Yarn Over Murder (A Knitting Mystery) (4 page)

“Yeah,” Eric said, a slight flush creeping up his neck and ears with the praise. “Cassie helped, too.”

“It was kind of fun!” Cassie said. “They asked all sorts of stuff. Eric knew most of it. But I could tell them about the hair and stuff because Jayleen let me brush ’em.”

Jayleen smiled and gave Cassie a hug, which Cassie returned. “They were real troupers, from what Burt said.”

“Hey, your ears are all red!” Cassie said, then giggled, pointing toward Eric.

“Yeah, well, you’ve got dirt on your face!” Eric retorted, pointing.

“Do not!”

Kelly laughed. “Well, I heard that both of you were smeared in chocolate last night. What’d you two do, swim in the fondue pot?”

Both Cassie and Eric broke into high-pitched laughter as they started throwing hay at each other.

“Listen, young’uns, now that Kelly and Steve are here, we’d better start loading up these animals,” Curt announced. “It’s gonna be another long drive back to the ranch, and I’m sure these good folks would like to get a decent night’s sleep before going to work tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, sir,” Eric said, walking back to the corral. Cassie started to follow.

“Cassie, why don’t you get a lead on Shasta. And Eric, you get a lead on Blondie, okay?” Jayleen said. “Kelly and Steve can take them to their trailer and get ’em loaded up.

Cassie nodded then climbed back over the fence into the corral stall.

“Where did you folks park?” Curt asked.

“Way in the back of beyond,” Kelly said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. “Can we take them around the side away from all the crowds? It’ll take forever to get through all the people. Plus everyone is going to want to stop and pet them.”

“Sure, you can. Did the others park near you?” Jayleen asked.

“We got separated, so they should be here pretty soon.” Steve craned his neck and peered over the top of the passing visitors walking by the stalls, exclaiming at the animals.

“I think I spy Marty,” Curt said, squinting into the distance. “Yep, there’s that redhead.”

“Well, that’s good. We’ve got to drive all the way down the Big Thompson Canyon, so it’ll take a while,” Kelly said, checking her watch. “Do you want us to pick up some food for you and Curt once we get out of the canyon? We’ll pass by lots of food places.”

“That’s sweet of you, Kelly, but Jennifer and Pete brought a whole spread over to Curt’s ranch yesterday afternoon. Curt’s daughter, Cindy, and her family were there helping with the animals. I swear, it was enough for a whole army.” Jayleen smiled. “That was so sweet of them to do that.”

“I figure they must have emptied out the café. There’s plenty for tonight as well.” Curt waved at the approaching Megan and Marty. “Hey, there. Did you get lost behind the barns?”

“No, we had to stop because Marty and Greg were hungry, of course,” Megan said with a smile. “Hey, Jayleen, how’re you doing?” She and Jayleen embraced.

“I’m doing better, but worrying about those folks in Poudre Canyon.”

“Yeah, we’ve been listening to news alerts on the radio on the way over,” Marty said, corn dog in one hand, soda in the other. “Wind has whipped the wildfire back into Bellevue Canyon and away from the Poudre. And it’s moved up toward Whale Rock Road.”

“Oh, Lord!” Jayleen closed her eyes.

“That’s a four-by-four road,” Steve said. “It’ll be almost impossible for firefighters to get equipment up there.”

“Lord, Lord,” Curt said grimly. “Any word about air tankers coming in? We need them to drop retardant on the flames.”

“I think Greg heard that some were going to come in tomorrow.” Marty beckoned Greg and Lisa out of the crowd. Like Marty, Greg had a corn dog in one hand and a soda in the other. Staff of life.

“Sorry to be late, guys,” Lisa said as they joined the rest. “Of course, food slowed us down as usual.”

“Sustenance,” Greg said, then took another bite of corn dog.

“Didn’t you say a water tanker plane is coming tomorrow?” Marty asked him.

