Knot Guilty Read online

  Barry finally got ready to leave. He looked exhausted from spending the night in one of the uncomfortable chairs in the alcove in front of K.D.’s suite so he could watch Adele’s comings and goings in the mini suite. There were shadows under his eyes and dark stubble on his chin.

  “I hope you can go home and get some sleep,” I said.

  Barry let out a tired sigh. “For a few hours anyway. Jeffrey’s got a performance in the afternoon. I’m sure he’d love to see you in the audience. I have plenty of tickets,” he added with a laugh.

  I gestured toward the marketplace. “I’m tied up here all day, but tell him to break a leg.”

  “Will do,” he said. Just before he turned to go, he hesitated. “See, I knew following Adele was a good idea.” Before I could respond he was on his way to the exit.

  Surprisingly, the marketplace opened almost on time, and it was my job to tell Delvin and Lacey what had happened.

  Delvin seemed almost disappointed it had turned out to be Rain. “I guess it had nothing to do with the big announcement K.D. was going to make. And now I suppose we’ll never know what it was about.”

  Lacey was more subdued. “I’m just glad it’s settled. It was hard to grieve when I knew I was a suspect.” She took out her phone and began to compose a tweet.

  “Remember to put ‘allegedly’ before anything you say Rain did,” I said.

  She nodded solemnly. “Right. We don’t want to do anything that could help her get off.” They went toward the stage to start off the day’s program, and I finally headed to our booth.

  Kimberly Wang Diaz and her cameraman arrived, apparently having heard about Rain being arrested. I managed to avoid her, but Adele volunteered to give her an eyewitness account.

  The Cline Yarn International booth was open for business, but only Paxton was working it. I stopped by to tell him about Rain. He seemed to want to tell me something, but every time he started to say anything, he stopped himself.

  The crowd was thinner than the day before, but all of the Hookers showed up. Dinah was thrilled to hear how I’d been able to use the pendant to get myself free. Adele was still pouty about Eric bailing when she came into the booth but told anyone who would listen that she’d played an integral part in saving me and nabbing the killer.

  Elise came with Logan in his full Anthony getup, hoping to move the last of her vampire crochet kits. Sheila was anxious to sell the kits she still had for her muted colored pieces. Rhoda apologized for the fuss Hal had caused by figuring out that the knitting needles weren’t sterling silver, but she said he was already working on making some special hooks up for us. Eduardo wore the pirate outfit again and sat on the bench with some steel hooks and crochet thread ready to give lessons on Irish crochet.

  We’d retired the pin making business and just concentrated on trying to move the yarn and supplies we had left. Bob’s Linzer Torte Cookie Bars were a huge hit again, and I wished he’d stayed to see it.

  I wasn’t surprised that Thea Scott was no longer running the Knit Style booth across the way after her admission about substituting the needles. The cops had talked to her, and she’d given up the whole story. According to Lacey Kirby, who had taken over running the booth, Thea even admitted that she’d been the one who had tried to steal the needles from the auction so that no one would realize they were fakes.

  But I was stunned when Audrey Stewart came in. Mason had said she wasn’t going to be here. I’d been waiting to call him and tell him about the whole Rain situation, but Audrey’s arrival pushed the issue. Feeling like a tattletale, I took out my BlackBerry and found a quiet corner.

  Mason’s voice brightened when he heard it was me and even more when he heard what I had to say. “We can go ahead with our plans. Adele is off the hook,” I said before giving him the full rundown. “That was the good news. The bad news is Audrey Stewart just came in and it looks like she’s headed for the stage.”

  “Not my problem,” he said. “She called this morning. I was never so happy to be fired by a client.” He went back to our plans and reconfirmed the time he’d pick me up. “I can’t wait,” he said.

  “Me, either.” He didn’t seem to want to end the call, but I had to go.

  “Love you,” he said.

  “Me, too,” I responded.

