Close Knit Killer

Berkley Prime Crime titles by Maggie Sefton

KNIT ONE, KILL TWO

NEEDLED TO DEATH

A DEADLY YARN

A KILLER STITCH

DYER CONSEQUENCES

FLEECE NAVIDAD

DROPPED DEAD STITCH

SKEIN OF THE CRIME

UNRAVELED

CAST ON, KILL OFF

CLOSE KNIT KILLER

Anthologies

DOUBLE KNIT MURDERS

Close Knit Killer

Maggie Sefton

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

Published by the Penguin Group

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This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

Copyright © 2013 by Margaret Conlan Aunon.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed
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Purchase only authorized editions.

Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group.

BERKLEY
^®
PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

eBook ISBN: 978-1-101-62390-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sefton, Maggie.

Close knit killer / Maggie Sefton.—First Edition.

ISBN 978-0-425-25839-2

1. Flynn, Kelly (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Knitters (Persons)—Fiction.

3. Dressmakers—Crimes against—Fiction. 4. Murder—Investigation—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3629.E37C56 2013

813'.6—dc23 2013007214

FIRST EDITION:
June 2013

Cover illustration by Chris O’Leary.

Cover design by Rita Frangie.

Cover logo by axb group.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the
product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance
to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is
entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume
any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as
written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs
that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse
reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

Acknowledgments

I want to thank Martha Martin of Snyder, Texas, for the novel’s title,
Close Knit Killer
. I’m still using some of the wonderful title suggestions that were sent to me in
late December 2009 and January 2010 for my “Name a Kelly Flynn Mystery” contest.

There were nearly two hundred e-mails and literally several hundred title suggestions.
There are about ten title suggestions remaining, so I have lots to choose from for
Kelly’s future adventures. Of course, all titles have to pass muster with my editor,
too.

The three short recipes included with this book are also contest winners. I had an
Appetizer Contest awhile ago on the Cozy Chicks blog, where I post weekly with six
other mystery authors (www.cozychicksblog.com). There were two categories: Hot Appetizers
and Cold Appetizers. Last year’s
Cast On, Kill Off
included several of the winners of the Hot Appetizer contest. This year for
Close Knit Killer
, several of the winners of the Cold Appetizer contest and their names are included
along with their recipes. Again, thanks to all who participated.

Cast of Characters

Kelly Flynn—
financial accountant and part-time sleuth, refugee from East Coast corporate CPA firm

Steve Townsend—
architect and builder in Fort Connor, Colorado, and Kelly’s boyfriend

KELLY’S FRIENDS:

Jennifer Stroud—
real estate agent, part-time waitress

Lisa Gerrard—
physical therapist

Megan Smith—
IT consultant, another corporate refugee

Marty Harrington—
lawyer, Megan’s husband

Greg Carruthers—
university instructor, Lisa’s boyfriend

Pete Wainwright—
owner of Pete’s Porch Café in the back of Kelly’s favorite knitting shop, House of
Lambspun

LAMBSPUN FAMILY AND REGULARS:

Mimi Shafer—
Lambspun shop owner and knitting expert, known to Kelly and her friends as “Mother
Mimi”

Burt Parker—
retired Fort Connor police detective, Lambspun spinner-in-residence

Hilda and Lizzie von Steuben—
spinster sisters, retired school-teachers, and exquisite knitters

Curt Stackhouse—
Colorado rancher, Kelly’s mentor and advisor

Jayleen Swinson—
Alpaca rancher and Colorado Cowgirl

Connie and Rosa—
Lambspun shop personnel

One

Kelly
Flynn bit into her last slice of pesto pizza.
Yum
. “This is so good, I feel like baking another one,” she said to her friends who were
seated around Megan and Marty’s backyard patio table.

“Hey, put in another pepperoni and cheese, would you?” Greg asked.

“Why don’t you try something different for a change?” Lisa prodded her boyfriend.
“I bought one of those Hawaiian pizzas.”

Greg’s pizza-eating cohort Marty screwed up his face across the table, which was completely
covered with pizza pans and bottles of craft beers. “Pineapple on pizza?
Heresy!
”
red-haired
Marty declared.

Kelly took a sip of her favorite ale and leaned back into the cushioned patio chair.
“Marty, you’re eating barbecued chicken on your pizza now. Why not give ham and pineapple
a try?”

“Marty doesn’t take risks when it comes to food,” Megan said, grinning at her husband
as she rose from her chair. “I’ll put in more pizza. One pesto and one pepperoni and
cheese. Is that it?”

“Make that two pepperoni and cheese,” Greg advised. “Otherwise there won’t be any
left for Steve after Marty gets through with it.”