Greg swallowed quickly and nodded. “Yeah. And the national fire teams are arriving now, we just heard. First team of Hot Shots arrived. They’re setting up in Landport over near the Armory.”

“Thank God,” Megan said, closing her eyes. “Let’s hope they can hit the ground running. This fire overwhelmed our limited resources, for sure.”

“Hot Shots will get right on it. They could see how bad it was when they were flying in,” Marty added.

“Let’s hope,” Lisa said. “Have you heard anything from Andrea? We’re all worried sick about Poudre Canyon.”

Jayleen shook her head. “Not a thing. We figure nobody up there can get a cell phone signal. So we’ll all just have to say a prayer and hope.”

“They probably don’t want to talk to anybody after fighting the fire,” Greg observed, after he’d finished off the corn dog. “Man, those folks had more than their share to deal with yesterday. Fighting couples. Then fighting the wildfire. Too much.”

“What do you mean?” Curt asked, narrowing his gaze on Greg. “Don’t tell me Connie had another outburst?”

“Oh, yeah,” Marty said with a nod.

“It got ugly. Steve and I had to separate Dennis and Jim.”

“Oh, Lord have mercy,” Jayleen said, wagging her head. “Not again.”

“Well, it’s nothing you and Curt have to worry about,” Kelly said, giving Jayleen’s arm a squeeze. “It’s their problem to work out. You and Curt have enough on your plate. So now that the troops are all assembled, let’s get these animals loaded and head down Big Thompson Canyon and back to Curt’s ranch. At least your place is not that far from the mouth of this canyon, Curt.”

“Yeah, with luck we can come back for a second load before dinner,” Steve added.

Curt wagged his head. “You folks are lifesavers, you surely are. That way Jayleen and I can manage the rest in a couple of trips.”

“Bless your hearts,” Jayleen said, her eyes shining. “I feel like I’ve got a flock of special angels helping me out. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Yeah, you can,” Greg spoke up. “You can make us all a pot of your chili.”

“Angels, huh? I’m gonna put that on a tee shirt,” Marty said with a grin.

Megan rolled her eyes while Kelly and everyone else laughed.

“All right, then, let’s get this show on the road.” Curt clapped his hands. “I think I’ll load up two of these animals and join your convoy. Maybe we can finish up faster tonight.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Kelly said. “There will be a lot of traffic on that road leaving the Wool Market, so we might as well join in.”

“Okay, head ’em up, and move ’em out!” Marty called, waving his arm as he headed toward the corral.

Monday, June 11

“Kelly,
I’ve been hoping you’d come in this morning,” Mimi exclaimed as Kelly stepped inside the Lambspun knitting shop foyer. Mimi rushed over and gave Kelly a big hug. “Jayleen called us after you folks had dropped off the animals. You all came to the rescue once again.”

“Well, we were glad we were able to help,” Kelly said. “Curt and Jayleen will have their hands full caring for all those animals at Curt’s ranch. They’ll have to fence off a portion of the pasture. Meanwhile, we’re all keeping our fingers crossed that the animals we took to Poudre Canyon are okay. Thank goodness they weren’t near Poudre Park and the wildfire. Andrea’s ranch is a few miles away.”

She walked toward the main knitting room where the long library table was located. Knitters and fiber workers of all persuasions could be found sitting around the welcoming table any time of day, asking for help with a project and receiving help. There was always someone at Lambspun who could help someone with questions and give how-to demonstrations.

Mimi followed after her. “Have you talked to Jayleen today? Has she heard anything from Andrea? I’ve tried calling several times but the phone doesn’t even take messages anymore. The mailbox is full.” Mimi had a worried expression.

Kelly dropped her shoulder bag onto the knitting table. “No, I haven’t heard a thing. She’s bound to check in sometime. We heard last night on the news that all of the Poudre Park and lower canyon residents were evacuated right when the fire started spreading into Poudre Canyon. Andrea is bound to call her friends sometime. She must know they’re worried.”

