The 12 Quilts of Christmas Read online

  “Uncle Hank changed the saw blade regularly, and he taught me how to do it. I put a new one in last year, so it should be sharp.”

  James smiled and pulled her into his arms.

  “You’ve gotta love a girl with a sharp saw,” he said and kissed her.

  “Let’s go see if Luke’s had any luck wrestling the dogs into their coats,” Harriet said, and headed for the kitchen door.

  Scooter was running from the stairs, across the kitchen to the studio door, and back again, barking the whole time; Cyrano sat at Luke’s feet, his quilted Christmas coat strapped around his long body, a look of disgust on his face.

  “How’s it going in here,” James asked with a laugh.

  “Cyrano was fine, but Scooter is being a little jerk.”

  Harriet tried not to laugh, without much success. She opened the dogs’ treat jar and held it out to Luke.

  “Try a little bribery,” she suggested.

  He took a dog biscuit and held it out for the little dog and, when Scooter was in reach, grabbed him with one hand while giving him the treat with the other. Scooter sat down beside Cyrano, looking more miserable than his buddy if, that were possible.

  James pulled his phone out of his pocket.

  “We’ve got to get a picture of this.”

  Harriet folded her arms across her chest.

  “They might not like their new coats while we’re in the kitchen, but they’re going to appreciate the wool batting I quilted into them when they get to the tree farm.”

  Luke shook his head.

  “I’ll have to see it to believe it.”

  James took Harriet by the hand and positioned her next to Luke, then picked the dogs up, handing Scooter to Harriet and Cyrano to Luke. He stood between the two of them and held his phone out in front of them.

  “Okay, let’s get a family picture to document the start of our adventure.”

  Luke and James started down one row of trees at the farm while Harriet walked down the next row over, looking at the same trees from the opposite side.

  “Watch where you’re going,” a familiar voice said. Lauren was standing in the same row as Harriet, one tree away.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” Harriet said with a smile. She held a dog leash in each hand; the dogs were out of sight under the lowest branches of the tree in front of her.

  “My parents sent Les and I out to find them a tree, or I wouldn’t be here. I have a very nice potted Norfolk Island pine tree that doubles as a Christmas tree for my house.”

  Lauren’s twin brother Les joined them when he realized Lauren had stopped.

  “Hi, Les, Merry Christmas,” Harriet said.

  “Hi, Harriet. Are you having any luck finding a tree?”

  “I’m letting James and Luke do most of the searching. I’m just making sure whatever they find doesn’t have a flat spot on this side.”

  “Our parents want a Noble fir, and my mom has a specific spacing between whorls of branches in mind,” Les sighed. “This is our third tree farm.”

  Lauren sighed, sounding just like her brother; and Harriet once again noticed how much they looked alike, especially with their hair tucked up in knitted caps. They were, of course, fraternal twins, but with the exception of Les’s pale facial hair, they looked identical. She had to force herself not to stare.

  “We ran into Morse at the coffee shop on our way here,” Lauren said, “and she said they haven’t positively identified the body you and Luke found in the river yesterday, but they’re pretty sure it’s Valery Melnyk. The face and hands are too damaged, so they’re going to have to do DNA testing, but the clothes and wallet say it’s him.”

  The tree in front of Harriet shook.

  “No, this side isn’t good,” she called to James and Luke. She stepped down the row a couple of trees, pulling her little charges with her. Lauren moved with her while Les went back to checking trees on the opposite side of the row.

  “I wonder what happened?” Harriet finally said.

  Lauren shuddered.

  “I wonder if its connected to Daniel’s death,” Harriet continued.

  “Hard to imagine how, although I guess we don’t know either of them well enough to know.”

  “They could be friends or even lovers or have business dealings…”

  “Or they could run Foggy Point’s drug cartel,” Lauren added, getting into the spirit. “But let’s get real. The most likely scenario is either a psychopath picking random victims or their deaths are unrelated. I mean, I don’t think they’ve even determined that anyone killed Valery. He could have fallen in the river.”