  When I’d put my phone away, I heard Audrey’s voice coming over the sound system and stepped out of the booth to see what she was up to.

  “I wanted to come clean about the knitting needles,” she said, looking over the gathered group. “You see, it was really a cry for help. I’d been forgotten. No work was coming my way. The honest truth is, I saw other celebrities, some very minor ones, shoplift or do something crazy and they were all over the media. And all that publicity got them a lot of attention and suddenly they were hot again.” She sighed. “Now I see what I did was wrong. I know now I need help and I’m going to get it. And I want to beg your forgiveness.”

  I noticed that Kimberly Wang Diaz and her cameraman were in the audience getting it all. CeeCee had joined me. “She’s certainly laying it on thick. What is it with these young celebrities? In the old days, people looked for publicity through positive acts. Now, it’s do bad things and ask for forgiveness to get attention. I suppose we should be grateful she didn’t release a sex tape.” Audrey got applause from the audience and blew them all thank-you kisses before she exited the stage.

  CeeCee and Delvin took her place to announce the winners of the design contests. I recognized the butterfly on Julie’s hand as I saw that her fingers were crossed as she pushed past me. Delvin read the knit winners first and then CeeCee listed hers. Julie’s name wasn’t among them, and I saw her pushing through the crowd to get away.

  “There’s one more award to give out,” CeeCee said. “Delvin and I talked it over and we decided there should also be an award for a piece that combined knitting and crochet. We’re calling it the Bi-Stitcheral Award, and it goes to Julie Johnson.”

  There was a whoop as Julie turned back and rushed to the stage. With the awards given out, CeeCee and Delvin left the stage. I was going to get back to work, but Ruby Cline and the man in the suit I’d seen earlier in the weekend moved along the edge of the crowd and went up on the stage. Delvin seemed surprised to say the least and stopped to watch.

  Ruby took the microphone and they walked out to the end of the catwalk. I saw that Paxton had joined the assembled group. The first thing the head of Cline Yarn International did was to introduce herself. The man with her wasn’t a potential mate she’d met online, as Paxton had thought, but was her attorney. “With everything that has happened this weekend, I had to make sure all my documents had been signed and it was okay to go ahead and make this announcement,” she said. “K.D. was supposed to be up here, too.” Ruby paused and bowed her head sadly. “We were going to do it jointly.”

  Lacey was standing next to Delvin now and both seemed to be holding their breath. “K.D. and I were college friends, though we had a falling-out that lasted way too long. It’s not important now, but it was over a man. Recently we got together and mended fences. All was forgiven when it turned out he’d left both of us.” Ruby apologized for the personal stuff and got back to the point. They were both in the yarn business, and since K.D. was looking to scale back and Ruby was looking to do more, they decided to become partners. Or sort of partners. Ruby now owned a controlling interest in the new enterprise. K.D. had wanted to be the face of the yarn show this last time, though changes had already been made as to how the show would be run and the spaces were priced.

  It turned out that blood was thicker than yarn and K.D.’s plan was to have Lacey take over the magazines with Delvin acting as her right-hand man. The look on his face made it clear that he wasn’t happy with it. The Knit Style Yarn Studio would now become the Cline Yarn International Studio and would feature all kinds of classes and special events. As an aside, Ruby mention
ed she would not be pressing any charges against Thea Scott. Instead they were working out a repayment plan. Any customers who’d bought the needles would be given a refund.

  “And finally, I had insisted on a change to the show,” Ruby said. “For all these years, K.D. had made it for knitters only, but I said we had to include crocheters. Not only is it a very worthy yarn craft, but as a yarn merchant I’m particularly fond of crocheters, since their craft uses more yarn than knitters.”

  There was a smattering of laughter at the comment and one very loud cheer. I didn’t have to turn to know it came from Adele.

  At least now I knew why Paxton had acted so strange that morning. He must have known what his grandmother was going to say.