Mimi’s brow furrowed. “The problem is, Andrea may still be in the canyon. After all, her ranch isn’t right at Poudre Park, so if it wasn’t in immediate danger, maybe she wasn’t evacuated.”

“I don’t know, Mimi,” Kelly said skeptically. “I’m pretty sure I heard the sheriff say they were evacuating everyone in the lower Poudre Canyon.”

“Oh, dear. Now, I’m really worried she hasn’t called.” Mimi’s concerned look deepened.

Kelly recognized it and sought to reassure her, much as Mimi did for so many others. “She’s probably so busy juggling everything she hasn’t had time. I mean, she had a ranch filled with alpacas up there. Maybe she and Jim and Dennis have been transferring the animals all this time. Maybe they had help. Who knows? We’ll simply have to wait until we hear something.” Changing the subject slightly, Kelly asked, “By the way, how’s Connie doing? I’m hoping she used Sunday to calm down. Maybe talk with someone, a counselor, hopefully.”

Mimi leaned closer to Kelly and lowered her voice so the customers in the next room browsing the yarn bins wouldn’t hear her. “I hope so, too. But I don’t know. She didn’t come in today. There was a message left on the shop voice mail from her saying she didn’t feel good, and she was staying home.” Mimi frowned. “That’s not like Connie to leave a message on the Lambspun line like that. Usually in the past, she’s called my cell phone and told me personally.”

“She’s probably simply embarrassed, that’s all. Connie no doubt figures that we told you guys what happened, so now she feels embarrassed by all those emotional scenes over the weekend. I wouldn’t worry.”

“Burt said the same thing this morning,” Mimi said with a slight smile as Kelly withdrew her laptop computer from her shoulder bag. “So with two of you in agreement, I guess it’s all right.”

“Is Burt off on errands? Or is he in the café having a late breakfast?”

“No, he went off early to see how he could help with the Salvation Army over at the Ranch or the Red Cross in Landport, where they’ve set up a disaster shelter. Meals are being served there now. Burt’s going to volunteer to help drive in supplies if they need extra hands.”

Kelly smiled. “That sounds like Burt. Believe me, I’d go help, too, but I’ve got to see what client work is waiting for me in my inbox first.”

“You and the gang have done your fair share of helping. And would you believe that Jennifer and Pete had a whole dinner waiting for Burt and Cassie and me when we arrived back home yesterday? Jennifer called and said they were bringing food over so we could all have supper together. Then they took Cassie home with them afterward. Wasn’t that sweet of them?”

“I’m sure they wanted to do their part. Jen told me over the phone yesterday that she and Pete wished they could drive animals but figured they could help in other ways.”

“Well, they were right. We were all hungry again after a quick fast-food break when we left Estes Park and the Wool Market. Rosa and Sophie didn’t want to stay for dinner, since they were anxious to get to their homes. So, Pete’s cooking was really welcome. Burt and I both will have to exercise extra to work off those additional pounds.” She laughed lightly.

“I’m so glad you two got to relax. You’ve been on oversight and supervisory duty all weekend.”

“Where did you folks go for dinner? Back to Old Town?”

“Yes, we went to a steakhouse and indulged ourselves. Looks like Greg has completely fallen off the vegetarian wagon. He was gorging on fried chicken Saturday,” she said with a grin.

Mimi laughed again as she walked toward the adjoining workroom. “Well, I’d better get back to work. I have to find room for the Wool Market items that were extras. That will take me a while. Cassie promised she’d unpack those Wool Market boxes for me once she finishes helping Jennifer and Pete.”

That sounded different so it caught Kelly’s attention. “What’s she doing? Don’t tell me they’ve got her waitressing?”

“Actually, Cassie is clearing and cleaning tables because Julie couldn’t get in today. She was up in Steamboat for the last couple of days and the wildfire closed off Colorado 14 through the Poudre Canyon. She’s had to drive back the other way from Steamboat, down on Route 40 to Kremmling, then east to Granby, then drive up to Fort Connor. Poor girl. She’s not getting back until this afternoon.”

