2 Knot What It Seams by Elizabeth Craig Read Free Book Online Page B

it.”
    Karen and Beatrice watched as Meadow straightened her shoulders, grabbed a notebook and pen from her huge, quilted pocketbook, and hurried off with an expression of determined duty on her face. “Good job,” said Karen, exhaling in relief.
    “It was necessary,” said Beatrice. “Meadow was on the brink of obsessing over the guild membership, what with our losing members recently and the Cut-Ups getting some really expert quilters. And there’s no sense in wallowing in this all . . . better to finish with the quilt show today, then go pay our respects to Jo’s family later on. Then worry about the guild roster later.” Or never worry about the guild roster.
    * * *
    Beatrice tossed and turned in her bed as she replayed the day’s events in her head. Fortunately, the rest of the quilt show had gone just fine. Karen won the awards she deserved and Beatrice enjoyed viewing the other quilts that were spotlighted. And Meadow and the other organizer had made a very poignant ending to the show when they gathered everyone in prayer for Jo’s husband and in Jo’s memory.
    Still, there’d been enough drama to keep Beatrice awake into the wee hours. Noo-noo watched Beatrice anxiously from her dog bed, aware of her mistress’s uneasiness. Usually at this time of the night, Noo-noo lay flat on her back snoring or smacking her lips in her sleep.
    Finally giving up on sleeping, Beatrice got up. Quilting had really helped her sleep the last time she’d had insomnia. She’d grown to enjoy working on simple appliqués—anything elaborate enough to require focus meant the relaxation factor was lost. There was still so much to learn about quilting and so many different ways of experimenting with techniques. She was currently trying needle-turn appliqué. She’d traced some two-section flowers (she was trying to keep it simple) onto freezer paper, labeled the parts, cut them out, then ironed them onto the soft, pastel fabric that Posy had recommended. Then she’d cut out the fabric and pinned it to the background block. Now she was turning and slip-stitching to appliqué it. It seemed to be going well, although she’d like to have a couple of good reference books to look at every once in a while. She’d have to see what Posy had at the Patchwork Cottage, since she hadn’t had a chance to purchase any yet.
    As she stitched, she mulled over the events of the day. No one had been surprised that the elderly Jeep had gone over the side of the mountain on such a nasty day. Everyone had probably been thinking that the same thing could so easily have happened to any one of them. But it hadn’t—it had happened to Jo, who’d made plenty of enemies. And that’s what made it suspect.
    Was Ramsay going to investigate this accident any further? It must be tempting for him simply to leave it alone . . . let it be a tragic accident. Still . . .
    Beatrice laid the appliqué down. Mistakes. She’d made several mistakes over the last few minutes. Quilting was out. And, clearly, sleep wasn’t going to happen. Noo-noo continued eyeing her with interest. She squinted at the clock. Three o’clock. The rain had stopped hours before and it had cleared out the atmosphere. Maybe if she stretched her legs and hashed everything over, she’d erase it from her head enough to fall asleep afterward.
    “Want to go for a walk, Noo-noo?”
    Noo-noo cocked her head at Beatrice as if not certain she was hearing her right. She quickly got over her confusion, though. A walk, day, night, or middle of the night, was always a good thing.
    Beatrice changed out of her pajamas, grabbed the corgi’s leash and collar, and they set out into a beautiful night. The moon was nearly full and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky after the storm had blown through with such fury. The night air was the perfect temperature and had that clean, just-rained scent. Noo-noo pulled eagerly at the leash.
    As they started off, Beatrice noticed there was a light on at