Yarn Over Murder (A Knitting Mystery) (13 page)

“Yes, yes, he does. A bushy brown beard. Looks like a real mountain man.” Arthur chuckled.

“Then I met him that Saturday at Jayleen’s when we were all driving up to rescue her alpaca herd. This Dennis Holt was there, helping, too. Several of us were taking some of Jayleen’s herd to a ranch up in Poudre Canyon. Another alpaca rancher who was a friend of Jayleen’s, Andrea Holt, owned the ranch. I think Jayleen said Andrea and Dennis were once married, but divorced.”

“Yeah, Dennis told me he and his wife were divorced. She got most of the alpaca herd they had together. He’s kind of struggling, just getting by. Sounds like a lot of money problems. I sure hope nothing happens to his little herd during this evacuation period.”

Kelly deliberately switched the subject, slightly. “Well, his former wife had a pretty bad fall that same Saturday. We all brought Jayleen’s alpacas up to Andrea’s ranch that Saturday, and she’s got a nice house there. But there’s a set of real steep steps leading from the outside balcony in the back down to the ground. And apparently she fell down those steps that night and broke her neck. She died. At least that’s what I heard.”

“My Lord! That . . . that’s awful!”

“Yeah, Jayleen told me that Dennis was the only next of kin, so he’s had to take care of all the arrangements for Andrea.”

“Where’s Dennis staying? Did Jayleen say?”

Kelly had to think fast, not wanting to implicate Jayleen. “No, she didn’t. She probably doesn’t know. Jayleen’s got her own worries, like you. Not knowing what shape her ranch house is in. Or if she even
has
one. Last week, she and Curt were riding the edges of his ranch near the Buckhorn to make sure they spotted any fire breakouts near their neighbors or any blowing cinders onto Curt’s land. He’s got a good-sized spread past Masonville.”

“Bless their hearts . . . I know how they feel. Well, thanks to Dennis, maybe I can rest a little easier. Thanks for passing on that information, Kelly. I appreciate it.”

“It’s third-hand, but at least it’s something. If I hear anything else, Arthur, I promise I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you, Kelly. I appreciate that more than you know. Are you and your friends playing ball tonight?”

“Matter of fact, we are. All the games start later because of the heat. So we grab a quick dinner at home then drive out to the ballpark. We’re playing in Fort Connor tonight.”

“Well, good luck, Kelly. Hit a home run for me, will you?” He chuckled.

“I’ll do my best, Arthur,” she promised.

•   •   •

“You
can put those pizzas down right here,” Greg ordered the waiter as he approached their table at the outdoor café.

“A pesto slice for me, please,” Megan said, rising from her chair. “I’m going over by the statues and flowerbeds where there’s less noise. Gotta check this text message. My biggest client.”

“A client is texting you now?” Greg said, looking appalled. “Drop him.”

“Ignore him, Megan,” Lisa said, rescuing a slice of pesto pizza and placing it on Megan’s plate.

Megan gave him a dismissive wave as she walked away.

“Don’t even think about eating that, Marty,” Kelly warned as she took a slice for herself. “It’s Megan’s.”

Marty was tearing into the sausage and cheese pizza. When he swallowed, he said, “It’s safe for now.”

Steve held a cheese and sausage slice that had a large bite missing already. He swallowed, then said, “You know, we all should run after this meal rather than going home and hitting the sack.”

“Well, it would be healthier, that’s for sure,” Lisa said as she tipped back her bottle of craft beer.

Marty checked his watch. “Naw, it’s nearly eleven already. I’ve gotta be up at six tomorrow morning.”

Greg made a face and shook his head. “Don’t need to run. I have a cast-iron digestive system. Nothing bothers it.” He devoured the last of the slice in his hand and reached for more.

Kelly smiled, watching her friends as they all indulged in their post-game pizza party. She leaned back in her chair and sipped her Fat Tire ale from the bottle with the colorful label. At night, the brutal daytime heat was just a memory. Now, the air was balmy with a pleasant breeze. The moon was full and fat above Old Town Plaza. Summer at its best. Every café was packed, as other citizens were enjoying the summer night as much as they were.

Suddenly Megan ran up to them and gasped, as if she were out of breath. “A wildfire broke out in Colorado Springs! It’s happening right now! There’s a whole subdivision of homes that’s starting to burn! My client just told me.” She waved her smartphone.