“And she’ll be exhausted,” Kelly added as Mimi disappeared into the workroom.

Kelly opened her laptop and was about to press the start button when she paused, then leaned back against the wooden chair.

Julie wasn’t the only one who was exhausted. Both she and Steve woke up groggy that morning. Lisa called and said she and Greg felt like they’d been hit by a truck. Megan said even Marty wasn’t as talkative as usual this morning. Exhaustion had set in. Kelly was amazed at how tired they all were. It wasn’t as if they had been moving furniture all weekend. They’d been sitting in trucks, driving, loading and unloading alpacas, driving through bumper-to-bumper traffic going into and out of mountain canyons. Watching the wildfire spread, tossed by the wind, igniting treetops and ridgetops into flames.

And all the while there was the inescapable heat. Upper nineties. That only added to the efforts. Not to mention the constant worry about their friends and their properties. Of course, the soap opera dramatics that interrupted both the Bellevue Canyon and Poudre Canyon alpaca transit didn’t help matters.

Kelly pushed back her chair. She was still tired, even after a hot shower, breakfast, and morning coffee at home. Clearly, this exhaustion called for a dose of Eduardo’s high-octane brew. The cook at Pete’s Porch Café at the rear of the Lambspun knitting shop made coffee exactly the way Kelly liked it: black and thick and super strong. Black Gold, Kelly called it.

Instead of heading straight to the café, however, Kelly took her time and strolled from the main knitting room of her favorite knitting shop to the adjoining central yarn room. Right off the foyer, this room was filled with even more yarns and fibers to touch and enjoy.

Summer colors burst from every corner. Raspberry reds, blueberry blues, mint greens, lemon yellows. She stroked the bamboo and cotton yarn, always surprised at how soft bamboo could be. It was such a sturdy plant with a tough protective coating, and yet it could be made into a yarn that was softer than some cottons. She moved to the many bins lining the walls and fondled the delicate merino light wools, the silk and cotton combinations, and the sinfully soft coil of pure silk yarn. Luscious.

As always, Mimi and the shop elves had all sorts of knitted and crocheted and woven garments draped over tops of tables, hanging from the ceiling, tacked on the walls, and dangling along the sides of bookcases and shelves. Everything asked to be touched, so Kelly obliged, reveling in the feel of each fiber.

“Hey, Kelly! Have you seen Mimi?” Cassie said as she rounded the corner from the hallway that led to the café. A few weeks shy of her twelfth birthday and tall for her age, Cassie was still skinny, on the edge between childhood and adolescence. “I told her I’d help find places for all the extra yarns and stuff they took to the vendor booth at the Wool Market.”

“Yeah, she’s in the workroom,” Kelly said, giving Cassie a quick hug. “I heard that you were helping out Jennifer and Pete by cleaning and setting up tables in the café. Good job!”

Cassie brushed a lock of dark brown hair away from her forehead, her enormous bright blue eyes alight. “Oh, yeah. Julie was stuck up at Cameron Pass hiking this weekend and couldn’t get through on the road back to Fort Connor. So she had to go all the way around Granby to get here.” Cassie made a face.

“Well, you stepped up, Cassie. That was good. Pete and Jen really needed your help. Just like Jayleen did. So I salute you with my empty coffee mug.” Kelly held it high with a smile.

Cassie giggled. “It was fun, actually. Even though it was scary what was happening. Eric taught me a lot of stuff about the animals, too.”

Kelly looked out into the yarn room. “That was one heckuva weekend, wasn’t it? That wildfire has scared everybody. We’ve never had a wildfire in Bellevue Canyon or Poudre Canyon like this one. There have been little fires that were put out faster, but nothing like this.”

