Crazy as a Quilt (A Harriet Turman/Loose Threads Mystery Book 8) (34 page)

It was midnight when they finally heard. Jorge was making decaf coffee in the kitchen when Scooter ran to the studio door, barking as he went.

“I’ll get it,” he called to the group in the dining room.

Detective Morse followed him into the dining room and sat down; he returned to the kitchen to get her a mug of coffee.

“I figured it would be easier to come tell you in person,” she said.

“Did you catch her?” Harriet asked.

Jorge came in and set a dish of flan in front of Morse.

“Your coffee will be ready in a minute, but you can start with this.”

She looked up gratefully.

“The detectives in charge were busy getting their teams set up for tomorrow’s meeting with Jules. No one thought she’d bail, so they hadn’t warned dispatch…and you know the rest of that story.”

Harriet stood up and began to pace.

“Please tell me she’s in custody.”

Jorge carried in a steaming cup of coffee for Morse. She took the mug and sipped it, closing her eyes in appreciation.

“You’re killing me here,” Harriet hissed.

Morse opened her eyes.

“Sorry, it’s been a long night. And dinner wasn’t part of it. Yes, Michelle is in custody. She’s currently in Canada, but she’s being held and will be returned in the morning. This option was one she’d given some thought to. While she was making the crossing, she went into the bathroom, cut and colored her hair and came out dressed as a boy, complete with a forged passport that included a picture that matched her new look.”

“Wow,” Mavis said. “She
must
have planned that more than a day or two ahead.”

Jorge appeared with a plate containing a burrito and a scoop of fruit salad.

“You need to eat.” he said and set the plate in front of Morse.

Morse ate a bite before continuing her story.

“Michelle managed to get off the ferry and walk to the car rental place, which is about ten minutes away on foot. She tried to rent the car with cash, and that made the customer rep suspicious. He wanted to call a supervisor, so Michelle offered to use a credit card. She pulled out one of Aiden’s—apparently, he has one he leaves at home in case Carla needs to pay for something big. She figured out where he kept it and took it with her.

“The rep found the whole interaction a bit too suspicious, so she stalled and went into a back room and called the police. Then she dragged out the process of checking out the car until the police got there and were able to arrest Michelle without incident.”

Harriet sat back down.

“What a relief. I was afraid she’d figure we were on to her and come back here.”

Aunt Beth waited until Morse had eaten another few bites of her dinner.

“Did it turn out Michelle did try to poison Jules?”

Morse’s mouth twitched as she tried to suppress a smile.

“It would seem Jules does owe you his life. Once again, everyone had underestimated Michelle. She was supposed to negotiate with him and then, when she brought him the money the next day, they were going to arrest her in the act. They would confront her with the taped agreement that she’d done something that required payment to keep silent, and she would confess.

“No one expected her to poison him, and they certainly didn’t expect her to run. Our psychologist says she’s a narcissist, and that narcissists believe they are smarter than everyone else. Running didn’t figure into her profile.”

“We really were there by chance,” Lauren said. “We’ve been promising our visitors a visit to Annie’s for cinnamon twists, and it never occurred to us the meeting between Michelle and Jules would take place there.”

“Michelle suggested it,” Morse said. “I guess she likes the cinnamon twists, too.”

Harriet ran her hands through her hair and sighed.

“I think I know why she tried to kill Jules, and why she ran.”

“Why?” Mavis and Beth said at the same time.

“She can’t put her hands on any cash to speak of. That’s why she’s always tormenting Aiden. Their parents set Michelle’s portion of the inheritance as an annuity that’s controlled by a banker. She gets periodic disbursements for spending, but her ex-husband pays for the kids’ expenses as they come up, and the bank pays for Michelle’s rent and therapy appointments.

“Now that she can’t practice law, her personal income is minimal. She gets a little from legal aid, but she spent more than she made when she had a big income. Her legal aid money wouldn’t even cover her spa bills. I hadn’t thought about it before, but she just didn’t have the money to make the payoff.”

Morse chewed thoughtfully.

“I guess with her coming from such a prominent family, no one considered she wouldn’t have access to cash.”

“When will Aiden get out?” Harriet asked.

“I’d like to say tonight, but unfortunately, the detectives on the case are still in Canada questioning Michelle, and anyway, the people who need to process him out work day shift. He’ll be out as soon as they get the paperwork to the jail. I’ll follow up and make sure it happens as quickly as possible.”

“I’d like to pick him up. He doesn’t have his car.” Harriet thought for a moment. “Do you know where his car is?”

Morse put her fork down.

“Michelle left it in the parking lot at the ferry landing in Port Angeles. She wiped it down for fingerprints and left the keys under the mat. She obviously put much thought into her plans and had lots of options.”

“I wonder if she wasn’t planning to head out of the country all along,” Beth said. “She had contacts in France from her parents, and she’d clearly been prepping her kids, what with the French nanny and the French tutor. They speak French like natives. So does she.”

“You’re probably right,” Morse told her.

“She needed to wait to get control of Aiden’s money,” Harriet said, continuing the thought. “That’s why she didn’t just kill him. If he was in jail, he’d have handed over the keys to the castle. She’s been working on him. She’s made all her counseling appointments and has been polite to both Carla and me. We were starting to believe her.”

Aunt Beth sipped her coffee.

“Makes sense. Aiden has the money from his grandma as well as his share of his parents’ estate. She could go to France or Belgium or Luxembourg or any other French-speaking nation and start with a clean slate. Being sanctioned by the bar association must really bother someone like her.”

Mavis sighed. “That girl never could figure things out. She’s bright and good-looking. She has two beautiful children. She had all the advantages, but it was never enough for her. She always wanted more, and she didn’t want to have to work to get it.”

