Barbara Graham - Quilted 05 - Murder by Sunlight by Barbara Graham Read Free Book Online Page A

but he was also intensely irritated.
    “Yes. And if it matters, he pays on time.” She started to close the door in his face.
    Wade jammed a foot in the space, keeping it open.
    Tony said, “Is he here?”
    “I heard you’re cheating on your wife.” Santhe glared back. “Blossom told me. My little sister is not happy with you at all, so, neither am I.”
    “I am not cheating on Theo.” Tony shook his head for emphasis. “Blossom witnessed me on a condolence call, added one and one, came up with thirteen, and then created some ridiculous tale and spread it across the county in record time. I am not happy with Blossom.”
    Wade spoke up. “Sheila was there too. Did Blossom mention her?”
    “No. I’m sorry.” Santhe looked chastised and convinced, even as she shook her head. She opened the door wide. “I’ll tell Blossom to fix it. How can I help you?”
    “Is David Logan here?”
    “No. He’s never here until quite a bit later.”
    “Will you call my office and let us know when he returns?”
    “Absolutely.” She raised one hand in the air like she was taking an oath.
    The way she agreed so quickly made Tony think Santhe was eager to make amends for her sister’s faulty information. He decided she might be a good person to have on his side.

C HAPTER F IVE
----
    Theo wondered why she could go for months without seeing a particular person and then for the next week, she’d run into them everywhere she went. Candy Tibbles was not someone Theo ever expected to see in her quilt shop. The woman had never expressed any interest in quilts or fabric. In fact, if Theo was honest, she wasn’t sure Candy was even aware of the things around her now.
    Candy stood in the middle of the shop, staring. She showed the same amount of interest in the tools and toys quilters liked as she did the myriad colors of fabric, and as she did the floor. Theo thought she might actually be more interested in the faux wood-patterned flooring than in anything else in the room.
    “Do you need something, Candy?” Theo spoke softly, almost tentatively. There was something so . . . so absent in Candy’s expression Theo did not want to startle her.
    Candy spun around in a circle, stopping where she began. “Where’s my boy?”
    “Alvin?” Theo asked automatically.
    “Do I have others?” Candy’s question seemed honest, not flippant. She pressed a clenched fist to her chest and coughed.
    “Not that I know of.” Theo edged closer, herding Candy out of the center of the shop and closer to the workroom. Was there someone she should call? “Are you feeling ill?”
    Ignoring Theo, Candy stopped short of the doorway into the workroom. “What are they doing in there?”
    Theo peeked around the taller woman. A small group of elderly women worked together on a colorful quilt stretched on an old-fashioned wooden quilting frame, stitching it by hand. “They are quilting a charity quilt. It will be raffled off to raise money.”
    “Is my mother in there?”
    Theo was seriously concerned now. Candy’s parents had been deceased for maybe four years. Four long emotional, traumatic years for Alvin, during which he lost his beloved grandparents, was taken from his mom, and given to foster family after foster family. He didn’t fit in. He was moved. He became an adult in a young body. Theo touched Candy’s shoulder. “No Candy, your mother passed away.”
    “Oh, that’s good.” Candy gave a little laugh and seemed to relax. “I couldn’t find her.”
    Theo backed up slightly and glanced around to see if anyone else was listening. From the expressions and body language she saw, everyone was listening and pretending not to. No one made eye contact with Candy. “Is there something I can help you with?”
    Candy shook her head, giving her lank hair a bit of a toss. “I was just curious.” And she left the workroom, passed through the main shop, and opened the door. A second later, she was gone as mysteriously as she arrived.
    Theo