Free The Long Stitch Good Night: An Embroidery Mystery by Amanda Lee

come in around lunchtime, since business was usually slower then, and he said he and Carla would be there.
    I finished my calls, let Angus inside, and gave him a slice of pizza. I then put the rest of the pizza into the refrigerator. I was getting ready to go upstairs and soak in a nice, hot, scented bath when Ted called.
    “How’s everything going?” he asked.
    “It’s going.” I took the phone into the living room and stretched out on the sofa.
    “It might be going, but it doesn’t sound like it’s going well.”
    “Sadie won’t talk to me. She’s just completely shutting me out.” I explained about the coffeehouse incident where she’d made it obvious she wanted me to leave. “I’d help her if she’d let me. When it became apparent she
wouldn’t
allow me to help, I called her mom.”
    He chuckled. “You ratted her out to her mom?”
    “It wasn’t like that,” I protested. “Somebody needed to be there for Sadie. I thought that, since she was pushing me away, she might let her parents in. But—get this—they didn’t even know Blake had been arrested.”
    “This might surprise you,” he said, “but not everybody confides in their parents the way you do to your mom.”
    “But Blake was
arrested
, Ted. For
murder
.”
    “I know. I was there.”
    I huffed. “What I mean is, this is serious. Todd…I mean, Blake…I mean, Todd
and
Blake could go to prison if we can’t prove they didn’t kill Graham Stott. Sadie had to know her parents would find out eventually. Besides, I didn’t
tell
them about Blake. I made some lame comment about Sadie and Blake needing to take a vacation.”
    “Oh, well, that’s different. Sadie’s mom would never see through that to determine that something was really wrong.”
    “Ha, ha. And, you’re right—she must’ve seen through my call or else found out about Blake some other way because I saw her and Sadie’s dad going into MacKenzies’ Mochas this afternoon.”
    “Maybe they saw it on the news,” Ted said. “The simple fact that nobody knows anything hasn’t stopped the media from reporting on it…especially since Graham Stott had so much money and influence around here.”
    “I was only trying to help,” I said. “But I probably made matters worse. I owe Sadie an apology. In fact, I should probably hang up now and call her.”
    “Yeah, I think you probably should. Have a good night and call me if you need anything.”
    “Thanks. Good night.” I ended the call, but I didn’t call Sadie. Instead, I cried. Finally, the emotional toll of the past two days had caught up with me. Todd, Blake, or both men could be facing a lifetime in jail, whether they were innocent or not; sometimes innocence couldn’t be proven. Sadie wasn’t speaking to me. And I had no idea how I could help my friends. I still couldn’t fathom why neither Blake nor Todd had spoken up in defense of themselves and their reason for being in that room with a dead man and a gun.
    Angus lumbered over and placed his big scruffy head on my knee. As I stroked his fur, I realized Ted had been noncommittal when I mentioned that we needed to prove that Todd and Blake were innocent. Did he truly believeone or both of them were guilty? I had to admit, the guys certainly appeared guilty. But they weren’t. I knew in my heart that they weren’t murderers.
    The doorbell rang. Angus rushed to the door barking, while I followed somewhat slowly and reluctantly. I dried my eyes before looking through the peephole. It was Sadie. I took a deep breath and opened the door.
    “I’m here for the stuff I left behind this morning,” Sadie said, brushing past me into the living room.
    “I don’t know what I did to make you so mad at me,” I said as I closed the door. “But I realize I didn’t help matters by calling your mom and telling her you needed a vacation.”
    “No, you sure didn’t,” she said. “She called me after talking with you and grilled me until I broke down and told her about