was so sensitive, I could predict a rainstorm three days before, and the weather didn’t have to be local. I could tell when it drizzled in Fresno two hundred miles away.
I toweled off, put on a clean pair of cotton jersey pajamas, and took a Soma. I nuked a long fabric tube filled with raw grains of rice and lavender buds in the microwave. Then I wrapped it around my neck and shoulders, breathing in the waves of lavender fragrance. The heat penetrated my muscles like honey on a waffle. I crawled into bed with my rice bag collar and almost immediately fell asleep.
M ONDAY
C HAPTER 10
The persistent ringing of the phone woke me out of a deep sleep. The sun was up and the clock read eight. I’d slept almost eleven hours and felt much better. Most of the achiness was gone. I reached for the phone.
“So, tell me what happened.”
“What?” I cleared my throat.
“With Claire’s mother. What happened? I kept waiting for your call yesterday. I couldn’t wait any longer. Did I wake you?”
“No problem.” I yawned. “Listen, Lucy, I know it’s only Monday, but are you free today? Can you get Birdie and come over? There’s a lot to tell you, and I have some of Claire’s quilts here.”
“No way!”
“Just come over and I’ll tell you everything.”
An hour later we were eating pastries out of a pink box from Bea’s Bakery and sipping fresh coffee in my living room. I told them Claire said her quilts were her journals and Siobhan asked me to search for the messages. I explained I’d searched Claire’s house and found four quilts and Will Terry told me I could only keep them until Wednesday.
“Will you help me?”
“Does a chicken have lips?” Lucy joked. “I’m dying to see them.”
“There’s one more thing. Detective Beavers came over last night to show me the composite drawing of the thief, but I didn’t recognize him.”
Birdie sat up straighter. “Yes, he came over to my house yesterday afternoon. I didn’t recognize him either.”
“Neither did I.” Lucy shook her head.
“I also told the detective about the possible messages in the quilts. At first he was skeptical and then he warned me to back off and leave the investigating to the police. Said poking around could be dangerous.”
Lucy peered at me through narrowed eyes. “You know, he’s a good-looking man, and I didn’t see a ring on his finger.”
“I didn’t notice,” I lied. If Lucy knew I was the tiniest bit attracted to a man, she’d go out of her way to push us together. Lucy and Birdie worried about my being single, but I was perfectly happy living alone. Besides, I hadn’t been particularly successful with romantic relationships in the past. My daughter, my uncle, my quilting, and my friends were my life. Why would I want more?
I picked up the pillowcases and walked over to the dining room table situated at the end of the living room near the kitchen. “So, let’s open these up and make a list of what we’ve got.”
All of these quilts were meant to be used as wall hangings and none were larger than four feet by four feet. I showed them Mother’s Asleep and pointed out the silver seeds in the clouds and the water drop beads below. “Doesn’t this remind you of rainmaking?”
Lucy bent over the table to get a closer look. “Yes, but I don’t recall seeing this quilt. Did Claire ever show it?”
Birdie picked up a corner of the quilt. “I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure we’d remember a quilt as odd as this one.”
I reached in a pillowcase and pulled out the quilt I removed from Claire’s living room wall. “Here’s Secret Garden.”
Lucy reached out and gently touched it. “Ooh, I remember this from the show two years ago. Wasn’t it featured in Pieces magazine?”
“Yeah. Can you make anything out of the design?”
Birdie shook her head. “Just looks like a painting of a tranquil garden.”
Lucy nodded in agreement.
“Let’s look at the next one then.”
We looked at the label
I toweled off, put on a clean pair of cotton jersey pajamas, and took a Soma. I nuked a long fabric tube filled with raw grains of rice and lavender buds in the microwave. Then I wrapped it around my neck and shoulders, breathing in the waves of lavender fragrance. The heat penetrated my muscles like honey on a waffle. I crawled into bed with my rice bag collar and almost immediately fell asleep.
M ONDAY
C HAPTER 10
The persistent ringing of the phone woke me out of a deep sleep. The sun was up and the clock read eight. I’d slept almost eleven hours and felt much better. Most of the achiness was gone. I reached for the phone.
“So, tell me what happened.”
“What?” I cleared my throat.
“With Claire’s mother. What happened? I kept waiting for your call yesterday. I couldn’t wait any longer. Did I wake you?”
“No problem.” I yawned. “Listen, Lucy, I know it’s only Monday, but are you free today? Can you get Birdie and come over? There’s a lot to tell you, and I have some of Claire’s quilts here.”
“No way!”
“Just come over and I’ll tell you everything.”
An hour later we were eating pastries out of a pink box from Bea’s Bakery and sipping fresh coffee in my living room. I told them Claire said her quilts were her journals and Siobhan asked me to search for the messages. I explained I’d searched Claire’s house and found four quilts and Will Terry told me I could only keep them until Wednesday.
“Will you help me?”
“Does a chicken have lips?” Lucy joked. “I’m dying to see them.”
“There’s one more thing. Detective Beavers came over last night to show me the composite drawing of the thief, but I didn’t recognize him.”
Birdie sat up straighter. “Yes, he came over to my house yesterday afternoon. I didn’t recognize him either.”
“Neither did I.” Lucy shook her head.
“I also told the detective about the possible messages in the quilts. At first he was skeptical and then he warned me to back off and leave the investigating to the police. Said poking around could be dangerous.”
Lucy peered at me through narrowed eyes. “You know, he’s a good-looking man, and I didn’t see a ring on his finger.”
“I didn’t notice,” I lied. If Lucy knew I was the tiniest bit attracted to a man, she’d go out of her way to push us together. Lucy and Birdie worried about my being single, but I was perfectly happy living alone. Besides, I hadn’t been particularly successful with romantic relationships in the past. My daughter, my uncle, my quilting, and my friends were my life. Why would I want more?
I picked up the pillowcases and walked over to the dining room table situated at the end of the living room near the kitchen. “So, let’s open these up and make a list of what we’ve got.”
All of these quilts were meant to be used as wall hangings and none were larger than four feet by four feet. I showed them Mother’s Asleep and pointed out the silver seeds in the clouds and the water drop beads below. “Doesn’t this remind you of rainmaking?”
Lucy bent over the table to get a closer look. “Yes, but I don’t recall seeing this quilt. Did Claire ever show it?”
Birdie picked up a corner of the quilt. “I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure we’d remember a quilt as odd as this one.”
I reached in a pillowcase and pulled out the quilt I removed from Claire’s living room wall. “Here’s Secret Garden.”
Lucy reached out and gently touched it. “Ooh, I remember this from the show two years ago. Wasn’t it featured in Pieces magazine?”
“Yeah. Can you make anything out of the design?”
Birdie shook her head. “Just looks like a painting of a tranquil garden.”
Lucy nodded in agreement.
“Let’s look at the next one then.”
We looked at the label
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