Free Four-Patch of Trouble by Gin Jones

wrong. Why would a thief go into the far back room that held only papers, instead of simply stealing whatever he or she wanted from the front and making a quick exit?
    Maybe the drawers had been empty all along. Monograms wasn't like a big-box store, with constant lines at the cash register. Instead of selling lots of items at relatively low margins, Monograms' business model was premised on selling only a few items at infrequent intervals but at steep prices and high margins. Its clientele was far more likely to pay with credit or debit cards than cash.
    But if it wasn't a robbery, then Dee and Emma were at the front of the line of suspects, along with Alyse Laurens. Too often prime suspects became defendants, despite less-than-convincing evidence, simply due to public pressure to blame someone, anyone.
    I couldn't let that happen to Dee and Emma. Even Tremain wouldn't have wanted them to take the fall for his death. Not out of any particular concern for them, but because he'd have wanted to be remembered as a powerful businessman, not as the pitiful victim of two little old ladies wielding nothing more lethal than an antique quilt.

 
CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    The one issue I'd never had to address with Lindsay was tardiness, so it was no surprise to find her at my front door right at 9:00 the next morning. She carried a legal-sized expanding wallet containing information on Tremain and his business partner.
    I reached for it, but Lindsay kept it hugged to her chest. "I could stay while you read it, in case you have any questions. I already dropped my grandmother and Emma at the school to continue setting up the show."
    "I need to be at the museum when it opens soon, so I don't have time to study the file right now." I pointed to the kitchen peninsula. "Just leave it there so I'll see it when I get home this afternoon. I only have a couple of minutes before I need to leave, but it's plenty of time for you to tell me what's happening at your office. Are you having problems there?"
    "Work is fine." Lindsay dropped the file on the peninsula, avoiding my gaze. "I wish I had as good a memory as you do."
    "Did you forget something at work?"
    Lindsay shook her head. "I was just thinking it would come in handy for remembering change-ringing patterns. I keep messing up during practice."
    "You've probably just been distracted lately with helping your grandmother investigate Tremain, and now with his death."
    "I suppose." Lindsay dug her keys out of her jacket pocket. "Do you want a ride to the museum? I'm going that direction anyway. Emma asked me to pick up some groceries."
    "Just give me a minute to grab my stuff." My quilted messenger bag was on the end of the kitchen peninsula. I'd packed it last night with everything I needed for the initial appraisal work at Stefan's gallery: reference books, camera, gloves, and measuring tape. That should do it. "I wonder if Dee and Emma found a replacement to fill Tremain's booth at the show."
    "They sort of already called the first person on the waiting list last night." Lindsay held the outer lobby door while I secured the inner door. "A woman who does long-arm quilting. She was thrilled to have a booth."
    "Even with such short notice?"
    "She'd have accepted even if they'd called the night before it started. The committee always offers the spaces to prior vendors first, and most of them come back every year. The waiting list is kind of long, and people can be on it for five years or more before they get offered a space."
    "Then how did Tremain get into the show? I thought he'd only been in business for a couple of years."
    "I don't know," Lindsay said. "I'll ask my grandmother, if you need to know."
    "Just curious." I locked the outer door behind us. "It hardly matters now, and I'm sure Dee and Emma have more important things to do than satisfy my curiosity."
    In fact, so did I. My suddenly overbooked schedule carried an increased risk of syncope events. The one yesterday was the first I'd had in