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“This was not exactly what I planned for this morning,” said Piper, making a face. “I’m sorry to drag you into this, Mama.”
“Oh, I’m glad to have been here with you. It would have been awful for you to face that on your own.”
Piper gave a little shudder at the thought of going solo into the studio and finding Summer there in that silent place. “Poor Summer.”
Beatrice looked at her curiously. “What did you think of her?”
Piper sighed. “Well, I hate speaking ill of the dead, but I honestly had a tough time warming up to Summer. I always felt sort of overwhelmed by her.”
“She had a big personality?”
Piper nodded. “That, and the fact she was totally passionate about what she was doing. I mean, she lived, breathed, and ate fitness. She really walked the walk. Whenever I saw her at the store, she was buying superfoods. She kept trying to get me to come to one of her classes when she was working in Lenoir. But I never made it over there.”
“Because of your schedule?”
“That was part of it. Mornings are a little tight at our house and driving all the way to Lenoir wasn’t really going to fit in. But part of the reason might be because I liked Danica a lot better. If I did drive to Lenoir, I would want to go to Danica’s classes, not Summer’s. And I’m sure that would really have irritated Summer.”
Beatrice frowned. “Danica. I’m not sure if I know her.”
“She’s great, actually. Always really approachable about health and fitness. With Summer, I kind of felt overwhelmed when she’d talk about it—it was like it was the end-all and be-all for her. Danica seems to have a more moderate approach to it. She’d talk about taking baby steps toward a healthier body.”
“Is Danica teaching locally?” asked Beatrice.
Piper shook her head. “Actually, I haven’t seen her around much at all lately. But the last I heard, she was teaching classes in Lenoir with Summer. Anyway, with Summer’s studio the only real place to go here in Dappled Hills, I figured I’d try it out.” She glanced at her watch. “Sorry, Mama, but I’ve got to head out. Ash needs to go to work and I’ve got to get Will to preschool so I can run over to the school.”
Beatrice gave her daughter a hug and waved to her as she drove off. Then she climbed into her own car and headed back home.
Wyatt was startled when she walked inside the house. So was Noo-noo . . . she gave a surprised yip when Beatrice entered. Then the little corgi wiggled her rear to indicate that she was very pleased to see her.
“That was a quick workout,” said Wyatt, still eating his bowl of cereal. He frowned. “You don’t even look sweaty. Wasn’t it a rigorous class at all?”
“We didn’t end up having the class,” said Beatrice, reaching down to pet Noo-noo. She drew in a deep breath. “The instructor was dead.”
“What?” Wyatt rose from his chair and walked over to Beatrice, pulling out a chair for her. “Here, sit down.”
Wyatt waited, not wanting to rush her. After a few moments, Beatrice said, “Piper and I walked into the studio and Summer was lying there on the floor. Someone had come in and beaten her with a hand weight.”
She shivered, and Wyatt pulled his chair up close and put his arm around her. “I’m so sorry,” he said softly.
Beatrice nodded. “It was the shock of it all. I mean, I didn’t even know Summer, of course. She was just the person who was to teach the exercise class I was trying out.”
Wyatt shook his head. “It doesn’t matter if you knew her or not. It was still a pretty traumatizing experience. Do you want to talk about it? Or would you rather lie down for a little while? Maybe with Noo-noo?”
Noo-noo, who’d sensed Beatrice’s heavy mood and had been lying with her head on Beatrice’s foot, looked hopeful at the thought.
Beatrice considered this. “Maybe I’ll talk about it and then go lie down. A little of both. It was an early start this morning to get ready for the class, and now I’m totally exhausted without even having exercised at all.” She took a deep breath. “After Piper and I found Summer, we called Ramsay right away.”
“Did he make it there quickly?”
Beatrice nodded. “Very. No one else was there—I guess Summer hadn’t gotten the chance to do any advertising. It sounded like she was very involved in the day-to-day construction and getting the studio set up. Anyway, Piper and I walked in and found her. It had been silent in the studio—sort of eerie.”
Wyatt shook his head sadly. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s very sad. She was a young woman and, from everything I’ve heard, very excited about her new studio. Her husband came outside and spoke to us for a few minutes. Harlowe. He seemed very shaken by it. He managed the business end of things.”
“That must have been a nasty shock for him, too.” Wyatt looked at her with concern. “Here, why don’t you put your feet up for a little while?” he said as he led her to the bedroom. “Noo-noo can have a nap, too.”
Noo-noo’s ears perked up and her sweet face looked at Beatrice with concern. She trotted after her as Beatrice took off her shoes and hopped into bed. The little dog hopped up onto the bed with her and quickly curled up next to Beatrice.
Wyatt came back into the room a few minutes later with a motley assortment of things to eat and drink. “I wasn’t sure you had eaten anything this morning.”
