or crocheted. There was one embroidered dress that was stunning. The dress was made in jewel-tone fabric, and the embroidery was all metallic and mirrors. I know it sounds garish, but somehow it just looked amazing.”
“I can’t see how any of them could beat Kate’s work,” Mary Beth said loyally.
“I am just happy to be a finalist if the competition is like you say, Annie,” Kate said. “I really never expected to win.”
“It’s far too early to count yourself out,” Annie said. “Your dress is incredible. And the way it wears—some of the pieces I saw were beautiful workmanship, but yours also hangs and flows so perfectly.”
Kate smiled and patted Annie’s arm. “Thanks.”
“You know,” Stella said. “I’ve heard that companies often look for new designs at these kinds of original fashion shows, so this could result in more opportunities than even the prize money.”
“I think I’ll not count my chickens before they’re hatched,” Kate said. “In this case, it’s before the eggs are even laid!”
“I think you should spend more time dreaming big,” Mary Beth said.
Just then, their conversation was interrupted as the four Brookfield women walked up to their table. “Annie,” Dorothy said. “We just wanted a chance to meet your Stony Point friends.”
Annie stood and introduced everyone, and then invited the women to join them for dessert and coffee since they already had a couple of extra chairs at the big table where they’d been seated. The waitstaff brought more chairs, and everyone was soon seated and chatting like old friends.
Annie looked over the group with a smile. It really shouldn’t have surprised her that her old friends and her new friends would get along so well. They had so much in common, and not just a love of crafting. They were also all loyal, kind women with big hearts—even Stella was going out of her way to be open and friendly.
It reminded Annie of an old song she had learned in Girl Scouts and her eyes twinkled as it ran through her head. Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, and the other gold. Despite the rough moments of the convention, this really was a perfect moment, as Annie found herself surrounded by her silver and gold friends.
12
Later, as Annie walked into the makeshift changing room for the fashion show, she noticed right away that Cat Reed wasn’t there. Annie was worried. Had the young woman been too upset to take part in the fashion show? Was she busy talking to the police detective? Or had Annie and Kate really witnessed an abduction?
Worry gnawed at Annie’s stomach as she changed into Kate’s lovely dress. Finally, Annie paused and bowed her head to say a silent prayer for the younger woman’s safety.
When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see Cat herself, slipping in beside her to reach her jacket. “Oh, Cat,” Annie said. “I’m so glad to see you’re OK.”
Cat looked at her and smiled. “Oh, I’m so sorry I worried you. I know I was pretty messed up this morning.”
“Well, yes, I was worried about that,” Annie said. “But also, I saw you this morning near the parking garage. It looked like someone forced you into that SUV.”
Cat laughed ruefully. “Someone did—my brother! He can be such a big brother sometimes. He was sure I needed to go straight home to Mom’s and let her wrap me up in a quilt and feed me sweet tea like when we were kids. We were halfway to Littleton before I talked him into turning around and bringing me back. It’s not that I couldn’t use some Mom time, you know? It’s just that it felt important that I do this show.”
“I can understand that,” Annie said. “Did you ever talk to the police detective?”
Cat shook her head. “I called his office after we finally got back, but they just took my name and information. I’m sure he’ll call me.” For a second her eyes grew wet, and then she blinked the tears away. “I’ll think about all that after this is over.”
Annie gave Cat a quick hug, though she knew that sometimes a little sympathy could crumble a person’s effort to stay st
rong, so she quickly changed the subject. “So your brother had the same kind of car as Max?”
Cat looked at her in surprise. “Yeah, actually, Jake bought it after he drove Max’s SUV once.”
“I didn’t know they were that close,” Annie said.
“Close to throttling one another—all the time,” Cat said. “No, Jake just had to move Max’s car when we went to my Mom’s birthday party. Apparently Max had someone blocked in. The way Jake acted, you’d have thought Max parked on top of Mom’s rosebushes.” She shook her head at the memory. “But Jake did like the car, so he bought one.”
Just then, the backstage manager called for all the models to line up as they had practiced, and the show began. From her place in line, Annie heard the master of ceremonies running through the description of each outfit, just as she had during the rehearsals. She also heard the applause, and it was louder than she expected. How many people are out there? Annie thought as she fought down a jolt of nerves. She had to do this well for Kate’s sake.
In line just ahead of her, Annie heard Cat’s name called. “Good luck,” she whispered.
Cat smiled back at her and walked through the door. Annie took several deep breaths, but still nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the master of ceremonies call Kate’s name. Annie pasted a smile on her face and walked through the door.
Annie counted in her head so that she would do the turns to show off the dress just as she’d practiced. Then she slipped out of the jacket to show off the detailing in the dress bodice. She knew the master of ceremonies was describing the dress, but her nerves were so jumpy, she could barely hear her.
At the last turn, Annie looked out over the audience. She saw Mary Beth standing in the center aisle snapping pictures, and Annie felt her smile relax into something a bit more natural. Mary Beth was clearly glowing with pride, and Annie knew that pride was all for Kate. This really was her friend’s moment.
As the announcer stopped speaking, the applause from the audience roared back at Annie. Were they really this enthusiastic for everyone? It certainly seemed extra loud to Annie. She crossed the small platform that made up the stage and stepped off the other side to take her place with the other models.