Forget Me Knot: A Quilting Mystery Part 2

Like many quilters, Birdie gave her quilts names and wrote them on labels she sewed to the back. The sign next to her quilt read, BIRDIE'S BOTANICALS. HAND APPLIQUeD AND HAND QUILTED BY HAZEL ELIZABETH NIGHTINGALE WATSON.

I was shocked to see a blue ribbon pinned on the top corner of my Double Sawtooth Star quilt. "Oh. My. G.o.d." I put my hand over my gaping mouth. "I got first place in the pieced category." The sign next to my quilt read, CIVIL WAR REPRODUCTION BED QUILT. MACHINE PIECED AND HAND QUILTED BY MARTHA ROSE.

I served as judge once for the Glendale show and knew how picky the criteria could be. Quilts were divided into two categories for judging: pieced and appliqued. The pieced quilts were made of blocks with geometric designs joined together in an overall repeating pattern. These traditional quilts were my favorite, but this was the first time ever a quilt of mine garnered a ribbon.

Appliqued quilts like Birdie's and Claire's featured images sewn together in the same way a painter created a picture. Small pieces of fabric were applied with hidden st.i.tches to a background fabric. The fabric image was built up layer by layer, much like the brushstrokes on a canvas. Innovative applique artists like Claire and Birdie created true works of art.

Lucy clapped her hands. "I'm really happy for you both. I know how hard you worked on those quilts. You both deserve those prizes."

Birdie put her hand on Lucy's arm. "I'm sorry you didn't win a ribbon, Lucy dear. Your baby quilt is so sweet."

Lucy waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, I don't care. My family's too big and I have too many quilts to make. I know you put hundreds of hours into making a single exquisite quilt, but I can't afford to give that much time to each one of mine. I don't expect to win prizes. By the way, which one belongs to Carlotta the crow?"

"That one." I pointed to the quilt with the appliqued Rose of Sharon block. Each block featured a stylized rosette, a circle with scalloped edges. Radiating from the rosette were four straight green stems, each with two leaves and a one-piece rosebud at the end.

The Rose of Sharon was an old design that I thought lacked creativity. Still, I knew looks could be deceiving. Carlotta had probably spent months finis.h.i.+ng this quilt. Effort alone had earned her third place.

The sign next to the quilt read: ROSE OF SHARON. THIS TRADITIONAL BLOCK IS ALSO KNOWN BY THE NAMES OF WHIG ROSE, COLONIAL ROSE, KENTUCKY ROSE, AND MEXICAN ROSE. HAND APPLIQUeD AND HAND QUILTED BY CARLOTTA MARIE HUDSON. Quilt block designs frequently got renamed as they traveled from region to region. You could trace the journey of this block by its various names.

"You have to admit this is a pleasing quilt."

Birdie peered at it closely. "Yes, but if you look carefully, you can see some of the st.i.tches around the edges of the applique. Also, her quilting st.i.tches aren't even. She'd do better to take fewer st.i.tches per inch and try to make them more uniform."

I walked over to Claire Terry's quilt, hanging in the place of honor. Two ribbons were pinned at the top: First-Place Applique and Best of Show.

The quilt featured a background of light gray fabric. Scattered on top of this background were appliqued hearts and roses in pinks, reds, and purples. Each rose was composed of petals individually sewn and layered. In between the roses and hearts, hundreds of little scarlet b.u.mps of knotted embroidery thread called French knots created texture and interest.

The sign next to the quilt read simply, ASCENDING. HAND PIECED, HAND APPLIQUeD, AND HAND QUILTED BY CLAIRE TERRY. The design of hearts and flowers reminded me of Valentine's Day and I thought of a joyful heart ascending with love. Then a picture of Claire lying alone on the floor flashed through my mind and I shuddered.

Birdie must have felt it, too. "Poor Claire." Her eyes teared up.

Lucy reached out and gave Birdie's shoulder a little squeeze.

I took out my digital camera and shot pictures of the winning quilts: full-length shots as well as close-ups of the wonderful red knots that gave such interest to the background. "Come on. Let's find Lucy's quilt."

We roamed up and down aisles created by row upon colorful row of hanging quilts. People of all ages enjoyed the show. A few women had actually dragged their husbands along.

One particularly bored man in a Dodgers baseball cap turned backward stopped suddenly at a pink and white quilt with a repet.i.tive pattern. Each of the twelve-inch blocks making up this bed-sized quilt featured an outline of a square with a triangle outside each corner. He turned to the pet.i.te redhead next to him. "Here's your blanket, Peaches."

