Close Knit Killer (5 page)

“Oh, excuse me!” she apologized, stepping away.

“No problem, miss,” the man said, moving aside. “The door didn’t touch me.”

“My friends all tell me I move too fast,” Kelly joked.

“Do you work here, miss?” the man asked.

“Oh, no, I just come here a lot,” Kelly said with a smile. “Did you need to buy some
yarn or fiber? One of the shop assistants is inside, so she could get anything you
need.”

“No, no, I don’t knit,” the middle-aged man said, smiling. “I just wanted to ask a
question about the building that’s being remodeled. Over there.” He pointed to the
garage.

“The owners are doing some renovations. They’re enlarging that old garage and turning
it into a classroom and storage area.”

“Do you happen to know the builder in charge of it? I’m looking for a Hal Nelson and
was told by his office that he was working at this location.”

“You’re right, he is.” Kelly scanned the parking lot. “But he must have finished for
the day because I don’t see his truck.”

The man frowned as he stared at the driveway. “I was really hoping to speak with him.
I’d heard from someone that he had property in the Poudre Canyon that he wanted to
sell. I’d hoped to speak with him about it.”

“Well, I’m working right across the driveway, so if I see him before I leave this
evening, I’d be glad to tell him you wanted to speak with him. Do you have a card?”

“That would be very kind of you,” the man said, reaching inside his jacket. His
expensive
suit jacket, Kelly couldn’t help noticing as he handed her his card.

Kelly stared at the card as the man’s name registered.
Well, well, well
. “‘Jared Rizzoli, Financial Expert,’” she read, deliberately changing her tone of
voice to sound impressed. “I think I read about you in the newspaper. You’re that
financial authority on avoiding investment scams. The article said you were in town
to give two financial seminars.”

Rizzoli’s handsome face spread with a wide smile. “Yes, that’s right. And you are?”

Kelly extended her hand. “Kelly Flynn. I . . . uh, I own a small business. Bookkeeping.”

“Ah, a small business owner. The very backbone of our economic system. I hope you’re
managing to weather this brutal recession?”

Kelly adopted a guileless expression and deliberately downplayed her success. “I’m
doing my best. It’s really hard, though. But I’m hanging in there.”

Rizzoli’s smile widened as he focused on her, leaning forward just a little. “Well,
don’t forget your financial future, Ms. Flynn. There are ways to protect your hard-earned
savings so they’ll be there when you retire. Of course, you’re so young, retirement
must sound far away. But I assure you, you have to prepare now. In fact, you would
benefit from attending my free seminar here in Fort Connor tomorrow night. I also
have a book coming on the ways to avoid being caught in financial scams. You don’t
want to work hard to save and then have someone steal it away, right?”

Kelly had to plant both feet firmly on the concrete porch in order not to be blown
over by the force of Rizzoli’s energetic sales pitch. For that was exactly what all
of his encouraging and reassuring words boiled down to:
a sales pitch
. Kelly was fascinated by Rizzoli’s transformation from regular guy into a smooth-talking
salesman. She had no doubt that he had been very successful convincing clients to
invest in his financial scheme.

“Well, maybe I’ll do that, Mr. Rizzoli.”

“Call me Jared.” He beamed.

“Jared,” she said, careful not to allow her smile that lurked inside to escape. Just
then, Kelly spotted Hal Nelson’s black truck rolling down the driveway. “Well, Jared,
I think this is your lucky day. That’s Hal Nelson now.”

Rizzoli jerked his head around. “Wonderful. That’s perfect timing. Thank you so much,
Ms. Flynn.”

“I’m happy to help, Jared,” Kelly said with a winning smile as she started to walk
away. “And I may take you up on your offer to attend the seminar.”

“I’ll look for you, Ms. Flynn,” Rizzoli said as he turned toward Hal Nelson, who was
parking his truck.

Don’t look too hard,
Kelly said to herself as she headed for the cottage.

* * *

“Wow,
Pete’s grandfather sounds in really bad shape,” Marty said, leaning forward in the
deck chair.

“How long will Pete be down in Denver, do you think?” Greg asked, tipping back his
beer bottle.

Empty white take-out boxes lay scattered on the round glass tabletop. The aroma of
Indian food still hung in the early evening air.

