Stitches In Time by KATHY Read Free Book Online Page A

"Here."
    After a while she broke into Rachel's exclamations. "For God's sake stop apologizing. I know you had no intention of passing on the curse. And you stop fussing, Aunt Ruth.
    I don't think he'll be fool enough to try again; he's narrowly missed being caught twice already. If he does, I'd rather he came after me than after Rachel, or Cheryl and the kids."
    "And Tony," Rachel said, without thinking.
    "Right." Kara didn't look at her. "This house is as secure as bolts and bars and alarms can make it. And I've got Alexander."
    "Oh, yes," Ruth said sarcastically. "How could I have forgotten about Alexander? With him on the premises you've nothing to worry about."
    "Who's Alexander?" Rachel asked.
    The other women turned to look at a basket on the far side of the room, close to the radiator. Rachel had taken the motionless, fuzzy mass in it for a pile of knitting—with a particularly ugly pattern. At the repetition of the name the bundle stirred and squirmed and a face appeared. It had to be a face—Rachel caught a glimpse of an eye before hair obscured it—but it didn't resemble the countenance of any creature, living or extinct, she had ever seen.
    "Good Lord," she gasped. "What is it?"
    The thing climbed slowly out of the basket and stood up. It resembled a small barrel or keg covered with orange and white and black and gray fur, except for its rump, which was obscenely bare. It inched forward, rolling from side to side; when it was a few feet away it stopped, tossed its head, and lunged.
    Kara detached it from the leg of the table and lifted it onto her lap. "This is Alexander," she said. "Good dog, brave dog."
    "Dog?" Rachel repeated in disbelief.
    "He's old," Kara said defensively. "He can't see very well or move very fast, but he thinks he's defending me."
    "Nonsense," Ruth said, eyeing Alexander askance. "He doesn't give a damn about you or anybody else. He just likes to bite things. He was aiming for your ankle, Rachel, but he can't see past the end of his nose and he's lost most of his teeth, so you weren't in any danger."
    "He has so few pleasures," Kara murmured, cuddling the dog. It responded by clamping its jaws over her arm. "And he won't live much longer."
    "He'll outlive the lot of us," Ruth said disgustedly. "He's too mean and ugly to die. Put him back in his basket, the sight of him spoils my appetite."
    Kara did so without comment, although her compressed lips made it clear that pejorative comments about Alexander offended her. It wasn't unusual for a woman without children to lavish affection on a pet, but that anyone, much less fastidious Kara, could love a disaster like that dog, astonished Rachel.
    Apparently unaware of the soggy spot on her sleeve, Kara said, "Where were we?" and went on without waiting for an answer. "Trying to figure out what the Alleged will do next. A futile exercise, really; he's obviously so much stupider than any of us that it would be impossible for us to predict his next move. Besides, we don't know whether he was following Rachel this morning. He may believe the bag of linens is still at her place."
    "Which is precisely why I feel she shouldn't go back there," Ruth insisted.
    "I agree."
    "I don't," Rachel said. "There is absolutely no reason—"
    Kara was on her feet, clearing the table. "You can't be certain it's the bag he's after. Maybe it's you."
    "Don't frighten her," Ruth exclaimed.
    "If I have to frighten her to convince her to act sensibly, I will," Kara said. "I can think of several theories that might explain this character's behavior, and all of them involve a potential threat to Rachel. I'm going to drive her back to her house so she can pack her things, and then I'll take her to Leesburg." Rachel started to protest. Again Kara cut her off. "Rachel, don't be stupid. You can stay here for a few days, if that's what you prefer. So long as you're not alone."
    It wasn't the most gracious invitation Rachel had ever received. Though Kara's voice was neutral and her