Silence of the Lamb's Wool (A Yarn Retreat Mystery) by Betty Hechtman Read Free Book Online Page B

me. She slid open the back of the case and took out the pink velvet backdrop the pieces were sitting on. “They’re made out of hair.”
    “Hair?” I said with a combination of fascination and distaste. She smiled at my reaction.
    “I guess I thought of it more from a student of fiber’s point of view.” She took out one of the dangle earrings for me to get a closer look and I saw that the design was created by intricate braiding.
    “It’s called mourning jewelry and became popular during Victorian times.”
    I wasn’t sure if I understood what she was saying. “You mean it was made after someone died,” I said, putting the earring down rather quickly. She nodded and explained it was worn as a memento, similar to keeping a lock of someone’s hair. The whole hair-jewelry thing creeped me out, but the idea of it coming from a dead person’s hair was even worse. I wasn’t surprised that Burton Fiore had left empty-handed if this is what she’d showed him as a gift for his fiancée.
    “These must be very expensive,” I said, and she nodded, lifting one of the price tags. When I saw it was in the five-hundred-dollar range I commented that maybe she ought to keep the counter locked.
    “I don’t worry about it. Besides, locking things up is a red flag that they’re worth stealing. I’m more of a hide-things-in-plain-sight sort of person,” she said, putting everything away and sliding the back of the counter shut. “Anything really important I keep where no one would expect to find it.”
    She walked me to the door and repeated the time she was coming to the retreat the next day. She had worked it out so she could be back at the shop to open at noon.
    “I’ll come by a half an hour early, so we can set up things in the meeting room. I have the roving all set to go,” she said.
    “Roving?” I said.
    “Your people need something to spin with,” she prodded with a smile.
    “Of course, you’re right. I didn’t even think about that. I’m certainly glad I hired you.”
    By the time I got home, I barely had time to put the drop spindles and patterns in the three red tote bags with
Yarn2Go, Fun with Fiber
emblazoned on the front, and go across the street. The white van was pulling up to the Lodge just as I got there.
    “Casey,” an excited voice said. I recognized the short frizz of Bree’s blond hair as she got out of the Vista Del Mar van. She still looked the part of the harried young mom in unglamorous jeans and a gray hooded sweatshirt.
    “It’s good to be here again.” Olivia Golden lowered her head as she stepped out after Bree. Olivia’s reddish hair had grown since I’d seen her last and now went below her ears instead of hugging her almond-shaped face. She looked around and took an appreciative breath of the cool damp air. She seemed glad to be here and looked very stylish in her dark slacks and rust-colored cowl-necked sweater.
    “No secret what I have in here this time,” Scott Lipton said, swinging his soft-sided briefcase as he got out last.
Bounded out
was more accurate. To prove his point, he unzipped the top and displayed his knitting. He seemed a lot less tense than he’d been at the last retreat and had loosened up from the button-down business attire he’d arrived in before.
    The three swarmed me and we did a group hug before I escorted them inside the Lodge. I handed each of them a tote bag and helped them get checked in. Once they had their keys, the three of them looked at the surroundings and seemed surprised.
    “Things have changed around here,” Bree said, directing her attention to the seating area. She did a few minutes on how much she liked the new leather furniture and the rug underneath. She had a puzzled look as if she realized something was missing, but couldn’t place what.
    “It’s the TV,” I said. I left it at that, not sure how to break the news to her about Vista Del Mar going unplugged. She had spent the last retreat glued to her phone and tablet so