The Long Stitch Good Night: An Embroidery Mystery (18 page)

“I made it clear to Graham that I wasn’t in love with Riley,” said Todd, directing his answer to me.

“But Graham wouldn’t let up,” said Blake. “He just kept hammering at Todd about how Riley had dumped him for Keith and that Keith had been the better man then and was still the better man.”

“And then, of course, I had to remind him that Sadie had dumped him for Blake, who was by far a better man than Graham would ever be.” Todd raised his coffee cup in a salute
to Blake. “From there, things just went from bad to worse. I should’ve never brought up Sadie to Graham when he’d been drinking.”

“Not that he was that crazy about me,” Sadie said. “He just never liked to lose anything. While we were dating, he looked at me as being
his
, and we didn’t even go out for all that long. He simply staked his claim, and I was supposed to adhere to it until he was finished with me.” She reached over and took Blake’s hand. “But I met this guy, and fell in love almost immediately.”

“Ditto.” Blake leaned in for a kiss.

“You guys previously said that Graham was being a jerk to everybody,” I said. “Was that before or after the Riley toast?”

“Both,” Todd said. “He started with Mark. When Mark arrived, Graham asked him where he’d been. Mark said he had to finish up at the gym before he could leave, and Graham said it’s too bad he had more brawn than brain and couldn’t manage a white-collar job.”

“Let me guess,” I said. “Mark just blew him off.”

“How’d you know?” Blake asked.

“Because in the short time I’ve known Mark, he seems unfazed by just about everything,” I said.

“Don’t let him fool you,” said Todd. “If he’s pushed too far, he will retaliate.”

“Did Graham pick on any of the other guys?” Sadie asked.

“Sure, but it was just petty stuff,” Blake said. “Nothing happened that you’d expect Graham to be murdered over.”

“Nothing happened
there
,” I said. “Or nothing happened on Friday night that you guys know of. But something obviously happened that put Graham on someone’s hit list. We just have to figure out what and whose list.”

“I say we add
how
to that list.” Blake shook his head. “There were three people in that room: Graham, Todd, and me. Unless Graham shot himself, I don’t know how it could’ve happened without Todd or me seeing who did it.”

“I think the shooter was in the hallway behind you,” I said to Blake. “After he shot Graham, he could’ve run into the bathroom or blended into the crowd.”

“That would explain why there wasn’t another gun found,” Todd said. “He took it with him.”

T
he next morning, as soon as Angus and I got to the shop, I went into the office and logged on to the computer. A man as rich, powerful, and arrogant as Graham Stott was bound to have a few enemies. I wanted to try to find out who they were and if they could’ve been at the Brew Crew Friday night. A jury needed nothing more than reasonable doubt to return a not-guilty verdict. And although I was certain their attorneys—well, Todd’s, anyway—were all over that, I wanted to help my friends in any way I could.

Before leaving my house last night, Blake and Todd had resolved to consult with their attorneys and, if the attorneys agreed, to tell their story to the police. Right now I feared law
enforcement was working to build the prosecution’s case against Blake and Todd rather than seeking other viable suspects. After all, they believed the killer or killers—Blake and Todd could theoretically have been working together—had already been indicted.

I stared at my empty search bar, wondering what to type. I supposed I could simply start with the name
Graham Stott
. But what I wanted to know is who would have profited from Graham’s death. Had Todd and Blake not been found in the room with the victim and the possible murder weapon, the police would have started questioning the people who had the most to gain from killing the victim. So I keyed in
Graham Stott, Oregon, business partners
, and I clicked the search key. The screen instantly filled with links.

Before I could begin scrolling through them, the bells over the shop door jingled. I minimized the window and hurried out into the shop. My visitor was Andy, and he was playing ball with Angus.

“This is a great dog,” Andy said. “Is he yours?”

“Yep. His name is Angus.”

At the mention of his name, Angus came and dropped his ball at my feet. I picked it up and tossed it into the sit-and-stitch area.

As Angus scampered after his ball, I asked Andy if he had any pets.

“Not me,” he said. “My landlord forbids it. My nephew has a Jack Russell terrier, though.” He laughed. “And, believe me, those two rambunctious boys can get into a lot of trouble.”

