Knit to Be Tied (15 page)

“Progress. Well, that new building is turning out really well so far. Especially with the rooftop café right next to the original streets of Old Town. Boy, if that café had been open
and full of people, you'd have a whole bunch of witnesses. And all those side streets would be lined with parked cars, which means people would be out in the streets walking to their cars.”

“You're right. But right now, it's still a construction area and not many people are walking the streets at night.”

“When do you think Dan and the department will question Reggie?”

“Pretty soon, I would think. After all, Reggie is the second lead they've gotten on the case. Felix Marsted being the first. I know Dan, and he will definitely follow up
soon.”

Kelly
was headed down the corridor leading from Pete's Café into the Lambspun shop when a small tornado whirled around the corner.
Cassie
. Kelly quickly leaped to the side to avoid a collision. “Whoa! I didn't know a cyclone was in the shop.”

“Ooooops! Sorry, Kelly. Didn't mean to run you over,” Cassie said with a short laugh. “One of my friends from the team. You know, Carla. She's having a bunch of us from the team over to her house for a sleepover. But first her mom is going to take us all to the mall to a movie! Then we're going to check out that new sports store.”

Kelly heard the excitement in Cassie's voice. “Wow, Carla's mom is one brave woman. It's hard enough to handle all you guys on the field. No way would I try to take all of you to the mall. It would be like herding cats.”

Cassie laughed out loud. “Oh, that is funny! I gotta tell them you said that. Coach Flynn thinks we're a herd of cats.”

Kelly continued walking down the corridor into Lambspun shop. “No way are cats a herd. They're too independent. One is hanging on to a tree limb, another is hiding beneath a bush waiting to jump out at you, and another one would be sleeping in the sun on the porch. That's you guys.” She stepped into the central yarn room, Cassie beside her.

“Love it. I'll tell them. Are you going to see Greg at the rehab center tonight?”

“Yeah, we all thought we'd meet for an early taco and burrito dinner at that new Mexican café off Jefferson near Old Town. Then we can all go to see Greg. We'll have to go into his room in shifts, but that's okay. Have you been to see him again?”

Cassie nodded. “Lisa took me over this morning. Just the two of us. Greg's still got purple splotches all over, but they're starting to fade a little, I think. I wasn't up close to him before, but Eric and I got a good look from the doorway when he was first in the hospital.”

“Bruising takes a long time to go away entirely,” Kelly said. “You can tell how deep those bruises were from the color. Deep purple is a pretty bad bruise.”

“You know, you were right. Greg wanted to hear how my games were going. He halfway smiled, I think.” Cassie started to head back toward the corridor. “Gotta run. Carla and her mom are going to meet me outside in the patio garden near the parking lot.”

“School starts in a couple of days. You're excited, I can tell,” Kelly said. “You'll all be high school freshmen.”

“Oh, yeah.” Cassie bounced a little from side to side. “High school at last! Yay!”

Kelly laughed softly, watching Cassie's excitement. “Lots of new people to meet, and new friends to make. It'll be exciting for sure.”

“You bet. See you later, Kelly,” Cassie said then headed down the corridor once again.

Kelly strolled through the yarn room on the way to the knitting table. Stroking an especially luscious shade of deep turquoise blue yarn, she noticed a bright shamrock green skein of the same wool. To the left of that was a bin brimming over with skeins of burnt orange. Admiring how the Lambspun elves had started incorporating fall colors into the remaining bins and shelves of summer bright yarns, Kelly meandered through the room, sipping coffee and stroking yarns.

“Oh, good. I was hoping I'd find you here, Kelly,” Burt's voice sounded behind her.

“Sneaking up from behind, eh, Burt? You didn't make a sound. Are you wearing sneakers or something?” Kelly teased as she continued toward the knitting table. Dumping her briefcase, she pulled out a chair.

“I guess I'm getting sneakier in my older years,” Burt said with a big smile.

“Now, now. None of that talk about getting older,” Kelly scolded, wagging a finger at her mentor. “You and Mimi are ageless.”

Burt gave a little snort. “Ha! Nobody's ageless, Kelly. Age cometh to all men in time.”

“Are you quoting the classics or the Gospel according to Burt?” Kelly teased, leaning back in her chair.

Burt laughed out loud. “Gospel, huh? I'll have to tell Mimi. That's a good one.”

