"Up there,” Mavis said, and pointed to a red-and-blue sign next to a driveway.
Robin parked, and the group got out and headed for the door. A gray sedan pulled into the parking spot next to her van, and Aiden got out.
"Do you have room for one more?” he asked as they gathered in front of the restaurant.
Mavis looked down her nose over the top of her glasses. “That depends."
"On what?"
"On whether you can behave yourself."
He had the good grace to blush. “I'm sorry. I don't like that guy to begin with, and he was grabbing Harriet."
"I can take care of myself,” Harriet said.
Mavis hadn't moved.
"Okay, fine, I'll be good."
"How's Cammi doing?” Connie asked as they went inside to wait for seating.
"Her doctor is hopeful. She can't really move her legs right now, but they think that might change when the swelling in her back goes down. She's got a little bit of feeling in her left foot, so that's a good sign."
"That's just so weird,” Robin said. “Do you suppose the other car didn't see you in the rain?"
"Not a chance. I was in front, and the Explorer pulled partway into the other lane and then rammed me so I would go off to the right. Besides, I was in a white full-sized pickup. And it wasn't that stormy."
The hostess came and led them to a red leatherette window booth that was big enough for them to sit three on a side. She passed out menus and chatted amiably with them about the burger choices, only leaving when she had everyone's order.
"I've had a little time to think about this,” Aiden continued. “I keep going over everything in my mind, trying to figure out why someone would want to run me or Cammi off the road. Between college and my post-graduate work in Uganda, I haven't been around until two months ago. That's hardly enough time to create any enemies. And Cammi's young. She's going to community college. I can't imagine she'd have made someone mad enough to try to kill her.
"Then I got to thinking about Harriet, and how she's in the middle of the trouble at the school, and it made me wonder."
"What?” Harriet asked.
"Did you keep wearing that purple hat I gave you?"
Harriet felt warmth creeping up her neck. “Yes, I did. I kept it on after you gave it to me."
"And then you left it in the truck when I gave you a ride to the copy store."
"Yeah, so?"
"The sun broke through the clouds when Cammi and I were coming back toward town, and she put your hat on."
"Oh, my gosh.” Harriet slumped in her seat. “You think someone thought it was me?"
"I don't know. I'm just saying there seems to be all kinds of trouble at the folk art school, and the only connection I have to that place is you."
"So it's my fault Cammi got hurt?” Harriet asked, anger and hurt mixing in her voice.
"Now, honey,” Mavis protested. “I'm sure Aiden didn't mean it that way."
Aiden looked at Harriet. “It's no one's fault but the person in the Explorer. I'm just saying maybe the driver thought they were eliminating someone who was digging around in things they didn't want dug in."
"Hmmm,” said Mavis. “It makes a certain amount of sense."
"I just wish I knew what we were missing,” Harriet complained.
"I heard there was a fire at one of the outbuildings,” Robin said.
Harriet explained about the discovery of Selestina's workroom and the obvious copying being done there. She ended with their narrow escape from the basement root cellar, Tom's report that the fire was limited to a garbage can, and her supposition the can contained the evidence that had been hanging on the design wall.
"That suggests it was a quilter who did the deed,” Aiden said. “I hate to defend Bainbridge, but if he was burning the place for insurance or to conceal evidence, wouldn't he be more likely to burn it to the ground?"
"Good point,” Harriet agreed. “And a quilter wouldn't want to see those expensive sewing machines ruined."
"If it was a quilter,” Connie said, “that gets us back to the idea of someone killing Selestina because she was copying their work.” She shook her head. “It still doesn't seem like enough."
The waitress arrived with their burgers. Aiden and Carla had opted for bacon, and Harriet glanced longingly at the crispy strips of fat that crisscrossed their cheese-dredged patties. In a moment of guilt, she'd ordered a broiled chickenburger with lettuce and tomato after Robin got a veggie-burger. Connie had gone for the jack cheese-and-roasted pepper burger, while Mavis had chosen the basic version with cheddar cheese. The burgers came with heaping plates of Yukon Gold French fried potatoes and a tray of icy sodas.
Aiden finished his burger while Harriet was just picking up the second half of hers. He wiped his hands with his paper napkin and dropped the rumpled remains on his empty plate.
"I know better than to try to tell a determined group of quilters what to do, but I have to say it. Go home. If you hurry, you could still make the last ferry of the night. Let someone else figure out what's going on."
"But, mijo, that would leave Lauren on her own. She's been questioned by the police,” Connie protested.
"So? You guys don't even like Lauren."
Carla looked from Mavis to Harriet and then to Robin, waiting to see who would refute the statement.
Finally, Mavis spoke. “Lauren doesn't make things easy for herself. And she does seem to take issue with Harriet. But that being said, she's part of our group, and the Loose Threads don't abandon a member who's in trouble."
"So, don't abandon her. Can't you support her from the safety of Foggy Point?"
"I don't think we're going to figure this out if we aren't at the folk art school,” Harriet said. “I feel like there's something right in front of us, but we're not seeing it."
"Well, be careful. And don't break into anyone else's office.” He slid out from his end position in the booth and stood up. He pulled several bills from his wallet and tossed them on the table. “I've gotta go check on some patients. Can I come by for a cookie later?” he asked Harriet.
Mavis looked at the others. No one changed expression, so she assured him he was welcome as long as he didn't come too late.
"Tell me again how the schedule works tomorrow,” Carla said when he was gone.
"In the morning, the teachers will each give a lecture on some aspect of embellishment,” Robin said. “Ray Louise is demonstrating dry needle felting. And I think Patience will teach a session on fabric painting with oil sticks. Marla Stevens is going to talk about dyeing thread to match your fabric. There are a few more, but those are the ones I'm interested in. Two sessions will be going on at the same time. We have a complete list back at the Tree House, by the phone."
"After lunch, the teachers will have stations set up in the classroom so you can try the techniques,” Mavis added.
"It's kind of nice to have a break from sitting in front of a sewing machine all day,” Robin said.
Harriet wished she'd spent a little more time with her machine. Her half-rectangle quilt top was barely started. She was going to have to do some late-night stitching if she wanted to have something for the show-and-tell on the final day of school.
There was a fresh bouquet of wildflowers on the table in the entryway when they arrived back at the Tree House. A clear plastic garbage bag full of clean towels sat on the floor.
"I've got to work on my quilt,” Harriet said.
"Me, too,” Carla chimed in. Harriet felt a small stab of guilt for keeping her from class today.
Harriet had chosen a pale-blue fabric to build her quilt around. She was trying to decide whether to use a pale pink with irregular, multicolored dots on it or a tone-on-tone medium pink that would move the quilt in a brighter direction. If she used the bright pink she would probably add white to the mix. If she went with the pale pink then an off-white or yellow would work better. The trouble was, she liked the lighter pink and the white but the two weren't going to work together.