Free Thread End: An Embroidery Mystery by Amanda Lee Page A

coming over?”
    “Why don’t I come to you?” I said. “I can pick up some food and a movie.”
    “You’re awesome,” he said. “Bring Angus, too.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Positive.”
    “See you in a few,” I said.
    I placed my pillow, embroidery floss, and scissors in my tote bag so I could take the project to work with me tomorrow. Hopefully, business would be back to normal on Monday.
    “Angus, do you want to go see Ted?” I asked.
    He got up, tail wagging. He understood the word
go
and was always ready. Whether it was for a walk or for a drive, it made no difference to Angus. He pranced around impatiently while I put the tote away.
    “Do you mind if I go upstairs and freshen up a little?”
    When he saw me head toward the stairs, he sighed and flopped back down onto the floor as if I’d tricked him.
    “We’ll go in just a minute!” I called over my shoulder.
    I knew some people would think me insane for talking to my dog as if he were a person, but why shouldn’t I? For one thing, I was absolutely positive that he understood me. Besides, I talked to Jill sometimes, and she was a mannequin.
    I hurried into the bedroom, changed tops, and reapplied my makeup. I slipped on a pair of peep-toe wedges and called the pizza parlor as I walked back down the stairs. I placed the order and grabbed Angus’s leash, and he hurried over without my even having to call him. I told you we understood each other.
    Fortunately, the pizza parlor Ted and I frequented had a movie-rental kiosk outside, so I was able to hop out of the Jeep and leave the engine running long enough to choose a movie and then get back in and go around to the drive-through window. That way, I didn’t have to let Angus out of my sight.
    After I’d paid for the pizza and placed it in the passenger seat, I was really glad there was a doggy barrier between the front seats and backseats. It still allowed Angus to put his big furry head over the seat, but it didn’t give him enough room to snuffle the pizza box as he so desperately wanted to do.
    When we arrived at Ted’s apartment, he answered the door in jeans and a T-shirt. He was barefoot and his hair was still wet from his shower. He smelled yummy in a very masculine way.
    He greeted me with a kiss before taking the pizza so I could unclip Angus’s leash. Both the dog and I followed Ted into the kitchen. Unlike my country kitchen, Ted’s was ultramodern. The appliances were stainless steel, the cabinets were glossy black with thin, tubular silver handles, and the countertops were dark gray granite. There were skylights and recessed lighting over the island and a chandelier over the table in the breakfast nook.
    Ted placed the pizza on the table as I put my purse on the counter. We turned, and he took me in his arms for a more passionate embrace.
    “I’ve missed you today,” he said.
    “I’ve missed you, too.”
    “Thank you for sending Reggie over with the muffins. They were delicious.”
    “You’re welcome,” I said. “I happened to think that she was probably a little lonely, too, so I called and invited her to brunch. We went over our own theories on the robbery.”
    “Did you come to any conclusions, Inch-High? We could use all the help we can get on this one.” After kissing me again, he went to the cabinet and took out some plates.
    “We’re fairly certain it was an inside job. I mean, it would
have
had
to be, wouldn’t it? The thieves knew where the cameras were, blacked out the lenses, disabled the security alarm. . . .”
    “We feel pretty sure there was someone within the museum helping the thieves,” he said. “But we can’t rush to judgment. Locating the security cameras and discovering what type of alarm the museum used could have been done by someone on the outside.” He opened the box and put slices of the pizza on the plates.
    This pie was nothing like the veggie pizza I’d had this morning. This one was ham and pineapple.
    “Would you like to eat