  Harriet raised an eyebrow.

  “Seriously?”

  Lauren chuckled.

  “I guess not. Not very many people walk along the river in this weather.”

  A tree started shaking to Harriet’s left. She examined the foliage on her side of the tree.

  “This one looks good,” she called.

  “You realize the people in this row don’t know James and Luke are on the other side. To them it looks like you’re talking to a tree.”

  Harriet looked around her and did notice an older couple staring at her. She smiled and turned back to her tree.

  “Do you have time to take a few pictures of James, Luke, and I cutting the tree?”

  Lauren looked at Les across the aisle.

  “Sure, we’re good. I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to go up in the hills to find what my mom wants, in any case.”

  Harriet reeled the dogs in, and they walked down the aisle to the opening between rows.

  James held the saw against the trunk of their chosen tree, and Luke crouched on the opposite side of the tree pulling the trunk toward him. Harriet was behind Luke, holding the dogs, one in each arm.

  “If we don’t stop with the picture-taking it’s going to be the new year before we get this tree home,” James said through his fake smile.

  Harriet set the dogs down.

  “Okay, fine, go ahead and cut.”

  Lauren scrolled through the pictures on her phone.

  “We do have twenty-some pictures to choose from.”

  Harriet went to check for herself, or she would have seen Aiden approaching.

  “Getting a tree with the little family, I see,” he said, stopping in front of her. He spread his arms out. “And here we are at the same farm where we got our first Christmas tree together. Is this where you bring all your boyfriends on your first Christmas tree date?” His voice grew louder as he spoke. “Oh, wait, I should have said husband. You two skipped right over the boyfriend stage.”

  “Aiden, please, can we not do this now?”

  James and Luke had started to carry the tree back toward the parking area, but James set his end of the tree down and rejoined Harriet when he heard Aiden’s voice.

  “Is there a problem here?” he asked, looking from Aiden to Harriet and then Lauren.

  Lauren looped her arm through Aiden’s.

  “Aiden was saying hello, but he’s going to find his tree now, aren’t you Aiden?”

  Les came over and stood on Aiden’s other side.

  “Come on, man, you’re starting to draw a crowd.”

  Several groups of tree hunters had stopped what they were doing and were watching the drama. Aiden started to say something, but apparently thought better of it. Finally, he shook his head and stomped down the aisle in the opposite direction from the parking area. Lauren followed him for a few yards to be sure he wasn’t going to come back and then returned.

  “Boy, he’s a stubborn one.”

  “That’s one way of putting it.”

  James stood behind Harriet and put a hand on each of her shoulders.

  “And we get to have Christmas dinner with him at Jorge’s,” he said with a grin.

  Lauren laughed.

  “Sounds like fun.”

  Luke waved at them.

  “Everything okay?” he called to Harriet and James.

  “Be right
there,” James called back.

  Lauren tapped the face of her phone.

  “I sent the pictures to your phone.” She paused for a moment then looked at Harriet. “You’re going to have to do something if he keeps this up.”

  “Didn’t you say Jorge was like a father figure to him?” James asked Harriet.

  She nodded thoughtfully.

  “Maybe it’s time we talked to him. I mean, we could try talking to Aiden, but that’s what he wants. He wants to stay connected. Assuming Jorge agrees that he needs to back off, he’s probably the only one who can convince him.”

  Lauren dropped her phone back into her messenger bag.

  “My work here is done. And I need to go light a fire under Les.”

  “Thanks for taking our pictures,” Harriet told her.

  “Go enjoy your family,” Lauren said and left to find her brother.

  CHAPTER 15

  Harriet walked up her driveway after her morning run the following Monday, stomping her feet to restore feeling in her frozen toes. Her aunt’s silver Volkswagen Beetle sat next to the garage, and she could see Aunt Beth’s white hair above the cafe curtain in the kitchen window.

