A Quilt in Time (A Harriet Turman/Loose Threads Mystery) (40 page)

“That was quick.”

“She was willing to keep it simple. Anyway, she dug up some information about Howard’s first two wives. Whether he killed them or not, he certainly benefited from their deaths.”

“Are you sure you should be going to see Joshua? I hate to sound like Morse, but maybe it’s time to sit this one out.”

“I take it you’re not free this afternoon?”

“That would be correct. I have to meet with a client and try to figure out where the bug is in their new system. If I find it, I have to devise a workaround. They’re a new client, so I need to try to impress them. Can you possibly wait until tomorrow?”

“I suppose I could. I don’t think Joshua is dangerous. He seems more like a victim in this whole thing. He lost his mother, and if Morse’s info is correct, Howard stole his inheritance. He also told me he’s worried about Howard arranging an accident for him.”

“Isn’t that when a person is most dangerous?” Lauren asked her. “When they have nothing to lose.”

“I suppose.”

Harriet spent another thirty minutes sorting pictures then before loading the ones she thought Lanie and Etienne might be interested in into a photo box, took Scooter out. When she was finished, she picked up the receiver to her land line and dialed her aunt’s number.

“Hey, Aunt Beth,” she said. “Are you free this afternoon?”

“No, honey. Mavis and Connie and I are spending the rest of the afternoon sorting donations for the church rummage sale. What do you need? Maybe I can arrange a substitute.”

“That’s not necessary. I want to talk to Joshua, and Lauren isn’t free. She said she’s available tomorrow; I can wait until then.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you going off by yourself. If what Hannah’s telling you is true, he could be real dangerous.”

“Don’t worry. I’m going to go by the vet clinic to drop some pictures off for Aiden’s niece and nephew while I pick up some more of Scooter’s prescription dog food.”

“If you change your mind, just give me a call.”

“Okay, thanks. Talk to you later.”

Harriet scooped up the pictures she wasn’t taking with her and dropped them back into their original box.

“You behave while I’m gone,” she told Scooter and Fred. She stroked Fred’s head as he sat on the corner of the kitchen counter. “Don’t think I don’t know you’re the one that’s pushing paper products from the back of the toilet so Scooter can tear them apart. If you don’t stop, you’re going to have to be in time-out when I’m not here.”

With her pets thoroughly admonished, she took her coat and purse from the kitchen closet and headed for the garage.

“Is Aiden available?” Harriet asked at the reception desk of the vet clinic.

“Let me check.” She disappeared into a hallway that led to the examination rooms. “He’ll be out in a few minutes,” she said when she returned a few minutes later.

Harriet sat down on a bench between a plump red-faced man with a bulldog sitting at his feet and a teenager with a stiff six-inch Mohawk holding a box with a lilac point Siamese kitten in it. She was talking to the teen when Hannah came into the waiting room from the parking lot.

“Hi, Hannah.”

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I have to pick up some of the prescription food Aiden wants my dog to eat. And…” She glanced at the photo box sitting on the bench between herself and the guy with the cat. “…I’m bringing some pictures for Aiden’s niece and nephew for a school genealogy project.”

“I hated it when we did family trees in school. It’s embarrassing how many times my dad’s been married.”

“Three can’t be that unusual.”

“It’s four, and get real. This is Foggy Point. Nobody gets divorced here.”

Harriet wanted to grill her about the fourth wife—or more likely, a new contender for first wife—but the waiting room didn’t seem like the place. She mentally added the question to her list for Joshua.

“Hannah, could you tell Joshua I’d like to talk to him again? I have a few more questions for him.”

“What could he possibly tell you? He spends most of his time fooling around with plants in that horrible shed he lives in. Besides, I told you before, he’s one sick puppy.”

“I’ll be careful, and I won’t go alone,” Harriet assured her.

“Harriet,” Aiden called from the open door of exam room one.

Hannah turned when Harriet stood up.

“I better get to work,” she said and opened the door next to the reception window.

“What about Joshua?”

“I’ll give him the message. I can’t promise anything. Like I’ve been trying to tell you—he’s weird.”

