Quilt As You Go (29 page)

"One of my mom's,” Aiden replied, “One of the Mercedes sedans."

"You didn't give it to her, did you?” Robin pressed.

"I gave her permission to drive it, if that's what you're getting at,” Aiden said. A hard edge was creeping into his voice, but Robin didn't back down.

"Report it stolen,” she said.

"It's not stolen. I just told you, she has permission to use it while she's working for me."

"Report it stolen,” Robin insisted, this time holding out her cell phone.

The muscle in Aiden's jaw twitched as he clenched his teeth in an effort to control his anger.

Harriet put her hand on his arm.

"Aiden,” she said, “Listen to Robin. They won't look for Carla till she's missing for forty-eight hours, but if you report that your car has been stolen, they'll start looking for it right away. If we find the car, we'll either find Carla or we'll have a starting point."

He pulled his own phone out of his pocket and dialed the Foggy Point Police Department non-emergency phone number.

"They said they'll start looking immediately,” he said after he ended the call.

"I'll call Darcy,” Robin said, and started dialing.

By the time Robin clicked the end button, she'd extracted a promise from Darcy to make sure and let the patrol supervisor know this was no ordinary stolen car. Like many of the forensic lab people, Darcy had been a street cop before entering the specialized training that led to her current career, and she still maintained a close relationship with them.

"There must be something else we can do,” Aiden said.

"We can ask the Threads to drive the streets before the funeral, but I'm not sure how effective that would be, given that the police are going to be doing the same thing,” Harriet said.

"We should all go home and get some rest,” Aunt Beth said. “Let's let the police do their job and lets us concentrate on seeing what we can find out at the funeral. I'll stay here with Wendy tonight, and I'll get one of the ladies at church to watch her during the funeral."

"I'm not sitting around,” Lauren said.

"Now, honey,” Aunt Beth said. “I know you want to help, but..."

"I'm not going anywhere physically. I can get my computer friends on the search. Someone's bound to have access to real-time satellite pictures of Foggy Point. I'll need to know exactly what the car looks like, and the license plate number, too."

"Let me go find that,” Aiden said.

"Do you really think you can access satellites?” Harriet asked.

"I can't. I'm saying there's a good chance one of my cyber-friends can. It will take a little time, but we have a couple of heavy hitters in our group, and they're usually up for a challenge."

"Let's hope so,” Harriet said.

Aiden came back with the requested information, and the group agreed to meet before the funeral to review their assignments and exchange updates. DeAnn volunteered to call people, and with that everyone but Beth, Harriet and Aiden left.

Harriet took the plastic wrap off a plate of brownies Aunt Beth had brought. She took out three and put them on paper towels she pulled from the dispenser attached to the underside of the cabinet next to the sink. She handed the first one to Aunt Beth and another to Aiden and brought the last one back to her place at the table.

"I thought we needed some chocolate,” she said and sat down.

The trio ate in silence.

"I wish I could think of something else to do,” Harriet said when her brownie was gone; she began shredding her paper towel, pulling off little pieces and rolling them into balls she then lined up in a neat row.

"Me, too,” Aiden said, and leaned back in his chair. “I have to work in the morning, but I took time off to go to the funeral."

"Let's hope Carla's back by then,” Aunt Beth said. “In the meanwhile, you, young lady, need to go home and get some rest. And you, too,” she told Aiden. “I'm going to go check the baby.” She got up and crumpled her paper towel, dropping it in the kitchen wastebasket before going upstairs.

Harriet stood, and Aiden stood with her.

"Come here,” he said, and pulled her into his arms. She leaned against his chest, and he rested his chin on her head.

"I don't know what I'm going to do if something's happened to Carla,” he said.

Harriet willed her muscles not to tense.

"This house was just starting to feel like a home again. And I can't even think about what will happen to that baby upstairs."

"Let's not go there,” she said, and pushed back so she could look into his pale eyes. “We'll find her. Carla's tough. She's survived some pretty hard stuff already. She was the one who led us out of the burning building when we were locked in at quilt camp. She'll figure out a way to get back to her daughter."

