A Killer Stitch by Maggie Sefton Read Free Book Online

am I right?”
    â€œBurt, you are reading my mind far too easily nowadays. You’re right. I was curious as to how Derek Cooper was killed. The paper said it was a homicide.”
    â€œWhy are you interested, Kelly? For Lucy’s sake?”
    She shrugged. “Yes, and Jennifer knew him, too. So, I’m curious.”
    Burt observed her with a wry smile. “That curiosity of yours never sleeps, does it?”
    â€œNope, I guess I can’t help myself,” Kelly said, wondering herself.

Four
    â€œDid he say anything when you gave him the offer last night?” Kelly asked, extending her mug so Jennifer could fill it.
    Midmorning coffee break. Only Eduardo’s black gold could enable her to face the shoebox full of receipts her new client had brought yesterday. Talk about disorganized. She was going to have to have a long talk with this rancher.
    â€œNo. He’d already left, so I gave it to his assistant, Rodney. Rod’s a good guy. He indicated that we were ‘in the ballpark.’”
    â€œGood. Maybe we have a chance this time.”
    â€œLet’s hope.” Jennifer replaced the pot and called over her shoulder to the café owner. “Pete, I’m going to take a break now, okay? Be back in a few minutes.”
    â€œTake your time, Jen. It’s quiet,” Pete said as he arranged salads in a glass case.
    Jennifer snatched her knitting bag from behind the counter and followed Kelly into the shop. “Listen, I’ve been asking around to find out why that guy changed his plans for the property. And, you know, all I’m getting is vague answers. I asked the diva in our office what she knew. She’s been around since forever—”
    â€œDiva?” Kelly laughed as she settled at the empty library table.
    Jennifer sat beside her. “Oh, yeah, every office has an old-timer who’s been selling real estate since dirt. They know everything and everybody. Who’s doing what to whom, you know.” She pulled out the blue and white patterned sweater and began to knit.
    Kelly noticed that one sweater sleeve was completely finished. A long sleeve, too. Sleeves. She needed to learn to knit long sleeves. It was winter, for Pete’s sake. She could use a pretty sweater like that one, she thought, returning to Eugene Tolliver’s alpaca scarf. Unfortunately she couldn’t stop looking at the intricate pattern Jennifer was deftly knitting, blue yarn working a design with the white. Kelly wondered if she could manage both challenges: long sleeves and a design. After a minute of self-reflection, she sighed. Nah. She’d wind up botching both the design and the sleeves. Better try one at a time. First, sleeves. Definitely sleeves. If she started after Christmas, maybe she could finish a simple one-color sweater before spring. Maybe.
    â€œAnyway, all Maya said was she’d heard he lost interest in the mountain place after one of his commercial properties was vandalized.”
    â€œReally? What happened?”
    â€œI remember hearing something about a fire,” Jennifer said. “Maya confirmed that his new apartment complex out near the interstate was torched. Luckily, some drivers on the interstate noticed and called 911. Firemen were able to get there before it was completely destroyed. That’s good, but it’ll still be costly to rebuild.”
    Kelly reflected on that scary scenario, wondering if Steve had ever experienced any vandalism at his building sites. “Maybe that’s why he changed his plans. He can’t afford to build the mountain home now.”
    Jennifer sent her a wry smile. “Mr. Deep Pockets? No, Kelly. Something else changed his mind; I can tell. I asked Rod why the change of plans, and Rod turned away and started shuffling papers on his desk. My instinct says there’s more here than meets the eye.”
    â€œYou’re starting to sound like me when I’m searching for