A Tangled Yarn, page 23
I remembered what Maggie had said about seeing him in the coffee place with his computer. “So the ‘payment’ was really access to something, like maybe a bank account?”
“Yes, a routing number, an account number and a password written on the labels in my bag of yarn. When I got to him, he’d already moved the money to another account and destroyed the labels with the numbers,” she said, and suddenly I understood why he arranged for the cab to the airport for the next day. He’d gotten what he wanted.
“And you took that bag of yarn from his room?” I thought of the cloth tote T Dot had seen and that was gone when the cops went through the room. Something else occurred to me. “And you left the yarn in the gift shop.”
“I was afraid the yarn might connect me to him somehow, and I didn’t know how else to get rid of it.”
“So, then you were the one who went through the rooms and all the bags in the meeting room?” I asked.
“No,” she said curtly. She seemed annoyed with herself that she hadn’t understood that Don was trying to tell her that the bag was somehow switched. “Enough of all this talky-talky. I have to get a move on now.” She looked me in the eye. “Sorry to do this, but you know too much now.” There was a small gun in her hand, pointed directly at me. Frank would be upset at my lack of knowledge of what kind of gun it was, but what did it matter? They all did the same thing.
Dolly looked around the room and saw a throw pillow on a chair but waved her hand in dismissal. “That pillow business didn’t work very well. I guess we could do it here without trying to cover the sound. There’s nobody around.”
She moved away from the door and pushed me toward the center of the room. I looked for some escape, but there seemed to be none as she raised the gun. I held my breath and closed my eyes—
Suddenly I heard the door open and voices coming toward us. When I opened my eyes I saw that Derek and Lisa had come in and they both had guns that were much bigger than Dolly’s.
Derek took a step toward Dolly. “I’ll take that,” he said, reaching for the tote bag. But Dolly had already erased the space between us and I felt something at my temple.
“One more step and she gets it,” Dolly said. Then she gave me a shove. “We’ll be going now.” How had this gone from bad to worse? And did Derek and Lisa even care if she shot me in the head? There was only one thing I was sure of. If I took a step out the door, I’d never be coming back. I thought of Julius sitting on the stoop waiting for me. And when I didn’t come back he’d think I’d abandoned him, just like whoever had owned him before.
A stupid idea came to mind. I didn’t know if it would work, but at this point what did I have to lose? “Do you have a plan where we’re going to go?” I asked, trying to keep my voice from trembling.
“Shut up,” Dolly said, but when she didn’t make me move, I realized I’d hit a nerve. I heard her muttering to herself about various options. Lisa and Derek held steady. Finally, Dolly seemed to have decided on a plan, and she motioned for me to move.
I looked down at my feet. “I can’t go,” I said. “My shoe is untied.”
“Who cares? Now, move,” she ordered.
“Okay, but if I don’t tie my shoe, my foot is going to slide and I won’t be able to walk very fast. I might even trip. Since those Crocs of yours don’t have laces, it’s probably hard for you to understand.” Dolly seemed to be thinking it over. “You can tie it for me if you want,” I said.
“You didn’t really think I’d fall for that?” she said with a mixture of a groan and a laugh.
“Okay, then it’s on you if I slow your getaway,” I said.
“Fine. Go on and tie your damn shoe.” She gave my arm a shove.
I bent down, knowing she was watching, but between the chiffon scarf she had wound around her neck and her girth, her view was blocked. I had already come up with a plan, but now I had to carry it out. It was taking longer than expected and she was getting impatient when I kept saying that the laces had slipped out of my hands and I had to try it again. Finally, I stood.
“That took long enough,” she said with annoyance and gave me a shove. “Now, move. I took a big step forward and she tried to do the same, but with an oof sound she started to fall forward.
She tried to steady herself and dropped the gun and the bag before she hit the ground. But a moment later she was up and ran out the door, leaving behind her shoes.
I was surprised when neither Derek nor Lisa made a move to go after Dolly. “What’s going on?” I said.
26
I didn’t get an answer until we’d adjourned to the Lodge and we were on the other side of the registration desk in the business office of Vista Del Mar. Kevin St. John was standing—well, really pacing. Lieutenant Borgnine had an impassive expression as he waited for an explanation. Dane, in uniform, was standing with his arms folded.
Derek and Lisa had put their guns away, and now they took out their badges. “Sorry we couldn’t tell you all we’re FBI,” Derek said.
“And you’re not really married,” I said.
“That wasn’t a lie,” Lisa said. “We are married.”
“Just not to each other, right?”
“What gave us away?” Lisa asked. “So we’ll know for next time.”
“You couldn’t seem to agree if you had kids,” I said and she winced.
The others in the room seemed less concerned about their marital status than hearing why they were there. Lisa and Derek confirmed what I already knew and then filled in some of what I didn’t.
“We were on the lookout for this,” Derek said, holding up the tote bag. “The formula on the yarn wrappers is for an undetectable explosive and was on its way to a terrorist cell. We knew there was going to be a handoff here, but not who, where or when.