Jennifer had sunk back into the chair cushions on the shaded outdoor patio, so Kelly
answered for her tired friend. “Not too long. Jen said that the replacement cook has
a schedule conflict so could only work two weeks.”

“What about Pete’s niece?” Lisa asked in concern. “Will her mom be able to take care
of her?”

Megan gave a disgusted snort. “It doesn’t sound like you’d want her taking care of
Cassie, would you, Jen?”

“I think it’s kind of unlikely Tanya would leave her boyfriend and the band to come
back to Denver and take care of Cassie. Frankly, I don’t think Pete would trust her,
either. And I wouldn’t want Cassie put in that situation.”

Kelly looked around at her friends, seated on the spacious patio in the back of one
of Steve’s unsold Wellesley development houses. She and Steve had lived there only
two months, but she was amazed how quickly she’d adjusted to having more space. Living
in the cottage had been fun and convenient, but it had also been cramped. After both
of them had been living in apartments and smaller quarters for years, she and Steve
reveled in the extra space.

Kelly decided to ask what she knew the rest of her friends wondered as well. “Have
you and Pete talked about his bringing Cassie here to Fort Connor to stay with you
guys while Ben’s recovering?”

“Actually, we talked about it just this afternoon,” Jennifer said. “I told Pete I’d
feel better if Cassie were up here with us. He thought so, too, but had hesitated
to mention it at first.”

Steve smiled as he balanced his bottle of Fat Tire on the arm of his chair. “Sounds
like Pete. He was probably worried you wouldn’t want her here.”

Jennifer nodded. “I told him I’d be more worried if we
didn’t
have Cassie here with us. I wouldn’t want her back in Denver with some neighbor or,
God forbid, her spacey mother.”

The sound of a cell phone’s music interrupted. Kelly recognized Jennifer’s distinctive
selection. Jennifer reached for her phone. “Hey, it’s Pete. He must have gone to see
Ben again. Let me put him on speakerphone. Hey, Pete. I’m over here at Kelly and Steve’s
with the gang, so I’m gonna put you on speaker, okay?” She propped the phone against
an empty container of Indian vindaloo chicken on the patio table.

“Hey, guys,” Pete’s voice sounded.

Kelly joined her friends as they greeted their absent member. “How’s Ben doing?” she
spoke up louder than normal.

“He’s the same. Which is to say, not too good. He still needs help breathing and is
still unconscious. I brought Cassie in after school, only because she hadn’t seen
him yet.” A long sigh sounded. “It really shook her up. I didn’t want to do it, but
she insisted.”

“That’s okay, Pete,” Lisa spoke up. “It’s good for kids to see their loved ones in
the hospital recuperating. They need to know that they’re still alive and are trying
to get better. That way they don’t wonder about what’s happening to them or if they’ll
ever come back.”

“Speaking of coming back, when will you come back, buddy?” Marty asked.

“Well, Cassie had her last day of school today. I’d like to stay through the weekend
to see Ben. I’m hoping he’ll wake up a little.”

Steve leaned forward in his patio chair. “Listen, Pete. Why don’t you and Cassie plan
on coming back to Fort Connor in a few days, depending on how Ben is doing. Meanwhile,
the rest of us can use this weekend to move all the stuff from your apartment over
to the house around the corner here. You know, the one we talked about. We can help
Jennifer pack up all your stuff. With all of us helping, we’ll get you two packed
up, moved, and unpacked by the end of the weekend. That way, you and Jen and Cassie
can move into a house that’s big enough for all of you.”

Kelly leaned over and kissed Steve on the cheek as all her friends loudly echoed Steve’s
suggestions.

Five

“Can
you give me a refill, Eduardo?” Kelly asked, dangling her mug over the café counter.
“Both Julie and Jennifer are way busy with customers.” Glancing around the crowded
café, Kelly didn’t spot one empty chair. Great for business. The accountant lobe of
her brain did a little happy dance. Small business successes always made Kelly happy.

“Sure thing, Kelly,” the genial grill cook said, taking her mug over to the coffee
machine. “We’ve been swamped since seven this morning.”