The sign next to this quilt disclosed some of the many names for this common block: Churn Dash, Monkey Wrench, Hole in the Barn Door, and Shoo Fly. Peaches handed her husband a camera and stood in front of the quilt. "Take my picture."

He snapped a couple of shots. "Well, it sure looks good, Peachie. Uh, now that we've seen it, can we go? I don't want to miss the game."

Peaches gave him a withering look and walked over to the next quilt. "Turn on your iPad."

Women wearing white gloves and white bibbed ap.r.o.ns patrolled the aisles. They were there to turn a quilt over if someone wanted to see the reverse side. However, the White Gloves, as they were called, were mostly on the lookout for anyone daring to ignore the dozens of signs warning DO NOT TOUCH THE QUILTS.

Some quilts really begged to be touched, especially if they had a lot of texture from heavy quilting or surface texture like the French knots on Claire's quilts. The only problem was hundreds of caressing hands left oil and dirt deposits and spoiled a quilt. One vigilant White Glove discovered a woman yesterday who more than once fondled Claire's quilt with both hands. She had to be told several times to stop.

I closed my eyes for a moment and listened to the chatter of hundreds of women. They sounded like the rus.h.i.+ng waters of a mountain river in the spring.

I opened my eyes when there was a loud cras.h.i.+ng sound from the back of the ballroom. The room suddenly became quiet. Then someone screamed, "Stop him! Stop him!"

The noise rose again, and the news started to flow up the aisles in a torrent. Words like "stolen" and "back door" and "Claire's quilt" bubbled and eddied through the crowd.

I looked at Lucy and Birdie. "Claire's quilt was stolen?"

Lucy headed for the back. "Let's find out."

Women started to surge toward the entrance in a kind of controlled panic. We struggled to swim against the current, like salmon going to sp.a.w.n, and made our way to the back of the ballroom.

The exhibit of winning quilts was a shambles with display racks overturned. A door next to the podium stood wide open.

A woman lay on the floor near the door and moaned while a knot of her friends tried to comfort her. "Don't worry, Selma dear. The paramedics are on their way."

I rushed over to them. "What happened?"

Selma's friend scowled at me until she saw the badge pinned to my s.h.i.+rt identifying me as a board member. "A man yanked down some quilts and escaped out that door. Poor Selma was standing in his way, and he pushed her down. I think she's broken something."

A dozen years ago, this couldn't have happened. Every quilt had a sleeve sewn on the back to accommodate a hanging rod. The rod was fitted onto support poles, and the quilt hung down like a curtain. A s.n.a.t.c.h and grab would have been impossible. Nowadays, quilts were hung by clips, much like those from an old-fas.h.i.+oned clothesline. Just one hard tug and the whole thing could come loose, especially the wall hangings that were smaller and lighter than bed quilts.

"What did he look like?"

"Not too tall. Stout. He wore a stocking mask, so I really didn't get a good look, but there was something really odd about his eyes. Selma probably saw more than any of us."

I peered through the open door and down a hallway leading to a parking lot at the end. The thief was probably long gone.

I made my way back to Birdie and Lucy, who stood next to the podium. Birdie wept softly.

"What?" I looked at Lucy.

"They're gone, Martha. Yours, Birdie's, and Claire's quilts. They're gone."

I stood in shock, trying to figure out what to do next, when someone in a blue blazer with the hotel logo on the pocket walked over to the microphone next to the podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the police are on their way. If you witnessed anything suspicious, you're asked to remain and give a statement. The rest of you may go. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience."

My stomach churned. This was the second time in less than a week we'd been mixed up in a police investigation involving Claire Terry. That woman was turning out to be a terrible jinx.

CHAPTER 5.

We found three chairs near a vendor table selling thread in more colors than I'd ever seen in one place. The rainbow displays were beautiful enough to hang as wall art. The next table sold stencils cut out of thin acrylic sheets for marking st.i.tching designs on quilt tops: cables, fans, grids, feathers, clamsh.e.l.ls, and Bishop's Fan were the most popular.

I estimated we'd been there for at least an hour, because Birdie had already gotten up to go to the bathroom twice. Cl.u.s.ters of women spoke to each other in hushed tones. An electronic tapping sounded through the speaker system in the grand ballroom.

"Testing," a voice boomed. All conversation stopped. The announcer's mouth was too close to the microphone, so she made little explosive sounds with the letter p. "Will the following people please report to the podium: Martha Rose and Birdie Watson."