“Once we saw the Snow Drop note on the message board, we went to the lighthouse at the appointed time to watch. We hadn’t expected so many people to be there. We saw Porter pick up a bag and leave one in its place. We had hoped to intercept the drop, but we got distracted by a big dog loping across the grass and jumping on us. When we looked back at the bench, the bag was gone. Because of who was there, we figured it had been taken by someone staying at Vista Del Mar. Our goal was to find the bag with the formula.”
“Then you were the ones who went through all the rooms, and then all the bags at my workshop,” I said.
“Yes,” Lisa said. “Please tell your cat we’re sorry he got the rap for it.”
“When Porter got killed, we figured something in the deal had gone wrong. I have to say, by this morning we were feeling pretty desperate about finding the formula. So, when we saw Dolly Erickson going up your driveway, we got suspicious about what she was up to.”
“Lucky for me you did,” I said.
Derek smiled at me. “I think you would have done okay even if we hadn’t. How did you do what you did?”
I’d brought Dolly’s shoes with us and I held out the pair of pale blue Crocs and showed how the straps had been pushed forward and there was something binding the straps together.
I still had the ball of yarn in my hand from when I’d tried to get hold of the labels. The tail of it was connected to the Crocs. Then Lisa figured it out. “It’s finger crochet. You used finger crochet to make something to tie her shoes together. I wish those women who thought it was useless could see you now.” Lisa gestured with her hand. “Show them how you did it.”
I cut the yarn free and then demonstrated making a length of chain stitches using my finger as a hook. Lieutenant Borgnine looked skyward and shook his head. Kevin St. John kept trying to say something, but in the end all he did was sputter. Dane smiled and mouthed, “That’s my girl.”
Derek turned to me. “You wondered why I didn’t go after Dolly—” He pointed past the counter to the main area of the Lodge just as a breathless and disheveled-looking Dolly came through the door. “The people she works for don’t like screwups. They tend to reward it with a slow and painful death. I knew when she thought about it, she’d realize being locked up was a better option.” Just as he finished, Dolly walked up to where we all were and asked to be taken into custody.
“You still haven’t told us,” Derek said, stepping closer to me, “how you ended up with the formula.”
I was trying to think of an answer when I saw that Madeleine had left the café and was crossing the room. As she passed the registration desk, she glanced over the counter and saw all of us and started to pick up her pace. But then she reconsidered and made her way around the counter and said that as an owner of Vista Del Mar, she was entitled to know what was going on.
Kevin St. John immediately stepped in and tried to shield her. “That’s okay, Ms. Delacorte. We have everything under control.”
“You’re right. You should know,” Derek said, ignoring the manager. He explained the whole story. Poor Madeleine. When she heard about what was in the bag of yarn, she seemed almost faint. But then Derek got to the end and said it was down to the question of how I’d gotten possession of the formula.
“Is she in trouble?” Madeleine asked.
“Maybe,” Derek said. Madeleine considered what he’d said for a moment, and I wondered if she would tell the truth or not. She seemed to have come to a conclusion and stood a little straighter as she turned to Derek with a resolute expression.
“Don’t blame her. It’s my fault.” She seemed embarrassed as she explained about carrying the bag of yarn all the way to Vista Del Mar. “I gave it to Casey by mistake and gave Don Porter the yarn I’d bought for her.” She looked around the room at all of us. “I understand I did something terrible.” Madeleine took a deep breath, closed her eyes and held out her hands as if she expected to be handcuffed. When nothing happened, she finally opened her eyes.
“It clearly wasn’t intentional,” Derek said as she retracted her hands. “And if you hadn’t done what you did, we might not have kept this formula from getting where it was supposed to go. Who knows how many lives could have been lost?”
“What about Don?” she said.
“He was a bad guy,” Derek answered. “It was all about money for him. He obviously didn’t care what kind of havoc he would cause. And he manipulated you. I think you’ve learned your lesson and you understand that those recordings at the airport mean something.”
While they were talking, Cora had come into the Lodge and finally did hear what Madeleine had wanted to keep from her. The younger Delacorte sister’s lips were pursed when she came around the counter, and she started to scold Madeleine in front of everyone.
Instead of seeming defeated by her sister’s comments, Madeleine actually stood taller. “I am old enough to make my own decisions, whether it’s clothes or travel. I don’t need your okay.”
Cora was speechless.
Now that everything seemed settled, Derek and Lisa left with Dolly. They didn’t even need to handcuff her. Lieutenant Borgnine seemed relieved that Don’s death was settled. There was no mention of his cop gut and how it had pointed to Van.
I did finally understand who’d tipped Lieutenant Borgnine off about Van keeping stuff from the police, though. Dolly had been across the café and I remembered that she had told me she could read lips.
• • •
By the time I got together with my group, they were all in our meeting room for the last workshop. Crystal and Wanda were circulating among them, trying to make sure everyone knew how to finish their projects on their own. Even so, both of my helpers were giving out their e-mail addresses in case anyone got stuck.