“I bet so.”

Angus brought his ball back to Andy, and Andy dutifully lobbed it across the room.

“Would you like to sit down?” I asked.

“No, thanks,” Andy said. “I can’t stay but a minute. I don’t have a class this morning until eleven, so I thought I’d come by and check out your shop on my way to school.” He looked around and nodded approvingly. “This is super.”

“Thank you so much.” I grinned. “Let me give you the grand tour.” I gestured to the right. “That’s the shop area.” I gestured to the left. “And this is the sit-and-stitch square.”

“You didn’t introduce me to your lovely assistant,” he said with a smile.

“That’s Jill. I’d planned to name her after Marilyn Monroe’s character in
The Seven Year Itch
, but—”

“But Marilyn’s character didn’t have a name in that movie. They called her
the girl
,” Andy finished.

“I’m impressed,” I said. “Are you an old movie buff or a Marilyn fan?”

“A little of both.” Angus returned with the ball, and Andy threw it again. “You look kinda like her. That’s why I could hardly believe you’d go out with me…you know, you looking like you and me looking like me.”

I leveled my gaze. “Stop fishing for compliments, Andy. You’re just trying to get me to confirm that you’re an attractive guy.”

“So we’re still on for Friday?” he asked.

“Of course. I have to be up front with you, though. I’ve dated some since moving to Tallulah Falls, but I’m pretty cautious,” I said. “I didn’t leave my heart in San Francisco, but I did have it trampled on there.”

“Hey, I’ve had my share of heartbreak too. Friendship is good, though, right?”

“The best.” I smiled. “By the way, Blake said Graham was taunting Todd because Riley had given birth to her and Keith’s baby. But I thought Todd and Riley were through at least three years ago. Why would Graham taunt Todd about that now?”

Andy shrugged. “Some people say you never get over your first love. Graham hadn’t got over his, and he didn’t think Todd had either.”

“And Graham’s first love was Sadie?” I asked.

“Inasmuch as Graham ever loved anyone other than himself. Plus, I think in a way, he wanted Todd to commiserate with him,” Andy said. “The Todd-Riley-Keith situation played out much like the Graham-Sadie-Blake scenario. When Riley met Keith, she broke things off with Todd to pursue the relationship with Keith.”

“Graham sure had a perverse way of trying to garner sympathy,” I said.

“Graham had a perverse way of doing a lot of things.” He petted Angus. “I’d better get to the college. Should I pick you up here on Friday?”

“That should work. Give me a call Friday morning, and we’ll work out the details,” I suggested.

When Andy left, I went back into the office and pulled up the search engine results. As I perused the links, I wondered if it was possible that Todd
hadn’t
gotten over his first love…if he still had feelings for Riley. Or maybe, like I’d seen with David—my ex-fiancé, who had tried his darnedest to get me back—time and distance had showed Todd that his and Riley’s relationship wasn’t the perfect pairing he’d once envisioned and that their romance
wouldn’t have lasted even had Keith not come into the picture.

My thoughts turned to Ted. His marriage hadn’t lasted. He and his wife had—as far as I knew—gone through an amicable divorce. Ted never talked about it. In fact, I didn’t even know his ex-wife’s name. Did he avoid talking about her because he was still nursing a broken heart or because he was simply over her and had nothing to say?

It dawned on me that the two primary men pulling my heartstrings both had a ton of baggage. And it wasn’t like I didn’t have a matching set of my own that I was lugging around. But maybe Andy had the right idea with the friendship thing. It was possible that I was destined to play a “buddy girl” role to all the guys in this play rather than the girl the hero fell crazy in love with. Or it was possible that my hero had yet to arrive on the scene.

The doorbells jangled again, and I hopped up out of my office chair to return to the shop. Wouldn’t it be wild if there was a handsome stranger standing there? Our eyes would meet, and the music would swell, and we would just
know
. There wouldn’t be any waiting to see how things turned out. We’d know immediately that we were meant for each other.

The record scratched.…

Standing near the counter was not a handsome stranger but an attractive woman in her mid-forties with honey blond hair styled to perfection.

