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Cora was still flushed from having broken a glass and was now looking even more so with embarrassment. “Sorry about her,” she mumbled.
“Goodness! No need to apologize for Aspen. You’re not her keeper, after all,” said Meadow.
“Is she always like that?” asked Piper sympathetically.
Cora gave Piper and Meadow a grateful smile. “Thanks for understanding. Yes, I’m afraid she’s like that most of the time.”
Beatrice said, “Maybe she’ll settle down when we all start quilting.”
Cora gave a tired laugh. “Well, that’s optimistic.”
Meadow frowned. She never liked to think quilters could be anything but well-behaved. To her, quilting was a noble craft. “Is Aspen new to quilting? Or did she join your guild with some sort of underhanded motivation?”
“Oh, she’s not new to quilting. In fact, she’s fabulous at it. It almost makes her behavior worthwhile to see her gorgeous quilts. Aspen is a natural. I’ll show you some pictures.”
Cora fumbled with her phone for a few seconds and then proceeded to bring up some photos. There was a spectacular Christmas quilt covered with embroidered wreaths, stockings, and cozy kitchens. There was also a very modern-looking quilt with a combination of hand-painted background fabric and quilted animals.
“Amazing,” breathed Beatrice, making the images on the phone larger.
Piper smiled at Cora. “My mom is a retired art museum curator. I think she’s back in that mode.”
Beatrice handed the phone to Meadow, who took it eagerly. Beatrice said, “She’s certainly very talented. I can see why you said you could put up with her shenanigans to enjoy her quilts.”
Cora nodded. “She inspires all of us. When she’s not putting down own efforts, of course. Or making mischief. I’m starting to believe the whole reason she came on the retreat was to make trouble. She was even needling us on the way over in the car.”
Cora flushed a little. “Anyway, I shouldn’t be talking. None of us is perfect, after all. I’d better head back to the cabin and organize my things.”
With that, she scurried away.
Piper said in a thoughtful voice, “It sounds like there might be plenty of drama this weekend.”
Beatrice sighed, “I hope not. I wanted us to have a relaxing weekend.”
Meadow, naturally, wasn’t ready to throw in the towel on the retreat. “What do you mean? It’s going to be great. Think of all we can learn from Aspen.”
“If she’s interested in teaching us,” said Beatrice wryly.
“Even if she’s not, it’s still the perfect opportunity to learn something new. I’ve never gotten the knack of mixing media on a quilt. Maybe Aspen can show us how to integrate hand-painting and quilting. Like you said, Beatrice, she might settle down as soon as the quilting starts.”
Beatrice wished she felt that optimistic.
However, things did seem to be a little better when they all headed over to the conference room later on to start their quilting. There was a happy energy in the group . . . everyone was chatting, talking about their current projects, and getting started. The big room was full of color and texture and the happy sounds of quilters at work.
At one point Starr, the retreat manager, came into the room. She stood at the front and said, “Glad to see everyone happy and quilting! Welcome again to Lakeside. There’s one thing we like to do here that’s an icebreaker activity.”
There was a sarcastic moan from Aspen. She said, “Really? Is that necessary?”
Beatrice saw a flush rise up Starr’s neck, but she levelly said, “If you’ll play along, it might enrich your time here at the retreat.”
Aspen muttered something under her breath.
Meadow, always game for any sort of team-building, said brightly, “Let’s do it!”
“If everyone could say their name, what they’re working on now, and talk a little about their favorite quilt from the past, then,” said Starr. “Let’s start over here.”
So each of the quilters introduced themselves. Beatrice, who had to try harder with names than she used to, jotted down each name and a short description of the quilter in a small notebook she carried with her. She’d met Aspen, Olive, and Cora, of course, but was glad for a refresher on their names. Aside from them, the other Sew and Sews were Ivy, Maggie, and Nicole.
