An Ominous Death by Annette Mahon

Author:Annette Mahon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kamalei Books
Published: 2016-10-18T00:00:00+00:00

21

“Oh, my.”

“I thought I had a lot of fabric.”

The Quilting Bee women crowded the doorway of Candy’s sewing room, awed by the sheer amount of fabric and supplies therein. Housed in an extra bedroom—a large extra bedroom—of Candy’s spacious home, there was a long table for cutting, a smaller one holding three sewing machines, and a wall covered with shelves. The latter held books, patterns, and plastic bins filled with supplies. The walk-in closet contained numerous bins and baskets, some filled with fabrics in coordinated colors suitable for a particular project, others overflowing with fabrics of the same color. Folded yardage the size of a bed sheet or as small as a pocket handkerchief—it was all there, every color of the rainbow, but with a preponderance of reds, blues and greens.

“Well, I’d say Candy definitely wins,” Louise said in a firm voice.

The others laughed. They all recognized her reference to a bumper sticker popular among quilters: She who dies with the most fabric wins.

Maggie walked into the room, turning in a tight circle to examine the situation.

“Did Andrea say what she wanted us to do exactly?” Victoria asked.

Andrea had met them at the front of the house, handed over a key to be returned later, thanked them for their help, and rushed off to a meeting.

“She said we could have almost everything for the Senior Guild. Definitely all of the fabric.” Maggie had stopped before the sewing machines, but turned toward the overflowing closet as she said this.

There were some appreciative murmurs. The fabric could make numerous quilt tops, but also doll clothes, album covers—endless items that could be sold at their Halloween Bazaar. It was a wonderful gift for the church.

“She’ll want a receipt, of course,” Edie said. Her lips were drawn into a thin line.

She didn’t say it, but Maggie knew she was thinking that Andrea had only done it for the deduction it would make on the estate’s tax bill. Maggie herself hoped that there was some sentimentality present, but she couldn’t be sure. Andrea seemed to believe that emotions should be repressed. Either that, or she was making a good show of handling her mother’s death efficiently. Perhaps she felt the latter attitude went with her newfound business persona.

“Doesn’t Andrea want to keep any of it?” Anna’s voice was sad, wondering why Andrea didn’t want these things that had so defined her mother.

“She said she would like to keep the Bernina sewing machine and her mother’s sewing box.” Maggie glanced around. “This must be it,” she said, picking up a wicker basket lined with a pretty flowered fabric and filled with sewing supplies. “She mentioned her mother’s thimble and scissors particularly.” Maggie rummaged through the basket checking for the desired items.

“That’s nice.” Anna was mollified by this sign of daughterly love. “Those are just the things she would need for a small sewing box of her own.”

“I’m sure that’s it,” Victoria said, speaking before Edie could find some other, less altruistic motive.

“Where should we begin?” the ever-practical Louise asked.

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