“Did you turn on those fans that blow all the good breakfast smells towards the golf
course?” she teased. “I see more people wearing golf shoes in here than normal.”

Eduardo grinned as he returned her mug. “Naw. I had to stop doing that. Jen said it
was cruel to tempt them in the midst of their round.”

The black nectar’s aroma drifted to Kelly’s nostrils.
Ahhhh, caffeine
. Not spotting the temporary cook, she asked, “Isn’t Frank the temp cook here? I usually
see him helping.”

“Oh, he is. He’s downstairs doing the baking. Good thing he made extra loaves yesterday
because we’ve used them all up today. Plus, we’re all out of pies, so he’ll be doing
those the rest of the morning before the lunch rush.”

“Well, I’d offer to help, Eduardo, but I don’t think you’d want any pie I’d bake.
The customers might run screaming out of the café.”

“Ahhhh, Kelly, if you can bake your aunt Helen’s gingersnaps, then you can bake a
pie.”

Changing the subject, Kelly leaned over the counter, watching Eduardo return to the
grill, turning the sizzling bacon slices, then placing a metal plate on top of them.
“Has Jennifer heard anything from Pete this morning? I didn’t want her to take time
away from her customers.”

“Yeah, she did,” Eduardo said as he poured what looked like beaten eggs from a pitcher
onto the hot grill. Kelly watched the mixture bubble up as Eduardo deftly flipped
and turned the yellow liquid with his metal spatula until it turned into scrambled
eggs. “Ben’s still unconscious, but his breathing has stabilized, the doctor said,
which is good.” He wielded the spatula again, scooping up the scrambled eggs and expertly
sliding them onto a plate all in one smooth movement.

“Well, that’s something,” Kelly said, noticing Hal Nelson enter the café. “I’ll let
you get back to work, Eduardo. I’ll be in the shop until this breakfast rush dies
down.”

Eduardo gave her a thumbs-up and a grin as he buttered Pete’s signature whole wheat
toast, placing the slices beside the scrambled eggs and bacon.

Kelly walked toward the front of the café, where Nelson stood. Julie had already spotted
the dangling coffee mug in his hand and was in the process of refilling it.

“Hi, Hal. I see it didn’t take you long to discover Eduardo’s strong coffee,” she
said, raising her own mug.

“Morning, Kelly,” he greeted with a smile. “You’re right about the coffee. I have
to admit, it’s some of the best. Strong and black.”

“I think Eduardo’s secret is the nails and shoelaces he throws in when we’re not looking.”
She took a sip while Nelson laughed. “How’s that remodeling going?”

“Pretty good. We’ve got the rotten beams replaced and any other pieces that needed
replacing. And we’ve only lost a few places on the original stucco, which isn’t too
bad. We’re going to keep working on the interior today. Put in some insulation and
the drywall tomorrow.”

“Wow, you two are moving right along.” Kelly couldn’t help adding, “I’m so glad to
see Malcolm doing as well as he is. Jayleen stopped in yesterday, and I got to hear
more about his background.”

“Thanks, miss,” Nelson said as Julie handed him his mug. “I appreciate that.” He handed
her some bills. “Yeah, Malcolm has had it kind of rough. Some people can handle those
rough spells life throws in better than others. Some folks get beaten down.” He looked
away as he took a sip, then blew on the hot liquid.

“Jayleen told me some of what happened to Malcolm to send him on that downward trajectory,
so to speak. It sounds like everything kind of piled up on him. Losing his job, his
career, his home, even his wife . . .” Kelly wagged her head. “I don’t think there’s
many of us who wouldn’t be dropped to our knees by all that onslaught.”

Nelson gave her a wry smile. “You’re right about that, Kelly. That’s kind of the reason
I got involved with the Mission’s program a few years back. I wanted a way to help
some people who’ve been knocked down learn how to get back up again. Give them some
work to do, and get them on a path to feel good about themselves again.”

Kelly looked at Hal Nelson, sizing him up anew. “That’s really admirable of you, Hal.
Not many people would make the effort during these bad economic times to help other
people find a job. Jayleen mentioned you have your own construction company to run.
How do you manage all that?”

“Well, I’ve got two good people who work for me. One’s an older guy, Dutch, who’s
been supervising construction crews for a lifetime. So he and the other guy, George,
can handle anything. I try to split my time between sites when I’m doing a Mission
job, but it’s a challenge.”