"I should have protected her from Terry. You tried to tell me he was bad news."

"I don't think that's exactly what I said. Besides, Carla is a big girl. She can decide who she sees. And we don't know that Terry did anything. Let's not forget that
he
disappeared first."

"I hate this,” he said and pulled her back to him. He cupped her face in his hands and gently kissed her. “You better go. I don't want you to, but you need your rest."

Harriet knew he wouldn't sleep. She also knew that, short of finding Carla, nothing she could do or say would make a difference.

She was almost out the door when she remembered she hadn't driven.

"Let me tell Beth I'm leaving, and I'll take you home,” he said.

"How about you tell her I'll pick her up at ten, and I'll take her car."

"That's fine,” Beth said from the stairs. “I was just coming down for a second brownie."

She might fool Aiden, but Harriet knew her aunt was making sure she went home and got some rest. She took Beth's car keys from the kitchen counter and went out the door.

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Fred exhibited his
uncanny ability to wake Harriet before her alarm went off. If she didn't set her alarm, he had his own idea about when she should get up; but if it was on, he would start bothering her fifteen minutes before whatever time she set.

"Would you go away, please,” she said, and pushed him to the end of her bed. “I had just finally gotten to sleep."

It had been a restless night. She'd fallen asleep sometime after three. Fred didn't care. She pulled the sheet over her head, and he started pouncing, using just enough claw pressure to ensure she couldn't fall back to sleep.

"Okay, you win,” she said, and threw the covers back awkwardly with her good arm.

Gerald's funeral was scheduled to begin at eleven. She had two hours before she needed to pick up Beth. She went downstairs, fed Fred and poured herself a bowl of cereal. There were no signs of life from the Willis boys. She wasn't sure if they were still sleeping or had gone out for an early breakfast.

She picked up her cell phone and could see the telephone icon indicating she had a message. She set the phone on the counter and pressed the buttons to play the message on speaker phone.

"I had to pull in a few favors, but a couple of people are searching real-time satellite photos for Carla's car. Unless they get lucky, it's going to take some time.” The message ended as abruptly as it had started. If her associates came through, Harriet decided she could forgive Lauren's brusqueness.

"At least that's something, Fred,” she said. Fred lifted his fuzzy face from his dish of kibbles but didn't say anything.

She chose the black pants from her three-piece suit and a charcoal gray sleeveless blouse for her funeral outfit. After showering and dressing, she refilled Fred's bowl then went into her studio to check her stitching schedule to be sure she wasn't expecting anyone to drop off a project while she was at the church. Her next quilt wouldn't be coming until Monday, which was a relief.

Juggling a purse when one arm was strapped to your side was harder than it looked. She pulled her license, debit card, car keys and cell phone from hers and put them in her pants pockets. In a last-minute move, she picked up the black mystery square and slid it into her back pants pocket. Aunt Beth would probably chide her for the bulges, but it couldn't be helped. She took a last look around the kitchen and headed to Aiden's house.

Aunt Beth had a cup of tea steeping for her when she walked into the kitchen. “I heard you coming up the drive,” she explained. “Aiden paced all night while Wendy slept like a log. Poor little thing,” she added, and looked at the little girl, who was chasing Cheerios around the tray on her high chair. “She has no idea what's going on."

Beth was wearing black jersey pants and a black tone-on-tone blouse. Wendy was dressed in a pink sundress. Beth wet a washcloth at the sink and wiped the child's face and hands.

"I think we're about ready to go,” she said. She looked out the window at the driveway. “Oh, good thinking—you brought your own car. It will be easier to put the carseat in yours."

Harriet hadn't thought about it at all. It just never occurred to her to drive her aunt's car again. Beth was right, though. The seat was difficult to install in the middle row of seats in Harriet's Honda SUV. It would have been impossible in the tiny back seat of the Beetle.

The carseat finally settled in, and Aunt Beth lifted Wendy into it, carefully buckling the maze of straps.

"Gosh, you just about need a trade school degree to operate one of those things,” Harriet commented.

"Tell me about it,” she said. When you were small your carseat was little more than a booster seat and a lap belt."

