Road Trip

by Jan Fields

  Annie enjoyed watching the last five models. Each outfit was truly a work of art. One made clever use of granny squares in a pantsuit. The slacks were fabric but with a row of small, bright granny squares up the side seams. The matching sweater had scattered granny squares in a matrix of lace. Annie was charmed to see an old design like granny squares given such an updated look by a clever, talented designer.

  Two of the final outfits didn’t use crocheted or knitted parts at all, except as a lace trim on one. Instead, they used different sorts of embroidery to accent the fabric. Annie wished Gram were there to see the darling Western-look jacket with a gorgeous cross-stitch landscape across the back yoke. She would have loved the idea.

  Finally the announcer drew the show to a close. She explained the voting to the audience and added that the top three vote getters would be presented the following morning. Then a panel of industry experts would pick the person who would win the grand prize for original clothing design.

  When the show was over, Annie headed back toward the dressing room. She hoped to speak to Cat before she slipped out. Instead, Annie was engulfed in a hug before she made it halfway across the room.

  “You made my dress look beautiful,” Kate said, excitement shining in her eyes. “It doesn’t even matter about winning. It was just amazing to see my dress up there with all those gorgeous things.”

  “Your dress would be stunning in any crowd,” Annie said. “Let me go get out of it though. I don’t want to rumple it before morning. I have a feeling I’ll be wearing it again.”

  Kate laughed. “You guys are always so encouraging.”

  Annie made it to the dressing room and looked around, but she didn’t see Cat anywhere. When Annie hung up Kate’s dress, she noticed that Cat must have taken her jacket with her. Shaking her head, Annie chided herself. You really need to leave this whole murder mystery alone. The detective has it well in hand.

  With that, Annie slipped her own cardigan back on and walked back out to the main room where her friends were clustered around Kate. Annie was glad to see the Brookfield ladies congratulating Kate right along with her friends from Stony Point.

  “I would love to be able to design like that,” Dorothy said wistfully. “I love to crochet, but I am definitely tied to using patterns.”

  “Not all my attempts turn out that well,” Kate said modestly. “It’s a good thing no one sees some of the messes I come up with.”

  “I wish I could buy patterns for something that nice,” Lily chimed in. “My granddaughter would look amazing in a dress like that.” She turned to smile at Annie. “You were lovely.”

  “I’m just glad I didn’t faint,” Annie said. “I definitely felt a little wobbly at the beginning.”

  “Well, I couldn’t have done it at all,” Kate said. “I’m so grateful to you for taking my place.”

  “You’ll still have to be brave tomorrow when they call you up on stage,” Mary Beth said.

  Kate just laughed fondly. “Let’s let tomorrow take care of itself. Do we have any plans for now?”

  “If no one minds,” Annie said. “I’m going to call it a night. I want to call my daughter and see how the twins are feeling.”

  “Tell LeeAnn they’re in our prayers,” Mary Beth said. “We definitely want to see them all on Sunday.”

  “She’ll appreciate that,” Annie answered. Her friends all wished her good night before returning to their plans for the evening. Annie felt a warm glow as she headed out into the hall. Well, she said to herself, one scary hurdle down, one to go. At least she’d only been expected to walk in the fashion show; she’d actually have to speak on Sunday.

  Annie wandered down the hall, looking around absent-mindedly. She was surprised to see the door open to the display room. It had been closed all day. She guessed the police must have finished with it.

  Annie walked into the room and looked at her grandmother’s work. Seeing the peaceful scenes in the pictures, Annie was awash in nostalgia. How many times had she seen Gram tucked into the corner of the sofa at Grey Gables stitching one of these lovely things? “I miss you, Gram,” she whispered.

  Annie turned and looked curiously at the other displays in the room. She realized they were all showcasing different designers. She spotted one set up by her favorite crochet magazine. It showed a darling baby layette carefully pinned to the display so that it best showed off the sweet lacy design. Beside it hung a collection of cute crocheted hats. And across the table laid a row of crocheted slippers. The display declared that all were the work of one designer, and it showed the woman’s sweet smiling face.