Remembering yesterday afternoon’s visitor, Kelly said, “By the way, I spoke with that
man who stopped by the shop yesterday afternoon looking for you. We chatted for a
few minutes before you drove up. Rizzoli was his name.”

“Yeah, Rizzoli.” Nelson nodded. “He wanted to see this parcel of land I’ve got up
in Poudre Canyon. I thought I’d give Jennifer a heads-up. She listed it for me last
year, but nothing was selling then, so it’s been sitting.”

“Well, Jennifer is a personal friend, but I’ve also used her as an agent, so I know
how good she is. Poudre Canyon is one of my favorite places. I almost bought some
land up there a few years ago, but . . . it wasn’t meant to be, I guess. I let someone
else buy it.”

Nelson looked at her briefly, then glanced out into the café. “I know what you mean,
Kelly. I’m not sure now if I want to sell the land or not. But my wife insisted I
show it to him anyway.” His mouth twisted into a smile. “Susie reminded me we haven’t
had a serious offer on this property yet because of the real estate market collapse.”

“I hear you,” Kelly sympathized. “Jennifer’s told us how brutal it is. There are so
few sales right now. Not many people can qualify. Thank goodness Jennifer works at
the café. And you know that Steve lost his business in the downturn. If this Rizzoli
can qualify, you might want to take his offer seriously. They are few and far between.”

Nelson’s smile widened. “You sound just like my wife Susie. And you’re both right.
We can use the money, for sure. That’s why I called him and said to contact Jennifer
so she can take him to the canyon to see the property.”

“Hey, that’s great,” Kelly enthused. “I hope he falls in love with it. Apparently
this guy can afford it. I read in the paper he’s giving all these free financial seminars
here in town. So, he must be doing okay.”

“Ohhhh, yeah. He made it a point to tell me he’d be paying half in cash. And the balance
upon closing.”

“Whoa, take the money and run, Hal,” Kelly said, laughing.

“That’s exactly what Susie said.”

Jennifer quickly walked over to the two of them. “Hal, Julie’s watching my tables,
so why don’t we take a few minutes now.” She turned to Kelly. “Bridget is coming in
earlier this morning so I can take off.”

“Hey, if you need me to help with anything or run errands, let me know.”

“Thanks. I think we’ve got it covered for now.” Turning back to Nelson, she said,
“Hal and I have already done all the paperwork on the listing last year. We’ve raised
the price a little, so we’ll wait to see if he wants to buy.”

“Listen, Kelly, I’ll talk with you later,” Hal said as he walked toward the front
door, Jennifer following.

Kelly headed through the back of the café toward the hallway that led to the knitting
shop. As she approached the classroom and workroom, she spied Barbara and her mother
Madge.

“Good morning, ladies. Another class today, I take it,” she greeted them.

“Yes, indeed,” Barbara answered, pulling a spinning wheel into place beside two other
wheels. “Burt and Mimi decided to take an extra-long weekend in the mountains.”

“Ooooh, that does sound nice,” Kelly said as she walked toward the main room. “I’d
love to get away, but this weekend is already booked. A bunch of us are moving Pete
and Jennifer from their small apartment to one of Steve’s unsold houses in Wellesley.”

“Oh, my, are they buying a house?” Madge asked, eyes widening in interest. “How brave
of them in these difficult times.”

“I’m amazed they were able to qualify,” Barbara commented as she pulled a fourth wheel
into place. A rough approximation of a semicircle was forming.

“They’re renting, not buying,” Kelly replied. “And for the same reason you mentioned,
Barbara. Even people with good credit have trouble getting a bank loan to buy a home
nowadays. Jennifer has told me how bad it is out there.”

“That’s nice of Steve to rent the home,” Madge said as she pulled a large plastic
bag of fleece closer to her chair. The wool was golden colored, drawing Kelly closer.

“He thinks it’s better to receive money from renters while waiting for the housing
market to improve. Better than letting it sit there empty.” She set her coffee mug
on a nearby worktable and dropped her briefcase on the floor. “This is beautiful,
Madge.” She fingered the golden softness. “Is this another of your sheep?”