Cassie’s eyes got even bigger. “Pete and Jennifer told me. When we drove in last night, Mimi and Burt and I could see the red orange fire right there on the mountains! It was so scary! I couldn’t believe all the smoke.”

“Well, some Hot Shot firefighter teams got in last night, so I heard they’ve already started on the fire. So that’ll help. But we need more.”

“Oh, I thought I heard your voice, Cassie,” Mimi said, coming around the corner from the hallway.

“We were just sharing wildfire info,” Kelly said, patting Cassie’s shoulder. “I’d better get some coffee so I can stay awake long enough to get client work done. I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep. See you guys later.”

Kelly walked down the hallway and into the back of Pete’s café. She spotted her dear friend Jennifer serving breakfast to a group at a nearby table. Jennifer glanced up and spied Kelly. Then she put her coffeepot aside and walked over to embrace her friend. Kelly gave her a big hug.

“Thank goodness you guys were there to help,” Jennifer said. “This is bad. I’ve never seen it like this.”

“I know,” Kelly said, drawing back and looking into her friend’s concerned face. “This is the one we’ve always dreaded.”

•   •   •

Kelly
took another deep drink of Eduardo’s black nectar.
Ahh
. Caffeine. Thanks to the rich, strong coffee, Kelly had been able to actually start working on her client’s accounting spreadsheets. She’d switched locations from the knitting table to the café. The added stimulus would help in her efforts to stay awake. Both she and Steve were definitely going to get to sleep early tonight and catch up, if that was possible.

The back door of the café opened and Burt stepped inside. Since Kelly was seated at her favorite small table beside the windows, Burt couldn’t miss her.

“Hey, Kelly. Getting back to work in the real world, right?” he said with a big smile.

“Trying to, Burt. But it’s not coming easily. Pull up a chair and catch me up on what’s happening at the front lines. Mimi said you went over to help the Salvation Army and Red Cross.”

Burt pulled out a chair across from Kelly. She noticed even more worry lines on Burt’s crinkled face than usual. He was a retired Fort Connor police detective, and a lifetime of dealing with serious crimes and criminals had left signs on Burt’s face. But nothing took away his wide smile. Kelly always found that reassuring.

Along with rancher Curt Stackhouse, Burt had become Kelly’s second father figure and advisor ever since she’d arrived in Fort Connor four years ago for her aunt Helen’s funeral. Curt advised Kelly on all things ranching and land-related, including natural gas deposits that were found on Wyoming land she inherited from another distant relative.

Aunt Helen had left Kelly the beige stucco, red-tile-roofed cottage across the driveway from her aunt’s favorite knitting shop, Lambspun. It was a smaller version of the Spanish Colonial–style former farmhouse that now housed the popular knitting shop. Her aunt Helen and uncle Jim had lived there when Kelly was a child. Sheep once grazed on pastures where golfers now chased balls. Located on the edge of Fort Connor’s Old Town, the city-owned golf course was bordered on one side by the Cache La Poudre River and trail. The Cache La Poudre flowed out of the canyon of the same name and ran diagonally across Fort Connor before it joined the South Platte, those waters rushing to meet the great Mississippi.

Mimi’s husband, Burt, advised Kelly on all detective-related matters. Ever since Kelly had joined the warm family atmosphere at Lambspun, she’d found herself involved in helping to solve various murders of local residents. Several of them were friends of the Lambspun family and staff. Her friends called it “sleuthing.” Burt, however, always took Kelly’s efforts seriously. He was quick to point out that her track record of discovering the real guilty party in a murder had been “impressive” over the years.

“It’s crazy over there in Landport,” Burt said, holding out his cup for Jennifer as she approached with the coffeepot. “Kelly, did you know Jennifer and Pete brought a feast over to our house when we arrived home last night?”

Jennifer gave a dismissive wave. “We just packaged up extras from Sunday’s brunch and lunch. We figured you folks were tired of eating corn dogs.” She winked.

Burt closed his eyes. “If I never see another corn dog again, it’ll be too soon.”