'You want to help Misty, right?” Carla asked, her voice stronger.
'Yes, but what does that have to do with anything. What are you doing here?'
'Shhh,” she said and held her forefinger to her lips. “I found Misty. She's in a potting shed in the woods. She's not good. I took her to the shelter and we talked to the counselor, but she took off again. The counselor is getting her prescription filled, and she was hiding at my apartment till it was ready, but she was afraid to stay there. She was going to take off again, so I convinced her to come to the shed. I remembered it from when we used to play in these woods when we was little. It's not great, but at least it's dry and she feels safe. At least, I think she feels safe. I don't want to leave her, but I have to get her some food and water. And I have to work.'
'Can I talk to her?'
Carla looked up at her. “Yeah,” she said. “I think that might help.'
She led the way around Mavis's cottage, across the yard and through a hole in the fence and into the woods. The shed was probably no more than five hundred feet beyond the wooden fence. Harriet could hear Misty before the two women went through the door.
'Hush, little baby, don't say a word,” she chanted in her monotone.
'Misty,” Harriet said. “How are you? Do you remember me? We spoke at Mrs. Jalbert's funeral.'
Misty started rocking, her arms wrapped across her middle, her left hand picking at her right elbow. Harriet's heart went out to the girl. When you were different, no matter how, people were cruel. Misty was lucky to have a friend like Carla to look out for her.
'Misty, this is important,” she continued. “Can you tell me who shot Mrs. Jalbert?'
Misty's eyes got real big. She started humming the Van Morrison song again.
'Misty? Did a brown-eyed woman shoot Avanell?'
With the woman rocking and picking and humming, Harriet couldn't be sure if she'd seen her shake her head or not.
'Misty, do you know who shot her?'
'Man oh man oh man oh man oh man.” Misty's rocking kept time with her chant.
'Misty, what are you telling me?” Harriet asked, but it was no use. Misty was in her own world. “Carla, do you know what she was trying to tell me?'
'Sorry,” Carla said. “She don't make much sense most of the time. Every once in a while she'll come out with somethin’ and sound just like she used to, but now I'm not sure them spells is any more real than when she's singin’ and rockin'.'
'Can I do anything to help?'
'No, I think she'll stay put here. She seems to do okay when she's hidin'-I think she feels safe out here. The counselor at the church shelter gave me some vouchers to use at the Foggy Point Market. I'll get her some food and water. If you could go to Myca's House Counseling Center tomorrow and pick up her perscription, it would help. I can call and tell ‘em you'll come by.'
'Yeah, sure. I can do that. Is there anything else? Do you want a ride to the market or anything?'
'Seems to me you got your own troubles to worry about, but thanks for offerin'. If you get the medicine and give her a dose as soon as you can, that should do it.'
'I better go back to the house. Mavis might come looking if I don't come in soon.'
It turned out she needn't have worried-Mavis was stretched out in the recliner sound asleep when she came in the door. She woke up when Harriet touched the remote control dangling from her hand, and pulled the lever that brought the chair jolting upright.
'I was about to call the emergency room again,” she said.
'I can see that.” Harriet smiled.
'That must have been some walk.'
Harriet explained the events of the afternoon over a cup of fragrant orange-spice tea.
'I can't believe Michelle was trying to steal her brother's inheritance,” Mavis said when she had finished. “Avanell had been worried about her. She told me Michelle and her husband were living way beyond their means. She tried to work with them, but she said she was tired of throwing good money after bad. I'm not surprised she changed her will.'
'Unfortunately, her new will only confuses things. On the one hand, if Michelle didn't know it had been changed, she would have a motive to kill her mother, but it sounds like she did know. On the other, if Aiden knew about the change, it would give him one.'
'I just have a hard time believing he could do something like that. And besides, that doesn't explain your part of all this. If it was simply the family trying to get Avanell out of the way, why would they be coming after you?'
'The killer must think I pose some kind of threat to them.'
'What possible threat could you pose to anyone in Foggy Point? You've hardly been back a month.'
'If we could figure that out, I think we'd know who killed Avanell.'
Mavis got up, poured more water into their cups and pulled a box of mixed teabags from the cupboard over the stove. She held the box out; Harriet chose green tea this time, and Mavis put the box back. They were staring into their cups when the phone rang.
Mavis got up and answered it and had a short conversation that consisted of uh-hm's and yeses, and finished with “I think that's a fine idea. I expect we'll pick it up when the show closes on Saturday.'
She came back to the table and sat down.
'That was Bertrand. He said he'd like to hang Avanell's last show quilt in the lobby of the Vitamin Factory. He says it will be a permanent tribute to Avanell's two loves.'
'I'm guessing he either doesn't know about the new will or he thinks no one else does.'
'There is another possibility. He's either already talked to Aiden, or it hasn't occurred to him that he needs to.'
'I suppose. And it
'Since you're the quilt depot, I thought maybe we could go to Tacoma on Saturday morning, have a good look at the exhibits and see who won, then have lunch and check out All About Quilting over on Thirty-first Street, then come back and pick up the quilts when the show closes at four. What do you think?'
'As long as you let me do the driving, I think that would be fine. I'm worried that you're getting worn out being my bodyguard and waiting on me hand and foot.'
'Your aunt Beth would do the very same thing if one of my boys were in trouble. And just because I'm not as young as I once was doesn't mean I'm weak.'
'I know. This is just so hard. I know Aunt Beth is trying to give me a kick-start in getting on with my life. I was mad at first, but maybe she's right. Maybe I do need to make some changes. And I was, for a couple of days. And I liked it. Now things are even worse than they were before I left Oakland. There, at least, my limits were of my own making. I'm very comfortable here, and I truly appreciate how much you're putting yourself out to protect me; but I'm not free to come and go, much less work, and the worst part is, I don't even know why or, more important, when this will all be over?'
'How about I make us ham and cheese omelets and toast and then we put aside our troubles, just for the night. I rented a couple of movies from DeAnn the other day and they're due tomorrow. Maybe we could watch one of them before they go back.'
'That sounds so good. I could use a break. And I'm starving.'
Chapter Thirty-one
Harriet woke early the next morning; between her walk with Aiden and watching the romantic comedy with Mavis, she'd gotten a good night's sleep.
Mavis was already in the kitchen and had the kettle on when she came out of the bathroom.
'How are you feeling this morning?” Mavis asked.
'I slept really well. I'm getting a little tired of pink and purple, though.” She held out the hem of her pink shirt. “Is there any chance we could go by my house and pick up some clothes?'