“Hello,” I said. “Welcome to the Seven-Year Stitch.”

“Thank you.” She gave Angus a wary glance as he ambled up to her. “I’m guessing he’s friendly, or else he wouldn’t be here.”

“He’s very friendly,” I told her. “But if it’ll make you more comfortable, I can put him in another room while you shop.”

“No, that’s fine.” She smiled warmly. “I do appreciate the offer, though. I’ve always been a little leery of dogs.”

Angus, sensing his company was unwanted, went to stretch out at the window and people watch.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” I asked the customer.

“Maybe. I’m going to make bookmarks for my Bible study group. I’m debating between doing them in cross-stitch or Hardanger. Which do you think would be the better choice?”

I gave her question some thought. “While both are beautiful, I think cross-stitch bookmarks would be the better option because you
can so easily customize your gifts to suit the group and the individuals.”

The woman nodded. “Excellent point. Do you have any bookmark blanks?”

“Yes. Have you already got your pattern?”

“I do,” she said. “All I’ll need are the blanks, some flosses, and a roll of wide ribbon to sew onto the backs of the bookmarks to cover up my sloppy stitching.”

I showed her where she could find everything she needed and handed her a small canvas shopping basket. “Please let me know if I can be of further help.”

Ted came in as the woman was putting various colors of floss into her basket.

“Good morning,” I told him.

“Hi.” He turned his attention to Angus, who was happy a new playmate had arrived, especially since he’d been so recently rebuffed by the customer. “Want me to take him for a walk down the street?”

“That’d be great.” I got Angus’s leash and snapped it to his collar. “Thanks.”

Ted smiled. “We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

By the time they returned, my customer had left.

“I really appreciate your taking Angus for a
walk,” I said. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I could hear my mother’s voice telling me to
allow him do something heroic whenever he’s around
.

“No problem.” He unfastened the leash and handed it back to me. “I figured it would do him good and give me something to do while that lady finished shopping. I wanted to talk with you privately.”

“All right.” I put the leash under the counter and followed Ted to the sofa facing away from the window. “Is anything wrong?”

“Calloway’s attorney Cam Whitting called the head of the major crime team this morning demanding an explanation as to why his client was arrested and detained while Graham Stott’s shooter is still at large,” he said.

“But isn’t that what attorneys are supposed to do?” I asked. “Profess their client’s innocence?”

“Yeah, but what if the ballistics report comes in today and says that Calloway’s gun wasn’t the murder weapon? It’ll look like I did a shoddy job.” He leaned forward, placing his forearms on his knees. “My first big case filling in for Manu, and I’ll have blown it.”

“Ted, I know you. You’re nothing if not thorough. No one could ever accuse you of botching an investigation.”

“My team and I followed proper procedure,” he said. “We interviewed every single person who was in the bar when we arrived. No one was allowed to leave until they’d spoken with us. We did an exhaustive search of the premises.…One of my guys even checked the toilet tanks to make sure no one had stashed a gun in one before we got there—you know, to hide it. We did everything by the book.”

I placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure you did. And there was no way you could’ve let Blake and Todd walk away when you discovered them in a room with a dead man and a gun…especially when they weren’t willing to tell you what happened.”

Ted leaned back against the sofa cushions and looked at me with surprise. “That means a lot, coming from you. I know how badly you want to believe they’re innocent.”

“I
do
believe they’re innocent, but the fact that they’re my friends doesn’t negate that you did what you had to do,” I said. “And I’m confident you’ll find Graham Stott’s killer and the evidence necessary to get a conviction.”

“Did Calloway and MacKenzie tell you their story?” he asked.

I nodded. “Sadie, Blake, and Todd came to
my house last night and said each guy thought the other had shot Graham. That’s why they didn’t say anything initially.”

“That’s the story we got, too.”

“You sound skeptical,” I said.

“I am. They don’t tell us this until they’ve been out of jail for two days? That seems a bit too convenient,” said Ted. “But, of course, I’ll keep looking at suspects and adding pieces to the puzzle until I get a clear picture.” He took my hand. “What if the killer does turn out to be MacKenzie or Calloway?”

That was a question I wasn’t prepared to answer.