“I hope I’m not interrupting your schedule too much,” Harriet said as she followed Aiden through the exam room and into the back hallway that linked all the exam rooms with the surgical suites, the kennel areas and the back of the reception space.

He put his arm over her shoulder and led her to the lunchroom.

“I’ve always got time for you.” When the room proved to be empty, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a quick kiss. “Would you like anything to eat or drink?” He opened a white refrigerator and took a can of cola from the door.

“Do you have diet?”

He took a second can and set both of them on the table.

“Let me get a wipe before you drink that.” He pulled a sanitizing wipe from a dispenser on the counter and wiped both cans before handing the diet to her. “I don’t want you carrying any germs home to Scooter. He’s still not strong enough to fight off an illness if he were to catch something. You should wash your hands when you get home before you touch either of your animals, too.”

“Thank you, Doctor Jalbert,” Harriet said and smiled.

“You know, cobbler’s kids go shoeless and all that. Our pets aren’t going to suffer the same fate.” He reached for the box of photos she had set on the table. “Are these the pictures for Lanie and Etienne? Are there any pictures of little Harriet?” he asked with that crooked grin of his.

“Are you kidding? Besides, I took the pictures, so I’m not in any of them.”

He lifted several from the top.

“These are really good. How old were you when you took them?”

“I don’t know. Eleven or twelve, I guess.”

Harriet’s phone rang. From the tone, she knew it wasn’t one of her friends.

“Hello?”

Hannah came into the lunchroom carrying a white paper sack. Aiden held his finger to his lips as she crossed to the refrigerator and opened the door.

“Jo? Slow down and say that again…What do you mean, she remembered everything? The accident, too?…I’ll be right over…Okay, you’re right…Yeah, I’m free after dinner…Okay, see you then…Got it, patio door.”

Hannah shut the door to the refrigerator, looked at Harriet and Aiden then ducked her head, pink spots on her cheeks.

“Sorry,” she said and left the lunch room.

Harriet turned to Aiden.

“That was Jo from the senior center. Her friend Janice—the one in the wheelchair—she’s the one who was an investigative reporter back when Howard’s second wife died. She was in a car accident, and Howard was driving. She’s never been able to remember what happened.

“She found a drug that’s used for another disease but is showing promise in restoring lost memories. She got her hands on some and has been taking it. Until now, it was only making a minor difference, but Jo says today Janice remembered everything.

“She wouldn’t tell me the details—she’s afraid the place is bugged. She was out on her patio just now, but she said they have video cameras on the outside and someone would come to check up on her if she stayed outside long enough to be noticed. I’ll go by after dinner and see what she has to say.”

Aiden pulled her back into his arms.

“Are you sure she’s playing with a full deck? If the place is bugged during the day, doesn’t it stand to reason it’s also bugged at night? Besides, could she possibly know anything that could help prove who killed Seth?”

“She said she and Mickey have some strategy for avoiding the cameras, but they have to wait until the evening staff come on. I guess there are fewer of them and they tend to be less vigilant. As for what Janice could possibly say—unfortunately, all she can do is add to the pile of evidence against Howard.”

“Then don’t go. I mean, if it can’t help prove what happened to Seth, but it could be a threat to Howard, you could get caught in the crossfire.”

“If I don’t go, Jo might do something that puts that group of seniors in danger.”

Aiden brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen into her eyes.

“If Jo was a CIA agent, she can take care of herself. And the one in the wheelchair has been living under Howard’s control for years, if what you said is true. If he was going to harm her, he’d have done it years ago.”

Harriet looked into his face and saw the worry lines etched into his forehead. She sighed.

“Tell you what. I’ll call Detective Morse. If she wants to go talk to them, then I’m out of it. If she doesn’t, I’ll ask her if she cares if I go. If I do go, I’ll talk to my aunt or Mavis and see if they want to go.”

“I guess that’s all I can ask. Do you think the whole memory-drug thing is for real?”

“Seems to be. Lauren looked it up on her computer when we had coffee earlier, and she found an article about it.”

“Wow, that could be a game changer for plenty of folks if it’s real.”

Harriet glanced over his shoulder at the box of pictures.

“Those are all copies, so tell the kids they can use whatever they want.”