Silence of the Lamb's Wool (A Yarn Retreat Mystery) (20 page)

If the group was disappointed not to be spinning or knitting with their spun wool, they kept it to themselves. But I felt I’d let them all down. Maybe this business wasn’t for me. To keep going I’d need good word of mouth and recommendations, along with repeat customers. I could just imagine what they’d have to say about this retreat when they went home.

The last part of the workshop ended and most of them headed off for some free time before dinner. This was the part of the weekend where I should have been feeling a sense of accomplishment that the main part of the retreat was done. First it was the sheep and now it looked like there’d be no shawls. The name of the retreat had been hacked away at until now the only word left of Sheep to Shawl was
to
.

I walked to the Lodge with the early birds and Lucinda. The Ginger had joined us and seemed to be hanging close to Bree. We all stopped at the message board, but by now with so many messages piled on top of each other, it was simply too overwhelming to sort through them.

The Ginger and Bree looked at the line waiting for the pay phones and shook their heads. Too long. I wanted to do something to make up for all the problems and suggested a drink in the café, my treat.

“I’m not even going to try calling Maggie again,” I said as we came into the café. “I’m just going to go to the Coffee Shop in the morning and talk to her in person.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Lucinda said. We found an empty table and I got a round of homemade lemonades for everyone. Of course the conversation turned to Wanda’s disappearance. I really appreciated how they rallied around me and tried to convince me that no one really noticed. Ha!

Bree and the Ginger kept glancing at the door so many times, I finally asked her what was up.

“I know it’s sort of cheating, but I was thinking about walking out into the street . . .” Bree said.

“. . . until you get a signal,” Olivia said, finishing her sentence. We all agreed it wasn’t cheating and they bounded off with their cell phones in hand.

Finally the rest of us went our separate ways to get ready for dinner.

As I headed toward my place, I saw Bree and the Ginger standing in the middle of the street. A car drove slowly toward them and they seemed to be playing chicken with it, only dashing out of the way a moment before it reached them.

“Drat. Lost my call,” Bree said, giving her phone an angry look. I hadn’t realized the signal was that fragile and invited them to come to my place. It seemed like the least I could do after all the problems.

Julius was waiting outside the door and I half expected him to look at his paw (in my imagination he had a watch on) and ask where I’d been for so long. He gave Bree’s sneakers the once-over as we went inside.

I didn’t even waste time fussing with him and just unfurled the can of stink fish, though I saw Bree make a funny face from across the room. Apparently the scent traveled.

I sent them off to the living room to make their calls while I considered whether to change my clothes. I heard a pounding on my door.

When I opened the kitchen door, Dr. Sammy was standing outside holding his tuxedo on a hanger. “Case, okay if I change here?” he said. He mumbled some explanation that he’d been looking at apartments all day and he didn’t want to go back to his current place to change.

Julius was too busy with his stink fish to notice another visitor. I sent Sammy off to my bedroom to change. When he came out, he was a wreck. I had to remind him to tuck in his shirt and put on the cummerbund.

“Case, what would I do without you?” he said nervously. “You’re going to be there, right?” I nodded and he gave me a grateful hug. “I guess I better go,” he said. I walked him to the back door and watched as he walked past the converted garage toward the street. Poor guy looked like he was on his way to the guillotine.

Bree and the Ginger finished their calls and thanked me profusely. “It’s the first real conversation I’ve had with them since I got here,” the Ginger said.

“I told you it would be okay,” Bree said, giving her a supportive pat. They left to change for dinner and the evening program. I was glad to see that at least something had worked out.

I still felt rather glum, but I had to pull myself together. I needed to put on a front for the group, and this was Sammy’s big night. If nothing else, I could at least get dressed up. I picked a clingy black dress and flats. To brighten it up, I made a design of my aunt’s crocheted and knitted embellishments along one of the shoulder straps. I changed my earrings to long dangles and did a whole makeup job, but no raccoon look this time. And I wrapped myself in a black mohair shawl that had little sparkles. I mouthed a thank-you to my aunt Joan for leaving me all these beautiful handmade items.

The sun had come out and was hanging low in the sky. Maybe the sunset would be visible. It felt strange to be walking up the driveway of Vista Del Mar in a dress, but at the same time, it felt nice to feel the air swirl around my bare legs under the ballerina-length dress. When I walked into the Lodge shafts of golden sunlight were coming in through the window, giving everything an inviting glow. There was a different feeling about the social hall. I thought perhaps it was that everyone seemed to have gotten dressed up for dinner. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Burton Fiore holding the door for his beloved. They seemed to be spending a lot of time at Vista Del Mar. When they passed Kevin St. John, it looked like he and Burton were practically twins in their matching dark suits, white shirts and ties.

Cora was dressed to the nines, too. Instead of her usual suit, she wore a knee-length black dress. It had a scoop neck and short sleeves and looked like the classic black dress every woman used to have in her closet. She’d adorned it with a string of big pearls and earrings to match. Going with the more formal look, she carried a satin clutch purse. As usual, she’d gone heavy on the eye shadow and I could see the iridescent blue from across the room.

