The Rescue Quilt

by Carol Dean Jones

  “Prom dresses? When is Penny going to a prom?” Charles asked looking puzzled.

  “In three or four years!” Sarah responded rolling her eyes. “Penny and I managed to talk Sophie out of it.”

  They sat quietly for a few minutes while Charles refilled his wine glass and offered Sarah more. “I’m fine,” she responded and then added, “Okay, I’ve told you a bit about my life, but I think you have much more exciting things to tell me. What’s happening with the Hawkins case? Last I heard you had learned the man we met at the cabin was an imposter, and you had just taken a glass with fingerprints to the Medical Examiner’s office. Any word on that?” Sarah asked.

  “Not yet, but I’ll be checking in with her in a few days. In the meantime, it seems that the very successful real estate tycoon, Joseph Kirkland, may not be as smart as he thought he was. Last week he handed our impostor an enormous amount of cash in exchange for fraudulent papers claiming to transfer the title of the Hawkins property to him.”

  “Oh my,” she gasped. “Does he know?”

  “I told him. Actually, I took him the article from the Buckner newspaper that reported the death of the real Travis Hawkins and he was pretty near speechless, at least when he wasn’t spouting profanities.”

  “Will Kirkland report it to the police?”

  “I doubt it. I think Kirkland is pretty embarrassed about being conned like that. He’s probably going to try to handle it himself. I told him I was looking for the guy for my own reasons and would let him know what I find out.”

  “Are you going out to the cabin?” she asked, looking worried.

  “Kirkland told me that Travis, the fake one that is, was on his way out of town the day he got the money. I haven’t confirmed that yet, but it’s most likely true. He’d be a fool to hang around after that transaction.”

  “Shall we drive out tomorrow and see if he’s gone?” she asked.

  “Hmm. I’m not sure I want to take you out there. If he’s still around, it could be dangerous.”

  “Well, since I would be just as worried about you going, I think it has to be both of us or neither of us…”

  “I’ll call Matt and ask if he’ll send a patrolman out to check the house.”

  “Good compromise. So, what next?”

  Charles contemplated for a few moments and then responded thoughtfully. “I think, first of all, I’ll have Bartlett, the Buckner detective, check out those two guys he described as “unsavory friends” of the real Travis. I’d like to know if they’ve been out of town. One of those guys would be on the top of my list of suspects.”

  Sarah looked puzzled. “What makes you think they might be involved?”

  “Well, they would have known Travis and his story. Remember, when we talked to the fake Travis, he seemed to know lots of details about the Hawkins family and about the cabin. He had enough information to look real. He fooled us,” he added. “Those guys were close to the real Travis and would have known what was going on.”

  “Good point,” she responded. “And if they haven’t been out of town?”

  “I think, either way, I need to get into that cabin and see if there’s any evidence that will help me identify this guy in case Charlotte doesn’t come up with a name.”

  “Charlotte?” Sarah repeated, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow.

  “You know Charlotte. The medical examiner.”

  “Oh?” she responded with both eyes brows now raised. “You must mean Dr. Johansson.”

  “Yes, I mean Dr. Johansson and don’t pretend to be jealous, because I know better. You know you have me in your back pocket.”

  Sarah laughed. “I was just teasing. So, after you have Matt check to make sure that the guy is gone, shall we go take a look inside that cabin? We just might find something…Oh wait!” she added interrupting herself. “The cabin belongs to Kirkland now, doesn’t it? We’d need his permission…”

  “No,” Charles responded. “Remember, the documents were fraudulent. The cabin is still part of the Hawkins estate and there doesn’t seem to be anyone around to claim it.”

  “Will you need a search warrant?”

  “I don’t see how I could get one. Actually, I’m only loosely connected with the department. I might just take my chances. If we find anything critical to the senior Hawkins case, we’ll back out and have Matt get a search warrant. But I’m not looking for evidence of that crime. I’m just hoping to find something that’ll put me on the trail of the imposter.”

