Skein of the Crime (31 page)

She stepped over to the dresser and opened the second drawer, even though she knew what she would see. Nothing. It was empty. Steve’s clothes were gone. She checked the other drawers, robot-like, but they were empty, too. Scanning the room, Kelly saw where Steve had taken his mementos he’d had sitting on the dresser top. All gone.

Kelly wandered back to the living room and looked around again. Now she knew what had looked different when she first arrived. Books were missing from the bookshelves. Music players sitting on a shelf; stacks of CDs and DVDs . . . all gone. Steve had taken everything that was his . . . and left.

Her eye glimpsed a piece of white paper on the dining-room table. She recognized Steve’s handwriting and felt her stomach clench. Picking it up, she read:

Kelly stared at the note and the empty shelves and felt tears press behind her eyes. Old fears crept from the back of her mind—where she thought she’d buried them. They were still there, waiting to whisper in her ear.

Tears trickled down her cheeks, and she brushed them away with the back of her hand. Then the oldest fear of all slithered out of the bushes.

Suddenly the front door banged open. Kelly spun around and saw Jennifer standing in the doorway, a stricken look on her face.

“Oh, Kelly . . . Lisa and Megan told me. I’m . . . I’m so sorry,” Jennifer said as she approached, arms open. “I saw Steve drive away a few minutes ago.”

Tears poured out now as Kelly ran to Jennifer and threw herself into her friend’s embrace.

This scarf pattern was created by Kim Manning of Denver, Colorado, who chooses to describe herself as a “devoted reader.” Kim is much more than that. She’s a very talented knitter as well as a hardworking part-time bookseller at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Southwest Denver. Kim chose a soft acrylic yarn for this scarf because the soft texture allowed it to braid easily. She also mentioned she chose the available yarn called Caron Simply Soft Eco partly because 20% of it is made from recycled plastic bottles. She created a beautiful tricolor green scarf for me, and I love wearing it. Plus, it’s good for the environment!

 

 

 

Beginner

 

 

3 skeins of complementary colors (approximately 110 yards per skein)

US size 10½ needles
stitch holders or large safety pins

 

 

4 stitches per inch

 

 

Color A: Cast on 10 stitches. Knit every row until the scarf measures 60” or to desired length. Place on stitch holder or large safety pin.

Repeat for Colors B and C.

Braid the three knitted strips, adding stitches to the rows that need them to stay even. (Usually the middle row will need added stitches.) You’ll lose about five inches with the braiding.

When you’re satisfied with the lengths, bind off the ends. Tie the strips together about 1½ inches from the end, using yarn from all three colors. Repeat tie at the other end.
(Kim adds that she prefers a tight braid that actually resembles intarsia.)

Now you’re finished, and you have a lovely warm scarf. And it was simple, too.

I met Alex when I was visiting my daughter Christine, who lives in Fairfax, Virginia. Alex’s family and Christine’s family are great friends. I was fascinated by Alex’s descriptions of his recipes and “his restaurant.” I have no doubt that Alex will create that restaurant one day. Once I heard about his carrot cake, I knew I had to include it in a Kelly Flynn mystery. Meanwhile, here’s Alex in his own words:

“Alex Hazard is an eight-year-old junior chef. He has been cooking up the idea of owning a restaurant since he was three, when his brother had a painting of Monet’s entered into an art show. Alex named his imaginary restaurant Monet’s Garden. He is always adding new recipes to his menu, but the first recipe was for his Triple Layer Carrot Cake with coconut icing. He started cooking in his mind and, just last year, he had some cooking lessons from a great chef in Middleburg, Virginia. Now he is bringing his ideas and recipes to the kitchen, and usually they make it to our table.”

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a Bundt cake pan.

Stir together the flour and baking soda. In a large, separate bowl, combine the carrots, drained pineapple, oil, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the flour mix to the carrot mixture and beat together on medium speed for two minutes. Fold in the nuts. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool ten minutes in the pan, then flip the cake out of the pan and finish cooling on rack. Slice the cake in thirds and ice between the layers and on top. Sprinkle the top with coconut.

 

 

Mix/beat until smooth.