The quilts they were all working on varied. One was a challenging hexagon pattern involving piecing. But another was a frameless machine quilt in bright reds, greens, and purples. Posy was working on an appliqué quilt. And Aspen was working on a minimalist design of moon phases.
Afterward, they all returned to their quilting. But the icebreaker seemed to have worked well. The chatter in the room was louder and conversations between the Village Quilters and the Sew and Sews seemed to have increased in number.
Beatrice, however, couldn’t help but steal looks at the big window in front of them. The weather seemed to be taking a turn for the worse. She wondered if it would really pass north of the retreat like Starr had said, or whether they were about to get a lot of winter weather. She told herself not to worry. After all, she had no control over the weather. She might as well just settle in and see what happens.
For the next couple of hours, the room was full of the happy sounds of creative productivity. Beatrice loved having Piper sitting next to her for so long, talking about her toddler son, her hopes for the future, and even just random comments about the quilt she was working on. “I wanted one I could do in my sleep,” said Piper wryly. “That way I’m not focusing a hundred percent on it.”
Beatrice chuckled. “I went with a completely different mindset and decided to try something challenging. I think I’m ruing that now.”
“It’s pretty,” said Piper, glancing over the blocks. “I love the cheerful colors.”
The quilt had earthy colors in shades of green but also sunset colors in reds and oranges.
“I do, too. But there are lots of blocks and lots of seams. And I’m enjoying talking with you too much! I’m going to end up making a mistake.”
Piper shrugged. “So what? The quilt will be just as soft and just as cozy when you finish it, even if some of the seams are off.”
“Good point,” said Beatrice. “And it’s not like I’ll enter this in a show or anything. It’s just going to be thrown on the bed.”
After a couple of hours of work, most of the women were ready to take a break. Posy looked out the big windows with concern. “If we’re going for a walk, maybe we should do it before the bad weather comes in.”
So Beatrice and Posy headed off to explore. Piper begged off, saying she wanted to call in and check on Ash and see how things were going with the baby.
Posy zipped up her puffy coat and then strung a cheerful scarf around her neck. She finished by putting on some heavy gloves.
“You’re certainly prepared for whatever weather is thrown our way,” said Beatrice.
Posy smiled at her. “It’s less preparation and more of just being super-cold all the time. Honestly, there are some days that I could dress like this in my shop, even though I run the heat at the Patchwork Cottage on high. I don’t like being cold.”
“As I’ve gotten older, I feel the same way. I used to hate being hot and loved the cold weather. But now, I feel the other way around.”
The lake was huge and the gray clouds reflected on the water, lending it an almost eerie effect. Beatrice shivered.
“Want to run get a hat or something?” asked Posy with concern.
“No, I’m all right. I just had a goose walk over my grave, that’s all. It feels very isolated out here, doesn’t it? I thought there would be a lot more development on this side of the lake. But it seems like this is the only place out here.”
Posy nodded. “I spent a little time on the website before we left. It seems the property used to belong to a family. They had quite a few acres here and then sold it all to the people who own the conference center. I guess in the summer, they can host large numbers of guests here.”
“I suppose it does make it feel more of a real retreat this way. After all, a retreat implies withdrawing, doesn’t it? That’s certainly what we’ve done. I feel like we’ve left most of civilization behind.”
Posy laughed. “I don’t know if it’s that bad. It’s pretty civilized at the retreat. Fancy food and nice lodgings.” She paused. “I really needed a getaway.”
“Everything okay?” asked Beatrice with concern. She had always been very fond of Posy, who remained one of her favorite Village Quilters. Her quiet, sweet manner was endearing, and she was always so supportive and encouraging.
Posy said quickly, “Oh, it’s really nothing. I think I’ve just been burned out lately. You know how much I love the shop, of course. It’s been busy recently, though. A good thing for business! But a little tiring for me. You know my helper resigned. She wanted to move to another state to take care of her mom. She’s helping out this weekend for me while I’m gone, but then she’s finished at the shop.”