  “Are you thinking he killed the old man?” Sarah asked looking serious.

  “I have no reason to think one way or the other about that, but I do know the guy is guilty of fraud…and yes, he might have even killed Hawkins.”

  “When shall we go?” Sarah asked, getting excited about the idea. She enjoyed being included in his sleuthing.

  “Once we have assurance the guy’s gone, we’ll head out there.”

  “There’s something I’ve been thinking about, Charles. The day we went out there looking for Emma…”

  “The day we met Travis…I mean the guy we thought was Travis…” Charles interjected.

  “Yes. Well, I’ve been thinking about how Emma cowered when he came outside. It was as if she knew him and was afraid of him.”

  “You know, I hadn’t really thought about that, but I remember seeing her slink away. That’s the reason I had Sophie get in the car and sent the dog in after her. I thought Emma was just upset about being at the house, but you may be right. She may have been responding to seeing the man. Maybe…” He thought back to the night they found the body. He wondered if Emma knew something she couldn’t tell.

  “Maybe what?” Sarah asked.

  “Maybe I need to think more about that. Let’s call for that pizza.”

  He was still feeling uncomfortable about their earlier exchange. “What is it?” she asked, sensing his discomfort.

  “About Charlotte, I mean Dr. Johansson…”

  Sarah burst out laughing. “Charles, I was just teasing you. Surely you know that?”

  “I guess I do. I just wanted to tell you how much I love you.”

  “I know that, you silly goose,” she responded as she kissed his cheek and headed for the phone. “…pizza with everything?” she asked.

  “Except anchovies,” he responded.

  * * *

  “Just leave your scraps on the table and we’ll sort them when everyone gets here.” Ruth had set up a six-foot folding table along the back wall so they could save the workstations for the machines.

  “I brought my two yards of dog material. Shall we put the dogs in a separate place?” Delores asked.

  “Let’s put all the dogs on that end and the skies and grass at this end. That leaves plenty of room in the middle for the scraps. In fact, let me put a basket in the middle.” Ruth slipped into the back room and returned with a very large, low-sided basket that she placed in the middle. Everyone began tossing their scraps into the basket. By the time everyone had arrived, the basket with overflowing.

  “I suggest we decide on our color scheme,” Sarah suggested once everyone was seated. After much discussed, it was decided to use bright primary colors for the dog houses.

  “I think we need more variety than just the red, blue, and yellow,” Ruth said. “How about including the secondary color as well? I think adding oranges, purples, and greens would make it more interesting.”

  “I agree,” Kimberly responded, “and I think we should weed the other scraps out of the basket so we can see what we have. Does everyone want their own scraps back?”

  “Why don’t we just start a scrap collection here? We can use it for charity quilts in the future.”

  “Good idea,” Ruth said. “I’ll get a box and we can keep it in the store room, but someone needs to be in charge of remembering it’s there. My memory is shot!”

  “Mine, too.”

  “Same here. We need a young person. Where’s Caitlyn,” Christina asked looking toward the do
or.

  “She’s not able to come tonight,” Sarah responded. “School work took precedence.”

  “Okay, where do we start?” someone asked.

  “Ruth made templates for everyone. We can start by picking out a dog that fits nicely within the template and cut it out. I drew around my template and cut it with scissors, but you can do it any way you want. Then you just start adding strips all the way around until you’re happy with it.”

  “How do you put the sky on?”

  “I’ll demonstrate that when we get to that point.”

  Sophie offered to cut strips and pulled a chair up to the stash basket. Sarah brought her a cutting mat and rotary cutter and showed her how to cut strips one-and-a-half inches wide in a variety of colors.

  Everyone worked industriously for the next hour and finally two people were ready to add the skies. Sarah showed them how she did it using two pieces of sky fabric. She said there was no need to measure it exactly because they could simply use their ruler to square it up when they finished. “You can add a rectangle of grass or rocks to the bottom of the block.” Everyone had stopped working to watch how she did the sky and by nine o’clock everyone had made at least one.

