A Killer Stitch (20 page)

“But—I
took
it,” Lucy cried out again, shoulders shaking. “I took the money like…like a whore.” She buried her face in the tissues with an anguished cry.

“You're no such thing, Lucy, you're a wonderful girl,” Mimi said defiantly, slipping her arm around Lucy's shaking shoulders and drawing her closer. “And you'll be a wonderful mother, too.”

“And you'll have plenty of help, Lucy. I found where all the child care services are in town, and I'll take you to register,” Lisa said. “It will be okay.”

Kelly sat watching, not saying a word, but her mind was spinning a mile a minute. Lucy's tale of her confrontation with Derek Cooper did not resemble the version Kelly had scripted in her imagination. Lucy's grief and anguish were real. There was no doubt. Kelly could feel it in her gut. Lucy's words rang true.

Peering at Lucy, Kelly forced her skeptical side to weigh in, but it had nothing to say. All the well-rehearsed scenes Kelly had allowed her imagination to create collapsed now, like punctured balloons. They'd all been created out of thin air, and the air rushed out of them just as quickly. Lucy didn't kill Derek Cooper.

“Thank goodness you left before that wretched man became violent,” Mimi said. “I'm surprised you could drive out of the canyon in that state. Was it still daytime?”

Lucy shook her head. “No, it was night. But I—I drove slowly.”

Kelly leaned forward and asked in a soft voice, “Lucy, do you recall seeing any other cars when you went to Derek's?”

She nodded, sniffling. “When I was going up the driveway, someone else was leaving,” she said, wiping her nose. “Probably another one of Derek's girlfriends.”

“That's okay, dear,” Mimi soothed. “It's better forgotten.”

“And when I left, I saw a car parked at the bottom, too. On the side of the road.”

Kelly sat up. Diane said she'd seen a parked car that night. “Did you see anyone in the car?”

“No, it was dark, and the headlights were off.”

Kelly stared at Lucy without saying a word. Diane had lied before. Was she lying again? Maybe it was actually Diane in the parked car. Had she driven away from Derek's ranch only to return? Did she come back to fight with her old lover one more time or to kill him?

It had to be Diane. There was no one else who hated Derek Cooper enough to kill him. And she lied. She lied to Jayleen. She lied to them all.

Suddenly all the small things that had bothered Kelly about Diane's version of events crept out of hiding. Why hadn't she paid attention before? Kelly already knew the answer. She
wanted
to believe Diane.

“Here, Lucy, drink some more tea, and then you and I can go visit my doctor. She's really nice, and I think you'll like her,” Lisa suggested as she offered Lucy another cup.

Lucy accepted and drained the cup in a few seconds, clearly thirsty after all the tears.

“I'd like to come, too, if that's all right, Lucy,” Mimi offered, reaching for Lucy's oversized yarn bag. “Here, let me carry this for you.”

Lucy looked up, gratitude glistening in her wet blue eyes. “Thank you, Mimi, I'd like that. And thank you, Lisa.”

“That's what families are for, Lucy,” Lisa said, helping Lucy from her chair and guiding her to the door.

Mimi started after them then glanced to Kelly. “Kelly, would you please tell Rosa that I won't be coming back the rest of today? She can close up.”

“Sure thing, Mimi. And you'd better call Burt while you're at the doctor's office. Lucy will need to give a statement to the police about all of this.”

Mimi nodded. “Yes, I know. And don't worry. Burt and I will stay with her the entire time.”

Kelly
absentmindedly dragged her hand across the candy-colored fibers as she walked through the yarn room, not paying attention to the softness beneath her fingers. She barely noticed the bustle of customers jostling each other around the bins. She was oblivious to the color and commotion surrounding her. Oblivious to it all. Her mind was still back in Mimi's office.

She needed to talk with Jennifer. Kelly knew Jennifer had been wrestling with her own doubts about Diane. They needed to talk. But not yet. Kelly wanted to fortify herself first. She wondered if there was enough caffeine in the world for this conversation.

“Hey, Kelly, Jayleen dropped off an envelope for you,” Rosa said as she hurried through the room. “You were in Mimi's office, so she wrote a note and left. I put it on the library table.”

Kelly wound through the shoppers, retrieved the envelope, and retreated to Pete's café and out of the holiday crush. Welcoming the midafternoon quiet, she signaled the waitress as she found a corner table. Eduardo's strong brew appeared and Kelly indulged herself, drinking deeply for a few moments before she picked up the manila envelope.

Jayleen's note was taped to the front.
I found this picture when I was sorting through some of those boxes in my barn. It was taken at an alpaca breeders' dinner. Take a look at who's sitting next to Derek
.

Curious, Kelly opened the envelope and pulled out an eight-by-ten black-and-white photo. It seemed like a typical banquet photo. Smiling faces around a table. Jayleen had drawn an arrow to Derek Cooper. Blond, handsome, grinning. His arm was draped around the woman beside him. Kelly stared at the woman and caught her breath.

