Harriet. I passed the ambulance on my way up the hill. I'm sure your buddies told you what I did after I got to the house.'
Officer Nguyen shut his notebook. “They did,” he said. “I'm sure we'll have more questions for you later, but this is enough for now.” He turned back to Harriet. “We'll have patrol cars swing by your house a couple of times a night, but I strongly recommend that you continue to stay with Ms Willis until we catch the guy that did this to you.'
'Okay, everybody out,” a square-shouldered doctor with a thin sandy-colored ponytail said from the door. “How are you feeling this morning, young lady?'
Harriet tried to smile. “Better than when I came in.'
'You were lucky your friend found you so quickly. Ether is nasty stuff. It's pretty easy to overdo it. And they apparently left you facedown. You weren't breathing too well when we got you. Luckily, it wears off with time, and we gave you a few things to help the process. You should have no lasting effects. You were fortunate you didn't hit the bump on your head again.
'You did pop a stitch, though, which probably happened when they were putting the oxygen mask on you. I'd like to go ahead and do a little repair on that, and then I think we can let you out of here.'
A nurse came in, and the doctor did a more thorough check of her vital signs then repaired the wound on the back of her head.
He left, and Mavis came in, alone. Apparently, Aiden had gone without a backward glance.
'Oh, honey,” Mavis said. “I knew I shouldn't have let you go to your house alone.'
'It's not your fault. I'm a big girl. Besides, it makes no sense that someone would come and drug me. How could you have anticipated that?'
'My mama radar was working overtime. I knew you shouldn't go there, and I went ahead and let you go alone. Your aunt Beth is gonna kill me.'
'It's done and I'm fine, so how about we work on getting me out of here?'
Mavis held out a paper bag. “The police took your clothes as evidence. The nurse said I should bring you an outfit, or they would be sending you home in scrubs.'
Harriet took the bag. She pulled out a new pair of jeans, a pink T-shirt and a purple sweatshirt. She could see packages of new socks and underwear in the bottom of the bag.
'What's this?” she asked.
'I wasn't about to go back to your house alone. I took a run to the Wal-Mart. You needed more clothes anyway.'
Harriet appreciated the effort, but she vowed to go shopping somewhere else as soon as she was able. Her old clothes may have been loose and black, but they were designer label loose and black.
'You didn't need to go to so much trouble, but thank you.'
She eased herself to the edge of the bed and stood up. She'd been to the bathroom with the nurse earlier and had learned after a few missteps that moving slow was the key. She slowly changed out of the hospital gown and, with a little help from Mavis, got dressed.
'Doctor wants to see you in a week,” the nurse said when she came with the requisite wheelchair. “And you need to take it easy for a few days. Try not to come in through the back door again,” she said with a smile.
Mavis was waiting in the Town Car when the young Hispanic attendant wheeled Harriet out.
'Nice ride,” he said with a smile that flashed a gold tooth.
'Yeah, isn't it?'
The young man set the brake and held Harriet's arm as she got out of the chair and into the car.
'Thanks,” she said and waved as they drove off. She lowered her window when they were underway. The air was heavy with the salty smell of open water, and she breathed deep. The moist air made her feel stronger.
'I'm taking you right home,” Mavis said.
'I need to go to Aunt Beth's.'
'No way. We're going home and only home.'
'I have to get Fred. I can't just leave him. Aiden locked him in the kitchen. He's probably scared. It'll be fine. There are two of us, and the police are driving by often in case anyone comes back.'
'We just get the cat, and then we go home,” Mavis insisted.
Harriet didn't argue. She had every intention of looking around her studio-there had to be more to the break-in. Whatever someone wanted, they wanted it bad enough to come back twice. And they weren't afraid to hurt her to get it.
She didn't want it to be Aiden, but once again he was Johnny on the spot when she was hurt. And he had no alibi for the time before she was found.
Mavis pulled up the hill and into the circular driveway.
'In and out,” she ordered. “And we stick together.'
They got out of the car, and Mavis pulled a key from her purse and unlocked the door. It swung open, and she stood frozen on the threshold.
'Will you look at that?” she said and pointed.
A fluffy pile of shredded batting and slivers of multicolored cotton fabric sat on the floor by the cutting table. The predominant fabric color was red.
'What is-or, rather, was-it?'
Harriet stepped around her and knelt down by the heap. She picked up a handful and ran it through her fingers. She repeated the action twice more.
'I think it used to be Lauren's quilt.'
Chapter Twenty-seven
Harriet grabbed Fred and his travel cage, his dishes and his bag of food. Mavis all but walked in the heels of her shoes, which made the task take twice as long as it might have.
They were back at the cottage before they dared speak about what they'd seen.
'Lauren is going to have kittens when she hears the news,” Mavis said. “In fact, I don't think you should tell her in person.'
'I have to tell her. Her quilt was in my possession when it got ruined.'
'But when it was damaged in the first place, you weren't there. In fact, if we hadn't arrived at the show when we did, it probably would have been destroyed on Monday.'
'I just don't get it. What could anyone gain by destroying Lauren's quilt?'
'The real question is who would be willing to kill you to destroy Lauren's quilt?'
The kettle Mavis had put on to heat whistled, and she got up and poured hot water into their waiting mugs. She set the mugs on the table and was putting homemade gingersnaps on a plate when the phone rang. She handed the cookies to Harriet and searched for the cordless phone. She found it on the table beside her chair in the living room and answered just as the caller hung up.
'Dial star-six-nine,” Harriet suggested.
She did, and Harriet could hear the phone on the other end ringing.
'Hello?'
Mavis listened, said a few uh-huh's and finished with “We'll be there.'
'Aren't you just the clever girl,” she said to Harriet when she keyed the phone off and returned it to its base. “That was Jenny. She said the Loose Threads want to meet tomorrow to deal with the project bags from Avanell's. What she didn't say is that they all want a first-hand account of what happened to you. I hope it's okay that I said you'd come.'
'If we're going to be joined at the hip, I guess I don't have a choice,” Harriet said. She realized she sounded like a petulant teenager, but she was tired and feeling boxed in.
'I can call her back if you're not up to it,” Mavis said, trying to hide the hurt in her voice.
'I'm sorry, it's not you. It's my life. Aunt Beth was right-I was hiding in Oakland. But I thought I came here to help her. Then I find out I'm really here to take over her business and start my life again. I was even starting to
