Knot Guilty (23 page)

“I know that's what you want,” he said. “But I just can't do it.”

I started to pull away, realizing he'd reconsidered now that he'd had time to think. “I get it. The timing is just off. You snooze you lose,” I said, trying to lighten the moment.

I heard him chuckle, and when I looked at him, he was grinning and his eyes were warm. “I'm not doing a very good job of explaining. What I'm trying to say is I don't want that kind of relationship. I want something more. I want strings.”

I froze and our eyes met. “You should see yourself,” he said, still holding on to my hand. “You have that deer in the headlights sort of look. I don't know exactly how far this is going to go. I guess what I'm trying to say is I think we need to belong to each other.” He let out a big sigh of relief. “There, I said it. If it doesn't work for you, we can part as friends.”

I started to laugh. It was relief, exhaustion and too much time spent thinking about murder. “You should only know what I was going to say,” I began. “It was pretty much the same thing.” I mentioned how I had claimed to want the house to myself, and the whole trying my own wings thing. “And when I finally got it, I hated it. I realized the whole thing about a casual relationship, two ships passing in the night, wasn't really what I wanted after all. What you described sounds perfect.”

We hugged each other and it evolved into a kiss, which was short-lived because I realized the little gray dog had just peed on my foot.

When Mason saw why I'd let go, he started to laugh. “Oh, how I've missed all this.” He glanced toward the living room and the sounds of my sons arguing. “It doesn't seem like the time to tell them about us. It sounds like you're needed in there. Can I call you later?”

I nodded and we lingered by the door prolonging the moment, then Mason opened the door to go. “Love you, Sunshine.”

“Me, too.”

Well, at least I didn't think it was just his way of saying good-bye anymore.

It was back to reality now. I went into the living room. Peter wasn't happy with Samuel's decision, but I appreciated that he helped his brother move anyway. My older son was getting ready to leave when I came back into the room. I walked him to the door as he gave me a laundry list of what I should do, which started with only letting Samuel crash there for a defined amount of time.

Samuel was slumped on the soft leather couch. Whoever thinks it is only girls who are upset over breakups is wrong. I sat down next to Samuel. “Do you want to talk about it?” I said.

He shook his head and then let it hang. I asked him if he was hungry, but all he was interested in was a cup of tea.

I think it was less the tea and more the sympathy that went with it. I made us a couple of cups of gold rush tea I'd gotten for the holidays. It had a wonderful fruity aroma, not that Samuel noticed. I wanted to say something to make him feel better, but I didn't think those words existed.

“Thank you,” he said at last. He didn't elaborate, but I knew it was for being there. He grabbed one of the boxes and went to his old room.

I was sorry about his breakup, but I was so glad to have all this life back in the house. Even the little gray dog.

I took Felix to the back door and let him out in the yard, hoping to discourage him from having another accident, then I headed across the house for a nice hot bath.

I poured in some bath salts and started to fill the tub. I had just gotten in when the phone rang. I got out, leaving a puddle on the floor.

“Is everything under control?” Mason asked. When he heard he'd gotten me out of the tub he apologized, though I barely heard it thanks to a flurry of barking coming through the phone.

“What's with Spike?” I said, picturing the toy fox terrier pestering Mason.

Mason's tone lightened. “It seems I came home with a souvenir of the little gray dog's hair on my pant leg and Spike is indignant. It doesn't help that he's been alone too much this weekend.” Spike's barking evolved into some kind of happy whimpering as Mason talked to the dog and probably gave him a bunch of affection.

“Now that there's peace again, let me get to the real reason I called. I had a thought,” he said. “What if we both take a couple of days off and drive down around to Coronado. Now that Samuel is staying at your place, he can hold the fort down and we could just leave on the spur of the moment when the yarn show is over. No baggage, except of course Spike. We'd buy what we need on the road?”

I had to admit that it sounded wonderful. “But I can't leave until things are settled for Adele. Unless something happens, Barry is going to arrest her on Monday.”

“I'm betting you make something happen before then,” Mason said.

“It's not so easy. Barry is sure it's Adele, and I'd have to have real evidence to point at someone else.”

“I'm sorry I can't help you, but . . .” He let his voice trail off. Then he seemed to reconsider. “I suppose if you didn't ask me anything about her and I didn't mention my client, we could talk about it.” I heard him let out his breath. “That doesn't sound like it would be much help. I'm sorry to have let you down.”

“That's okay. I think I'd feel a lot worse if you broke your trust with your client and told me a bunch of stuff.”