  “We have seven finished blocks,” Sarah announced as the group was gathering up their supplies. “It’s going to take several more meetings to make them all.”

  “Oh, that reminds me,” Ruth interrupted. “I’m having some work done in the shop next week and we’ll need to cancel our meeting. Our next meeting will be in two weeks. What would you think about making a few blocks at home?”

  “Excellent idea,” Delores responded. “Let’s quickly cut out some dogs to take with us. We all have fabric at home.”

  “Grab what you think you might need from the scrap basket.”

  It was after ten when Ruth was finally able to lock the door behind the last of the excited quilters.

  Chapter 19

  “Caitlyn, what a surprise,” Sarah exclaimed as she opened the front door. “Come on in.” The wind was howling, and the temperature had dropped fifteen degrees in the past hour. “You must be freezing, young lady,” she said as she helped Caitlyn off with her coat. “There’s a major snow storm rolling in,” she added. “I don’t think this is a good time for you and Barney to be walking.”

  “Actually,” Caitlyn began somewhat hesitantly. “I wanted to talk to you about Penny.”

  “Penny? Is anything wrong?”

  “I’m not sure, Mrs. Parker…”

  “What is it Caitlyn?” Sarah was becoming concerned. The young girl seemed reluctant to talk about it and she feared Penny was in some sort of trouble. “Just sit down here and start from the beginning,” Sarah encouraged.

  “I guess you know that Penny spends most of the time in her room with the door closed.”

  “Yes, Sophie told me. We figured she needed to be alone to think things through. She’s been through so much over the past few months…”

  “That’s just it, Mrs. Parker…”

  “Please call me Sarah, honey. Everyone else does.”

  “Okay, anyway, Penny needs someone to talk to and she doesn’t want to upset her father or her grandmother.”

  “She talks to you, doesn’t she?”

  “Yes, she does, and I’m afraid I’m in over my head.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She keeps telling me she wants to go home. She’s trying to figure out how to buy a bus ticket. She doesn’t seem to understand that what she remembers as home doesn’t exist anymore.”

  “She must realize that,” Sarah responded. “She knows her mother is gone and that the cabin has been sold.”

  “She knows that, but she still seems to think she can go back and everything will be okay. I don’t know what else to say, and I’m afraid she’s going to run off and try to get back there. She needs to be talking to an adult about this, but she won’t. She just keeps saying, ‘I want to go home.’ I don’t know what to say to her, Sarah, and I was wondering if you could help.”

  “She should be talking to her father or Sophie.”

  “I know, and I’ve told her that. She doesn’t want to cause trouble.”

  “I can assure you that if she runs away she will be causing them more trouble than she can imagine. That would be devastating for them – for all of us, in fact. She’s only fourteen and would be placing herself in danger out there alone.”

  “I know,” Caitlyn muttered, lowering her head. “I know.”

  “I’m sorry, Caitlyn. I don’t know what I was thinking. Of course you know.” She pulled the young girl close and wrapped her arms around her. Caitlyn had spent months struggling alone on the streets after her stepfather threw her out. “You also know what she’s going through now, don’t you?” Once Caitlyn was found, she went to live with a father she had never met, in a community of strangers.

  Caitlyn nodded her head. “Maybe that’s why I don’t know what to say. I remember what it was like. I felt like I was in the way too.”

  “Penny feels like she’s in the way?” Sarah responded with astonishment. “No one was ever as loved as that young girl is. I’ve never seen Sophie or Tim so happy – she’s brought so much joy to their lives.”

  “I guess she doesn’t see that.”

  “Is she unhappy with her new family?”

  “No, that’s not it at all. She’s homesick, she misses her mother, and I think she just wants everything back the way it was. What she wants doesn’t exist anymore and I’m afraid she’s going to try to find it anyway. I don’t know how to help her…” Tears began to form in the young girl’s eyes. “Can you help?”