“I’d thought I’d wait until after I’d exercised. Then I totally forgot. I’m not feeling very hungry, though.”
Wyatt carefully put a glass of ice water next to the bed and then handed her a plate with a piece of toast with strawberry jam and a scrambled egg to its side.
“Actually,” admitted Beatrice, “that looks pretty good.”
“Can I bring you anything else?” he asked, reaching out to gently push a stray tendril of her white-blonde hair to the side.
“No, I’m perfect.”
He grinned at her. “I’d agree.” He quietly left her with the corgi and she ate the breakfast with Noo-noo watching her with interest.
She picked up her book after she finished eating. It might not be the very best book to be reading, under the circumstances. Ramsay and she had a sort of unofficial book club where they recommended books to each other and then would spend some time talking about why they liked them. He’d recommended an Agatha Christie book she hadn’t read yet: By the Pricking of my Thumbs. Beatrice remembered she hadn’t for some reason been a huge Tommy and Tuppence fan, but she found this book engrossing so far. It was also very scary. Scary enough that she didn’t take the little nap that she’d thought she would.
Wyatt stuck his head into the room to check on her. “Not sleepy?”
Beatrice shook her head. “It’s this book. It has a very ominous and unsettling tone to it. I guess I should be reading something a bit lighter. Maybe a beach book. I think I’m going to get up and make my way over to the Patchwork Cottage since I have a couple of things I want to pick up there. Are you heading out to the church?”
Wyatt nodded. “I have a meeting in about twenty minutes. Call me if you need anything or want to hang out with me at the church.”
Beatrice gave him a grin. “I’m not sure some of the folks would appreciate that very much. The minister’s wife just lounging around the church. They’d probably find something productive for me to do. Or I’d end up on some committee.”
Wyatt chuckled. “Maybe. But do call me if you need me.”
He left for his meeting and Beatrice put on some makeup, let Noo-noo out, and then headed off in her car for downtown Dappled Hills. It was a beautiful day, which made the events of the morning seem particularly unreal. People were out on bikes or walking their dogs down the tree-lined streets. A banner was strung over the street to advertise the upcoming craft and music festival. It looked like a chamber of commerce day in Dappled Hills.
Walking into the Patchwork Cottage always gave Beatrice a bit of a lift. Not only was it where her good friend Posy worked, but it was a cheerful, relaxing environment. Posy always had fresh baked goods out for customers, there was a plump and friendly store cat named Maisie, and music from local musicians played softly in the background.
Posy smiled at her. “Good morning!”
“Too late for that, I think,” said Beatrice wryly.
Posy’s eyes opened wide. “You know about Summer Cooper, then?”
“I can tell the news is already making the rounds. Piper and I were actually the ones who found her.”
Posy’s kind blue eyes clouded over. “Oh no. How awful. I didn’t really know her, but when I saw her out in town, she looked like such a vibrant woman.”
“I think she was. And very young, too.” Beatrice shook her head. “And here I am dwelling on it again. I actually came over to try to distract myself.”
Posy, sensing a mission, hopped on it. “I can help with that. How are things going with your projects?”
“Not so bad. I do need to finish up, though. I’ve had a lot of quiet time lately and have been doing plenty of quilting and reading. The only problem is, I tend to cross quilting off my list when I’m not technically done. If I don’t get back on it, I’ll be doing a last-minute desperate session to get it finished before the guild meeting.”
The bell to the store rung and fellow quilter and Beatrice’s co-grandmother Meadow burst through the door. Beatrice sighed. She and Meadow were good friends, but Meadow was something of a force of nature sometimes. Beatrice wasn’t altogether sure she could handle a full Meadow experience that morning.
As soon as Meadow spotted her, she rushed over. “I hoped you were going to be here. Mercy!”
“Piper must have spoken with you,” guessed Beatrice.
“She certainly did. You know Ramsay didn’t. How awful. I’m surprised you didn’t take to your bed this morning. Did you hear about Summer, Posy?”
Posy nodded sadly. “Actually, Beatrice was just saying she was looking for a distraction from it all.”
“Well, of course you are! How absolutely terrible.” Meadow frowned ferociously, as if trying to think of a distraction suitable enough to counter a murder. Then she beamed. “Quilting! How is your UFO swap going, Beatrice?”
She chuckled. “I’m not so sure. Poor Piper has my unfinished project and I don’t understand how she has time to sleep, much less quilt. I may have to take it back from her. And I’ve got her unfinished quilt, which is almost done. How about you?”
Posy chuckled. “Wait until you hear who she swapped with.”
Meadow looked smug. “Savannah ended up with one of my unfinished objects. It’s a crazy quilt.”