Kelly and her friends stared dumbstruck at Megan for a second. Then, almost in unison, each one of them dug into their pockets or purses and pulled out their smartphones as they clicked on various icons and small screens until they all saw the oh-so-familiar photos of red-hot flames burning in the black night sky. Burning over hillsides, burning trees, and, sadly, burning houses.

Friday, June 22

“Hey,
Burt, I was hoping to see you,” Kelly called as she approached the café patio garden behind Lambspun. The late morning heat was building to unspeakable heights. It was only midmorning and the temperatures were in the high nineties. Forecasters predicted one hundred degrees today . . . at least. And it was still June. Colorado didn’t usually experience those really high temps until July. But not this year. The Drought Year. All bets were off.

Kelly hastened to meet Burt, who was standing in the shade of the large cottonwood tree in the corner of the enclosed garden.

“Perfect timing, Kelly. I have a half hour before I teach a spinning class. Enough time for us to get out of this heat and relax.”

“I bet you’ve been driving around doing errands all morning, right? Same here. I was out at the office supply store then picked up several other things. Even with the air-conditioned car and stores, I feel like I’m baking in the oven.” She followed Burt along the flagstone path leading to the café’s front entrance.

“I hear you. It’s brutal. I’ve taken to wearing ball caps just to get some shade in between stops at stores.”

“Gee, maybe I should wear my cap all the time. At my last checkup at the doctor, she warned me about sun exposure outside. You know, use suncscreen all the time. No excuses.”

They both hurried up the steps and escaped into the air-conditioned café. Kelly let out a loud “Ahh.”

Burt turned to her with a grin and doffed his cap. “Pay attention to your doc, Kelly. Otherwise, your face will wind up looking like mine.” He chuckled. “Lots of wrinkles.” He walked over to a small table near the entrance and beside the window.

“For the record, Burt, I like your face. But, point taken.” She pulled out a chair across from him.

“Don’t tell me. Iced coffee for both of you,” Julie said, walking up to their table.

“You’ve got great instincts, girl,” Kelly said with a grin. “Make mine extra large. Light ice, more coffee.”

Burt laughed louder. “You can make mine normal, Julie. Otherwise, I’ll be pacing the floor tonight instead of sleeping.”

“You got it.” Julie was about to turn away, then she leaned over their table, her face concerned. “You know about that wildfire that broke out Wednesday night in Colorado Springs? The Waldo Canyon fire. It’s gotten way worse than ours. Over three hundred forty-six homes have been destroyed already! Over thirty thousand people were evacuated in Colorado Springs!”

“Ohh, yeah. Steve and I were watching TV news way too late these last two nights. It’s a really bad fire, and it’s still blazing.”

Julie’s eyes went wide. “I know! And now I’m worried that most of our firefighters here will have to go there to help fight it. They’ve already sent a bunch.”

“Well, our fire is getting under control—”

“What if our wildfire flares up again! It’s done it before. Every time the winds start blowing.”

“Don’t worry, Julie. The fire authorities won’t jeopardize the fire-fighting efforts here. Firefighters have been able to get a handle on this High Park wildfire at last. It’s still burning, but those winds have died down here in northern Colorado. Now, the fire seems to be burning only in the western sections of Larimer County. Unpopulated forest areas. They’ll keep on it until it burns itself out.”

Julie made a face. “That means it’ll burn some of our forests. I hate that. I hate losing trees.”

“I do, too, Julie,” Kelly agreed. “But remember, those forests were filled with beetle-killed trees. As hard as it is to accept, maybe this is Nature’s way of clearing those dead trees out and letting new trees grow. At least people aren’t in danger anymore. And animals have enough sense to run away from burning areas.”

Julie brightened. “Ohhhh, did you read about that little donkey who led another donkey and three Percheron horses to safety away from the fire in Bellevue Canyon? They were found all clustered together around the donkey, all safe. Her name was Ellie.”

Kelly smiled. “Yes, I did read that. See? The birds and animals, large and small, either flee or burrow deep into their holes belowground until the wildfire passes.”

“Sometimes I think they’re smarter than people,” Burt opined with a wry smile.

“Let me get you guys that iced coffee,” Julie said, then hastened off.

“I bet you’ve talked to some of the fire-fighting authorities, haven’t you, Burt?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I try to touch base with them every couple of days. I’ve been making the rounds at the shelters and Salvation Army and Red Cross, helping any way I can. Running errands, whatever.”