As I helped Birdie get out of her seat, Lucy got up, too. "I'm coming with you."

The podium had been taped off and someone in a white jumpsuit with a toolbox dusted the overturned quilt display stands for fingerprints.

Lucy snorted. "Look."

I followed her finger to a heap on the floor. The thief left Carlotta's Rose of Sharon quilt behind.

A policewoman in a blue s.h.i.+rt and pants waited for us. Her name badge said Salazar.

"I'm Martha Rose, this is Birdie Watson, and this is our friend Lucy Mondello."

"Right. Please come with me." The leather holster holding Officer Salazar's gun squeaked slightly against her right hip as she moved in front of us down the hallway. A radio was clipped to her belt over her left hip. A baton and handcuffs hung off loops in the back.

The hotel restaurant had been commandeered as a temporary interview room. Two police officers sat at linen-covered tables taking statements from groups of women. Salazar led us to a table in the back.

The man at the table stood up as we approached. Oh my G.o.d. Could this be? I'd recognize his mustache anywhere. I straightened the hem of my T-s.h.i.+rt and shoved my gla.s.ses back on my nose, regretting my casual attire. I really wished I'd chosen something more attractive to wear that day.

Detective Arlo Beavers sat down again. "We meet again, ladies."

I tried to make my voice sound jaunty. "I thought your business card said you were a homicide detective."

"Robbery and homicide."

"Do you manage to show up at every crime scene in the Valley?"

"Do you?"

Touche. "I'm beginning to wonder. This time, though, we're not witnesses; we're the injured parties."

"You and a couple of others. Three quilts stolen and one elderly lady injured in the escape. As soon as I arrived, they handed me a list of victims and I recognized both your names. Tell me what happened."

Birdie's eyes filled with tears. "We were too far away to see anything. Why would anyone do such a thing?"

Beavers shrugged. "Why do you think someone would steal them? How much could a couple of blankets be worth?"

I bristled and squared my shoulders. "For your information, those quilts are legitimate works of art. Only the artists didn't use paint, they used fabric."

He put up his hand. "I stand corrected. How much are these works of art worth?"

"Claire sold her last quilt for ten thousand dollars. Birdie is an unknown artist, so I'm not sure anyone would pay that much money for hers." I quickly looked at my friend. "Sorry, Birdie. Your quilt was every bit as beautiful as Claire's."

Birdie nodded. "I know what you mean."

"As for my quilt, well, only a Civil War buff would be interested. It's historically accurate, but hardly worth a lot of money."

Birdie's normally gentle voice cut sharply through the air. "Well, money isn't the point!"

Whoa. The last time I heard that tone was when she discovered Eleanor Peavy had stolen the hundred-year-old embroidery scissors that belonged to Birdie's great-grandmother.

"I worked over a year on my quilt. Hundreds of hours. Now it's gone." Her voice quavered.

Lucy opened her pink purse, handed Birdie a tissue, and looked at Beavers. "What are the chances of your finding the quilts?"

"The eyewitnesses are working with a sketch artist. The preliminary description identifies the thief as 'stout' and wearing a knit ski mask. Does that ring a bell?" We shook our heads.

"I didn't think so. We'll try to do some kind of composite drawing and have you take a look. Meanwhile"-he pointed to a nearby table-"you can file a formal complaint with the officer over there."

I felt a surge of disappointment. "So you're not investigating the theft?"

"Right now, I'm more interested in solving Claire Terry's murder."

Birdie gasped. "Murder?"

My stomach churned again.

Lucy's face turned white. "Oh my G.o.d. Do you remember I kept saying I had a bad feeling?"

"Yes."

Lucy raised her eyebrows. "Do you think I'm becoming psychic? Like Allison DuBois or something?"

Beavers cleared his throat. "I'll need to get fingerprint samples from each of you to eliminate some of those we took from the crime scene. You can go to the West Valley station when you're finished here."

"What about our quilts?" asked Birdie.

"The three of you found Claire Terry's body. Then her quilt gets stolen and so do yours. I'm wondering what the connection is."

The longer I sat, the harder the chair became. "Coincidence?"

"I don't believe in coincidence."

"How was Claire killed?"

"OD."

"Wait. She did drugs? She didn't seem the type."

"Not recreational. Prescription."

"How do you know it wasn't an accident or suicide?"

"We believe she fought with her killer."

I felt like I was in an elevator descending too fast. I'd forgotten about the blood on Claire's hands.