  “Of course I’ll try, but what do you think I can do?”

  “She needs to talk. She’s holding onto so many painful memories and feelings. She needs for someone to help her find the words. It took me several years before I’d talk about my experiences on the streets, and I almost made some very bad decisions during that time. Fortunately my dad encouraged me to talk. He’d been through a lot himself, and he could listen without judging me. She just needs help to find the words to express what’s going on inside.”

  Sarah remained quiet for a few moments. “Do you think she’d consider counseling?”

  “I don’t think so. Can’t you talk to her?” Caitlyn pleaded. “You know her and she likes you. She might open up with you…”

  “Oh Caitlyn, I just don’t know. I’d feel like I was interfering in a family matter. It should be Tim or Sophie.”

  “But she won’t talk to them. I know that.”

  Sarah sighed deeply. “I need to think about this, Caitlyn.”

  “Okay,” Caitlyn responded looking somewhat relieved.

  “Now, let’s take Barney in the kitchen and get treats for all three of us. Do you want a coke or hot chocolate?”

  “I’m still cold and hot chocolate sounds great.”

  “Good. Will you choose a few treats for Barney?” They spent the next half-hour on a lighter note. After their snacks, Sarah showed Caitlyn the dog house quilt blocks she was working on. Caitlyn’s school work had made it impossible for her to attend the workshop, but she was hoping to make at least one block before the next meeting.

  “I wonder if Penny knows about this quilt,” Caitlyn asked.

  “Probably,” Sarah said thoughtfully. “I’m sure Sophie has told her about it.” She hesitated for a moment and then said, “This gives me an idea.”

  “What?”

  “I’m planning to make Penny a quilt for her new bedroom. Maybe I could invite her to help me choose the fabrics. Actually,” she added with growing enthusiasm, “maybe she could even help me make it.”

  “That would give you two time together -- time to talk. She just might open up,” Caitlyn added with growing enthusiasm.

  “Exactly what I was thinking.”

  Together they put the blocks and fabric back in the pizza box. “I have a week to finish these. I think I’ll give her a call today and see if sh
e wants to go with me to Stitches.”

  As they walked toward the front door, Barney became excited at the possibility of going for a walk. “Sorry boy,” Caitlyn said tenderly. “It’s much too cold out there today.” She turned to Sarah and said, “Thank you, Sarah. I was really scared. I didn’t know what to say to her, and I was afraid I’d do the wrong thing.”

  “That was too much responsibility for you. I’m glad you came to me. I’ll let you know how it goes, but I’ve got to tell you that if I can’t reach her, I’ll have to talk with Tim and Sophie.”

  “I know. I didn’t want to do that myself. I think she needs my friendship and, for that matter, I need hers. I’m afraid we’d lose that if I went to her family.”

  “I agree. You did the right thing.” They hugged their goodbyes and Sarah headed straight for the telephone.

  “Hi Sophie. Are you keeping warm?”

  “It’s cozy in the house, and I have no intentions of going out. What’s up?”

  “I’ve been thinking about the quilt I want to make for Penny. I can’t decide what colors to use. I was hoping she’d go with me to Stitches after school today and help me…”

  “She’s right here. School was cancelled today because of the storm. Are you sure you want to go out in it?”

  “It’s just windy and cold. They don’t expect the snow until later.”

  “Penny,” Sophie called. “Telephone for you.”

  “Hello?” the young voice answered tentatively.

  “Penny, it’s Sarah.” She went on to tell her about the quilt and asked if she’d be willing to go with her to choose the fabrics. “I was even hoping you might help me make it. I know Caitlyn quilts and I thought you might like to learn as well.”

  There was an extended silence on the other end of the line.

  “Penny?” Sarah suspected the confused young girl was thinking how this would interfere with her desire to return to Alaska. Sarah hoped what she was offering would entice Penny to set those thoughts aside at least for the time being.