A stray memory wiggled from the back of Kelly’s mind. “By the way, did you ever bump into Jim Carson again while you were assisting the helpers?”

“Yeah, I did. Just yesterday, as a matter of fact. And I learned the reason why I hadn’t seen him. He’s been working in the kitchens and serving at all of the shelters and doing anything that needs to be done. Our paths just never crossed before. I’m not much help in a kitchen, but Jim worked in restaurants before he became a sales rep.”

“How’s he doing? I mean . . . Andrea’s death had to hit Jim hard.”

“I asked him about that. Had to work around it, of course. And you could tell from the expression on his face, he was still broken up about it. I was going to try to see if I could find out why he wasn’t there when Dennis discovered Andrea’s body. Then, Jim just blurted out that he feels responsible somehow. Seems he and Andrea got into an argument. She was upset by Connie showing up and ‘freaking out’ as she put it. Blaming him. Anyway, Andrea was all upset and told him to leave. She needed some time to think.”

That surprised Kelly. “What? She told him to
leave
?”

“Yeah, I told him that didn’t sound like Andrea, then Jim admitted that the argument was about more than Connie’s explosions and accusations. Jim said he’d seen Andrea kissing Dennis outside near the barn. Dennis was getting ready to go back to his ranch. Naturally, that upset Jim and he accused Andrea of lying to him. So, it sounds like they both kind of blew up at each other.” Burt shrugged. “Jim said he stormed off. Just walked away from the ranch and down the road into Poudre Park. He said he hitched a ride from there into Landport.”

Kelly leaned back into her chair, staring at Burt, still surprised by what she’d heard. “Good Lord, Burt. That is just bizarre.”

“Yeah, I know. Jim said he stayed at the disaster shelter that night because he had no car. It was still parked at his home, because Andrea picked him up that Saturday. Of course that was when everybody was evacuated from Bellevue Canyon and people were all over, sleeping on cots and on the floor. Jim slept on the floor, too, and started helping out however he could right away.”

“When did he hear about Andrea?”

Burt nodded. “He got visibly upset when I asked. His face got red and I could see tears in his eyes. Said he read about it in the paper and discovered the actual identity the next day. And in his words, he said he broke down. Jim blames himself for Andrea’s fall. He’s convinced if he was there, Andrea wouldn’t have fallen. He was almost crying when he told me.”

“Here you go,” Julie announced as she walked up. “Two iced coffees. Now you both will be all set.” She placed the coffees on the table and hurried off again.

“Have you talked to Dan at the department about this conversation? You said the other day that Officer Warren had talked to Jim Carson first. Do you think he told her all this?”

“I’m betting he did. He sounds like he’s getting it off his chest. So, that’s probably why Officer Warren knew so much about what happened last Saturday. She started off with Jim Carson, and he told her
everything
.”

“Oh, boy . . . drama, trauma, and melodrama. The good, the bad, and the ugly.”

“Oh, yes.” Burt nodded in emphasis. “Jim said he’d also gotten a visit yesterday from the Fort Connor police detective investigating Andrea’s death. And from some of the questions Jim told me the detective asked, it sounded like it was Dan doing preliminary investigation.”

“Okay, well then, we’ll know Andrea’s death is being thoroughly examined. Dan’s a smart, good guy. I trust him.”

Burt smiled. “So do I. I trusted him with my life while he and I were partners. You can’t say that about everyone you work with.”

“I guess Dan will question Connie now, especially after she’s admitted confronting Andrea a third time that Saturday.”

“I’m sure he will.” Burt’s frown reappeared. “And I know Dan well enough after working with him for several years to know that he’s probably put Connie at the top of his suspect list already.”

“I hate to say it, Burt, but I agree with you. After these few years watching how Dan and other detectives approach an investigation, I’d be willing to bet on it.” Kelly gave a wry smile.

Burt met her gaze. “I’m not a betting man, but I would definitely join you in that bet, Kelly.”

•   •   •

Kelly
chopped up ingredients for a large lunch salad while she glanced up every few minutes to watch the evening news on the small television on her cottage kitchen counter. She needed a break from juicy fattening burgers, delicious as they were.