It was Ellen Hunter. Or, it looked like Ellen Hunter. She had the same smile, the same wavy blonde hair. And she was snuggled close to Derek. Was Ellen Hunter one of Derek Cooper's old girlfriends, too?

Kelly sat back, staring at the photo while she sipped her coffee. Ellen had never let on. Never indicated she knew Derek. Not a word, not a gesture, nothing. She talked like she didn't know him. Why? Why would she keep it a secret? It didn't make sense.

Maybe it wasn't really Ellen in the photo, she thought. Well, if it wasn't, then it was her twin. How could that be, though? Ellen was Lucy's best friend, her constant companion, watching over Lucy, worrying about her. And Lucy was Derek's girlfriend. Or one of them, at least. It didn't make sense.

Kelly continued to stare at the photo while she sipped her coffee. A stray thought drifted through the others churning through her mind. Ellen said she and Lucy met several months ago at a neighborhood coffeehouse. Several months ago. Lucy met Derek several months ago at the alpaca banquet. Coincidence? Probably. It didn't make sense…or did it?

Signaling to the waitress for more coffee, Kelly punched Jennifer's number into her cell phone. An idea had surfaced suddenly. It was a crazy idea, but she was going to follow it up anyway.

“Hey, Jen, are you going to see Diane today?” she asked when Jennifer answered.

“Actually, I'm picking her up at the hospital. She's checking out right now. And she wants to drop by the shop before I take her to Jayleen's ranch.”

“How's she doing?”

“Real subdued. Calm, almost. I confess I've never seen her like this before.” Jennifer's voice turned somber. “I guess the doctors and counselors must have gotten through. At least, I hope they did.”

“Let's hope so, Jen. Listen, could you ask Diane a question while you're driving over? Ask her if she remembers if Derek ever had a girlfriend named Ellen. Blonde, wavy hair.”

“Blonde with wavy hair? That sounds like Ellen at the shop—you know, Lucy's friend. She never let on that she knew Derek.”

“Well, I'm looking at a photo Jayleen found of Derek sitting at an alpaca breeders' banquet with his arm around Ellen Hunter. It's either her or her twin.”

Jennifer took in her breath. “Damn.”

“That's what I say.” Kelly flipped over the photo to see the photographer's stamp and date. “It would have been two years ago.”

“We'll be over in a few minutes.”

Diane
Perkins stared at the black-and-white photo, frowning. “You know, I'm not sure, but I think that's her. Derek called her Elly. Can't remember the last name.”

Kelly glanced to Jennifer, who was seated at the library table with them. The late afternoon crowd of shoppers had thinned considerably, so they were momentarily alone in the room.

“So she did go with Derek,” Kelly said.

“Ohhh, yeah. And he dumped her like he did every girl.” Diane shook her head. “But apparently this Elly didn't want to stay dumped. She kept coming back to his ranch. Showing up when he had other girls there. Leaving ugly messages on his answering machine. Stuff like that. At least, that's what Derek said. I wasn't around his place all the time.”

“Sounds like she was stalking him,” Jennifer suggested.

Diane shrugged. “According to Derek, she was. I didn't see her more than once or twice, but I do remember her coming up to us outside a restaurant one night. She started cussing him out until Derek threatened to call the cops.”

“Wow, she sounds worse than a stalker. Sounds like she had it in for him,” Kelly said.

“Yeah, she did. She bashed in his windshield one night when we were in a club. She left a note, too. So he'd know it was her.”

“Didn't Derek call the cops?” Jennifer asked. “He had a pretty short fuse himself. I can't believe he would just let her get away with that.”

“Yeah, I was surprised he waited so long to do something. But I guess he finally called somebody. Someone must have talked to her, because she stopped showing up after that.”

“You never saw her, Jen?”

Jennifer shook her head. “Nope. But I remember Ted talking about some woman coming to the bar a couple of times looking for Derek.”

Kelly gazed out into the winter sunset darkening the sky. Were Ellen Hunter and Elly the same woman? Elly sounded almost deranged. Ellen acted normal. They couldn't be the same person, could they?

“Kelly, do you know if Lucy's all right?” Ellen's voice came from the adjoining room. “I called her cell and Mimi picked up. She said they took Lucy to the doctor. What's happening?”

Kelly looked up to see Ellen Hunter stride into the room, winter coat and scarf dangling, as if she were rushing somewhere.

“Hey, Ellen, uhhhh…yes, Mimi and Lisa took Lucy to the doctor,” she said, momentarily taken aback at Ellen's sudden appearance.

“Is she all right? Is the baby all right? I was—” Ellen's gaze settled on Diane, who had turned in her chair and was staring back at Ellen.

“It
is
you,” Diane said as she stood up. “Elly, right? What are you doing here?”

The brief look of surprise Kelly had glimpsed in Ellen's eyes disappeared. Her gaze hardened. “You're mistaken. My name's Ellen, not Elly.”

