Lauren rolled her eyes skyward.
Harriet wasn't sure why the detective made her so nervous, besides the fact he was incredibly good-looking. She wasn't the one who was being questioned.
"Since this is an informal interview, I don't see any reason you can't join us. Why don't you two follow me back here."
He led them down a short hallway into a windowless beige room with a linoleum-topped steel table that had two chairs on each side of it.
"Have a seat.” He pointed to the ones on the far side of the table. “Can I get you some coffee or water?"
They declined, so he sat down opposite them.
"If you don't mind, I'll record our discussion.” He pulled a small recorder from his pocket and clicked it on. Harriet was pretty sure it wouldn't have mattered if they had minded.
Ruiz spoke a well-practiced identification into the recorder, noting who was present and what the date and time were.
"Ms. Sawyer-may I call you Lauren?” She nodded once, and he continued. “How long have you known Selestina Bainbridge?"
"Uh…” She stopped and cleared her throat. “I've been taking classes at the center for about a year."
Ruiz made a note on a pad he'd pulled from his pocket.
"Umm.” Lauren cleared her throat again. “Selestina became my advisor two months ago. Before that, I was taking prerequisites with other people. She gave the introductory talk before each class session, but I didn't speak to her then."
You're talking too much, Harriet thought. She stared at Lauren, but the other woman had her eyes firmly locked on the tabletop as she babbled on.
"It seems you've been quite vocal about Selestina Bainbridge recently,” Detective Ruiz commented.
Lauren blushed. Harriet shifted in her seat and kicked her under the table, hoping Ruiz didn't notice. Lauren scowled at her but, for once, she kept her mouth shut. Her compliance could only be an indication of how worried she was.
Detective Ruiz slipped a pair of black plastic-rimmed half-glasses out of his pocket and perched them on his ample nose. He looked over the lenses at Lauren.
"Selestina was my advisor,” she went on, “so of course I talked about her to my classmates. We all compared notes about our teachers."
"According to the other students, it was quite a bit more contentious than that."
"We may have expressed our creative differences in front of other people, but that's all there was to it.” Lauren looked so sincere Harriet almost believed her.
"Tom Bainbridge has reported to us that someone has been in his mother's office without permission and that many of her files are missing. Can you tell me anything about that?"
Lauren shook her head.
"Perhaps you would like to explain, then, how your fingerprints came to be all over the office of Selestina Bainbridge."
A young blond woman with a mouth full of metal braces opened the door and gestured to Detective Ruiz. He clicked the recorder off and pocketed it before following her out the door.
"Did you take the files from Selestina's office?” Harriet demanded as soon as the door was firmly shut.
"Technically, no.” Harriet glared at her. “I wasn't in her office when they were taken. That's the truth-I've only been in her office once, and that was when I first signed up for classes. You have to be interviewed by Selestina when you sign up for the two-year program. I had both hands firmly on my notebook the whole two hours while that windbag rattled on."
Harriet pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “I'm calling Mavis.” She dialed the folk art school office and was transferred to the Tree House. “Mavis, thank heaven you're there,” she said when the older woman picked up. “Lauren needs an attorney.” She glared at Lauren. “They claim they found her fingerprints in Selestina's office, and that there are files missing… Lauren says it's impossible."
Mavis said for her to hold on a minute while she got Robin. She was gone before Harriet could ask why.
"Harriet?” Robin said when she picked up the phone. “I'm coming right over. Tell Lauren to keep her mouth shut. And I mean shut. You can tell them she's retained an attorney and that's all."
Robin was known in the Loose Threads for her talent at hand quilting, and anyone who talked to her for more than five minutes knew of her fervent belief that yoga was the answer to most problems one encountered in life. Clearly, she'd had another career before she'd become a yoga teacher and stay-at-home mom.
Harriet wondered briefly what other talents lay hidden within the Loose Threads.
Detective Ruiz returned some time later and sat down again. “Now, Lauren, I believe you were about to explain how your fingerprints ended up in Selestina's office."
"Lauren has been advised by her attorney that she should not answer any more questions at this time."
"What attorney? Are you telling me that all of a sudden you're an attorney?” He glared at Harriet. “Are you trying to pull a fast one? I only let you come in here because Miss Sawyer seemed upset. If this is how you thank me, you can go back out to the waiting room."
"I'm her friend, just like I said. We talked to her attorney, and she said not to say anything else and that she'd be here shortly."
"You do realize this is just an informal chat we're having here. Miss Sawyer isn't under arrest or anything.” His voice softened. “We could clear things up and have you out of here before lunch if you could just explain a few things.” He looked at Lauren. “I'm sure it's a simple misunderstanding."
The door to the small room opened without warning and Robin charged in.
"Are you arresting my client?” she asked Ruiz.
Harriet held her breath as he remained silent, pondering his options. The muscle in his jaw twitched, but finally, he shook his head.
"Come on, Lauren,” Robin said, and almost pulled Lauren out of her chair in her haste to hustle her new client out of the interrogation room. “Here's my card,” she said as she pulled an ivory card from her purse and handed it to Detective Ruiz.
"You better give me a dollar,” Robin said when they were out of the building. “Call it a retainer. If you do get arrested you can decide then who you want to represent you, but in the meantime, that will make you my client and prevent the police from being able to question me."
"You're an attorney?” Harriet asked, her amazement clear in her voice.
"Yeah, well, we all have our tawdry little secrets. I haven't really practiced since before my first baby was born, but I've kept my license and stayed current on law, just in case…” She looked at Lauren. “…my friends need something.” She looked at the black plastic sports watch on her wrist. “It's quarter to ten. If we hustle, we can get back to class before coffee break is over."
"Actually, if you don't mind, could you drop me off on Eighth Street?"
Robin pulled to the curb but put her hand on Harriet's arm, stopping her from getting out. She looked at Lauren while she spoke.
"Both of you listen carefully. I only want to say this once.” This new Robin was nothing like her carefree, yoga-teaching alter ego, but Harriet found her strangely fascinating. “Number one, this is not over. Until they have someone convicted and on their way to prison, it will not be over. Number two, because of number one, keep your mouth shut. Don't complain about anyone or anything. Lauren, I know that means a major personality transplant, but you have no choice. This is a small town. If they can't find the real person who killed Selestina, they could very well make you the scapegoat. People have gone to prison based on less evidence.” She looked at Harriet. “And number three, leave this to the professionals. No snooping, no sneaking around, no confronting people. Nothing. This is strictly a defensive game. Let the police catch the killer.” She looked at Lauren again. “And let your legal counsel protect you. Understood?"