13
Annie saw Cat and Jake heading toward the front entrance as she stepped off the elevator, and she called after them. At the sound of her name, Cat turned with a questioning look. Annie caught a mild flash of irritation cross Jake’s face before he shifted into a smile. She felt a twinge of guilt at the look.
He probably wants to get home
, she thought.
“I’m sorry,” Annie said, panting slightly after trotting across the lobby. “I promise I won’t keep you. I just had one thing I wanted to ask. What was the name of the company Max worked for?”
“Harvester Office Machine Supply,” Cat said. “Not exactly catchy, huh? Why did you want to know?”
“I just know someone else from that company,” Annie said. “Since I don’t know a lot of people who work for office machine companies, I wondered if they might have worked together. As I was heading up in the elevator that struck me, and I just had to have my curiosity answered.”
Jake’s smile turned wry. “You know what they say about curiosity … .”
Cat smacked him on the arm. “I know what I say about it. It’s the only way to learn anything.” Then she turned back to Annie. “It’s perfectly OK. I get that way about things sometimes. I’m heading home for the night. It has been a very difficult day. Did you need anything else?”
“No, I’m sorry for holding you up,” Annie said. “Um, actually, do you know how well Max got along with his boss?”
Cat shrugged. “They must have gotten along all right. Max never talked about him. He really didn’t talk about work much. I guess he knew I wouldn’t find it all that exciting.” Her smile turned sad. “I guess he felt the same way about crocheting.”
“I can’t imagine that you tried to talk him out of his job though,” Annie said gently.
“No,” Cat admitted. She straightened her shoulders and spoke more briskly. “Anyway, he must have been happy with his work. I’m sure I would have heard something if he wasn’t.”
“Max wasn’t someone to suffer in silence,” Jake added.
Cat glared at him. “You’d think you could hold off the sarcasm
now
.”
Annie could feel another sibling argument brewing, so she quickly bid them good night and headed back toward the elevator. So Max Lessing worked for Edgar Harvester. Did that have something to do with his death? It did seem a very big coincidence if it wasn’t related.
As she headed upstairs, she thought about the new connection. If Max really
was
the man they saw at the restaurant along the way, and the one who tried to break into their car, was Edgar Harvester the man with him? Annie tried to picture the men in the dark parking lot, but finally shook her head. She really hadn’t seen either of them enough to have any idea.
The more she thought about it, the less she could picture elderly Edgar Harvester as a killer, especially of such a tall, healthy young man. Still, since moving to Stony Point, Annie had met one killer and another man who seemed more than willing to kill to get what he wanted—and yet neither of them had
seemed
like killers when she’d first encountered them.
Annie slid her keycard into her door and then went quickly inside. She would call LeeAnn and think about people she did understand for a while. In the morning, she’d talk to her friends and see if they thought this most recent information should be passed on to the police detective. It wouldn’t help anyone if she spent all night fretting about it.
She kicked off her shoes and curled up in the armchair in the corner of her room, enjoying the quiet of the room for a moment. The convention had been more than exciting, but it would be good to get back home to the quiet of Grey Gables when it was all over.
She pulled her cellphone from the outer pocket of her project bag and was glad to see she had a strong signal again. As she dialed LeeAnn’s number, she realized her stomach was churning a little with worry. She wanted so much for little Joanna to be feeling better and for LeeAnn to assure her that they’d be at the convention on Sunday.
“Hello?” LeeAnn’s voice sounded slightly breathless in the phone.
“Hi, sweetheart, it’s me,” Annie said.
“Oh, Mom,” LeeAnn said. “It’s great to hear your voice. I’ve had such a day.” Annie heard rustling on the other end of the phone and pictured LeeAnn finding a comfortable place to sit and chat.
“Oh no, is Joanna still sick?” Annie asked.
“No, she’s feeling a lot better. She’s still a little wobbly, but she’s eating nice gentle foods,” LeeAnn said. “But Herb and John are tag-teaming for the bathrooms. The poor guys definitely caught Joanna’s bug.”
“Oh no,” Annie said. “I’m so sorry to hear that. How are
you
feeling?”
“So far, so good,” LeeAnn said. “My stomach is rock solid, which must mean I’m healthy. Anyone would be queasy with all the horrifying cleanup I’ve been doing. I’m washing my hands about every thirty seconds though, hoping to keep this bug away. My fingers might be down to bones from the scrubbing by the time you see me.”