Jorge picked up Morse’s empty plates and carried them to the kitchen. When he returned, he stood behind Aunt Beth, his hands on her shoulders.

“We aren’t going to be able to understand Michelle or what she did if we talk all night. Harriet is safe, so maybe we should let her get some sleep so she can go pick up her young man in the morning.”

“Good idea,” Lauren agreed. “I have a teleconference with a client first thing tomorrow myself.”

She and Jessica went back to the studio to gather their quilting supplies. Mavis and Beth followed when they’d cleared the rest of the table.

Morse stood up.

“I’ll make some calls. I think we can get Aiden out as soon as the day crew gets to the jail. If you were to be there at eight tomorrow morning, I don’t think you’d have to wait long.”

“Thank you. I know this hasn’t made your situation at work any easier.”

“The younger guys on the force are fine. There are a couple of older guys that will never completely accept a woman detective, but I can’t spend my time worrying about them. I have to do what’s right, no matter,” She smiled, “Besides, they’re going to either retire or have heart attacks long before my career is over.”

“I’m glad you’ve got a good attitude about it.”

Morse patted her on the back.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” With that she went to the kitchen and on through the studio and out.

Chapter 31

Harriet was sitting in the jail’s reception area at seven-thirty. She checked the time, the weather and the news on her phone. The story about Michelle hadn’t hit the news yet, but that wasn’t unusual, given how far away from Seattle Foggy Point was.

It was five minutes after eight when the receptionist smiled at her.

“I hear the locks,” she said.

“Do I look okay?” Harriet asked her nervously.

“He’s going to think you look just fine.”

Moments later, Aiden came through the last door. Harriet hesitated a moment. He looked terrible. The bruises around his eye were changing color. His chiseled face looked skeletal. He was wearing the clothes he’d worn to their dinner a week ago. She felt tears sting her eyes.

He stopped and waited for her to come to him. She paused a moment more, and then he opened his arms slightly, and she closed the distance and wrapped her arms around him. He pulled her to his chest and rested his chin on her head, his arms tight around her.

“I’ve missed you,” he groaned.

Harriet looked up at him.

“Me, too.”

She caught sight of the receptionist out of the corner of her eye. The woman was standing by her desk, her hands clasped over her heart. She was smiling at them.

“Can we get out of here?” she said, suddenly self-conscious.

Aiden sighed. “I know this isn’t very romantic, but could we go to the Pancake House before we do anything else? All of a sudden, I’m starving.”

There was no restaurant called The Pancake House in Foggy Point. If someone used the name, they were talking about a restaurant called Seabirds. It was located on Pirate’s Cove, at the marina.

Jessica was sitting at a booth when they walked in.

“Hi,” she called to them and waved. “Join me if you want, but I totally understand if you want to be alone.”

They looked around the restaurant. The other tables were full.

“I can put our name on the list if you want privacy,” Harriet told him.

He shook his head.

“No offense, but I need good food more than privacy right now.”

Jessica smiled and spread her arms.

“I’m happy to have you join me. I’m Jessica, by the way. I’m staying with Lauren. I was here for the crazy quilt retreat, and Lauren invited me to stay a few more days. She’s having a teleconference this morning, so I took myself to breakfast. I’m sorry, I’m talking too much.”

Aiden smiled. “Not at all. I’m happy to hear a female voice, to tell the truth.” He stretched his arms out. “I need to eat, and then I need to sleep for about a month.”

The waitress took their orders, raising her eyebrows as Aiden ordered two people’s worth of food.

“Tell me about your workshop while I eat,” he said as the waitress brought drinks and then their food.

Jessica looked at Harriet and raised her left eyebrow, watching to be sure Aiden didn’t notice.

“I’m going to go powder my nose,” she said. “Can you show me where it is? I have a terrible sense of direction. Without a guide, I might never get back.”

Harriet followed her to the ladies room. Jessica whirled around as soon as the door was shut.

“Has he mentioned his sister?”

“No, it hasn’t come up. He’s just been going on about how hungry he is, and how much he appreciates the blue sky and grass and stuff like that.”

“Something’s not right. I mean, he should be more upset about his sister killing two people just to get her hands on his money.”

“You’re right. I expected him to be…I don’t know what, but not this. He’s Mister Merry Sunshine.”

“Do you suppose no one’s told him why he’s free?” Jessica wondered.

“It’s starting to look that way. You know, I think I’ll call Jorge. I don’t know if Lauren told you Aiden’s history, but his dad died when he was young, and Jorge took over as father figure. Jorge’s son Julio is Aiden’s best friend.”

She called Jorge, who was at his restaurant, and explained the situation. He told her what he thought, and she hung up.

“He says bring him to the restaurant. He agrees he needs to be there when he finds out.”

“That sounds better than telling him over his first good meal in a week.”

They returned to the table as the waitress was delivering Aiden’s second breakfast. He’d eaten eggs and bacon in the first round and was chowing down on pumpkin pancakes with caramel syrup when they returned.

Harriet’s French toast was cold, but she wouldn’t have tasted it if it had been perfect.

“Jorge called while I was in the bathroom, and he insists we stop by the restaurant on our way home.”

Aiden groaned. “I just want to go home and take a shower before falling into bed, but I get he wants to see me with his own eyes.”

“Exactly,” she said.

“
Mi’jo
, it is so good to see you,” Jorge said and clapped Aiden on the back before pulling him into a bear hug. “You are a sight for sore eyes.”

“I’m happy to be out of there. I hope I never have to see the inside of a jail again.” Aiden told him.

“So, what happened?” Jorge asked. Harriet stood back and let him handle the situation. “Did the detectives say why they let you go?”