The TV was on in the background, and a familiar voice got my attention. “Turn on Channel 3,” I said. “This is too weird.” When I looked at the screen there was Kimberly Wang Diaz doing a feature story that had shots from the whole weekend, starting with an interview with K.D. I could see it had been done in the suite. They were sitting in the living room with the coffee table between them. I looked for Adele's hook, but it wasn't there. Nor was the champagne. All I really saw were two hotel keys on the coffee table.

“That's odd,” I said before telling him about my conversation with the room service waiter. “He said there was one key on the table when he delivered the champagne.” The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. “Think about this: There were two keys to start with. Someone must have come to the room and taken one of the keys with them. And then let themselves back in while she was in the tub. It wasn't a big secret about her ritual. Even I knew.”

I stopped for a moment as the TV droned on and Kimberly's report continued. I saw that she was on the vendor floor. I strained, trying to see if she was going to pass our booth, but she just went along the front area. The little gray dog had come in to join me and jumped on the bed.

“That sounds like a way for someone to have opportunity, but who?” Mason said.

“Just knowing who wouldn't be enough. I'd have to have some real evidence, too.”

Kimberly's segment ended at the banquet. Of course, she mentioned the drama with the silver knitting needles and that Thea had been detained. But the big focus was on Kimberly getting her award, and then the weather report came on with all their charts and pictures of storm clouds.

“But I have every confidence you will find the guilty party and the evidence. I have so much faith in you that I'm going to go ahead and book the reservations. Audrey's not going to be at the show tomorrow. Sorry I can't go into details why.”

He didn't have to. I could figure it out. Any worries about charges against her had evaporated when the real value of the needles came out.

“And another thing,” Mason said. “I think it is time to update your phone. That BlackBerry is practically an antique. I sent you a bunch of text messages while I was babysitting my client and I never got a response from you.”

“Huh?” I said, taking out the squarish smartphone. I found the text messages he'd sent hidden somewhere and apologized. I stared at the phone a little longer as Mason told me to go finish my bath.

The idea of taking off on an impromptu trip with Mason sounded romantic and exciting. I went back into the bathroom, but the water had grown cold and I gave up on the bath idea. I would just put on some body cream and call it a night. With the stopper up, the water began to drain from the tub. A paper towel took care of what was left of the puddle I'd made when I got out of the tub. I opened the jar of body cream and began to slather it on my arms. The fragrance stirred a memory, and something Mason had said went through my mind. Felix walked in to see what was going on. I looked down at the scruffy gray dog. “Thanks to you I might just have figured out the whole thing.”

By morning I had a plan. I thought of calling Dinah and asking for her help as a backup, but it had been a late night for her and she'd done so much for me all weekend. Besides, I was sure that I'd be in and out without being seen. Then I'd let Barry know.

I rushed through my morning preparations and went to the greenmobile. The dim light due to the low-hanging clouds made it seem even earlier, and the moisture in the air absorbed all the sound. It looked like everybody else was still asleep as I started my trek across the Valley to the hotel. It was way too early for even the vendors, and the parking lot was almost empty. I was relieved to see the delivery truck just pulling up. I'd counted on him as my means of getting into the marketplace before it opened for the vendors.

I waited until he loaded up a dolly with supplies, and then as he started toward the entrance of the convention center, I followed him. The corridor was deserted, but the lights were on. I watched as someone from the hotel unlocked the door for him and then walked away. So much for the added security they'd promised, but then it was the last day and the auction was done.

It was no problem for me to slip inside the marketplace. Most of the lights were still off, and I stepped into the shadows, tracking the squeak of the dolly as the delivery guy made his way to the back of the huge room.

Mason's words had reminded me of something I'd read in
The
Average Joe's Guide to Criminal Investigation
. Criminals left evidence of their presence behind, but they also took evidence of the crime scene with them.

In the dim light, the booths shrouded in tarps looked almost ghostly. My heart was thudding against my chest as I waited for the deliveryman to leave the supplies at the snack bar. I listened as the dolly squeaked its way toward the exit. There was the whoosh of the door opening and closing and then heavy silence. I didn't really need to be stealth anymore, but I still crept along the front of the aisles. The stage area with its black curtains appeared like a big void.

I had my fingers crossed that I would be right and the evidence would be there. I stopped at my destination and checked the area again to make sure I was alone. Taking a deep breath, I peeled back the tarp and took out my flashlight.