  As Ruby finished, Lacey took the stage. “I appreciate the confidence my mother had in me, but in fairness, I think Delvin and I should run things together.” She held her arm out toward him, and he joined her onstage. They hugged and an “aww” went through the crowd.

  And then it was back to business as usual. Everyone left the stage but Delvin, and he announced a demonstration of knitting with beads.

  So it seemed that everything was settled and I went back to our booth. The crowd was a little thicker now, and business was brisk. Eduardo was finishing a crochet lesson when he called to Adele, “I think you’re being paged.”

  We all stopped and listened. “Will Adele Abrams please come to the stage area,” the disembodied voice said.

  Adele was out of the booth in a flash, and I followed along behind her, curious about what was going on. When I got to the stage area, I shook my head with disbelief. Two lines of uniformed police officers walked in and took up a position next to the catwalk. They put their arms together and created an archway, and I saw that Eric Humphries, in his full motor uniform, stood at the end. His mother was near him and looked horrified as someone dropped a trail of rose petals under the arch. Adele was speechless as she stood near the beginning of the row of officers, and Eric had to gesture for her to walk through. When she got to the end, he went down on one knee, and I thought his mother was going to faint.

  He had a loud cop voice so it was easy to hear what he said. “Adele, you have brought color to my life. You are an exciting and dangerous woman. Will you marry me?” Actually he only got “Will you” out before she started saying yes. Everyone applauded, including the cops, who had lowered their arms. That was when I saw that one of them was Barry. I’d never seen him in his uniform before.

  He came over to me when the group broke up. “Eric called me after I left here. It was the least I could do after treating Adele like a suspect all weekend.” He shrugged sheepishly. Then he looked at me intently. “Is your neck okay? Is everything else okay? You’re happy with Mason?”

  I glanced up at him and our eyes met. “You were the one to step away, remember? You even told me how good Mason and I were for each other.”

  “I didn’t say you had to listen,” he muttered. Then he was looking at his watch and saying he had to hurry to get to Jeffrey’s show.

  After that it was all pretty much over. The crowd thinned to nothing and the marketplace finally closed. Mr. Royal came to pack up the booth.

  “You did good,” he said with a happy smile as he saw how little merchandise was left. Not only had we sold lots of books, tools and yarn, but we’d collected a long list of people interested in the crochet parties. There were other lists of people who wanted to join some of the bookstore groups. We’d given out tons of cards that listed our location and all the things we offered.

  CeeCee stopped by before she left. Her eyes were shining. “That reporter from Channel 3 did an interview with me. It turns out she’s a big fan of the Anthony movie, and she said on camera she thought the Oscar buzz was real and that I’d get a nomination when they’re announced in a couple of weeks.”

  Adele took down the banner and threw it away. She looked at the crochet logo that had caused so much trouble. “I’m going to give this to Ruby Cline for her store. She’s somebody who will appreciate it.”

  As I was helping Mr. Royal put the leftovers back into the plastic bins, my phone rang. It was Mason telling me all the final details were taken care of. He’d talked to my son about the trip and he’d been glad to take care of everything while we were gone. “See you soon,” he said. “We’re going to have a wonderful time.”

  They were rolling away all the curtain-covered partitions as I got ready to go, and the space had gone from being a bazaar of yarn shops to just a big, empty room. Adele hugged me before she left. “Thank you for everything. I want you to be my maid of honor,” she said. “I can’t wait to design the dresses.”

  Dinah knew I was waiting for Mason. “Have fun,” she said with a devilish smile. She was off to a line dancing event at the senior center that Commander had organized.

  And then I was standing in front of the hotel waiting. I shivered from the chilly air and the anticipation of what was to come.

  I heard a siren in the distance, and then it grew louder, and when I looked toward the street, I saw a rescue ambulance fly past. A moment later a small fire truck went by as well. It was drowned out by the thwack of a helicopter as it flew low over the hotel. I heard more sirens and went to the end of the curved driveway to look up the side street. Still with their lights flashing, the equipment had stopped barely a block away. I strained my eyes to see what had happened. The headlights of the fire truck illuminated a tangle of cars. I leaned closer to get a better view, and my breath caught as I saw the familiar black Mercedes on its side. And then I began to run.