The TV images of the Waldo Canyon wildfire in Colorado Springs were vivid and mesmerizing . . . and they brought back the awful images of the first days after their own High Park wildfire broke out. Plumes of dark smoke spiraled into the sky. Dark smoke meant the greedy wildfire was consuming trees and buildings. More plumes of white smoke were spiraling upwards as well, new fires breaking out. Kelly felt her heart squeeze, remembering.

As fast as the High Park wildfire had spread, Kelly could tell by the national fire commandant’s nightly updates that Waldo Canyon was spreading even faster. And this wildfire had struck a more populated area, where many more houses were built in that forested area near Colorado Springs. There was horrific television footage of flames engulfing whole houses, devouring them, blazing high into the sky, consuming them in one fiery gulp. Not simply small areas of homes were being consumed, but whole sections of subdivisions fell prey to the greedy flames.

Kelly looked away from the devastating scenes on television and finished her salad. She tossed in some chicken she’d used for a lunch salad the other day to join the fresh spinach and tomatoes and olive oil. She was about to dive in when her cell phone rang. Lisa’s name flashed on the screen.

“Hey, there, what’s up?” she asked her friend.

“I’m watching that awful Waldo Canyon wildfire on TV. Good Lord! It’s much worse than our wildfire. It’s covered even more acres in one day than the High Park fire has in almost two weeks.”

Kelly popped a cherry tomato into her mouth and savored it. “Well, Waldo Canyon is a more populated area and doesn’t have the same hills and ridges that Bellevue Canyon or Poudre Canyon have. We’re lucky for that. I wouldn’t want to think what would have happened if our fire had devoured so much so soon.”

“You’re right about that. Are you at home?”

“No, I’m at the cottage taking a lunch break. Then I’m going to clear out old files and do some shredding this afternoon. Steve’s working late and probably won’t be home until nine.”

“Better be at the field by eight o’clock so we can warm up.”

“Thank goodness the games are starting later. I’ll be glued to the television watching wildfire news until then, even though I’ll be afraid to see Waldo Canyon updates on the news tonight.”

“Yeah, I know. Did you hear that the national fire commandant said the Waldo Canyon fire is the number one wildfire in the entire country right now?”

“Really? Well, that’s not surprising. I guess we’ll lose even more of our High Park firefighters now.”

“I heard that our fire has moved to the northwestern section of the canyons.”

“I know. No people, but lots of forests. Several are pine bark beetle–killed, too.”

“That’s gonna make a heckuva bonfire.”

“Oh, yeah,” Kelly agreed, then popped another cherry tomato into her mouth as she continued to watch the mesmerizing images on the TV screen.

•   •   •

Kelly
squinted against the setting summer sun as it kissed the tops of the foothills. Thank goodness the softball game times had been switched to later evening, otherwise they would all be forced to wear sunglasses while playing. Kelly didn’t think she could throw straight, let alone bat, while wearing sunglasses. She wasn’t used to having something on her face.

The Greeley team’s batter swung at Lisa’s sinking fastball. The bat whipped through the air with a swish as it missed the ball.

“Strike!” called the umpire, who was kneeling down behind home plate.

Cheers sounded from the Fort Connor team’s section of the bleachers beside the ballfield at Rolland Moore Park. It was one of several parks that contained softball and baseball fields as well as a soccer field and basketball hoops. The popular city park was a mecca for all the city sports teams as well as offering walking trails that connected to the Fort Connor trail system. Three distinctively different walking and biking trails wound through the city and its edges. The river trail followed the Cache La Poudre River as it flowed diagonally through Fort Connor from northwest in Landport, tracing the river all the way until it left the city’s southeastern edge. The Spring Creek trail ran westerly from its start in the foothills that edged the western side of Fort Connor all through the central part of the city until it joined the Fossil Creek trail in the far southeastern edge of the city. The Foothills trail started at the foot of the foothills surrounding the large Horsetooth reservoir and traveled along those higher ridges.

“Hey . . . batter, batter, batter, batter,
batter
!” rang out the familiar cry from the Greeley team’s side of the bleachers.

Kelly watched the Greeley team’s best batter stroll up to the plate. She paused, swung the bat a couple of times in practice swings, then stepped behind the plate and into the familiar crouch. Kelly’s muscles automatically responded by going into her familiar first baseman’s crouch, bent over, watching the batter. Catcher Peggy threw the ball to Lisa on the pitcher’s mound, and Lisa eyed the batter. She’d played her before. Many times.