  “Maybe someday that will be Kate,” Annie said aloud. She liked the idea of seeing her friend’s designs in a magazine and wondered if Kate had ever considered doing something like that. It seemed like it might be a nice side income. She’d probably need to design pieces a bit simpler than most of her masterworks though.

  With that thought, Annie found herself stifling a yawn. It was definitely time to head upstairs and call LeeAnn. She realized she’d been dawdling a bit mostly because she was afraid her daughter would give her bad news. She hated the idea of her family missing out on Gram’s ceremony.

  “I need to just get this over with,” she said and strode out of the room. As she headed into the lobby, she caught sight of Cat chatting with a man with similar features. Probably her brother, she thought. She started to veer toward them, but then decided not to intrude.

  Still, her movement had apparently caught the younger woman’s eye because she smiled and gestured for Annie to come over. “Jake, this is the lady I told you about,” she said. “Annie, this is my brother Jake.”

  The young man looked to be a few years older than his sister. He had a solemn expression and the same high cheekbones as his sister. He nodded toward Annie. “Nice to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Annie said. “Your sister speaks highly of you.”

  A little bit of a smile cracked his grave expression. “Not always,” he said. “Sometimes she talks about me like a sorry dog.”

  “No, that’s only when I’m talking to you,” Cat quipped. “I save the nice stuff for when I’m talking about you. Otherwise Mom would ban me from Sunday dinner into eternity.”

  “Sounds like family,” Annie added. “I’ve always thought it would be wonderful to have a big brother.”

  “That’s ’cause you don’t have one,” Cat said. Then as her brother put on a fake pout, she gave him a quick hug. “You know I couldn’t do without you.”

  “Though you might want to try now and then,” he finished for her.

  They all laughed, and then Cat turned toward Annie again. “I was telling Jake that he missed a great fashion show,” Cat said. “I still can’t believe my little jacket made it into the finals. You should have seen the fancy ensemble Annie wore in the show.”

  “I only wore it,” Annie said. “I certainly couldn’t have made it. I thought your jacket was lovely and so creative. I’m impressed by people who can create out of their imaginations like that. My grandmother could do it with cross-stitch, but I’m afraid that talent did not get passed on to me.”

  “I like making my own things,” Cat said. “And you just wait. The next time they have one of these fancy things here in Texas, I’m make something every bit as fancy as that dress you wore.”

  “I believe you will,” Annie said.

  “Cat’s really talented,” Jake said, pride clear in his voice. “And she’s got a great eye. She sometimes helps my wife in her business.”

  “Oh?” Annie said. “What does your wife do?”

  “Melanie’s a personal shopper,” Cat said. “It is so much fun. You help people get the things that will really suit them and make them happy. I love that.”

  “And you can do a lot more of it—now,” Jake said. “You know Mel’s always wanted you in the business, and now you can do that.”

  Cat frowned at her brother. “Let’s not hash that up again,” she said. “Y
ou know I didn’t think you were being reasonable.”

  “Well, you tell me, ma’am,” Jake said turning to Annie. “What do you think Mel’s clients would think if they knew the lady helping them in their private homes was some felon’s girlfriend?”

  “Max’s problems were a long time ago,” Cat said, her face darkening with anger. “He worked an honest job selling office machines.”

  “He certainly managed to sell you that story, didn’t he?”

  “Um, I really feel like I’m intruding on something best kept private,” Annie said. “It was lovely to meet you, Jake. I’m going to go on up to my room now.”

  Jake seemed to realize then that he’d gotten a little out of hand. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I shouldn’t have tried to drag you into it. I do appreciate how nice you’ve been to my little sister.”

  Annie smiled. “Your little sister is easy to be nice to.”

  The thunderous expression on Cat’s face faded, and she smiled. “Good night, Annie. It was fun being in the show with you.”

  “You too,” Annie said. “And who knows, maybe we’ll both be on stage in the morning.”