  Dinah’s Granny Square Pins

  Supplies:

  Size 3 (2.10 mm) steel hook

  1 ball of DMC Cebelia, 50 grams 100% Crochet Cotton (enough to make several pins)

  8 small pearls or beads

  Needle or piece of thin wire to get beads onto crochet thread

  Small safety pin

  Note: At the yarn show, Dinah gave out small safety pins to attach the finished pin with. But you can coat the finished granny square with fabric stiffener and attach a pin back to it.

  Finished Size: Approximately 1¾ inches square

  Stitches Used: Chain (ch), slip stitch (sl st), double crochet (dc)

  Use needle or wire to string beads onto the crochet thread. Chain 6 and join with a slip stitch to form a ring.

  Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), move bead up, 2 dc, ch 1,* dc, move bead up, 2dc, ch 1 * repeat from * twice more; attach with sl st to top of the beginning ch 3.

  Round 2: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), turn work, 2 dc, ch 1, 3 dc (first corner made), ch 1; * 3 dc, ch 1 3 dc (next corner made) ch 1 * repeat from * twice more; attach with sl st to the top of the beginning ch 3.

  Round 3: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), turn work, move bead up, 2 dc, ch 1, 3 dc, ch 1, 3 dc (first corner made), ch 1; * dc, move bead up, 2 dc, ch 1, 3 dc, ch 1, 3 dc (next corner made), ch 1; repeat from * twice more; attach with sl st to the top of the beginning chain 3. Fasten off and weave in ends.

  Adele’s Stash Buster Wrap

  Supplies:

  Size L (8.00 mm) hook or size needed to obtain gauge

  Approximately 400 yards of assorted bulky weight yarn. If you’re using lighter-weight yarn, you can use a double strand.

  Tapestry needle

  Large kilt pin or other shawl pin

  Finished Size: Approximately 52 inches × 16 inches

  Stitches Used: Chain (ch), single crochet (sc), double crochet (dc)

  Gauge:

  8 double crochet stitches = 4 inches

  2 double crochet rows = 2 inches

  Note: You might want to decide in advance in what order you’d like to add the new yarn.

  Ch 100 loosely

  Row 1: Sc in second chain from hook and across. 99 stitches made.

  Row 2: Ch 3 (counts as first dc) and tu
rn work. Dc across.

  Row 3: Repeat row 2.

  Row 4: Repeat row 2.

  Row 5: Ch 1 and turn work, sc across.

  Repeat rows 2–5 until the work is approximately 16 inches, ending with a row 5 row. Add new yarn as other runs out.

  Fasten off and weave in ends with tapestry needle.

  To wear, overlap the ends and hold in place with a kilt pin or shawl pin.

  Bob’s Oatmeal Power Squares

  3 cups rolled oats

  1 cup organic brown sugar, packed

  2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

  2 teaspoons nonaluminum baking powder

  1 teaspoon salt

  2 large eggs

  1 cup milk

  2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  ½ cup butter, melted

  ¾ cup mixed raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, dried blueberries (or dried fruit of your choice)

  1 cup chopped walnuts

  Paper baking cups

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9 × 13 pan.

  In a large bowl combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.

  In a separate bowl beat the eggs. Mix in milk, vanilla and melted butter. Add to the oat mixture and blend. Sprinkle in the dried fruit and chopped walnuts.

  Spread in the greased pan. Bake for 40 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into squares. Put into paper baking cups to serve.

  Makes about 24 squares.

  Bob’s Linzer Torte Cookie Bars

  1½ cups flour

  1½ cups powdered sugar

  1½ cup ground walnuts

  ¾ cup softened butter cut into pieces

  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  1 cup raspberry preserves