“So you’re still planning to come for Sunday?” Annie asked.
“So far,” LeeAnne said. “If the bug lasts with the guys like it did with Joanna, they might feel a little peaky Sunday morning, but I think we can make it. If we get an early start, we can be there well in time for the ceremony. I’ll drive. I’m determined that I’m
not
missing this.”
Annie smiled at the tone of LeeAnn’s voice. When her daughter set her mind to something, she was definitely a force to be reckoned with. “You know I hope you guys make it, but if you’re feeling bad on Sunday, you stay home and take care of yourself. I’m sure Mary Beth will film the whole thing.”
“Don’t worry about it. I am sure we’ll be there,” LeeAnn said. “You just concentrate on your speech. Oh, and tell me how the fashion show went. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to see.”
“I managed not to faint or fall down. Kate’s dress was gorgeous, of course. Mary Beth took pictures,” Annie said. “I’ll get a couple to send you.”
“Super, I just know you looked fantastic.”
“Well, Kate’s dress definitely did,” Annie said. “I haven’t seen the photos yet to comment on how
I
looked. We’ll find out in the morning if Kate made it to the top three. The top three have a kind of mini show at the opening meeting tomorrow—the final judging among those three is being done by a panel of professional designers.”
“Sounds exciting,” LeeAnn said. “Do you think Kate’s dress will make it to the top three?”
“I think it has a good chance, but the competition is incredible. You wouldn’t believe how beautiful some of the clothes were.”
“Oh, now I’m doubly sorry I wasn’t there. You know how much I love clothes.”
Anne laughed since she definitely knew how much her daughter loved clothes. “I promise to send pictures.”
“I’m so jealous of you anyway,” LeeAnn said. “Having Kate right there in Stony Point where you can buy some of her things. I love some of the one-of-a-kind pieces you have.”
“Oh?” Annie said. “Is there one in particular you like?”
“No, I won’t tell you,” LeeAnn answered. “Because if I do, you’ll give it to me. You’re like that, and you should keep your lovely things. I’ll just enjoy them when you wear them. But I really do think you’re lucky.”
They chatted lightly about some of the other events of the convention. Annie considered telling her daughter about the murder. LeeAnn always had good insights once she got passed fretting about Annie’s safety. But Annie knew her daughter already had more than enough to deal with. Annie hadn’t wanted to add to LeeAnn’s load when she had one patient in the house, and now she had three.
Finally Annie heard a muffled shout of “Honey!” in the background of the phone at exactly the same time as John’s voice howling, “Mommy!”
“Oh no—emergency!” LeeAnn said. “I’ll see you Sunday. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too,” Annie said, but she was talking to the dial tone. LeeAnn had hung up to get back to her role as attending physician.
Annie set the phone on the side table with a yawn and said another lengthy prayer for her family and her friends. Finally she could barely keep her eyes open, so she headed off to bed.
She awoke the next morning to the sound of the room phone. She rolled over and fumbled for it, knocking the receiver on the floor. She leaned over the side of the bed, blinking in the dim light and finally grabbed it.
“Hello? Mrs. Dawson, hello?” the voice on the receiver called just as she put it to her ear.
“Yes, hello. I’m Mrs. Dawson.”
“Oh, good morning. I’m Helen Grace,” the cheery voice said. “I’m the convention secretary. I called to let you know that we’ll need you for this morning’s meeting. Kate Stevens’s entry in the fashion contest is one of the final three.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Annie said, excitement chasing some of the cobwebs out of her head. “I’m so happy for Kate.”
“Yes,” the cheery voice agreed. Then the woman explained exactly what they wanted Annie to do. Both Annie and Kate would be on stage as the dress was presented to the judge, and Kate would describe it herself. Then Annie would walk to the judges’ table so they could examine the dress closely.
“That sounds easy enough,” Annie said. “I’ll be there.”
The cheerful woman hung up, and Annie hopped out of bed to start the morning with a quick shower. She couldn’t wait to see Kate’s face.
But when she saw Kate’s face at the breakfast table, Annie found it a little pale. “Are you feeling OK?” she asked.
