Sewed Up Tight (A Quilters Club Mystery No. 5) (Quilters Club Mysteries) by Marjory Sorrell Rockwell Read Free Book Online

party.”
    “That deal’s off the table,” said Mark Tidemore, still worried about the image of the future Beasley Arms project.
    “Ugh! This place is so dirty,” complained Liz, standing near the mayor. “I shouldn’t have worn my cream-colored dress.”
    Maisie Daniels came down the stairs with her seer in tow. Madam Blatvia had her hands to her temples as if suffering a bad migraine. “I feel vibrations,” she said. “A spirit has been in this house.”
    “Where is it now?” asked Cookie, rather dryly. She could spot a hoaxer a mile away. “Down at Pleasant Glades visiting friends?”
    “Spirits, smirits,” scoffed the police chief. “We’ve got the guy Freddie Madison saw in the window – the guy that frightened ol’ Skookie into a cardiac arrest.”
    “Hey, you can’t blame that on me,” protested Moose Johansson, looking around wildly. “I just got here maybe an hour ago.”
    “Where’s Maddy?” Cookie just noticed her friend’s absence.
    “She was right here with me just a minute ago,” said Chief Purdue as he clicked the handcuffs onto Moose’s thick wrists. “We were down in the basement together.”
    “Here I am,” called out Maddy Madison as she huffed up the stairs. “I was just checking out those trunks next to where Mr. Johansson was standing. She had a penlight in her hand. She always carried one in her purse, prepared for any eventuality.
    “Did you find it?” asked Moose Johansson, looking at her anxiously.
     

 
    CHAPTER EIGHT
    The Scene of the Crime
     
     
    F reddie Madison had deliberately stayed away from the inspection of the Beasley Mansion. He tried to avoid the limelight, except when wearing his Sparkplug the Clown makeup. He didn’t need credit as the guy who’d discovered Skookie Daniels’s dead body. Instead, he dutifully went out to the Zoo to help the Haneys prepare for Sunday afternoon’s performance. That was always the biggest show of the week.
    More than just an exotic animal refuge, the Zoo was actually the remnant of the once-famous Haney Bros. Circus. Turns out, there were no brothers, just Big Bill Haney and his wife Willamina. The Haneys had bequeathed the circus to the town, Ben Bentley had donated the land, local zillionaire Bobby Ray Purdue had put up the money, including funding a home for retired circus performers, and – presto ! – Caruthers Corners had itself a new attraction that drew visitors from all over the state. This year the Zoo had made it into Frommer’s EasyGuide to Indiana under “Attractions Not to Be Missed.”
    Freddie had been spending more and more time at the Zoo as of late. Things had been rocky at home. It was his fault, he knew that. Still having trouble adjusting to being a disfigured circus clown instead of a handsome heroic fireman. Adjusting to this new self-image had been tougher than he’d expected.
    Amanda was the perfect wife – loving, caring, a great helpmate, and a wonderful mother for their adopted daughter. He’d saved Donna Ann from the conflagration in Atlanta that had left him a wreck of a man. Miracle of miracles, he and Amanda had been allowed to adopt the parentless girl. That had made them a complete family, if he could ever get over his changed appearance and proletarian new occupation.
    He’d been proud of being a fireman. He saved property, he saved houses. But more importantly, he saved lives. Now he wondered if he could save his own sanity.
    “Hello there, Freddie,” a tall man with slicked-back hair and a walrus mustache greeted him. This was Big Bill – ringmaster, lion tamer, and once-upon-a-time circus strongman. Now in his golden years, he could barely snap his whip loud enough to make the lion jump through the hoop. Old Grumpy was getting pretty long of tooth himself, barely able to go through the growling motions. The aged cat would be getting a well-deserved retirement after this season. A new lion – Lionel – was being trained as replacement.
    Big Bill’s assistant was