I could almost hear her sigh with pleasure as her fiancé put his arm around her waist. Ronny joined them. I had to hold back a gag as she embraced Cora and called her “Mother.” Cora seemed to like the title and gave Ronny’s arm an affectionate squeeze.

I should have figured Madeleine was with them. She came out of the gift shop carrying a bag of something. She was wearing a similar dress to her sister’s, though no pearls, and she’d gone way less obvious with the makeup. She looked toward her future brother-in-law and her lip curled into distaste. The expression lasted only the blink of an eye and she put on a forced-looking smile as she approached the family group.

I don’t know why, but I suddenly felt very protective of Cora Delacorte—maybe because she’d liked my aunt so well, or maybe because of how she’d helped with the retreats. Seeing her with that smarmy man was like an accident waiting to happen. I needed to figure out what was going on with Burton Fiore and I needed to do it now.

Somehow I thought it was all connected with Nicole’s shop. No matter what Ronny Fiore said, I was sure of what I’d seen. Her father had come into Nicole’s when I was there and there had been some kind of exchange. It was clear now that someone had been in the shop several times. Could it have been he? And what was he looking for? What could Nicole have found out about him that he’d pay to keep quiet?

When I saw Madeleine head toward the ladies’ room, I followed her. Something that Sammy had said popped into my mind and I thought she might know about it. Another thing I’d learned while working for Frank was that sometimes the people I was calling for information were lonely and glad just to have someone to talk to. I almost felt guilty when I got off those calls. The old saying “like taking candy from a baby” went through my head.

I fussed at the sink until Madeleine came out of the stall. I was glad to see she was the fastidious kind who washed her hands. Starting a conversation was easy. “That’s such a lovely dress,” I said.

The comment didn’t register on her face for a moment, then she broke into a small smile. “I didn’t realize you were talking to me.” She looked around and saw that no one was there but the two of us. “Of course you were talking to me. There’s no one else here.” She hesitated a moment. “Where are my manners? Thank you for the compliment. It is really quite old.” Just as I suspected, she was glad to have someone to talk to and now that she’d started, she went on.

I listened to the whole history of the dress, which was really quite interesting. It was from the early sixties, when everyone wanted to look like Audrey Hepburn.

“That must have been when you were all living in the big house on Grand Street. The one that’s the Butterfly Bed-and-Breakfast now,” I said. Sammy’s comment about his living arrangements coupled with seeing the Delacorte sisters had made me think of something. The dresser and the box of moldy stuff had come from a bed-and-breakfast that was clearing a storage area to build a studio apartment. Sammy had mentioned the B and B where he was staying was adding a small apartment. The yellow Victorian house was across the street from the Blue Door and more than once I’d stopped to read the historical plaque outside giving the house’s history. It had been the family home of the Delacortes until the death of Cora and Madeleine’s mother, Antonia.

Madeleine seemed thrilled to be having a conversation and talked on. She confirmed the bed-and-breakfast had been their parents’ home and went on and on about what a grand house it was. They’d sold it only when their mother died. I was only half listening, thinking about the contents of the box of moldy stuff.

When Madeleine finally took a breath, I asked her if she’d ever seen a locket covered in woven hair.

“Do you have it?” she said quickly. Her tone made it clear she knew exactly what I was talking about. She barely let me get out that I knew where it was before she told me about it.

“My mother had that made when my brother died. With his hair,” Madeleine said, making a face. “I think having that memory of him around her neck only made it worse. Personally, I thought it was grotesque and expected her to start wearing his finger bones as a pendant or something.”

She asked again if I had it. I said Nicole had had it. Madeleine sucked in her breath and asked what else she had. When I described the dresser, she confirmed it had been her brother’s. The door whooshed open and Ronny Fiore came in and locked eyes on Madeleine. “There you are. Mother Cora was worried you were taking so long.”

“It was lovely talking to you,” Madeleine said. Her smile was genuine as she reached out and took my hand in hers. “It would be nice if you came to visit sometime. I used to knit. Maybe you could refresh my memory.”

Before I could answer, Ronny hustled her out of the bathroom, showering her with concern.

I leaned against the sink, thinking about the information I’d gotten. A woman holding an infant came in. The baby smiled at me and I smiled back, getting ready to comment on how cute it was. I searched for something indicating it was a boy or a girl so I could add the appropriate “he” or “she” to the “cute” comment. I thought of the conversation I’d overheard earlier about the tradition of colors for baby blankets. The baby’s white onesie had a tiny pink flower. That had to mean it was a girl, right? My mind started to click and it was like magic. All the pieces that had meant nothing by themselves suddenly began to fall into place. All along I’d thought Nicole had some damaging information about Burton, but now I knew I’d been all wrong. The information wasn’t on him; it was on something he wanted.