Kelly simply saluted Burt with her coffee mug then took a big drink. “How's Dan doing on that investigation?”

“That's what I wanted to tell you. I heard from Dan this morning, and he said he was able to question Geraldine's cousin's son yesterday evening regarding Neil Smith. And it sounds like Reggie didn't do well at all. Dan said he was really nervous and jumpy and squirmed around in his chair.”

“That doesn't look good.”

“You're right, Sherlock. And as of right now, he still has no alibi. Reggie claims he was at a party that night, but he couldn't remember anybody's name who was there. Naturally, he's going to attract Dan's and the other detectives' attention.”

“That's for sure. Does Reggie even remember where the party was that night?”

“He sure does, and that doesn't help him at all. It turns out the party was at Linden's Bar and Grill right there in Old Town. Only a couple of blocks from the Halftime Bar, where Neil Smith liked to hang out.”

“Oh, brother,” Kelly said with a crooked smile. “It looks like Reggie will move front and center on Detective Dan's radar screen.”

“For right now,” Burt said, cocking his head to the side. “But that might change. If Reggie happens to remember someone who was at the party with him
and
gets that person to give a statement to police, then bam! Reggie's got an alibi. And we are back to square one. Unknown hit-and-run driver.”

Kelly frowned. “And there's been no sign of a car with that kind of front end damage. It would certainly be noticeable because the driver ran down Neil Smith
then
hit Greg on the bicycle. That's a lot of damage.”

“I agree with Dan, Kelly. The driver has that car locked away in a garage somewhere. It may never see the light of day again.”

“You mean the driver would just let it sit there and rot?”

“If it means the difference between going to prison and being a free man, you bet. That's an easy choice for some folks.”

Kelly nodded. “Yeah, I think you're right, Burt. Fort Connor may never see that car again.”

•   •   •

“Whoa,
you
are
looking better,” Steve observed as he and Kelly walked into Greg's room at the rehab center. “That sure is an improvement.”

“The bruises are slowly getting less purple,” Lisa said as she sat beside Greg's bed where he lay at an incline. Left arm wrapped from armpit to wrist in a combination cast. His left leg hung suspended from a metal stand on the other side of the bed. A thick cast encased Greg's leg from the top of his thigh down to his foot.

“Looking good, Greg,” Kelly said. “Definitely looking good.”

“Getting pretty?” Greg joked in a voice that sounded a little less hoarse.

Greg was starting to make jokes again. That was a very good sign. “We won't go that far,” Kelly said with a laugh. “Ruggedly handsome is more like it.”

“You were pretty scary looking for a while,” Steve said.

“He's definitely looking better. I've been watching those bruises fade a little every day,” Lisa added.

Greg pointed to Lisa with the thumb of his good hand. “My therapist. She doesn't let me get away with anything.”

Kelly laughed. “Well, if you're causing trouble now while you're lying in bed with one leg hanging in the air, I don't even want to know what will happen when you get that scooter chair you're thinking about.”

Steve and Lisa both laughed with Kelly. She could tell Greg was trying to laugh, but all he managed was a low chuckle.

“Megan and Marty were here before you guys,” Lisa said. “Marty keeps bringing books for Greg to read.” She pointed to a stack of five books sitting on the bedside table. “Mostly history. But with the pain pills, Greg falls asleep pretty quick.” Lisa laughed and rubbed Greg's good arm. “But he'll have more time to read as he gets better. Plus, he won't be on those pain pills for much longer.”

“When do you think they'll let you come home, buddy?” Steve asked as he peered down at Greg.

“Don't know,” Greg said. “Doc won't say.”

Lisa looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, yes, he did. The orthopedist Dr. Madan told Greg that he would be doing at least six weeks in rehab. There's a
lot
of work to do.”

“Slavedriver,” Greg said with a crooked smile.

Kelly recognized Lisa's schoolmarm voice. “She's a physical therapist, Greg, so just go along with it. The docs and the PTs know best. I had to rehab my broken ankle for six weeks before it was totally back to new. And, you've got . . .”
She made a sweeping motion with her hand. “You've got
way
more injuries than I had. Way more serious ones, too.”

“At least this didn't happen until we'd played the league finals,” Steve said with a smile. “You hit in a lot of runs for the team.”

