Read Online Yarn Over Murder (A Knitting Mystery) by Maggie Sefton - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Maggie Sefton
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houses in the shallow canyons and on the gently rolling ridges. She felt compelled to jump in her car right now and drive to the west side of town to Overland Trail. It hugged the western edge of the city right beside the foothills. There was no way she could concentrate on spreadsheets now with the wildfire burning on the other side of the reservoir, in the midst of beautiful hiking and biking trails.
She walked swiftly back toward the café and noticed several customers gathered on the balcony and standing on the black wrought-iron chairs. Everyone was gazing westward. News of the wildfire’s spread was clearly being passed from person to person. Without frequent news alerts on radio or television, nowadays people notified each other via e-mail and text messages and tweets. Information was immediate now. So were rumors.
Now that this wildfire was classified as serious enough for a national response, Kelly hoped the fire incident commander could give citizens even more accurate and updated information. All they knew was what their own eyes told them: The wildfire was growing, igniting more areas. More plumes of smoke were evidence of that. Plus the news that the fire had spread from eight thousand to over twenty thousand acres now. Dry forests and pine bark beetle–killed trees ignited quickly, practically spontaneous combustion.
Reaching the café patio garden, Kelly saw Pete on the deck staring westward with his customers, pointing. Noticing Kelly, Pete gave her a half-smile and a wave. “Hey, Kelly. Mimi was looking for you,” he said as she paused beneath the balcony. “She went back into the shop, I think.”
“Thanks, Pete. I bet you’ve been baking extra to make up for all that private catering you guys did this weekend,” she said, smiling up at him as she walked along the flagstone pathway that led through the garden and around to the front entrance of the knitting shop.
The bright hardy red geraniums and yellow zinnias were holding up well in their sunny spot of the garden. Thank goodness most of the patio garden was shaded a great deal of the day. Only the midday sun really bathed the front third, which suited the gardenias, zinnias, and honeysuckle bushes just fine, she noticed.
Kelly yanked open the heavy wooden front door and looked around the foyer for Mimi. Only two customers were browsing the bins in the foyer.
Walking through the central yarn room, Kelly scanned around the main knitting room. No Mimi. The room was unusually empty this morning, so Kelly figured there must be a class going on, and headed for the adjoining workroom.
As she turned the corner, she nearly ran into Mimi. “Ooops, I’m still taking those corners too fast. Sorry, Mimi.”
Mimi didn’t even smile like she usually did. Instead, she grabbed Kelly’s arm and leaned closer, her voice dropping. “Kelly, I’ve been looking for you. I just had a phone call. Andrea’s dead!”
Five
Monday afternoon, June 11
Kelly drew back, shocked. “
Dead!
How? Did she get caught with the fire in the canyon?”
Mimi shook her head. “I don’t know. Curt called a few minutes ago and said Dennis called Jayleen earlier. Told her he found Andrea lying on the ground behind her house in Poudre Canyon Saturday night. Nobody was around. Jim Carson wasn’t there. Dennis said he took her in his car down the canyon road to get to a hospital. He believed she was still alive because he thought he felt a weak pulse. Then he flagged down paramedics driving into the canyon and the guy checked Andrea. He said she was already dead. No heartbeat. No pulse.”
“Good Lord! I can’t believe this! She was healthy and strong on Saturday. How could she be dead? Did she have some disease, Mimi? I mean, did she get seizures?”
Mimi gestured helplessly. “I don’t know anything about Andrea’s health history, Kelly. She was one of our regular fiber suppliers, that’s all. I didn’t know her personally like Jayleen. I’m simply repeating
She walked swiftly back toward the café and noticed several customers gathered on the balcony and standing on the black wrought-iron chairs. Everyone was gazing westward. News of the wildfire’s spread was clearly being passed from person to person. Without frequent news alerts on radio or television, nowadays people notified each other via e-mail and text messages and tweets. Information was immediate now. So were rumors.
Now that this wildfire was classified as serious enough for a national response, Kelly hoped the fire incident commander could give citizens even more accurate and updated information. All they knew was what their own eyes told them: The wildfire was growing, igniting more areas. More plumes of smoke were evidence of that. Plus the news that the fire had spread from eight thousand to over twenty thousand acres now. Dry forests and pine bark beetle–killed trees ignited quickly, practically spontaneous combustion.
Reaching the café patio garden, Kelly saw Pete on the deck staring westward with his customers, pointing. Noticing Kelly, Pete gave her a half-smile and a wave. “Hey, Kelly. Mimi was looking for you,” he said as she paused beneath the balcony. “She went back into the shop, I think.”
“Thanks, Pete. I bet you’ve been baking extra to make up for all that private catering you guys did this weekend,” she said, smiling up at him as she walked along the flagstone pathway that led through the garden and around to the front entrance of the knitting shop.
The bright hardy red geraniums and yellow zinnias were holding up well in their sunny spot of the garden. Thank goodness most of the patio garden was shaded a great deal of the day. Only the midday sun really bathed the front third, which suited the gardenias, zinnias, and honeysuckle bushes just fine, she noticed.
Kelly yanked open the heavy wooden front door and looked around the foyer for Mimi. Only two customers were browsing the bins in the foyer.
Walking through the central yarn room, Kelly scanned around the main knitting room. No Mimi. The room was unusually empty this morning, so Kelly figured there must be a class going on, and headed for the adjoining workroom.
As she turned the corner, she nearly ran into Mimi. “Ooops, I’m still taking those corners too fast. Sorry, Mimi.”
Mimi didn’t even smile like she usually did. Instead, she grabbed Kelly’s arm and leaned closer, her voice dropping. “Kelly, I’ve been looking for you. I just had a phone call. Andrea’s dead!”
Five
Monday afternoon, June 11
Kelly drew back, shocked. “
Dead!
How? Did she get caught with the fire in the canyon?”
Mimi shook her head. “I don’t know. Curt called a few minutes ago and said Dennis called Jayleen earlier. Told her he found Andrea lying on the ground behind her house in Poudre Canyon Saturday night. Nobody was around. Jim Carson wasn’t there. Dennis said he took her in his car down the canyon road to get to a hospital. He believed she was still alive because he thought he felt a weak pulse. Then he flagged down paramedics driving into the canyon and the guy checked Andrea. He said she was already dead. No heartbeat. No pulse.”
“Good Lord! I can’t believe this! She was healthy and strong on Saturday. How could she be dead? Did she have some disease, Mimi? I mean, did she get seizures?”
Mimi gestured helplessly. “I don’t know anything about Andrea’s health history, Kelly. She was one of our regular fiber suppliers, that’s all. I didn’t know her personally like Jayleen. I’m simply repeating
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