Kelly sipped her Fat Tire, listening to her friends tease Marty as she glanced around
Megan and Marty’s backyard. Thanks to her boyfriend Steve’s generous wedding gift
of a reduced price, Megan and Marty were able to move into one of the empty houses
in Steve’s struggling housing development on the north edge of Fort Connor. They’d
had their eye on it for months, because it was only two doors down from Lisa and Greg’s
home. The sounds of laughter and backyard barbecues rose up from the neighboring yards
surrounding them. It was late May, and the early summer weather was hot already. Temperatures
were in the nineties during the days, coupled with that Colorado staple—sunshine,
sunshine, sunshine.

“When’s Steve coming?” Jennifer asked after she wiped pizza sauce from her cheek.
“Aren’t the guys playing their old rival Greeley tonight?”

Kelly glanced at her watch. “I thought he’d be here by now. He’s got his gear with
him, so he may have stopped at the house to change.”

Marty checked his watch. “We’re gonna have to head for the ball fields in about twenty
minutes. He can always meet us there. We’ll need Steve’s big bat to beat those guys.”

“How’re you liking Steve’s rental house, Kelly?” Pete asked as he took the last slice
of pesto pizza. “It’s a three-bedroom, right?”

“Yeah. I love the layout. It’s got lots of room.”

“Have you finally unpacked?” Megan asked as she snuggled against Marty.

“Finally,” Kelly said, then took a deep drink of her ale. “It wasn’t a hard move because
I didn’t have that much furniture in the cottage. And Steve never bought much, either,
since he’s been working in Denver.”

“That dark cherry bedroom set of yours sure weighed a lot,” Marty teased. “My back
still hurts.”

“Don’t forget the sofa, dude. That was a killer. It was all I could do to finish my
ride the next day.”

“Get Lisa to rub out the kinks in those muscles,” Kelly suggested to mountain biker
Greg. “After all, she’s a physical therapist.”

“Are you going to bring some of your cousin Martha’s antiques you’ve got in storage?
There were some beautiful pieces there,” Megan said.

“To tell the truth, I haven’t even had time to think about it yet. So, they’ll have
to stay in Wyoming for a while longer, I guess.” Kelly took another sip of ale.

“Well, you could add a few pieces a little at a time,” Lisa suggested. “We’ll be glad
to help.”

“I dunno . . . Antiques sound heavy,” Greg added. Lisa gave him a playful jab.

“That’s true, and do we want to fill up that house with furniture when someone might
buy it this year or next year?”

“Or next is right,” Jennifer said with a weary sigh. “This housing market is still
depressed.”

“Sorry we couldn’t help with the move,” Pete said, sipping his beer. “We had back-to-back
catering jobs that weekend. Man . . . this feels so strange not to be working on a
Friday night.”

“Amen to that,” Jennifer agreed.

“It’s great to have you guys join us tonight. Those catering jobs during the school
year really kept you busy,” Marty said.

“Amen, again,” Jennifer echoed, lifting her cola can. “Yesterday, I took some clients
into the three-bedroom house a block from here. It’s a little smaller than Greg and
Lisa’s, but the bedrooms are good-sized, and the kitchen is spacious. Living room
and dining area are good-sized, too. It’s got lots of light and is really nice.”

“Well, let’s hope someone buys it,” Kelly said, then drained her Fat Tire. “There
are still three unsold houses left in the development. That one plus a four-bedroom
at the entrance road, and the three-bedroom Steve and I are living in.”

“It was a smart idea to move to that house and eliminate Steve’s apartment rent,”
Marty said, stacking empty pizza pans as Megan approached with a freshly baked pizza.

“And it’s great having you guys over here,” Megan added as she reclaimed her chair.

Pete turned his beer bottle on the chair arm. “Do you have any idea what that smaller
three-bedroom would rent for? I mean, in case it doesn’t sell to that couple.”

Kelly shrugged. “Haven’t a clue. You’ll have to ask Steve, whenever he gets here.
Why? Do you know of someone looking for a place to rent?”

“Actually, yes,” Jennifer answered. “Pete and I are. Neither his place nor mine is
big enough for all our stuff together. We need more room.”

“Yeah, we were talking today about maybe asking Steve about renting one of his houses
until it sells. We figured we could swing it with what Jen and I are both paying for
rent.”

Megan jumped up in her chair. “Hey, that’s fantastic!”

“It would be great to have you two over here with us,” Lisa said.

Kelly thought she detected the sound of Steve’s truck’s engine at the front of the
house. “You can ask him yourself. I think I just heard his truck.”

Greg checked his watch. “Boy, he’s cutting it close.”

“You guys have enough time. Let Steve take a few minutes to swallow some pizza,” Lisa
admonished.

“Hey, guys,” Steve said as he slid open the glass door to the patio.

Megan jumped up from her chair and beckoned to Steve. “Come on over, Steve, and have
some pizza. Marty, you and Greg can take another few minutes for Steve to eat.”

“Sit down, buddy.” Marty directed Steve to a chair. “You’re already changed, so we’ve
got a few minutes.”

