Quilt By Association

distinctive eyes, who she presumed was her cousin's lover, and a plan was born.'

'That's about it.'

'Wait a minute,” Mavis said. “Aren't you forgetting something?'

'A big something,” Aunt Beth added.

Harriet looked at them without saying anything.

'Kissa,” Mavis said. “I think we've already established they don't hand babies out at the local Walmart. Somehow, that young woman came up with a blue-eyed baby of an appropriate age to be passed off as Aiden's offspring.'

'Maybe that's the connection to Rodney,” Harriet speculated. “He seems like the kind of resourceful guy who could come up with a baby-his own or otherwise-on short notice.'

'Well, we're not going to solve this tonight, and I've got to get back to the clinic and someone here needs to rest.” Aiden crumpled his burrito wrapper then stacked the used plates and carried them to the kitchen.

'He's right,” Aunt Beth said. “Let's get you upstairs so Mavis and I can come back down and sew.'

Chapter 34

The next two days passed in a blur of stitching, movies and sleeping. Aunt Beth and Mavis let the Loose Threads know Harriet wouldn't be receiving visitors until the weekend, and everyone respected that, which was strange given Sarah could almost always be counted on to do the exact opposite of whatever the rest of the group decided on.

'Good morning, Merry Sunshine,” Aunt Beth said on Saturday morning when Harriet crutched downstairs.

'What's got you in such a chipper mood this morning?'

'I'm just being my normal cheerful self.'

Harriet laughed. “Since when?'

'Okay, maybe I'm a little hysterical with relief that I finished quilting the last quilt this morning.'

'You finished our applique quilt?'

Beth made a face. “Oh, please. It's not like it was a California king or anything. Get yourself situated in your chair, and I'll bring you some breakfast.'

'You don't have to fix me breakfast on top of all the quilting you've been doing.'

'Don't worry, Aiden stopped by with some breakfast burritos Jorge made us. He was on his way to work and said to tell you he'll be back in a couple of hours. He said all the clinic vets were going to have a meeting to decide if any of the hoarding victims could be adopted out in conjunction with the auction. I guess the fundraising committee is really pressuring the clinic. They think the hoarding story will bring in big-dollar donations and having a few survivors at the dinner and auction might help.'

'I'd like to be a fly on the wall for that meeting. Aiden told me he feels it would be like abusing the dogs twice, making them go out in public so soon,” Harriet said. “I'm just glad we're going to have quilts finished to auction.'

A knock sounded on the studio door, ending the discussion. Aunt Beth headed to answer, talking as she went.

'I volunteered to host the Loose Threads meeting here today, since you can't go anywhere yet.” She opened the door, letting Jenny, Connie and Carla in along with a crisp gust of wind.

'Oh, honey,” Connie said and came to stand by Harriet's chair. “We've been so worried about you.'

'As you can see, I'm fine.'

'You don't look fine.'

'The doctor put me in an over-sized cast to force me to stay off my ankle, but it really is just an ordinary sprain. And my kidney is much better.'

'I'm glad to hear that, but you just take it slow for a while anyway.'

Carla brought Connie a cup of tea then pushed one of the wheeled chairs from the desk area to the space beside the gray chair and sat down.

Mavis and Lauren arrived together, each carrying a pillowcase that appeared to be holding a quilt.They set their bags on the large cutting table and continued on into the kitchen to prepare their drinks.

Everyone was surprised when DeAnn arrived with Robin. They, too, were carrying bags with quilts in them.

'I take it things are going better with Iloai,” Harriet said when DeAnn had pulled a chair into the circle and sat down.

'Quite a bit has happened since…” She nodded at Harriet's foot.

'Since my accident?” Harriet suggested.

'I didn't want to say attack, but it sounds like that's what actually happened.'

'True, but it sounds so dramatic, don't you think? So, enough about me, tell us what's happened.'

'I think you know that Joseph has gone missing,” she started, but was immediately interrupted by Sarah, who had come in while DeAnn was getting her chair and getting situated.

'Joseph's not missing,” she said. “I just saw him. I was at the pet store getting some of those green treats for my Rachel, and I saw him there buying insect larvae for his dragon.'

'Excuse me?” Harriet said. “He has a dragon?'

'Well, not exactly.” Sarah sat down in one of the wingback chairs. “I think it's some kind of lizard. The geeks that keep them call them dragons.'

'You seem to know a lot about it,” Lauren said.

Sarah pinched her lips together in an apparently successful attempt to stop whatever rude remark she was about to make.

'Ever since my parents decided to let anyone in the community use the all-purpose room at the senior center for meetings if they were willing to let residents sit in on the gatherings, any time more than three weirdoes want to get together, they come there, including the dragon people.'

'And Joseph's one of them?” Harriet asked.

'Isn't that what I just said?'

'How long ago did you see him?” DeAnn asked. “We've been trying to reach him for days. He doesn't answer his phone, and Phyllis doesn't know where he is. And she said he took our file home.'

'I'm telling you, I stopped at the pet store on my way here.'

'Are you sure it was Joseph?” Harriet asked.

'Now you're getting insulting,” Sarah said with an affected pout.

'So, what kind of game is he playing?” asked Harriet.

'That's what I'd like to know,” DeAnn said.

'He did look a little stressed, but I thought it was because he was grossed out about the larvae. You know how some people don't think ahead when they get exotic pets. He probably just decided how cool it would be to have a frilled lizard, and didn't even think about-'

'Sarah,” Aunt Beth said in a firm voice, “exactly how was he acting stressed? Tell us what you saw.'

'Well, first of all, he completely ignored me when he came in the store, and I was standing right by the checkout register, looking through the sale bin and-'

'Joseph, Sarah-what was Joseph doing?” Mavis asked.

'He waited until there was no one in the bug aisle, and then he went to the larvae tray and started picking larvae into a carton. But he kept looking from side to side, like he was watching for someone. And he dropped the carton once and had to start over, and he didn't even pick up the ones he dropped. And-'

'Thank you, Sarah,” Aunt Beth said.

'So, he's hiding somewhere,” Harriet said.

'He's not hiding,” Sarah protested. “I'm telling you, he's at the pet store.'

'Okay, we get it, he's at the pet store,” Harriet said. “Do you think he's still there?'

'Well, no. I waited until he left, just to see if he'd talk to me after he got his baby bugs.'