But here was the problem: It was all just conjecture. There was no proof, but what if he thought there was?

People were lined up outside the SeaFoam dining hall, waiting for the dinner bell to ring. There was a buzz of excitement. Not only would Sammy be doing his magic, but afterward there would be a movie in Hummingbird Hall. Needless to say the Delacorte sisters and Burton weren’t in the line. Not even Ronny Fiore. Once the dining hall opened they would go in a side door and sit at the owners’ table. I found Lucinda waiting with some of the people in our group. I gestured for her to get out of line.

When we were out of earshot, I laid out the favor I needed. All she had to do was make sure Burton Fiore overheard her say that I’d figured out what Nicole was doing and I was going to her shop to get the proof while everyone was in the movie. “If he’s innocent, which I don’t believe, then it won’t mean anything. But if Nicole was blackmailing him, he won’t be able to resist,” I said.

Lucinda seemed wary. “Are you sure it’s such a good idea to do this when you’re there all alone? If he killed Nicole, what’s to stop him from trying to get rid of you, too?” my friend said. She glanced over the crowd just as Burton Fiore came in, holding Cora close. “By the way, what is it you figured out?”

“It’s better if you don’t know. Then you don’t have to worry about saying too much.”

“Are you sure it’s safe for you?” Lucinda repeated. “The Blue Door can’t lose its number one baker, and I’d be lost if something happened to you.”

“Don’t worry. I’m going to have my finger over 911. At the first sound of someone coming in, I’ll hit it. The police station is two blocks away. Even if they walked, they’d get there in time.”

We synchronized our watches and she went back to her spot in line. I hung back, looking for Sammy, knowing he was lurking somewhere and probably a nervous wreck. I found him behind a Monterey cypress tree.

“Case, over here,” he said in a stage whisper. I joined him and noticed that he was sweating profusely. I tried to reassure him he’d do great. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I had to slip out early. I also didn’t want him asking why.

When the line was all inside, I gave him a kiss on the check for luck and went to join the others. I can’t even say what the dinner entrée was. I think I ate some of it, but I was too busy thinking about the trap I was setting.

Kevin St. John seemed to be hovering around the owners’ table and left it only when he went to the center of the room and introduced the Amazing Dr. Sammy. Sammy stood frozen to the spot for a moment and I worried he wasn’t going to move, but then his stage fright disappeared and his love of magic kicked in.

The plan was that he would go around the room, doing a mini-show for each table. I held my breath as he got to the first table, but there was no reason to worry. He was all smiles now as he removed quarters from people’s ears, made watches mysteriously disappear from people’s wrists and performed elaborate card tricks. I tracked his progress around the dining hall. I had to laugh when he got to the yoga table. He threw in a few yoga poses and instead of quarters from people’s ears, he produced meditation beads.

I’m afraid I neglected my group, but Lucinda, with her restaurant hostess skills, stepped in for me. When Sammy got to the owners’ table, it was time for me to go. It turned out to be easy. Since everyone was watching him, nobody saw me disappear.

Outside it was getting dark as I ran through the grounds and across the street. I realized now the dress was a bad choice, but then when I’d chosen it, I didn’t know I was going to be setting a trap. At least it was black.

I was in the main part of town in less than five minutes. I parked my car far away from Nicole’s shop and walked up the block quickly, telling my heart to stop beating so fast.

I figured that as soon as Burton heard Lucinda’s conversation, he’d find a way to separate himself from Cora and Madeleine and come to the shop to lie in wait for me. I checked the back door and the lock was as easy to open as before. And then I hid. The last of the daylight disappeared and I saw the streetlights come on. I had 911 ready on my phone. All I had to do was hit send.

Time seemed to be crawling by and I began to wonder if something had gone wrong. Or the obvious—that I was wrong about Burton Fiore being blackmailed. I looked at my watch and figured they all had to be in Hummingbird Hall by now watching the movie. I was deciding how much longer I’d wait when I heard a car door slam and footsteps outside the place. I had my finger on the send button on my phone. There was no reason to wait until he opened the back door. I pressed the button. When the dispatcher answered, I said someone was breaking in and gave the address. A moment later I heard another car door slam and more footsteps.

My heart was leaping into my throat as I heard someone fiddling with the back door. I saw a shaft of light as the back door opened and someone came inside. How long would it take the Cadbury PD to arrive? I didn’t want to show my cards too early.

I heard noise at the back door again and another shaft of light. Did Burton have an accomplice? Just as I heard the whine of a siren, I jumped up and flipped on the lights. Someone else was coming in the back door.

I did a quick scan of the former bank and was surprised at what I saw. Burton Fiore was standing in the middle of the place. But what was Cora doing there? And Ronny Fiore? And Kevin St. John?

I saw the flashing lights of the cruiser as it pulled into the alley. A moment later Dane came rushing in the back door with his gun drawn and yelled, “Freeze!” before he’d processed the situation.

“We got a call there was a robbery in process,” he said, looking from face to face.