Steve stopped by Kelly’s chair first. “Hey, there.” He leaned down to give her a kiss.
“Sorry I’m late. Mimi asked me to stop by before she closed shop.”

Kelly reached up and put her arm around Steve’s neck, pulling him closer for the kiss.
“Hey, there, yourself. What’d Mimi want?”

Steve settled into the chair beside her and snatched a slice of pepperoni pizza. “Some
suggestions for remodeling. She and Burt have been kicking around ideas. Man, I’m
starving.” He devoured the slice in two bites.

“There you go, buddy,” Marty said with his big grin as he placed the familiar brown
bottle of ale in Steve’s outstretched hand.

“What are they planning to remodel?” Kelly asked. “The shop is perfect the way it
is.”

Steve gulped down half the bottle before answering. “Ahhhh. It’s not the shop. They
want to do something with that older building that used to be a garage. Mimi’s used
it for storage ever since she started the shop.” Another slice of pizza disappeared
almost as fast as the first.

“Why don’t you ask him now?” Greg gestured to Pete and Jennifer.

“What’s that?” Steve took another deep swig of ale.

“Let the starving man eat,” Jennifer teased. “We’ll talk later. Pete and I are coming
to watch your game.”

“Hey, that’s great,” Kelly said. “Thank goodness for end-of-semester breaks when the
university goes quiet for a while, and the catering slows down. You two deserve some
weekend nights when you’re not working.”

“Got that right,” Greg added. “Why don’t you two go up into the mountains tomorrow.
Get some high-country air in your lungs.” He took in an enormous breath and exhaled
loudly. “Do you good.”

Pete laughed and sank back into the cushioned chair. “Boy, that sounds great. But
I’ll probably go down to Denver and visit my grandfather Ben and my niece Cassie.
I try to go every month, but it’s been so busy here that six weeks have passed by.
So, I’ll be driving to Denver after lunch finishes tomorrow afternoon.”

“And I’ll be doing floor duty at the real estate office. Pray that some deep-pocketed
customer walks in looking for a home. Preferably someone with a stellar credit rating
and lots of money in the bank,” Jennifer said, then finished her pesto pizza.

“Wow, you guys are always working,” Marty observed as he leaned back in his chair,
hands behind his head.

“How old is your niece again?” Lisa asked.

“Eleven, going on twelve. Cassie’s a real sweetheart. Grandpa Ben and my grandmother
Mary raised her from the time she was a baby. Mary died a couple of years ago.” His
normal smile disappeared as a somber expression appeared. “My sister Tanya has never
been able to take care of Cassie. She’s just not stable enough. Got into drugs early
in college and has never stayed away for long. Been in and out of rehab. Will work
one job for several months until she starts oversleeping and missing work, gets laid
off, or fired. She did okay for the first few months after Cassie was born, but then
she started bringing the baby over to my grandparents’ every night so she could go
out to the bars. Tanya always liked to sing and was drawn to musicians, so she’d just
live with one guy after another who wanted to party all the time like she did.”

“What about the baby’s father?” Steve asked as he took another slice of pizza.

“Tanya can’t remember which guy it was. Some college student,” Pete said sadly.

“Whoa.” Lisa leaned back in her chair.

Jennifer toyed with her cola can. “Yeah, it’s sad. Last time we were in Denver at
Ben’s house, Tanya stopped by to announce that she’d ‘found her man.’ He’s a musician
with another band that’s starting to get popular in the area. Tanya says she’s going
to travel with them and do their publicity online.”

“What about Cassie?” Kelly asked, reading between the lines of what Jennifer was saying.

“Yeah, what about the little girl?” Marty asked, leaning forward now.

“That never seems to come up on Tanya’s radar screen.” Pete rubbed his forehead. “Tanya
said she’s trying to build a life with this musician, which means she’ll be traveling
around the country with Hank and the band. Then she gave Cassie a kiss and told her
to be good and do what Grandpa told her.” Pete closed his eyes and shook his head.

“Poor kid,” Megan said with a frown.

“Yeah, that’s why I try to get down there once a month and take Cassie out to places,
do stuff with her. That gives Ben a break.”

“We took her to the mall last month, and her eyes nearly popped out,” Jennifer said,
smiling. “She’d never been to that big mall in south Denver. So she was looking in
every window, I swear. I thought we’d never pull her away from the computer store.
Ben’s got an ancient desktop computer, so Cassie has never seen the newer laptops
and stuff except on television.”

“Hey, Steve, are you full now, because we’re gonna have to tear outta here to get
to the ball fields?” Greg popped up from his chair.

Steve drained the last of his ale. “Yeah, I’m good. Let’s go.”

Kelly quickly rose from her chair, as did her friends. “Knock it out of the park,
okay?” she said, giving Steve a quick kiss.

Steve grinned. “I’ll do my best. See you guys at the game.”