In this semidarkness, the dress forms appeared sinister, like torsos that had lost their heads. I flipped on the small flashlight and shined it on each one. I stopped the light when I got to the dress form wearing the long vest. And then my heart fell. It was blue, and I was looking for the gray one.

Of course, Rain had switched out the sample, which only reconfirmed that I was right. I glanced around the small space. Obviously, she must have realized what had suddenly hit me the night before.

It's a funny thing about our sense of smell. It's so connected to memory. Who can smell suntan lotion and not think back to a day at the beach? That's what happened when I caught a whiff of my body cream the night before. The heavy scent of coconut suddenly evoked memories, though not as nice as a day at the beach.

I hadn't noticed the tropical scent when I'd found K.D., but then the shock of seeing her in the tub must have masked it, to my conscious mind, at least. But when I smelled the body cream the scene had immediately flashed in my mind. Then came the image of Rain as she picked up the dress form she'd left in front of our booth. I'd had trouble remembering her name, and something made me think of the beach and I had called her Sand. But now I knew it was that tropical scent heavy with coconut clinging to the long gray vest she was wearing. And I was sure I knew how it got there.

When I'd seen the puddle next to my own tub, I'd been reminded that I'd seen water on the floor in K.D.'s suite. It must have splashed out when the hair dryer went in. And it also must have splashed on the killer's clothes, leaving them with a souvenir just the way the gray dog's hair had gone home on Mason's pant leg.

I was saying “killer” in my mind, but I knew it was Rain. I had never even considered her a suspect. She'd offered up an alibi without even being asked. The waiter had seen her leave the room when he was on the way in to deliver the champagne. And Delvin had heard from K.D. after that about changing Rain's booth around. So it had seemed that K.D. was alive and well for quite a while after Rain had left the suite.

Only after Mason had brought up sending me texts at the show had I realized something. I had been thinking all along that K.D. had talked to Delvin about changing the booth, and then I remembered someone had mentioned text messages. Anybody could have been anywhere when they sent a text message from K.D.'s phone, and then thrown the phone in the tub with her.

And it occurred to me that Rain could have lifted one of the hotel keys during her first visit and then used it to come and go at will. The service elevator would have made it simple to do without being seen.

But all my figuring was worthless unless I could give some real evidence to Barry, like the vest so they could match up the residue of bath oil on it to the special blend that K.D. used. Obviously, Rain had figured out that I'd noticed the scent on the vest and stopped using it as a sample. But what had she done with it? I glanced around at the racks of knitted items. She wouldn't have put it there because the scent would still be evident.

The table at the back had a heavy covering that went down to the floor, and I remembered her stowing her belongings back there when I'd stopped by her booth. Could she have stowed something else as well?

I was almost afraid to look. Afraid that I would find nothing. Images of Adele being arrested for real floated through my mind. I was certain a jury would never find her guilty, but then who knew for sure. I took a deep breath and got ready to bite the bullet and look. The covering was heavy and it slipped from my hand the first time. The second time I held it tight and leaned down, training the flashlight in the dark space. All I saw was the dark carpet. I was about to admit defeat and leave but ran the flashlight over the carpet one last time. I saw a smidge of yellow piping.

I got down on my knees and reached all the way to the back. My hand felt something cool and plastic. When I pulled it out, I saw the yellow piping was on an opaque garment bag. I stood up and set it down on the table and began to lower the zipper. I'd barely gotten it halfway down when the scent of the tropics laden with coconut blasted my senses.

The last thing I wanted to do was move the evidence. I reached for my phone to call Barry. The stress of the search and the excitement of the find had made me lose touch with my surroundings, and I barely noticed that something had brushed against my hair. When the something touched my neck, it got my attention and I instinctively reached for it. Why was there a double strand of yarn around my neck? My instinct was to tug it loose, but when I tried, it only got tighter.

“Drop the phone,” Rain said from behind me.

I hesitated and the yarn tightened even more. I felt it cut into my skin, and I coughed in response before I dropped my phone.

She reached around and grabbed the garment bag. She started grumbling that I couldn't have left well enough alone. “I thought I'd get this out of here now, when nobody's paying any attention.” I didn't know if she was talking to me or just mumbling to herself.

She seemed at a loss for what to do. I took the opportunity to try and squirm away, but every time I moved the yarn got tighter. By now I had figured out that she'd dropped a yarn noose over my head. I could feel that it was already making a mark on my skin. I have been in some tough spots, but this was right up there. One good tug from her and I'd be a goner.

Stall, I told myself, trying to keep myself from panicking. “Why did you do it?” I said.

