Quilt By Association

left you when we get back.'

'I promise, I'll be right here,” Harriet said. “Have fun.'

Aunt Beth followed Mavis out the door, locking it when they were outside. Harriet listened for the crunch of tires, indicating they had driven away. She waited another minute before struggling to her feet-well, foot-and picking up her crutches. She went to the connecting door and backed through it into the kitchen. Fred meowed as she entered.

'I'll bet Aunt Beth has had you on a diet, too, huh, big boy?” she said.

She reached into the cupboard below the bar where she kept Fred's kitty treats and, balancing on her good foot, set her crutches aside and extracted a small handful. She'd just bent down to put them in his food dish when she heard a noise that sounded like tapping on glass.

She turned and looked toward her studio. She heard the noise again. It definitely sounded like it was coming from the studio. Fred's ears were upright, and he stared at the connecting door.

'Well, cat, let's go see what's going on,” she said as she picked up her crutches and worked her way back into the studio.

Joseph Marston stood on her porch, tapping on the etched glass of the studio door. She hesitated for a moment then went to open it.

'Joseph,” she said. “There are a lot of people looking for you.'

'I know, it's why I waited until everyone was gone before I came to your door. We've probably only got a couple of minutes…'

'Well, come in, then, and let's talk.'

'No, I can't come inside. What if someone comes?'

'No one's coming. Come on.'

'We're wasting time. We need to talk about what happened.'

'Are we talking about what happened at your house? Are you going to tell me why you attacked me?'

'No…I mean, yes…I mean, it's complicated, and I need your help.'

'You attacked me, and you want my help? The only help you're getting from me is a nine-one-one call to the police.” She reached for her phone in her pocket then remembered she'd left it on the arm of the gray chair.

'I think you'd better leave,” she said.

He held his hand out toward her. “Please, you have to understand,” he said. Tears glistened in his eyes.

'Is this about the adoptions?” she asked as she looked frantically around for a weapon of any sort.

'You know about the adoptions?'

Before she could answer, they heard the sound of tires at the bottom of her driveway. Joseph turned abruptly and jumped off her porch in one leap, then ran down the opposite end of the driveway as Aiden drove up and parked.

'What are you doing outside?” he called.

'Joseph Marston,” she yelled back. “He was here-he just ran down the other side of the driveway.” She pointed where Joseph had just gone.

Aiden dropped his phone and keys and the paper bag he was carrying and ran in the direction Harriet was pointing. He was gone for a couple of long minutes before returning, this time at a slow trot.

'There's no sign of him,” he said. “He must have gone to the end of the street and into the woods.'

Harriet's street terminated at a wooded greenspace that went all the way down the back side of her hill.

'I went down the trail a little way, but he could have gone any direction. If he went off the trail, he could be anywhere. What did he want?'

'I don't know. He said he wanted to talk about what happened at his house, and he said he wanted my help.'

'That takes nerve. Why would he think you'd want to help him?'

'No idea. I asked him if it had to do with the adoptions, and he seemed surprised I knew anything about them.'

'I'm sure he was. He probably thinks he had a foolproof system going. And for the most part, he did. Whatever scam he's been running has probably been going on for a while-years, maybe.” He picked up the things he'd dropped and came up on the porch. “You're freezing,” he said and rubbed his hands up and down her arms. He picked up the crutches-she had dropped them and not even realized it. She took them and hobbled back into the studio.

'I brought donuts,” he said. “You want some tea or something?'

'I can get it.” She started for the kitchen.

'Whoa, you need to sit down. If your aunt sees you up, she'll kill me.'

'She won't see me. Besides, it's got to be bad for my circulation or muscle tone or something to be sitting so much.'

'It's probably true it won't hurt you to get up a little bit by now. With my patients, if we can keep them down for twenty-four hours, we consider it a success.'

'Glad to know I'd make a good dog.'

He gently pulled her into his arms. “I would never compare you to a dog,” he said, and kissed her softly on her lips. “I've missed you.'

'Me, too,” she said. “As annoying as you can be, I have missed you, and I don't like it that we were fighting.'

'I'm sorry about that,” he said and looked into her eyes. “I really am.'

'You've had a lot going on.'

'Yeah, but that's just an excuse. I had no right to bite your head off. I've had a lot of time to think while I've been taking care of the hoarded dogs.'

'And?” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

'And…I realized that if I had been you and had seen that woman and that baby, I would've had to at least ask.'

She twined her fingers into his silky black hair and pulled his face down to hers for another kiss.

'You're forgiven.'

Aiden slid his hands down her back, inadvertently touching the bruised area. She winced.

'Oh, Harriet, I'm sorry,” he said and stepped back away from her. “I lost track of your boo-boo.'

'It's okay,” she said in a tight voice. “And I think this qualifies as slightly more than a boo-boo.'

'Let me help you to your chair.'

'I'm fine,” she insisted, and took a couple of measured breaths. “Just let me get my tea started.'

She hobbled into the kitchen and got out a cup and teabag and set them on the counter.

'I guess I could use a little help filling the teakettle,” she admitted.

'Would you please sit while I finish this? If your aunt comes home and sees you making tea, she'll kill me.'

'Fine,” she said, and crutched back to the studio and her gray chair. She had just gotten her pillows arranged the way she liked them when he brought two mugs of tea and the bag of donuts.

'Have you had any more thoughts about Joseph?” he asked as he pulled two maple bars from the white bag.

Harriet groaned as she bit into her bar. The maple was thick and creamy, and the body of the bar was as light as air.

'I don't know what to think. He said he needed my help. Suppose he killed Rodney in self-defense. Maybe he thinks I saw something that could help him prove it.'

'He can't possibly imagine you would help him after he whacked you in the back and threw a body on you.'

'It makes no sense. He seemed real agitated, so he's probably not thinking clearly.'

They each took another bite of their donut.

'I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wonder if I should call the detective who's working on all this.'

'I can't believe you're saying it either, but yes. The police are here to protect and serve, and they can't do that very well if you don't tell them when there's been a threat. By the way, I put their numbers in your phone's address book.'