“Jennifer and Pete brought Cassie and Eric the other day,” Lisa said. “They were telling Greg all about their league's final games, too.”

“They both played really well,” Kelly said. “Eric even hit some home runs. And Cassie was knocking out double plays regularly.”

“Yeah, both of them put in a lot of time with the ball machine and batting practice. It really shows,” Steve added.

“That's great,” Greg said with a smile.

Greg's smile was getting closer to normal, Kelly noticed. “Who else has been in to see you here in rehab? Other than all of us, that is. You know, the gang.”

“The cops came,” Greg said.

“What?” Steve gave a short laugh. “Don't tell me they're giving you a ticket.”

“No, no,” Lisa replied instead. “A detective came to ask Greg if he remembered seeing anyone on the street that night. Anyone walking to a car or something. Or, did he see anyone driving a car when he left the bar.”

Kelly immediately focused on Greg, watching him. “I bet that was Burt's former partner, Detective Dan. Burt said Dan was investigating this hit-and-run.”

“I would not want to be that driver,” Steve said.

“I'd like to get my hands on him,” Greg growled. “In a few weeks, that is.”

“I think the cops are going to get their hands on him first,” Kelly said. “And he's in for way more trouble than hitting Greg. It turns out there was another hit-and-run that night.”

“
What!
” Steve exclaimed. Greg simply screwed up his face.

“Yes. Right down that same street, they found a guy lying there, dead. Burt says Dan and the cops think the driver hit and killed that guy first, then maybe panicked and ran into Greg as he drove around the corner. The victim's name was Neil Smith.”

“How do you know all this?” Steve asked, clearly surprised.

“Because a grad student I know at Lambspun was dating that guy, Smith,” Lisa said.

“Was he a student at the university, too?” Steve asked.

“It appears so,” Kelly said. “Both Lisa and I heard all about Nancy's problems with this guy. It appears this Neil Smith was a real scumbag. And some Lambspun regulars told me that a year ago he used a date rape drug on another girl. He got in trouble with that girl's brother, too.” She deliberately did not share any more details of the many relationships of Neil Smith.

“What a bastard,” Steve said with a scowl.

“Maybe someone got even with that guy, Smith,” Greg said.

“Wouldn't be surprised,” Steve commented.

Once again, Kelly decided to deflect her friends' attention from Neil Smith. “So, the cops have been to see you, and we've come to see you, Greg. Who else has come to visit?”

“Let's see,” Lisa said. “Mimi and Burt, of course. Curt and Jayleen came. And all of the people from Greg's office. All the IT folks plus students.”

“And the Pack,” Greg spoke up. “The guys from my cycling group. All the riders.”

“Some of them looked pretty shaken after they saw how bad Greg's injuries were.” Lisa rubbed Greg's arm again. “I'm sure they were all thinking it easily could have been them. They're all riding around in the dark, too.”

“Fort Connor's grown a lot over the years,” Steve observed. “There are a lot more cars on the road and a helluva lot more drivers. The good, the bad, and the dangerous.”

Kelly nodded. “You're right about that. Every weekend night in Old Town we see cyclists late at night. Years ago with less people driving around, it was safer. But now . . . it's like Steve said.”

“Well, Greg knows I'll slash all his bike tires if he tries to ride at night again. No more. I'd chew my fingernails to the bone, worrying.”

“See there, Greg. No more night riding. You don't want Lisa to have all those scraggly nails, do you?” Kelly teased, then decided to change from that worrisome subject. “By the way, Greg, exactly where in Old Town was that party you went to that night?”

“It was at the Halftime Bar, over on Taylor Street.” Then Greg glanced up at Kelly. “You sleuthing?”

Kelly didn't say a word, but she gave him a big grin. Lisa rolled her eyes, while Steve shook his head and laughed. Greg simply chuckled softly.

•   •   •

“Hey,
Kelly,” a deep male voice called through the empty café patio garden.

Kelly snapped out of her focused concentration. “Hi there, Curt,” she said, recognizing Curt Stackhouse's voice. “What brings you here this morning?”

Colorado rancher and Kelly's all-around business advisor, Curt strode through the patio to her table. “Buying supplies, that's all. So I thought I'd check on Greg while I'm here. When did you see him last?”

“Last night, and he's looking better. Of course, he's still covered in bruises and bandages, but he's able to talk. And laugh, which is good.”