Rain seemed uncomfortable with the question at first. “I don't have to tell you anything,” she said in an angry voice. Then I heard her let out her breath. “Why not?”

“How about this. I've had a booth in the marketplace since the show started. K.D. appreciated my loyalty and always gave me that prime spot you were in, and gave it to me at a discount. She knew how much I depended on the money I made from my sales at the show. This time it was even worse. I owe the wrong kind of people a lot of money. I have a problem with bingo.” Her voice sounded panicky. She didn't loosen the noose, but she didn't tighten it, either. “I needed to sell out everything I brought. You saw what a prime spot does for you. The people come there first before they've spent everything somewhere else.”

She was behind me, and I couldn't see her expression, which made it impossible to see if her speech was distracting her enough so I could make some kind of move. “I was sure there had to be a mistake when you were in my spot, and then to be given a location way off in the corner where nobody would have seen my things? I was sure there was no way that K.D. had done it deliberately.”

Now her voice erupted in anger as she continued. “But it wasn't a mistake. She said everything was different now. No more discounts and the cost for the spaces had actually gone up without any notice. For what I paid, the only spot I could have was that horrible one. And if I wanted her to change my location, I'd have to pay the new full price for it.” Rain stopped for a moment as if she were still having trouble believing it. “I tried to reason with her, but she got all haughty and said she'd done me a favor even letting me stay in the show all these years when all the other vendors only sold yarn and supplies. She criticized me for using a knitting machine to make my pieces. And then she told me to take it or leave it, no negotiating. When I balked, she asked me to leave. She said she was expecting someone.”

Rain had gotten to the end of her speech, so I prodded her to continue. “So, you swiped the key when you left,” I said. There was silence for a moment, but then she mumbled a yes and explained coming back when K.D. was in the bath. I could tell she wasn't pulling the yarn as tightly, and it released a tiny bit.

I heard the sound of the door opening and then some voices, and I looked up. Since it was mostly dark in there, all I could make out was there were three figures.

“Bob, it was so nice of you to bring more of these Linzer Torte Cookie Bars for our booth. Though I don't know why you have to pick up the other tin right now,” Adele said. Her diction was strange, as though she was making a point to somebody. Her voice changed, and it sounded like she had turned and was talking to someone behind her. “This isn't what it seems. I was too distraught to go home, so I stayed in the mini suite we took for the weekend. It wasn't to rendezvous with Bob. He was just meeting me there so I could bring him down here.” Then she made an annoyed sound. “I don't know why you're still following me.”

Someone flipped on the lights, and Adele, Bob and Barry all froze in surprise when they saw me.

“Oh, you're here,” Adele said in surprise. “Pink, tell him to stop following me.” She obviously didn't realize the predicament I was in. Barry, ever the detective, noted Rain standing behind me and seemed to be trying to size up the situation. His eyes narrowed, and he had a wary expression as he took a step toward me. Rain responded by pulling on the noose, and I coughed again. I tried to raise my hands to the yarn, but she saw them and commanded me to put them down as she gave the yarn another yank.

“Stay where you are, or she dies right now,” Rain said in a fierce voice.

Adele and Bob still seemed confused, but Barry's gaze went right to the band of yarn around my neck, and he immediately understood the risk.

“I'm sure we can work something out,” he said to her in his trained calm voice.

Rain was having none of it and commanded me to walk toward the door. “Don't try anything or I give this a tug and it's lights out for her. This yarn has a wire core and won't break, either.”

I had no choice but to walk to the door, trying to match my steps with hers, so she wouldn't pull the yarn any tighter. I heard the rustle of the garment bag and realized she was taking it with her.

Even though they hadn't heard our conversation, Adele picked up that Rain was the one who'd killed K.D. and then tried to frame her. In typical Adele fashion, she brought it up.

“See, I told you, it wasn't me,” Adele said to Barry. Then she turned her attention on Rain. “Why did you take my hook?”

Adele had the ability to annoy people, and her comment seemed to set off Rain. I felt my captor stop walking, and I did, too. “I figured it would be better if I pointed the finger at somebody. And you were such an unpleasant jerk when I asked to leave my dress form in front of your booth, which was supposed to be my spot, I figured you had it coming,” Rain said in an angry tone. I could tell by the sound of Rain's voice that she had turned to face Adele and for that second was distracted. It was now or never if I was going to make a move.

One possibility had floated through my mind. I'd only have one chance. Slowly, I started to raise my hands, hoping it wouldn't register. Then I took my shot.