Beatrice bet it was. When Meadow was trying to use up old fabric, anything went. But Meadow was such an adept quilter that she could make the wildest combination work. She frowned. “Does Savannah even have any UFOs? She seems totally compulsive about finishing her projects.”
Meadow laughed. “Knowing her, I strongly suspect she had to start something in order for me to finish it. It’s probably driving her crazy, too. I don’t think this is her favorite guild activity.”
Posy said, “Probably not. I’m not sure June Bug had anything unfinished, either.”
Beatrice shook her head. “She’s a workhorse. June Bug absolutely amazes me. She plows through baking, business, quilting. I can’t even picture her relaxing or at rest.”
“I think she likes it that way, though,” said Posy thoughtfully. “She never seems unhappy or dissatisfied.”
This was true. June Bug always had a pleased expression on her face, as if her world was one full of happy things.
Meadow said, “I’m going to have to be a workhorse myself if I’m going to get Savannah’s quilt done in time for the meeting. Can you imagine how agitated she’d be if hers wasn’t completed?”
“I think she’d reclaim it,” said Beatrice with a smile.
“Maybe I can quilt some when Will is over playing,” said Meadow thoughtfully.
Beatrice found this highly unlikely. Meadow used every bit of time she had with Will to interact with him. His visits with her were full of reading, playing, and eating snacks together. Unless Will was napping, she couldn’t imagine Meadow quilting.
The bell on the door rang and a thin older woman walked in, bearing a cane. Posy quickly walked her way. “Sylvia! It’s so good to see you. What can I help you with today?”
But Sylvia’s gaze was fixed on Beatrice. “You were there today?”
“Where?” asked Beatrice with a frown.
“At my neighbor’s house. With the dead woman.”
Posy turned and gave Beatrice an apologetic look. It was apparently going to be tougher to be distracted today than she’d thought.
“You live next to Summer and Harlowe?”
Sylvia looked impatiently at Beatrice. “Yes. It’s been horrid lately, with all the construction going on. People working over there all hours of the day and night. Noise all the time. My poor Cammie has been at her wit’s end.”
“Cammie?” asked Beatrice with a frown.
The old woman reached into her large purse and pulled out a small dog who blinked sleepily and gave Beatrice a disdainful look, as if blaming her for the interruption of her naptime.
Posy said sympathetically, “All the construction must have been very upsetting to Cammie.”
Sylvia nodded. “She’s been barking and whining for weeks. I was so very relieved when most of the work appeared to be over. But then, this morning, I saw all the emergency vehicles and walked over.”
Meadow said, “You must have spoken with my husband. Ramsay.”
Sylvia pursed her lips. “I’m not sure who it was I spoke with. Whoever it was told me an abbreviated version of what had happened. I was hoping you could fill me in, since you’d been there.”
Her gaze pierced Beatrice. “I probably don’t know much more than you do, to be honest.”
Sylvia said in a clipped voice, “You know who’s dead.”
“Yes. Unfortunately, it’s your neighbor—Summer.”
Sylvia gave a bob of her head as if this news didn’t come as any sort of surprise at all.
“We were actually trying to distract Beatrice from thinking about it,” said Meadow with one of her jolliest smiles. “Maybe you can help us do that.”
Now Sylvia looked just as disdainful as her Cammie had moments before. “You have to learn to control your emotions.”
“Yes, I should work on that,” said Beatrice dryly. She paused. “I don’t suppose you saw anything happen next door this morning?”
“I saw quite a lot happen next door. So much that I started to ignore it.” Sylvia pursed her lips. “Those two didn’t get along very well.”
“Harlowe and Summer, you mean?”
“Whatever their names are,” said Sylvia with a sniff. “Always arguing. Loudly. I wondered if they simply assumed I must be deaf at my age. They’d fuss with each other all the time.”
Posy’s eyes were huge. “Harlowe didn’t seem violent toward Summer, did he? Do you think he was the one who killed her?”
“I think Summer was far more likely to kill Harlowe. She was the one who was on his case all the time. Her entire manner was very patronizing toward him. As if she were in control and he was some sort of minion. A very unsatisfactory minion.”
Meadow had been gaping at Sylvia as she unveiled the Baxters’ private life. “Did you see anything this morning, though? Maybe Harlowe got fed up with being treated that way and sneaked down and murdered her?”
Sylvia said, “If there’s something I know about this morning, I’ll keep it to myself. I’m not one to engage in any tittle-tattle.”
Beatrice thought entirely the opposite. Sylvia had been dishing on Summer and Harlowe’s marriage just moments before.
“And now, if you’ll excuse me, Cammie and I need to get my fabric and then head back home. She’ll need her walk and her morning nap.” With that, Sylvia swept away with Posy scuttling behind her to give her a hand.