Beatrice realized that sometimes she wasn’t quite as observant as she should be. She had definitely noticed that Posy was on her own in the lively shop much of the time. But she hadn’t put two-and-two together to see it would be tough on her to do all the different parts of the business. “Are you looking for someone else to take her place?”
Posy nodded. “But it’s not very easy. I’d rather have someone who quilts, too, and it seems like a really tall order.” She quickly waved her hand to dismiss the problem. “Let’s not worry about it now. I’m sure it will all work out.”
Beatrice paused. “You know, maybe I could help you out in the shop in the short term.”
“You? But Beatrice, you’re so busy. You help out at the church, watch Will, and have family time.”
“But I hang out in the Patchwork Cottage all the time, anyway, just to visit with everybody. It wouldn’t be forever—just until you can find someone permanent.”
Posy beamed at her. “Would you? That would be amazing. I already feel the stress lifting from me. Once we get back, I’ll start advertising for some help in earnest.”
“And I’ll look forward to putting in some hours at my favorite shop,” said Beatrice with a smile.
Posy now seemed to have a bounce in her step as they took a walk around the grounds. They saw different cabins, a residence hall, and an office for guest use.
Then Posy paused. “I think I felt a drop.”
Beatrice held out her hand. “You’re right.” She glanced at the pavement. “It looks like freezing rain, not snow.”
“Oh no,” said Posy. “I hope that won’t bring down the power lines.”
“I didn’t notice a generator on our walk, did you?”
Posy shook her head. “It would be a huge investment. And it’s doubtful they usually have a problem with winter storms.”
Whatever was falling from the sky, it was cold and wet and the two women hurried back to their cabins.
After a rest in the cabin followed by a good dinner in the dining hall, Beatrice had decided that she’d socialized enough for the day. She was ready to retire to the cabin with her book. Piper said, “I’ll try to be quiet when I come back in, in case you’re asleep.”
“Oh, I have the feeling I’ll sleep like a log. Don’t worry about me.”
But later, at 1:00 a.m., Beatrice was sorry that she’d said anything about sleeping like a log. She must have jinxed herself. She should have remembered that she never slept well the first night in a new place.
Beatrice tried to read for a little while, but found she wasn’t getting any sleepier, which is what she wanted. She’d read that it was a good idea to get out of bed if you couldn’t sleep. But she wondered if she’d wake up Piper if she wandered into the tiny sitting area between their rooms. Part of her wanted a glass of water, too. There was a kitchenette on one wall of the sitting area but there again she’d be banging around right next to Piper’s room. She felt like Piper had to be awake so often in the middle of the night with Will that she deserved a quiet night with no interruptions for once.
Then Beatrice remembered they’d said during the orientation that the conference room would be open twenty-four hours a day for the quilters. She also recalled there was a water cooler in the room. She wasn’t completely sure she wanted to quilt until she got sleepy, so she grabbed her book too as she put on her coat and her shoes and left the cabin as quietly as she could.
The first thing she realized when she opened the cabin door was the sense of cold, multiplied by the wind. She took in a deep breath as the frigid air seemed to sweep right through her. The second thing she noticed was that the ground was covered in snow. And what was falling on top of it was sleet. She groaned. This was what she’d been afraid of. No one could navigate in ice and a generous coating of ice could also bring down power lines.
She went back into the cabin to put her boots on, glad that she’d stuck them in the car as a precaution. Then she quietly headed outside again.
A few minutes later, she was opening the door to the conference center. It was dark in the room and very quiet. She was relieved no one else seemed to be having trouble sleeping. She hadn’t felt like visiting.
Beatrice fumbled on the wall, feeling for a light switch. Finally, she found it and switched it on. She glanced around for the water cooler and, spotting it, headed over to grab a paper cup and fill it with water.
She turned to find her seat and stopped cold.
There was a body lying on the floor with a pair of shears sticking out of its back.