Quilt By Association

about either one. That's telling, if he's really her husband.'

'Or if he knew her at all,” Aunt Beth added.

'Maybe he's her pimp,” Jorge offered.

'He doesn't seem flashy enough,” Harriet said. “Of course, my knowledge of pimps is limited to Hollywood portrayals.'

They all looked at Rodney now.

'He doesn't look like husband material,” Jorge countered.

'Not for a normal person, but when people are running a complicated con they often have at least one partner.” Harriet said.

'That I can believe, but you'd think he'd have cleared out when she died.'

'He said he wants to recover the money he claims she took from him,” Harriet said. “If he's smart, he'll use the money I gave him and take the next bus out of Foggy Point.'

'He's not that kind of smart,” Jorge said. “You can see it in his eyes. If there's money and any chance he can get it, he's going for it.'

'That's another reason we need to keep that baby out of everyone's reach until this sorts itself out,” Beth said. “I don't know how, but she figures into this.'

'You ladies want to try my new special tacos?” Jorge asked. “They're marinated pork with a special hot sauce. Just for you, I'll put a green salad on the side instead of beans and rice.'

'Perfect,” Aunt Beth said with a smile.

Jorge headed to the kitchen without waiting for Harriet's response. She sighed. Aunt Beth wasn't her mother, but she was more like a mother than her actual parent. She wondered if all mothers attempted to control their daughter's weight as openly as Aunt Beth did hers.

Harriet wasn't what anyone would call thin, but she wasn't exactly fat, either. She'd gotten heavier after Steve died, but that weight had come off since she'd returned to Foggy Point.

'Did your detective say anything about why they were investigating Neelie's death?” Aunt Beth asked, jarring her back to reality.

'No, he didn't, why? Did yours?'

'She gave me a generic line about investigating the death because Neelie wasn't from here, and therefore, they didn't know if she'd been in a doctor's care, and anytime an otherwise healthy person dies, they investigate.'

'And you didn't believe her.'

'I'm with you. I think that girl was diabetic. She should have had one of those testing gadgets, and she probably had needle marks or, if not that, then medication at least.'

'They wouldn't be assigning two detectives for anything less than murder,” Harriet said, ending the discussion.

Jorge brought their meals, and they ate in silence.

'We need to confirm that,” Harriet said after a while. “Doesn't Connie's daughter-in-law work at the hospital?'

'Yes, she does, although I'm not sure how much she'll be able to tell us even if she does know. You know how they regulate everything medical these days. I'll call Connie when we're done eating, and see if the gossip wheel has been turning.” Beth didn't like talking on her cell phone in public places.

'Maybe we should drive by on our way home. We could check her quilt block progress while we're there.'

'I doubt she's gotten much done if she still has Carla and the babies there, but we should check on them, in any case.'

They finished their taco dinners and placed generous tips under their plates to counter Jorge's ongoing unwillingness to accept money from Harriet and, by association, anyone she was dining with.

'You ladies come back again,” he said from his post by the front door. “And don't forget to tell me what's going on. You never know when an old man can help.'

They assured them he would be the first to know any breaking news. Jorge pulled a white paper bag from under the counter that held the cash register.

'Since you look like ladies on a mission, I took the liberty of preparing some flan to go. I put an ice pack in the sack, so it should be good until the end of your adventure.” He winked at Harriet. They both knew Aunt Beth would never have agreed to dessert no matter how long they had stayed at the restaurant.

Chapter 21

Connie opened the door to her tan stucco house when she saw Harriet pull into the driveway.

'Would you two like some tea?” she asked once they were inside.

'Sure,” Beth said.

'Things seem calmer than I expected,” Harriet said as Connie led them through the living room and into her spacious kitchen at the back of the house.

'Baby Kissa is a little dreamboat,” Connie said. “And Carla and Wendy went back to Aiden's. They went to feed the dog, and Aiden was just coming home, and they talked, and now she's back there.'

'Where is Kissa?” Harriet asked.

'Rodrigo is pushing her around the neighborhood in the stroller,” she said and laughed. “That would be the new stroller he went out and bought this morning. She definitely has Grandpa Rod wrapped around her little finger.'

'Makes you feel sorry for DeAnn and her family, doesn't it?” Harriet said.

'Mark my words,” Aunt Beth said sagely. “There's something not right about that situation.'

Harriet explained the other reason they'd stopped by unannounced.

'I'll call Zoe right now and see if she knows more, but she already told me the forensic nurse had been called when the body came in.'

Forensic training for nurses was a relatively new phenomenon in hospitals, having only been recognized as a specialty in the late 1990s. Their specialized job was to be sure all possible evidence was preserved when a person was brought into the hospital in a condition that suggested a crime had been committed. A major part of their caseload was battered women and children, but most of them were also ER nurses, so they used their skills whenever a suspicious case came through the doors.

Beth took over the tea preparations while Connie called her daughter-in-law.

'Uh-huh,” she said, after the usual greeting and a quick rundown of what they wanted. “Of course we wouldn't tell anyone…You're sure about that?…Okay, thanks, honey.” She hung up and turned to Harriet and Beth. “You have to swear you won't tell anyone else,” she told them, “She said the lab results showed levels of insulin that were way too high to be accidental. And she had needle marks on the back of her shoulder.'

'I thought so,” Harriet said. “She was a diabetic.'

'I'm not sure we can conclude that, honey.” Aunt Beth said. “Someone could have killed her with insulin even if she wasn't a diabetic.'

'Yeah, but how much more convenient if she was and took injectable insulin? How could anyone prove she didn't accidentally overdose?'

'In the back of her shoulder?” Beth asked.

'That only matters if she doesn't have other needle marks on her.'

'They'll figure it out,” Connie said.

Beth looked at Harriet.

'What?” Connie asked.

Harriet quickly explained the visit they'd had from the two detectives.

'They're grasping at straws,” Connie said. “Don't you worry-we all hardly knew the woman. And anyone who met that young woman could see she was troubled. They'll dig around in her background and find out what really happened.'

'How about we talk quilt blocks for a minute,” Beth suggested, ending their speculation about Neelie.

'Let me show you what Lauren and I have been working on,” Connie said and headed for her sewing room. She