Madge’s thin cheeks colored in obvious pleasure. “Yes, it is. This is from my prize-winning
ram Jason.”

Kelly had to laugh. “Jason and his golden fleece. I love it. Well, I may have to sit
in with you and your class again, Madge. I’ve always wanted to see someone spinning
gold.”

* * *

Kelly
looked up from her laptop screen where she was squirreled away in the comfy armchair
in the corner of Lambspun’s front room. Three customers were lined up at the cash
register counter where Rosa was handling questions and purchases. Connie, the other
shop assistant, sat at the winding table, removing a fat ball of hot pink fluffy wool
and mohair from the winding spindle.

“Ah, you’re finished,” Barbara’s big voice sounded as she entered the front room.
“May I use the yarn winder, please?”

“Sure, Barbara, be my guest,” Connie said as she vacated the chair. Scooping up four
fat balls of the hot pink yarn in her arms, she cleared the table.

Barbara sat down and loosened the fluffy loop of smoky gray spun yarn. She arranged
it on the yarn holders of the skein winder, then stretched one yarn strand and wound
it around the spindle of the ball winder on the other side of the table. Slowly, she
started to turn the ball winder handle, and the luscious gray yarn wound slowly from
the skein winder holders to form a ball around the spindle.

“Is that Madge’s prize-winning yarn?” Kelly asked.

“Yes, indeed,” Barbara replied. “Mom’s Montclair Blue.”

“That is such a gorgeous gray. I might be tempted to actually knit a winter sweater
even though it’s summer, and hot outside.”

“Sure you can, Kelly,” Barbara encouraged as she turned the handle, looking outside.

Kelly was about to return to her spreadsheets when she caught sight of Jennifer standing
beside the fence bordering the garden patio and the driveway. She appeared to be talking
to a man who had some papers in his hand. Kelly focused on the man and recognized
him as Jared Rizzoli.
Well, well
. Maybe Jen would make a sale this month when she didn’t expect it. Extra money was
always good, especially when someone was moving.

“Who’s Jennifer talking to outside?” Barbara asked, glancing to Kelly.

Remembering Barbara’s family’s financial disaster caused by Jared Rizzoli’s Ponzi
scheme, Kelly hesitated to answer honestly. “Uhhhh, I’m not sure,” she deliberately
hedged.

Connie stopped stacking fuzzy balls of azure blue mohair and glanced out the window.
“Oh, that’s the guy who’s doing the free seminars. Rizzoli. He’s the one who went
to jail. I saw him on the local TV news last night. They interviewed him.”

Barbara suddenly went ramrod straight as she stared out the window. Then she jumped
out of her chair, sending it backward. “That
bastard
!” she cried, and stormed from the room, her face thundercloud dark.

“Uh-oh,” Rosa said, brown eyes wide in obvious concern. “Barbara’s family lost everything
because of him.”

“Yeah, I know,” Kelly said, quickly leaving her cozy armchair to follow after Barbara.
Kelly had seen the banked fury on Barbara’s face when she related Rizzoli’s cheating
and manipulation. No telling what Barbara might do if she was face-to-face with the
man responsible for her family’s ruin.

Kelly sped through the adjoining room dominated by the Mother Loom and into the foyer.
Barbara was already outside, heading toward the garden patio. A tall woman, Barbara
had a long stride and covered ground fast while walking. Kelly pushed through the
shop front door and raced down the steps. Barbara was already down the sidewalk and
entering the garden. Jennifer and Rizzoli were still talking beside the fence, completely
unaware of the approaching storm in the form of Barbara.

“YOU!”
Barbara yelled up ahead. “You’re a thief and a
murderer
! My father is dead because of you!”

Kelly raced down the path and into the garden, noticing the startled café customers
sitting at nearby tables, staring at Barbara. Jennifer stared at Barbara as well,
clearly amazed by her outburst. Rizzoli, however, stood absolutely still, his face
reddening as Barbara continued her accusations.

“We lost everything because of you and your . . . your Ponzi scheme! My father was
an honest man. And he bankrupted himself to repay all his clients. We lost everything
because of you! And we lost him, too! He shot himself in despair when he couldn’t
pay them all!”