“Where have you been?” Lucinda said. “There are other people missing—where are Dolly and Lisa?”
“It’s a long story,” I said, and they all gathered around me. Lucinda looked like she would burst by the time I got to the end.
“I am definitely not telling Tag about the exchanging bags and a secret formula. He’s paranoid enough already.”
Crystal was particularly pleased that the finger crochet she’d taught might have saved my life. She definitely gave Wanda an I-told-you-so look.
The Difficult Duo were amazingly quiet. I noticed that once it came out what kind of person Don Porter really was, Rayanne didn’t volunteer that he was her cousin and DeeDee kept jerking her head from side to side, probably regretting that she’d mentioned Rayanne’s relative to me.
Jeff said he was glad he had only been a courier for a dog.
I went up to Mona. “I know your secret.” Under all her layers. I heard her gasp. Just before I’d left Derek and Lisa, it had occurred to me to ask them about Mona, since it seemed while they were looking for the formula, they had gotten background information on some of the people in both groups. Mona had been a red flag with all her garb, and they’d checked out who she was.
“Please don’t say anything,” she said in her low voice. “It’s better that it should come from me.”
“No problem,” I said. With all the issues I had getting along with Kevin St. John, I didn’t want to be the one to tell him his mother was one of my retreaters. Her behavior all made sense once I found out who she was. No wonder she asked so many questions about him, seemed to be watching him, but at the same time avoided getting too close. I suppose she was afraid he might recognize her. I’d even heard Cora Delacorte say that Mona looked familiar.
She assured me she was there for only good reasons. She’d come to see how he was doing. She regretted abandoning him and leaving him with her mother to bring up. She’d disguised herself because she wasn’t sure she’d have the courage to face him. But she’d decided to tell him who she was and try to make amends.
Mona was likely to find Kevin needing her support. He’d been so full of himself at the beginning of the writers’ conference, but after this weekend, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to handle events. It was easier just to be the innkeeper. Plus he now had the prospect of Cora and Madeleine being in the middle of Vista Del Mar’s business.
As it got to be time to wrap up the workshop, everyone got nostalgic and there was a lot of exchanging of information and promises to keep in touch. Surprisingly, they all wanted to be notified of my next retreat. One comment said it all. The woman with the knitting needles stuck in her hair pulled me aside.
“Who would have thought that a retreat in this rustic spot would turn out to be so exciting?”
The early birds and Lucinda were the last to leave. I thanked Bree, Olivia and Scott for all their help and said I wished I’d been able to spend more time with them.
“That’s okay,” Olivia said with a warm smile. “It sounds like you were off saving the world.”
The airport shuttle picked everyone up and Lucinda and I watched until it turned onto the street and drove out of sight.
“Well, it’s home to Tag for me,” she said. The restaurant was closed on Sundays and I knew he probably had everything waiting at home for her return. She had said a weekend away always reignited the spark between them. She grabbed the handle of her bag and headed for her car, and I walked home.
When I saw Julius sitting on the stoop waiting for me, I rushed up to hug him. I was glad he didn’t know how close it had gotten to me never coming back. It was going to be a stink fish fiesta.
A car pulled into my driveway and Sammy got out. He had a huge grin on his face. “Case, you won’t believe it,” he said. “I don’t know how it happened, but word spread about my comedy magic act and I got an offer to do a private party at one of the Pebble Beach resorts. I know this is just the beginning. But I can’t do it without you. Are you in?”
I couldn’t let him down. “Okay, but I need a better costume.”
His face lit up even more. “Whatever you want. And this time we’ll be sure to practice. I’m going to make you levitate.”
I rolled my eyes. What had I gotten myself into?
He followed me inside while I gave Julius the special treatment. He would have hung around longer, but I told him I had calls to make and then it was off to the Blue Door to bake.
I called Frank first.
“Feldstein, wow, it sounds like you really got into the deep end this time. So those writers were all innocent?” he said.
“Yes, but it was thanks to the stuff T Dot told me and your idea about flipping things that I figured out it was probably the most unlikely person at my retreat. The other guy probably still blames me for Lieutenant Borgnine giving him the third degree. But he’s gone by now, anyway.”
“Glad I could help,” he said. “If that’s it . . .” I heard a woman’s voice calling him Frankiepoo. Frankiepoo? I tried not to laugh. “Well, keep in touch. And job well done.” There was a click and he was gone.
I called my mother before she could call me. She was absolutely silent while I told her the whole tale. “Not what I expected,” she said. “I admire how clever you were, but I can’t say it makes me happy that you had to escape someone trying to shoot you.” She let out a sigh. “I guess that means you’ll be keeping your deal with Vista Del Mar. I know you really like what you’re doing, but I think if you came back here it wouldn’t be the worst thing.”
“Never say never,” I said. Just before she hung up she said something that totally shocked me. “I just want you to know that I’m really proud of you.” Then she clicked off.
And then it was time to go to the Blue Door. Since the restaurant was closed on Sundays, I went in a little earlier than on other days. Even so, the streets of Cadbury were already ultra quiet.
