dominated the room. A mismatched bookcase filled one wall, battered file cabinets the other.
'It's…” She paused searching for the right word. “Charming,” she finished.
His mouth curved into a wry smile.
'The low man on the totem pole gets the leftovers,” he said. “I have to pay my dues.” A few papers were scattered on the surface of the desk. He picked them up and looked at each one in turn. “I'll have to go up front. None of these are my schedule.'
He led the way down the hallway and through another door into the front office and reception area.
'Aiden,” called a high-pitched voice from the waiting room. “Over here.'
Harriet looked across the reception counter and saw Sarah Ness clutching a fabric-and-nylon-netting pet carrier containing a yowling cat. She was waving to Aiden.
He went to the counter. “Hi.'
'I brought Rachel in to have her sneezing looked at. You said you weren't going to be here, so I made an appointment for her with Dr. Romig, but I have to wait because they are fitting her in. Can you examine her instead?'
Aiden looked around for help.
'I haven't really started working yet,” he began, but was interrupted by Helen Martin, the veterinary technician who ran patient intake.
'Dr. Romig's schedule is stacked, and it would be doing us all a favor if you could look at the cat.” Her expression finished the thought.
Aiden looked at Harriet.
'I'll call Mama Theresa's,” she said and pulled out her cell phone.
'Here, use ours,” Helen offered and pushed a desk phone toward her. “Come on back here, and I'll get you a lab coat and an exam room,” she said to Aiden, and took him through another door into the bowels of the clinic.
'What are you doing here?” Sarah asked as soon as Harriet hung the phone up.
'Aiden's giving me a ride to Mama Theresa's to pick up pizza. Some of the Loose Threads are going through Avanell's stash today, and I'm on a food run.'
'Mavis left me a message, but I had a meeting.'
Harriet decided not to point out that she wasn't in a meeting now.
'You certainly seem to be getting cozy with Avanell's son,” Sarah said.
'He just gave me a ride to get pizza, that's all.'
'Oh, please. I saw the way you looked at him. Isn't he a little young?'
'I'm almost certain he's old enough to drive.'
Whatever Sarah was about to reply was cut off by Helen. She opened a door labeled Exam Two and called Rachel's name. Sarah went into the room with her cat bag and shut the door.
Helen gave Harriet a copy of
'That one's a piece of work,” she said and shook her head as she left for the front desk.
Aiden found Harriet fifteen minutes later.
'Let's get out of here before she comes up with something else.'
'What was wrong with her cat?'
'As near as I can tell, the only thing wrong with that cat is her owner.'
Harriet smiled. “So, what did you tell Sarah?'
'Oh, I told her to change to dust-free cat litter and to keep a journal of when her cat sneezes. She's to record all the environmental conditions every time Rachel makes a nasal noise. That ought to keep her busy for a while.'
'You're bad.'
They drove to Mama T's, picked up the pizza and returned to the house, limiting their conversation to a generic discussion of how much Foggy Point had changed since they'd each last lived there, avoiding any mention of Avanell or her finances.
The quilters worked another three hours after their pizza feast. They filled bags with the sorted fabric and agreed there was at least another days'-worth of work left.
'Can everyone come back tomorrow?” Mavis asked.
Connie said she could come after church. Harriet, Jenny, Mavis and DeAnn agreed to meet at nine. Robin's mother-in-law was coming for the day so she had to pass, but she said she'd track down Lauren and find out why she was a no-show. If possible, she'd line her up for the next day.
Mavis and Harriet got into the Town Car and headed down the hill.
'We made a fair amount of progress today,” Mavis said.
'Yeah, it makes me want to go home and do some stash-thinning.'
'I know what you mean, except I'm too tired to do anything but put my feet up and veg in front of the tube.'
'I hear you. Those stairs to the third floor were killer.'
'Not so killer you didn't go up there with Aiden more than once.'
Harriet's face turned pink. “Purely a coincidence.'
'I saw the way he looks at you with those big blue eyes of his. He's definitely smitten.'
'He's a child. Well, practically.'
'He's not that young. And you're not that old. And don't you try and tell me you haven't given it a thought.'
She felt her face transition from pink to flaming red. “So I can appreciate a good-looking guy. A too-young good-looking guy. I'm sure he sees me as a big sister.'
'Listen, missy, I raised five sons, and believe me-Aiden does not look at you like he does his sister.'
'Well, certainly not how he looks at his sister right now,” Harriet conceded. “I overheard them arguing when we were leaving, and she was pretty harsh.'
'They usually get along well enough. Avanell's death has got them both out of kilter.” She shook her head. “I can't say as I blame them for acting out a little. It must be an awful thing to have your momma murdered.'
'Did Avanell ever talk about her business?'
'Oh, she'd say something once in a while. If a new product made a big splash or sometimes if her employees were fighting she might ask the group their opinion when we sat around stitching.'
'Had she said anything lately?'
'No, she hadn't.” Mavis paused. “Something's been wrong for a while, though.'
'In what way?” Harriet asked.
'Nothing you could really put your finger on. Just small stuff. She wasn't buying fabric. I know-with a stash like we just saw she could have gone years without buying fabric, but until lately, she didn't. She usually bought pretty regular. And her car. She always said her car was her one vanity item. She bought a new Mercedes sedan every year. Except this year. This is the first year she skipped since George died.'
'Do you know why?'
'I assumed she must be having money problems, but she never did say.'
Harriet knew all about families who kept secrets.
Chapter Eighteen
Fred was pacing in the kitchen when Harriet entered from the studio.
'Did you eat all the food I left in your dish already?” She picked up his empty dish and poured a carefully measured half-cup of kibble into it. She glanced at the clock on the stove-it was ten after five. Pins and Needles stayed open until six on Saturday night.
She grabbed her purse from the chair by the door; the studio was in good enough shape she could afford to skip a night. A hand-piecing project would be just what the doctor ordered, and she'd seen a new cat print series that