  Cat laughed. “Not likely, but it’s good to dream—right?”

  “That’s my motto,” Annie agreed. Then she bid them good night and walked the rest of the way to the elevators. Annie stepped inside and pushed the button. Something Jake had said nagged at her memory. What was it?

  She tapped a foot in time to the elevator music as she went through Jake and Cat’s conversation in her head. Then it hit her. Cat had said Max sold office machines, and their computer search that morning showed that Edgar Harvester had several businesses that sold office machines. What were the odds that the company Max sold machines for might be one of the ones Mr. Harvester owned?

  The elevator dinged and opened on Annie’s floor. Annie pushed the button to close the door and headed back downstairs. She had to know if Mr. Harvester and Max Lessing were connected. She had a feeling the answer to that question would interest Detective Matthews very, very much.

  13

  Annie saw Cat and Jake heading toward the front entrance as she stepped off the elevator, and she called after them. At the sound of her name, Cat turned with a questioning look. Annie caught a mild flash of irritation cross Jake’s face before he shifted into a smile. She felt a twinge of guilt at the look. He probably wants to get home, she thought.

  “I’m sorry,” Annie said, panting slightly after trotting across the lobby. “I promise I won’t keep you. I just had one thing I wanted to ask. What was the name of the company Max worked for?”

  “Harvester Office Machine Supply,” Cat said. “Not exactly catchy, huh? Why did you want to know?”

  “I just know someone else from that company,” Annie said. “Since I don’t know a lot of people who work for office machine companies, I wondered if they might have worked together. As I was heading up in the elevator that struck me, and I just had to have my curiosity answered.”

  Jake’s smile turned wry. “You know what they say about curiosity … .”

  Cat smacked him on the arm. “I know what I say about it. It’s the only way to learn anything.” Then she turned back to Annie. “It’s perfectly OK. I get that way about things sometimes. I’m heading home for the night. It has been a very difficult day. Did you need anything else?”

  “No, I’m sorry for holding you up,” Annie said. “Um, actually, do you know how well Max got along with his boss?”

  Cat shrugged. “They must have gotten along all right. Max never talked about him. He really didn’t talk about work much. I guess he knew I wouldn’t find it all that exciting.” Her smile turned sad. “I guess he felt the same way about crocheting.”

  “I can’t imagine that you tried to talk him out of his job though,” Annie said gently.

  “No,” Cat admitted. She straightened her shoulders and spoke more briskly. “Anyway, he must have been happy with his work. I’m sure I would have heard something if he wasn’t.”

  “Max wasn’t someone to suffer in silence,” Jake added.

  Cat glared at him. “You’d think you could hold off the sarcasm now.”

  Annie could feel another sibling argument brewing, so she quickly bid them good night and headed back toward the elevator. So Max Lessing worked for Edgar Harvester. Did that have something to do with his death? It did seem a very big coincidence if it wasn’t related.

  As she headed upstairs, she thought about the new connection. If Max really was the man they saw at the restaurant along the way, and the one who tried to break into their car, was Edgar Harvester the man with him? Annie tried to picture the men in the dark parking lot, but finally shook her head. She really hadn’t seen either of them enough to have any idea.

  The more she thought about it, the less she could picture elderly Edgar Harvester as a killer, especially of such a tall, healthy young man. Still, since moving to Stony Point, Annie had met one killer and another man who seemed more than willing to kill to get what he wanted—and yet neither of them had seemed like killers when she’d first encountered them.

  Annie slid her keycard into her door and then went quickly inside. She would call LeeAnn and think about people she did understand for a while. In the morning, she’d talk to her friends and see if they thought this most recent information should be passed on to the police detective. It wouldn’t help anyone if she spent all night fretting about it.

  She kicked off her shoes and curled up in the armchair in the corner of her room, enjoying the quiet of the room for a moment. The convention had been more than exciting, but it would be good to get back home to the quiet of Grey Gables when it was all over.