“Just nervous,” Kate said. “I never expected to have to talk. It was bad enough thinking about standing and having everyone staring at me.”
“You’ll do fine,” Mary Beth said, giving Kate’s hand a squeeze. “Just write down the description of the dress and any thoughts on how you designed it. I’ll help you go over it. Then you can just read it.”
Kate nodded, and then she looked panicky again. “I don’t have any paper.”
Stella pulled out a small notebook and thrust it across the table. “I always carry a notebook to these conventions,” she said, “so I can write down snippets I learn.”
Kate nodded, her eyes still looking round and dark against her pale skin. Annie smiled at her friend. The convention had been hard on Kate on several levels, she knew. It had definitely pulled her out of her comfort zone. Annie knew sometimes that could be a really good thing, but it was usually difficult as well.
As Kate and Mary Beth put their heads together to talk about the dress, Annie turned her attention to her muffin and yogurt. She absently stirred the fresh fruit sprinkled on top into the creamy white of the yogurt.
“You look far away this morning,” Stella said. “Don’t tell me you’re fretting about the fashion show too?”
“Not so much,” Annie said. “I got over most of those nerves last night. No, I’m just worried about my daughter and her family.”
“Oh? Did something happen?” Stella asked. Annie noticed that even Kate and Mary Beth had looked up with concern at her remark.
“Oh, they’ll all be fine,” Annie said. “But Joanna passed her stomach bug on to her dad and brother. I don’t know if they’ll all make it to hear Gram honored tomorrow.”
“How is Joanna feeling?” Mary Beth asked.
“LeeAnn said she’s much better,” Annie said. “Holding down food and everything.”
“So it’s a quick bug, at least,” Mary Beth said. “You know LeeAnn will be here if it’s at all possible.”
“I know,” Annie said, and then she smiled. “I just need to let it go.”
Her friends agreed, and as Mary Beth and Kate bent back over the notebook, Stella cleared her throat and said, “I have been thinking about the murder.”
“No,” Mary Beth said, her eyes fierce. “This morning is for Kate’s triumph. We’ll save the sleuthing for after lunch.”
Stella bristled, sitting stiffly in her chair with her lips pressed tightly together. Then Kate reached out and touched her hand. “It’s OK,” she said. “We can talk a little about it if you want. Annie managed to mostly convince me I’m not about to be arrested.” She gave a little self-deprecating laugh, though a weak one.
Stella’s look softened. “No, Mary Beth is right. I was being thoughtless. We’ll talk after this morning’s events.”
Annie shifted restlessly in her seat as she remembered her conversation with Cat and her brother. The excitement of Kate’s making the final three in the fashion show, along with her own worries about her family, had pushed the news about Edgar Harvester completely out of her head. “When we do talk about it, later,” she said quietly, “I have something to tell you.”
They all looked at her curiously, and Mary Beth said, “OK, I give. You
have
to tell us. The curiosity will make me itch if you don’t.”
“I met Cat Reed’s brother last night,” Annie said. “He’s very nice, but he really didn’t like Max. It clearly was a stress point between him and his sister.”
“That makes sense,” Kate said. “Brothers and sisters may fight, but they look out for each other too.”
Annie nodded. It was one of the reasons she often wished she had siblings. “Well, while they were squabbling a little, Cat mentioned that Max Lessing had worked for an office machine company.”
Stella’s gaze sharpened. “The same office machine company as Edgar Harvester?”
Annie nodded. “That seemed a rather large coincidence.”
Stella’s eyes narrowed as she thought. “You know,” she said, “the second man we saw on our way here could have been Edgar Harvester.”
“It also could have been Santa Claus,” Mary Beth scoffed. “We didn’t see the man at all.”
“Still, Edgar Harvester has the only clear motive,” Stella said. “He wanted Betsy’s cross-stitch portrait.”
“We didn’t even have it with us,” Mary Beth said.
“He had no way of knowing that,” Stella said. “They could have been working together. The murder could have been a falling out between thieves.”
“Can you really picture that little old man killing someone?” Mary Beth said.
“Don’t count someone out because of age,” Stella said with a sniff. “People can surprise you.”
“And he
is
a little creepy,” Kate said with a shudder.
“The real question is whether I should contact Detective Matthews and tell him about this,” Annie said. “I don’t want to point a finger at someone unfairly.”