They carefully avoided mentioning Carla, or their concerns for her whereabouts while her daughter was in the car, even if she was too young to understand.

Connie and Robin were waiting on the steps to the Methodist Church when Harriet guided her car into the parking lot.

"DeAnn's inside finding us an empty room,” Robin said as they approached.

"I'm going to take the little one here to the kitchen to meet up with her minder,” Beth said. “I'll meet you back here."

"Have you heard anything?” Harriet asked Lauren, when she, too, joined the group.

"Thanks for broadcasting,” Lauren said. “I'm sure my friend at NOAA will appreciate everyone knowing what she's doing for us.” She was dressed in black twill pants and a silk khaki tank top. A black-and-tan silk scarf was draped artfully around her neck and onto her shoulders.

"Sorry,” Harriet replied. “But have you heard anything?"

"Don't you think I'd say something if I'd heard any news?” Lauren turned her back on Harriet.

"I was just asking,” she said as Lauren retreated.

"Okay, we can meet in the preschool classroom,” DeAnn announced a few minutes later. Aunt Beth had returned, and Jenny and Sarah arrived.

"Mavis is with her sons and their families,” Connie said. “Do I need to go get her?"

"No,” Harriet said. “I just wanted to review our assignments and talk a little about Carla. Mavis doesn't need to be here for that."

The women squatted awkwardly on the tiny preschool chairs, and one-by-one, they told the group what they would be doing during the funeral. Robin and DeAnn would mingle with the employees of Foggy Point Fire Protection. Robin had done some legal work for the company before she'd gone into semi-retirement. DeAnn rented movies to most of them on a weekly basis, so she, too, would fit in.

Harry had agreed to introduce Harriet to his friend Nick's dad. Pete was likely to be putty in Connie's hands, and Aunt Beth would be there for reinforcement if needed. Jenny had spent time with Ilsa when the flowers arrived, and they had bonded over their mutual love of gardening. Lauren would be watching for Terry, but more important, she would keep her cell phone on silent and let everyone know when she heard anything about Carla's car. In a stroke of genius, Aunt Beth absolved Sarah of any responsibility because of her role as vocalist in the funeral ceremony.

With their assignments clear, the group struggled to their feet and went to lay the groundwork with their subjects.

People were taking their seats when Harriet and Aunt Beth entered the sanctuary and sat down behind Mavis, who was surrounded by Ben and Harry and the rest of her family. Harriet glanced at her watch and realized an hour had passed.

Pastor Hafer outdid himself. He wove the service seamlessly between Gerald's past and present families. He encouraged all the people left behind to embrace each other and make peace with the fact they might never know what caused Gerald/Gerard to live his life as he had. Once again, Sarah sang, and once again Harriet marveled how such an annoying person could have such a beautiful voice. Carlton had insisted on doing a eulogy, and Pastor Hafer managed to keep him from rambling on unduly.

Gerald's Dutch family might be able to make peace with not knowing what had happened before they met him, but Mavis wouldn't rest until she understood what had happened and neither would Harriet.

Pastor Hafer explained that family only would be attending a brief graveside ceremony in the cemetery behind the church. He encouraged the assembled mourners to gather in the Fellowship Hall for a light repast and assured them the family would join them shortly.

"Showtime,” Aunt Beth said in a quiet voice. She nodded toward Robin and DeAnn, who were already out of their pews and talking earnestly with Foggy Point Fire Protection employees. “I'll be finding Connie so we can corner Pete as soon as they get back to the Fellowship Hall."

"I'll come with you,” Harriet said. “Harry is supposed to introduce me to Nick's dad."

The crowd worked its way from the sanctuary to the fellowship hall, most of the females stopping at the bathrooms and a number of the males sneaking out to the parking lot for smoke breaks. The United Methodist Women had prepared a spread of sandwiches, salads, cookies, juice and coffee and tea, and when Harriet entered, people were clustered around the food tables.

She spotted Lauren partially concealed by a potted tree, tapping the buttons on her cell phone. Robin and DeAnn were mingling, and the rest of the Threads were lying in wait for the family, who were visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows on one side of the room.