Read Online Crazy as a Quilt (A Harriet Turman/Loose Threads Mystery Book 8) by Arlene Sachitano - Free Book Online

impressive, if you ask me.”
    Harriet dunked her teabag up and down in her mug then plopped it on an empty saucer she’d put on the table for that purpose.
    “Not really. I wasn’t always able to come back to Foggy Point, so I spent a lot of holidays with paid employees while everyone else in my school went home to their families.” She sipped her tea. “Enough about my pathetic past. I’m grown up now and have a great life. If you aren’t here to punish me about Steve, why are you here?”
    “I’m here because of you, but not because of Steve’s death. I’ll admit it was easy to blame you at first. Eventually, we—or I should say some of us—realized that if we’d been the friends we always pretended to be maybe Steve would have felt comfortable getting treatment. We knew he had a health condition, but no one realized how serious it was.
    “After my accident, I realized just how much we’d picked at other peoples flaws growing up. Hours of therapy later, I know it was a defense mechanism on our part. If we pretended we were cooler than everybody else, the bullies left us alone. We had safety in numbers. But, Steve must have thought we’d turn on him if he had a weakness.”
    “That all sounds rather dramatic. I can believe that was the case in high school, but you all went off to different colleges, didn’t you?” Harriet spooned a glob of honey into her cup and stirred. “I think it’s much simpler than all that. Steve was in denial. He didn’t want the condition, and if he didn’t acknowledge it, it didn’t exist.”
    “Maybe I’m giving us too much credit.”
    Harriet tasted her tea. She’d added too much honey, but she took another long sip, hoping Sharon would reveal why she was really sitting opposite her at the kitchen table.
    “Since my accident, not very many modeling jobs are coming my way. I can do hand modeling, but those calls are few and far between. I majored in partying in school and then quit after two years to model in Europe.”
    Harriet waited in silence for her to complete a sip-tea stalling maneuver.
    “You probably don’t remember, but Rick and I came over for dinner one night, and your quilting friends were just leaving. One of them had a beautiful quilt draped over her arm, and you were putting away some pretty quilt pieces. I didn’t think too much of it then, but while I was in the hospital I had a lot of time to think. It really hit me—I don’t create anything.
    “I was always totally dependent on my looks, which I know now are only too fleeting. I thought about those quilts. Your family will have them forever, no matter what happens to you. I know that sounds morbid, but I was in the hospital on drugs.
    “I realized I want that. I want to make something…anything. I may turn out to be a wretched quilter, but I at least want to try. Besides, you and your friends seemed so happy. I’m not sure I know what that word means anymore.”
    Harriet folded her hands in her lap.
    “Okay,” she finally said. “Have you ever quilted before?”
    The other woman’s shoulders sagged.
    “Have you sewn anything?”
    Sharon brightened. “I can hem pants with a stapler.”
    “It’s a start,” Harriet said with a laugh.
    They sipped their tea.
    “Let’s go into my studio. I have a couple of books on beginning quilting. Maybe you can page through them tonight before you go to bed. That will at least help you get familiar with the terminology.”
    “That sounds great. I’m actually a pretty quick learner.”
    Harriet took their cups to the sink then led the way to her studio. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

Chapter 9
    A fine sheen of sweat frosted Marine’s brow as she and Harriet left their classroom in the basement of the Methodist church. Jessica came up behind them and put her hand on Marine’s arm.
    “Are you okay? You don’t look well.”
    Marine glared at her.
    “Do you have something that will cure what ails me?”
    “No, and if I did,