  “I hope it’s okay we came early,” Beth said as Harriet came into the kitchen from the garage. Mavis and Connie were seated at her kitchen table, mugs of steaming tea in front of them.

  Connie took a cellophane-wrapped cookie from a plate in the center of the table.

  “The steamer machine at the coffee shop was broken. They gave us free cookies and sent us on our way. Beth figured you wouldn’t mind if we came early.”

  “As long as you don’t mind waiting for me to shower.”

  Mavis sipped tea and set her mug down.

  “You take your time, honey. We’ve got things to talk about, anyway.”

  Harriet wondered what that might be. She hadn’t had a chance to talk to any of them about her encounter with Aiden at the tree farm yet. She was tempted to hide just out of sight on the stairs but thought better of it. She was cold and sweaty and would feel foolish if they caught her.

  She came back down stairs thirty minutes later wearing a fleece sweatshirt over a long-sleeved plaid shirt and jeans.

  “Do we have time for me to have a quick cup of tea before we go?” She shivered. “I got really cold running this morning. It doesn’t seem any colder than it has been, but I’m freezing.”

  Beth felt Harriet’s forehead when she sat down at the table.

  “You’re not getting sick, are you?”

  “No, it just felt really damp, and even though I was running, I got cold. I’ll be fine once I have something warm to drink.”

  Connie set a mug of steaming tea in front of her.

  “Thanks,” Harriet said and smiled when her aunt slid the honey jar to her.

  “Honey’s good for what ails you,” Beth said, and she knew better than to argue when her aunt went into medicine-woman mode.

  Mavis handed her one of the wrapped cookies.

  “Do you know Sunny Mason?”

  Harriet took a bite and chewed thoughtfully before answering,

  “You mean the cupcake lady? I know her from ordering cupcakes, but I don’t ‘know her’ know her.”

  “Do you know anyone who does?” Connie asked.

  “Not really. Why?”

  Mavis picked up her cup and sat back in her chair.

  “Jenny was in getting cupcakes for her master gardeners meeting yesterday, and she was the only customer in the store. When she came in, Sunny had her back to the counter and had a paper in her hand she was staring at. Jenny could see over her shoulder it was like an old-fashioned ransom note like they have in vintage movies.”

  “You know—the kind where someone cuts out the letters of each word from different magazines,” Aunt Beth added.

  “Jenny said Sunny folded it up as soon as she realized a customer had come in, but Jenny got a good look.”

  “Could she read what it said?” Harriet asked.

  Beth picked up the honey dauber and added a little more honey to Harriet’s tea.

  “She said with the way the letters were glued at all different angles, she couldn’t read what it said before Sunny folded it.”

  Harriet stirred the additional honey into her tea.

  “It could be completely unrelated to Daniel’s death—and Valery’s, if it really is Valery who was in the river.”

  “What?” Beth and Connie said at the same time.

  “We saw Lauren yesterday, and she ran into Morse in the coffee shop. Morse told her they aren’t sure, but evidence indicates it’s him.”

  Mavis tapped her spoon rhythmically on the table.

  “I don’t like it. All of a sudden, shops in town that have always been thriving are struggling to keep their doors open.”

  “But not all shops,” Beth interrupted.

  “True,” Mavis continued. “Some shops are suddenly struggling, and now two business owners are dead. I don’t like it.”

  Harriet made a face as she sipped her now too-sweet tea.

  “It does seem like something might be going on. On the other hand, running a small business can be rough. I think the statistic nationwide is ninety-five percent of all small businesses fail in the first five years. A few months ago, I went into the gallery, and Valery had some visitors who didn’t appear to be customers and were speaking Ukrainian with him. Whatever they were talking about was not making Valery happy.”

  “So, what are you saying?” Beth asked.

