Read Online Seams Like Murder by Betty Hechtman - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Betty Hechtman
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hair had some gray and his face had a few lines—somehow they just gave him more character. Returning my attention to the conversation, I noticed a duffel bag at Joshua’s feet.
“Don’t worry, Pamela,” he was saying. “Molly’s a great sleuth. She’s probably already on it, right, Molly?”
Mrs. Shedd shook her head with concern. “This isn’t the time for Molly to be investigating, not when we’re about tohave Yarn University.” She put her hand on Joshua’s arm. “I wish you weren’t going.”
“I’ll be back before you know it. Besides, you don’t need me for the classes. Molly and the Hookers will do great.” There was no talk about where he was going or why, but I knew that it was part of their arrangement that he could take off whenever he got the itch to travel. For years he had traveled the world and been just a silent partner in the bookstore. I hadn’t even believed he was real when I was first hired. Mrs. Shedd looked at him sadly.
“Do what you have to do,” she said. I noticed that he didn’t look at her face for too long, quickly picking up the bag and waving to us all before Mrs. Shedd walked him to the door.
Joshua had actually hit the nail on the head. Between talking about Yarn University and keeping Mrs. Shedd in the dark about Sheila’s anxiety issues, I had been thinking about the incident at CeeCee’s. I had a lot of questions. Who was the person? How did they end up there? Why had the vest they were wearing looked familiar? Was the cause of death carbon monoxide? Was it an accident? Then that made me wonder again how the person ended up there to have an accident in the first place.
“Earth to Pink,” Adele said, waving her hand in front of my face. Yes, she called me by my last name. It had annoyed me in the beginning, but now it was just habit. Adele couldn’t help it—she was just difficult. I thought of her as that cousin everybody seemed to have who was always stirring things up but whom you dealt with because they were family. The crazy part is that Adele thought I was her best friend and wanted me to be her maid of honor. Though she had said the correct title for me was matron of honor, which made me sound like I was a hundred years old.
I snapped out of my reverie and got back to the matter at hand. “I need your help,” I said. Adele perked right up and of course misunderstood.
“Of course. Yarn University should really be a co-project for us,” she said. There was no point in going into why that wasn’t true. Mrs. Shedd had put it all on me, just as she had the yarn department, because Adele went bonkers over knitters. You can’t have a yarn department or yarn craft classes and exclude knitters. But what I really needed her help with was completely knit-free.
“Sheila never got to do her practice class,” I said. “We can’t just let it slide. I was thinking we could try again here at the bookstore after we close. I don’t think we can count on CeeCee to come, though.”
“I’m on it,” Adele said, pulling out her cell phone. “I’ll get in touch with everybody. It’s perfect for me to step in for CeeCee since I really am the leader of the group.”
I rolled my eyes. Adele was still dueling CeeCee for the position, but at the moment, I doubted CeeCee cared in the least.
* * *
Hours later, as the bookstore’s last customers were filing out, Rhoda and Elise came in. After waving hello, they went right to the back table, put down their totes, and started laying things out on the table.
Mrs. Shedd was standing with me near the door of the bookstore. She looked back toward the yarn department. “Maybe I should stay and see how everything goes.”
“You’ve had a long day,” I said in a concerned tone. “You don’t need to stay. I’m sure everything will go fine. Adele and I will lock up.” I glanced back at the door with apprehension. Sheila hadn’t arrived yet, and I really wanted Mrs.Shedd gone before our nervous
“Don’t worry, Pamela,” he was saying. “Molly’s a great sleuth. She’s probably already on it, right, Molly?”
Mrs. Shedd shook her head with concern. “This isn’t the time for Molly to be investigating, not when we’re about tohave Yarn University.” She put her hand on Joshua’s arm. “I wish you weren’t going.”
“I’ll be back before you know it. Besides, you don’t need me for the classes. Molly and the Hookers will do great.” There was no talk about where he was going or why, but I knew that it was part of their arrangement that he could take off whenever he got the itch to travel. For years he had traveled the world and been just a silent partner in the bookstore. I hadn’t even believed he was real when I was first hired. Mrs. Shedd looked at him sadly.
“Do what you have to do,” she said. I noticed that he didn’t look at her face for too long, quickly picking up the bag and waving to us all before Mrs. Shedd walked him to the door.
Joshua had actually hit the nail on the head. Between talking about Yarn University and keeping Mrs. Shedd in the dark about Sheila’s anxiety issues, I had been thinking about the incident at CeeCee’s. I had a lot of questions. Who was the person? How did they end up there? Why had the vest they were wearing looked familiar? Was the cause of death carbon monoxide? Was it an accident? Then that made me wonder again how the person ended up there to have an accident in the first place.
“Earth to Pink,” Adele said, waving her hand in front of my face. Yes, she called me by my last name. It had annoyed me in the beginning, but now it was just habit. Adele couldn’t help it—she was just difficult. I thought of her as that cousin everybody seemed to have who was always stirring things up but whom you dealt with because they were family. The crazy part is that Adele thought I was her best friend and wanted me to be her maid of honor. Though she had said the correct title for me was matron of honor, which made me sound like I was a hundred years old.
I snapped out of my reverie and got back to the matter at hand. “I need your help,” I said. Adele perked right up and of course misunderstood.
“Of course. Yarn University should really be a co-project for us,” she said. There was no point in going into why that wasn’t true. Mrs. Shedd had put it all on me, just as she had the yarn department, because Adele went bonkers over knitters. You can’t have a yarn department or yarn craft classes and exclude knitters. But what I really needed her help with was completely knit-free.
“Sheila never got to do her practice class,” I said. “We can’t just let it slide. I was thinking we could try again here at the bookstore after we close. I don’t think we can count on CeeCee to come, though.”
“I’m on it,” Adele said, pulling out her cell phone. “I’ll get in touch with everybody. It’s perfect for me to step in for CeeCee since I really am the leader of the group.”
I rolled my eyes. Adele was still dueling CeeCee for the position, but at the moment, I doubted CeeCee cared in the least.
* * *
Hours later, as the bookstore’s last customers were filing out, Rhoda and Elise came in. After waving hello, they went right to the back table, put down their totes, and started laying things out on the table.
Mrs. Shedd was standing with me near the door of the bookstore. She looked back toward the yarn department. “Maybe I should stay and see how everything goes.”
“You’ve had a long day,” I said in a concerned tone. “You don’t need to stay. I’m sure everything will go fine. Adele and I will lock up.” I glanced back at the door with apprehension. Sheila hadn’t arrived yet, and I really wanted Mrs.Shedd gone before our nervous
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