A wry smile twitched Diane's mouth. “Well, you used to be Elly. Back when you were giving Derek Cooper hell. I remember you.”

“You're crazy. Either that or you're drunk. I don't know who you are,” Ellen snapped.

Both Kelly and Jennifer stood at that, flanking Diane. “Hey, Ellen, calm down,” Kelly said. “No need to talk like that.”

“Well, she's talking crazy, she must be drunk. I've never seen her before,” Ellen replied, face flushed, staring daggers at Diane.

Diane returned her stare, then replied in a quiet voice, “It's true, I've been drunk a lot. But right now, I'm sober as a judge. And I do remember you, Elly. You were one of Derek's girls.”

Ellen's face darkened as she glared at Diane for several seconds. “Kelly, I'll call you later, and you can tell me about Lucy,” she said in a cold voice, before she stalked out of the knitting shop.

“Whoa…what was that all about?” Jennifer said.

Kelly stared out into the early evening, her thoughts racing. She'd never mentioned Diane's drinking to Ellen. So why would Ellen call Diane a drunk, unless…

Ellen Hunter was lying. Kelly was sure of it. Ellen knew Diane Perkins, all right. And she hated her. Kelly was sure of that, too.

“Lucy's
doing pretty well, considering.” Burt's voice came over Kelly's cell phone. “She did good at the station. Didn't break down once giving her statement.”

Kelly watched Carl sniff his way around the frozen backyard. “That's great. Where's she now? At home?”

“Yep. Mimi is going to stay with her tonight. Lisa will take her to the counselor's appointment tomorrow. I think she's going to be all right.”

“Sounds like she'll be getting the help she needs at last,” Kelly said, then paused. “I know you're probably tired, Burt, but I was wondering if I could ask you to do me a favor.”

“Sure, Kelly. What do you need?”

“I need you to ask some questions of your buddies on the Derek Cooper case.”

The sound of beeping came on the line, signaling another call was coming through. Kelly didn't recognize the number, and let it go to voice mail.

Burt gave a tired sigh. “Kelly, I know you and Jennifer want to believe Diane Perkins is innocent, but let's look at the facts that we know—”

“It's not about Diane. It's about someone else. Something has come up, and I'm curious.”

“Kelly, if you're curious, then I'm curious. What's up?”

“First, could you check one of those voice messages on Derek's phone? You said there was a message from some woman with a grudge. Could you find out what she said?”

“I'll ask. What next?”

“Could you check to see if there were any cops who patrol Bellevue Canyon? If so, could you find out if any of them noticed a car parked near the bottom of Derek Cooper's driveway that night? Pulled off to the side of the road. Lucy confirmed what Diane said about a car being parked there. Lucy saw it, too. She told us this afternoon.”

Burt's sigh was audible. “I thought you said this had nothing to do with Diane. It looks like you're still chasing shadows, Kelly. I think you know who was in that car at the bottom of the road.”

“That's what I thought, Burt, until this afternoon. Jayleen gave me a photo that shows Ellen Hunter and Derek Cooper together as a couple. Until he dumped her, that is.”

“You mean Ellen from the spinning class?”

“The same. Apparently she started stalking Derek after he dumped her. He may have reported her to the police. Maybe there's a report. It was a couple of years ago, I think.”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute, I've got to write this down,” Burt said. “You're saying that Ellen Hunter was stalking Derek Cooper two years ago, right?”

“That's what I'm told.”

“Okay, who told you all this?”

Kelly paused. Burt wasn't going to like her answer. “Diane told me. She was with Derek one night when Ellen came up to them. She recognized her.”

“Kelly, Kelly, Kelly…you are grasping at straws, I swear you are.” Burt's disbelief was audible.

“I know what you're thinking, Burt, but could you please check out everything? For me. Forget it was Diane for a minute, please, and just check it out.”

“Okay, Kelly,” Burt said with a huge sigh. “If you think something's there, I'll check into it for you. I'll get back to you as soon as I hear something.”

“Thanks, Burt. You're a sweetheart,” she said before clicking off.

Finding Jennifer's number, Kelly punched that in next, while she slid the patio door open. Carl galumphed inside the kitchen. “Cold enough for you, Carl?” she asked as she rubbed his shiny black head. “Too cold for me.” Carl responded by slurping her hand.

Jennifer's voice came on the line. “Hey, Kelly, what's up?”

“Is Diane all safe and sound back with Jayleen?”

“Yeah, I'm driving away now. Man, these roads are tricky at night.”

“Well, take it slow and easy. Drive over to my place when you get into town, okay? We're going out.”

“What? Where're we going?”

“Back to the bar. Does Ted work tonight?”

“Ted? Yeah, he works nights. May I ask why? You weren't crazy about the bar, as I recall.”

“We're going to show Ted that photo of Derek and Ellen. Let's hope Ted has a good memory.”

“I'll be there as soon as I can.”