  “Valery might have enemies that have nothing to do with Foggy Point, the businesses might be having business troubles at the same time by coincidence, and Daniel…I don’t know. I also can’t explain the mystery letter Sunny had, but there could be an innocent explanation for that. I mean, back in California, Steve and I went to one of those mystery dinner parties one time, and the invitation was made from cut-out magazine letters.”

  “From what Jenny said, whatever Sunny was reading, it wasn’t anything fun,” Mavis said.

  Harriet made a face as she drank the last of her tea and carried her mug to the sink.

  “Okay,” she said. “Who’s ready to go shop?’

  Harriet drove the group to the Walmart out on the highway to get wrapping paper before returning downtown to park in front of the quilt store. Beth and Connie crossed the street to the kitchen store and the outdoor store, while Mavis and Harriet headed to Ruby’s Jewelry store. They agreed to meet in an hour at the quilt store.

  Anthony DeMarco met Harriet and Mavis at his door.

  “I’m still loving the quilt in the window.”

  “Jenny did a wonderful job,” Mavis said with a smile.

  Anthony rubbed his hands together.

  “What can I help you ladies with?”

  Harriet walked over to a display in a glass case near the cash register.

  “If it’s possible, I’d like to get my foster son Luke a class ring. He’s a senior this year but hasn’t had the opportunity to get one.”

  Mavis joined her.

  “And I’m looking for a watch for my son.”

  “Okay,” Anthony said and went behind the counter to retrieve a catalog. “Here’s the class jewelry catalog. You can look through it while I show Mavis a few watches. When you’ve looked at all the options, I can show you samples of the styles you like. Does that sound good?”

  Harriet and Mavis agreed and immersed themselves in their respective tasks. Mavis chose a watch; Anthony gift-wrapped it for her and then turned to Harriet.

  “I’ve picked a couple of styles, but can you tell me which ones are most popular at Foggy Point High School?” she asked him.

  Anthony looked at the catalog page she was looking at.

  “You’ve found them,” he said. “These are the ones the kids are ordering.”

  “I don’t want him to have the most common one, but I don’t want him to have something no one else chooses, either. I’m walking a fine line here.”

  �
�I understand,” Anthony said. He pulled a tray from the glass case and showed her a ring. “This might be the one you’re looking for.”

  She slid it on the tip of her finger and held her hand out, turning it from side to side.

  “Mavis, what do you think?” she said and held her hand toward her friend.

  “It looks good. It’s simple but has all the relevant information.”

  Harriet handed the ring back to Anthony.

  “How long will it take to get here?”

  He glanced at a calendar by the register.

  “I can have it here before Christmas.”

  “Whew, I was worried you were going to say it would take a month.”

  “No, these people are pretty quick. I’ll call you when it’s in.”

  “Can I go ahead and pay for it now?” she asked.

  “You can wait until it arrives if you want,” he countered.

  “No, I’ll just pay now. Once Luke is out on break, it will be harder for me to get away without him knowing where I’m going.”

  Anthony pulled out an order pad and handed it to Harriet to fill in.

  “Have you heard anything about Valery?” he asked while she wrote. “I’ve been told that lady detective is a quilter.”

  Mavis laughed.

  “We are friends with her, but she mostly tells us to stay out of police business. Have you heard anything?”

  Anthony rubbed a hand over his face, clearly torn.

  “I don’t know anything official,” he finally said. “But Valery used to stop in for a cup of coffee when business was slow.” He paused.

  “And?” Mavis prompted him.

  “The other day he came in, and he seemed troubled.”

  Harriet looked up from her form.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s hard to describe. He’s one of those people who usually talks a lot and tells jokes and gossip, and he wasn’t doing any of that. I asked him what was wrong, and at first he tried to brush me off but I persisted. Finally, he told me someone had sent him a blackmail note. He wouldn’t tell me what they were blackmailing him about, but he said they were serious. He asked me if I’d received a note or if any of the other shop owners had said anything about receiving notes. I told him I hadn’t received anything and hadn’t heard anything.”