the bookstore. Before I knew it, people had started coming in and sitting down. While the author set up, I made a last-minutecheck of the book display, and mentally rehearsed what to say.
'Hi, folks,' I said into the microphone set up on the table. I went through my spiel introducing Daniel Cheeseboro.He was next to me, basking in the attention as I describedhis expertise in the personal-products area.
'Tonight I'm going to demonstrate making shower gel.' He held up a square plastic tub. 'You mix up a batch in here for a few bucks, which gives you enough to fill a ton of these babies.' He gestured toward the row of small bottles.'Then drop in a little glitter, stick on a bow and a big price tag, and there you go. All the details are in the book.'
He began pouring clear, slimy stuff into the tub. He talked too fast for anyone to get exactly what the mixture was, but he assured everybody that when they bought his book, they would find a full list of the ingredients. I always appreciated an author who was also a good salesperson.
'Fragrance is a key element. It is what will make your product memorable,' he said, showing off a set of small brown bottles. 'I make my own mixture of essential oils. Remember, a little bit goes a long way.' He explained that for the sake of time, he'd already blended the scents. That recipe, too, was included in the book. Daniel held up a glass bottle with an eyedropper in it. He squeezed the bulb until it filled halfway; then he started to carefully measure out a few drops. It was a waste of time, because as he turned towardthe tub, he lost hold of the bottle and it hit the side, flipped and went facedown into the slime. A moment later, a cloud of lavender mixed with eucalyptus along with somethingelse spread around the bookstore. I glanced at the peoplein the chairs and saw that they were starting to gag.
Before Daniel could finish apologizing, the place had emptied out. He seemed flummoxed and kept going in circles,talking to himself. I grabbed the tub and, breathing though my mouth, took it outside. On the way out, I got sloshed with some of the slime. The mouth-breathing didn't help much. While I avoided smelling it, I could still taste it. The only good thing was, there was no chance I'd be makingmore caramel corn. The taste was going to take a while to get out of my system.
'You smell funny,' my friend dinah said later that evening, wrinkling her nose. She leaned closer, took a bigger whiff and then stepped back. 'What is it? I recognize lavender, eucalyptus and something else.'
'Rose geranium,' I said. Daniel had filled me in on the last addition just before he carted the tub into the bushes and dumped it. I had done my best to air out the bookstore, then gone home when we closed. I had already showered and changed clothes, but the smell seemed to have dissolvedinto my skin.
Dinah had reluctantly left her computer to come over and help me with the crochet kit. It was a real sacrifice, becauseshe had been busy chatting online with a new potentialMr. Right. Dinah was divorced and anxious for a new companion. After striking out with all the in-person ways of meeting someone, she'd gone Internet with a vengeance. I explained Daniel's goof, and she opened a window and then turned on the fan. I pulled out the basket shaped like a suitcase and showed it to Dinah.
'Isn't that cute,' she said, opening it. She took out the plastic hook and yarn and finally the instructions.
'Did you hear anything more about Ellen?' she asked, and I mentioned Detective Heather's visit.
'You don't really think she believes you did it?' Dinah asked as she flattened out the rolled-up pamphlet.
'It seems too ridiculous. Me, a murderer?' I pointed to myself and shook my head. I told her about the Lawrence affair questions, and we both laughed. Dinah didn't find him any more appealing than I did.
'I bet she'd just love to tell Barry you were cheating on him,' Dinah said, and then her expression grew serious. 'But somebody did kill Ellen. Aren't you curious who it was?'
'Well, yeah, but I'm glad it's not my job to find out who. I don't want to think about it anymore. Let's crochet.'
Dinah nodded in agreement and began to read over the instructions. I figured anybody who could teach English to freshmen could help me figure out these directions. The first step was to make a slipknot. She read the instructions out loud, and I tried making one. I wanted to rename it a slippery knot because the yarn kept falling out of my grasp. Being nervous will do that to you. I finally got it and triumphantlywaved the hook and knot above my head.
Then she read the directions for making chain stitches. It sounded simple. I slid the hook under the yarn, made a loop and pulled it though the slipknot, and presto, I had made a chain stitch. I did it again and now there were two chain stitches. I kept going, and suddenly there was a trail of little circles of lime green yarn hanging off my hook.
When I had completed a bunch of chain stitches, Dinah told me to put the hook under both strands of the second-closeststitch to the hook, put the yarn over the hook and pull it through. Now there were two loops on the hook.
'What do I do?' I said nervously.
'Put the yarn over the hook again and pull it though both of the loops.'
'I did it,' I squealed.
'Congrats. You just made your first single crochet.'
I repeated the whole process and kept going until there was a single crochet in each chain. I was glad to see I had kept everything very loose. I had learned that much from watching Sheila. I made a chain and turned my work. Once again I began stabbing the hook under two strands of each of the stitches in the previous row. I looped the yarn over the hook and pulled it through, got two loops on the hook, yarned over and pulled the hook through both loops. It was starting to look like something.
'Hey, hey, time-out,' Dinah said, making a T with her hands. 'What about my turn?'
I reluctantly pulled out the stitches and gave up the blue plastic hook and the yarn. Dinah had been watching me and barely needed the directions. Pretty soon she had formed a little snake of circles and then made rows of singlecrochet just like I had.
'Okay, it looks like we both got the snake thing and singlecrochet down. Let's make something.'
After the basic directions on how to crochet, there were directions for making a little pouch. It was really just a long piece of crochet you folded over, sewed together and then put a button on the front of. We took turns doing the rows of stitches and managed to finish the whole thing.
'Wow,' I said, proudly holding up the tiny bag. 'We're as good as any ten-year-old.' Dinah glanced at her watch. I knew she wanted to get back to her online chat. She assuredme this guy had real promise--unless he wasn't telling the truth. When she left, I looked at our little creationwith amazement. I couldn't wait to join the crochet group.
'ARE YOU SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING?' Dinah asked. We were standing in the bookstore, looking toward the event area. The crochet group was gathered around the end of the table. There were still only four of them.
'They need us. There is no way they are going to make enough squares for that blanket without some help. They'll welcome us with open arms.'
'We only know how to single crochet, and we barely know that.' She still seemed troubled by the idea of our joining the group.
'We made the little pouch that came with the set. Before we folded it and stitched it together, it was almost a square. We'll just make single-crochet squares. They won't be as fancy as the other ones, but they can still fill in a lot of blank spots. It's the least we can do for Ellen.'
Dinah shook her head. 'But you didn't even like her.'
'Shush.' I glanced around to see if anyone had heard. There was only a man buying a magazine within earshot, and he didn't even seem to notice us. 'Okay, I didn't exactlylike her, but I respected her abilities.'
'Which abilities? Her ability to be rude to you? Her ability to push you out of Charlie's business?'
'She bought me out.'
Dinah snorted. 'I stand by pushed because you couldn't have said no.'
'Whatever. I have a personal interest in making sure they finish their project. Having groups meet in the bookstoreis supposed to help build our image. How good would it look if the charity crochet group didn't finish their project?'
Dinah obviously wasn't going to make the first move, so I did. Mumbling something about she wasn't sure it was the image she was after now that she was considering datingyounger men, she followed me anyway.
'Hi, ladies,' I said with a bright smile. They were crochetingsilently, and all glanced up from their work. Adele
