Free Barbara Graham - Quilted 03 - Murder by Music by Barbara Graham

cords when Wade arrived, bleary eyed but reasonably alert. He had worked long hours at the house looking for fingerprints.
    “I can tell you Blossom turned on the dishwasher. Her prints matched exactly.” He yawned. “Some partial prints on the medicine bottles look like hers, but I can't say for sure.”
    Tony frowned.
    “But, partial prints most likely belonging to Mr. Beasley were on the bottles too.”
    “Telling us?” Tony untied his knots and picked up his pen.
    “Well, it tells us either or both of them could have supplied the overdose.”
    “And?”
    “And maybe because of the smudges, someone else wore gloves and handled the bottles.”
    “Fabulous.” Tony tossed the pen across the room and reached for the antacids.
    Theo wasn't surprised the first arrivals were Susan and Melissa. The young women drove up at about three o'clock, laughing and dragging bag after bag into the lobby. Giddy from escaping their preschool children, they explored every nook and cranny of the hotel, laughing the whole time. Melissa finally insisted they sit for a while and talk to Theo.
    About the time they settled down in the lobby, a vintage Ford pulled up in front and Dottie and Betty climbed out. The driver, a thin, freckle-faced boy with shocking purple hair, jumped out and started unloading their gear. Gavin was soon lending a hand, looking a bit surprised by the weight of the bags. Linking arms, the ladies strolled into the hotel like a pair of queens with two serfs behind them staggering under the volume of luggage. The boy stacked his load by the desk, kissed Dottie's wrinkled cheek and bolted for the door. “Have fun, Grandma. I'll be back on Sunday about noon.” And he was gone.
    Four of them came together. Lucinda, Freddie, Ruth and Holly were inseparable. This weekend, they planned to work on a quilt in a frame. They sent their luggage to the rooms with Gavin. “Just stack it all in one of the rooms, sugar,” said Freddie, the spokeswoman. “We'll sort it out later.”
    “Do you need any help?” Beth Trimble stood at the top of the stairs. It looked like her hair had grown even bigger. “I can send Gavin and Art in to help.”
    “Thanks, Beth, but we do this all the time. We can arrange it ourselves.” Theo sent her away.
    The older ladies, Dottie and Betty, made their way into the lobby, carefully negotiating the stairs, and headed for the corner where Susan, Melissa and Theo were sitting. Melissa and Susan jumped up and began moving chairs into an open U. Once they had everything arranged they were able to sit and chat.
    “Who else is coming?” asked Holly.
    “Martha and Jane will come up together sometime later. They have to wait until Jane gets off work. With Martha teaching, Jane seems to feel she has to be at the museum all the time. Even if they aren't open to visitors yet.” Theo paused. “Eleanor will show up whenever it suits her, I guess.”
    Someone whispered, “I wish that witch would drop dead.”
    “What about Scarlet LaFleur?” said Susan. “I'm excited to learn her embroidery techniques. Wouldn't it be gorgeous on an appliqué project?”
    “You know who she was before she changed her name, don't you?” One of the older ladies muttered as she settled at the frame. She announced the answer to the woman next to her.
    Theo thought everyone looked stunned, which surprised her. She thought it was common knowledge. Scarlet was the former Christmas Poinsettia Flowers. Country music star Elf's older sister.
    Tony had just about tied himself to his desk chair with a very complicated series of knots when Ruth Ann interrupted him. Stepping into the doorway of his office, she said, “You'll be interested to know, Sheriff, Mike just called in from Ruby's Café.”
    Tony had a step-by-step instruction book about knots open on his desk. If he had known anything about these knots before, he had forgotten it, and he had only a few hours left to learn them. “And?” Tony didn't look up from his