  She pulled her cellphone from the outer pocket of her project bag and was glad to see she had a strong signal again. As she dialed LeeAnn’s number, she realized her stomach was churning a little with worry. She wanted so much for little Joanna to be feeling better and for LeeAnn to assure her that they’d be at the convention on Sunday.

  “Hello?” LeeAnn’s voice sounded slightly breathless in the phone.

  “Hi, sweetheart, it’s me,” Annie said.

  “Oh, Mom,” LeeAnn said. “It’s great to hear your voice. I’ve had such a day.” Annie heard rustling on the other end of the phone and pictured LeeAnn finding a comfortable place to sit and chat.

  “Oh no, is Joanna still sick?” Annie asked.

  “No, she’s feeling a lot better. She’s still a little wobbly, but she’s eating nice gentle foods,” LeeAnn said. “But Herb and John are tag-teaming for the bathrooms. The poor guys definitely caught Joanna’s bug.”

  “Oh no,” Annie said. “I’m so sorry to hear that. How are you feeling?”

  “So far, so good,” LeeAnn said. “My stomach is rock solid, which must mean I’m healthy. Anyone would be queasy with all the horrifying cleanup I’ve been doing. I’m washing my hands about every thirty seconds though, hoping to keep this bug away. My fingers might be down to bones from the scrubbing by the time you see me.”

  “So you’re still planning to come for Sunday?” Annie asked.

  “So far,” LeeAnne said. “If the bug lasts with the guys like it did with Joanna, they might feel a little peaky Sunday morning, but I think we can make it. If we get an early start, we can be there well in time for the ceremony. I’ll drive. I’m determined that I’m not missing this.”

  Annie smiled at the tone of LeeAnn’s voice. When her daughter set her mind to something, she was definitely a force to be reckoned with. “You know I hope you guys make it, but if you’re feeling bad on Sunday, you stay home and take care of yourself. I’m sure Mary Beth will film the whole thing.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I am sure we’ll be there,” LeeAnn said. “You just concentrate on your speech. Oh, and tell me how the fashion show went. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to see.”

  “I managed not to faint or fall down. Kate’s dress was gorgeous, of course. Mary Beth took pictures,” Annie said. “I’ll get a c
ouple to send you.”

  “Super, I just know you looked fantastic.”

  “Well, Kate’s dress definitely did,” Annie said. “I haven’t seen the photos yet to comment on how I looked. We’ll find out in the morning if Kate made it to the top three. The top three have a kind of mini show at the opening meeting tomorrow—the final judging among those three is being done by a panel of professional designers.”

  “Sounds exciting,” LeeAnn said. “Do you think Kate’s dress will make it to the top three?”

  “I think it has a good chance, but the competition is incredible. You wouldn’t believe how beautiful some of the clothes were.”

  “Oh, now I’m doubly sorry I wasn’t there. You know how much I love clothes.”

  Anne laughed since she definitely knew how much her daughter loved clothes. “I promise to send pictures.”

  “I’m so jealous of you anyway,” LeeAnn said. “Having Kate right there in Stony Point where you can buy some of her things. I love some of the one-of-a-kind pieces you have.”

  “Oh?” Annie said. “Is there one in particular you like?”

  “No, I won’t tell you,” LeeAnn answered. “Because if I do, you’ll give it to me. You’re like that, and you should keep your lovely things. I’ll just enjoy them when you wear them. But I really do think you’re lucky.”

  They chatted lightly about some of the other events of the convention. Annie considered telling her daughter about the murder. LeeAnn always had good insights once she got passed fretting about Annie’s safety. But Annie knew her daughter already had more than enough to deal with. Annie hadn’t wanted to add to LeeAnn’s load when she had one patient in the house, and now she had three.

  Finally Annie heard a muffled shout of “Honey!” in the background of the phone at exactly the same time as John’s voice howling, “Mommy!”

  “Oh no—emergency!” LeeAnn said. “I’ll see you Sunday. I love you, Mom.”

  “I love you too,” Annie said, but she was talking to the dial tone. LeeAnn had hung up to get back to her role as attending physician.