Free Quilt As You Go by Arlene Sachitano Page A

DeAnn said.
    "Do we know who invents new products now?” Harriet asked.
    "I don't know.” Mavis said. “After Gerald died, I had nothing to do with the company."
    "But you do get widow's benefits?” Robin asked. In addition to teaching yoga, she was a lawyer. She hadn't kept regular office hours since she'd given birth to her first child, but she kept her license current in case anything came up. It had come in handy recently when Lauren had run into trouble.
    Mavis looked uncomfortable. “I do get a pension,” she said. “Do you think they'll want the money back, now that Gerald wasn't dead all that time?"
    Robin pulled a small leather-bound notebook from her bag and wrote a few words before shutting it.
    "I'll check on that,” she said.
    "She didn't know he was alive!” Lauren said. “That's ridiculous."
    Mavis glanced at her with a weak smile.
    "Let's not get excited until Robin checks it out,” Aunt Beth said. “We don't need to borrow trouble."
    Robin turned back to the list on the tablet. “Let's get back to what we know about now and what we know about then. Mavis, can you remember anything unusual about how your husband was acting before he left for Malaysia?"
    Mavis sighed. “Harry and Ben were in high school, Pete was in college, James was in graduate school, and Gerry was working with his dad at the factory. I was working as a cook at the senior center to help pay tuition, and when I wasn't there, I was volunteering at the high school so I could keep an eye on Harry. He felt like he had a reputation to uphold. Even when his older brothers tried to explain most of what he was hearing about them was myth, Harry felt like he had to prove he was the worst of the lot."
    "So, about Gerald,” Lauren prompted.
    Aunt Beth put a quelling hand on her arm. “We don't have to do any more tonight,” she said. “Mavis has had quite a shock today. She needs some time to digest it."
    Robin laid her pen down. “Beth is right. We don't need to do this tonight."
    "I'm fine,” Mavis said. “That doesn't change the fact I can't remember what was going on with Gerald back then. I should have been more attentive. Don't think I haven't thought about that a thousand times in the last twenty years. I was just wrapped up with the boys and money and Gerald had to deal with his own stuff."
    "Hey,” Harriet said. “No one is suggesting you should have done anything different. Even if you'd been hanging on his every word, he still would have gone to Malaysia, right? You weren't driving the car that hit him or whatever happened to him...” She trailed off. Wow, she thought.
    She couldn't keep on top of the fact that Gerald hadn't died twenty years ago and she'd found his body today. She could only imagine how hard this was for Mavis.
    "Enough,” Aunt Beth said in a firm voice. “I'm taking Mavis home now. You ladies can stay or go, but we're leaving."
    She picked up Mavis's purse and held it while her friend stood up then handed it to her. Mavis was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a pink T-shirt Harriet recognized as belonging to her aunt. Mavis looked toward the bedroom where she had changed out of her costume. “We can deal with the costumes tomorrow,” Aunt Beth said.
    Harriet's own costume was wadded up in the back seat of her car. She'd changed out of it in the restroom at Fogg Park. She assumed the others had done the same, as they were dressed in an assortment of jeans, capris and, of course, Robin in her yoga pants.
    "We don't have much to work with,” Robin said as she studied the list.
    "We need to do some digging,” Harriet said. “When Mavis can handle it, we need to see Gerald's death certificate."
    "Good point,” Robin said. “Mavis would have been asked to produce it to change their bank accounts, insurance, mortgage and car registrations to her name only."
    "And what about his life insurance?” DeAnn asked.
    "Let's hope he didn't have any,” Robin said. “If she collected very much, they'll