Free Unraveled by Maggie Sefton Page B

wry smile. “You’ve seen that yourself.”
    Kelly did, indeed. When they found their friend Tracy floating in the dye tub downstairs at Lambspun over a year ago, everyone assumed it was an accidental drowning. But it turned out it wasn’t. It was murder.
    Kelly remembered something. “Did your friend Paul have any idea how old the gun is?”
    “He and I both guessed it to be at least fifty years old. The crime lab guys will give us a better idea when they finish. You still have the photos?”
    “Sure.”
    “Don’t you love technology? What would we do without it?” Burt smiled.
    “Well, for one thing, people wouldn’t expect us to be available electronically twenty-four/seven,” Kelly replied. “We’re all dragging around an invisible electronic tether. We have to be connected all the time. Computer and smartphone, now.”
    “I’m glad you convinced me to get one of those. I’m totally addicted to it now,” Burt said with a laugh.
    “Told you.”
    Mimi strode into the room then. “Oh, you’ve started spinning. I’ve closed up the shop and was about to turn off the lights.”
    “Sit down and knit with us for a few minutes, Mimi,” Kelly suggested. “It’s so peaceful with everyone gone except us.”
    “Well, normally I would, but I put a pot roast on in the Crock-Pot cooking slowly, and it should be ready about now.” Mimi checked her watch.
    Burt immediately slowed the wheel’s turning. “Mimi’s pot roast. That does it. Spinning can wait.” He shoved the rest of the roving into the white plastic bag.
    “Would you like to join us, Kelly?” Mimi invited with her maternal smile. “It’ll be a nice change of pace from pizza or conference food. You’ve been working so much in Denver, we’ll enjoy having some time with you.”
    Kelly pictured Mimi’s pot roast and her stomach growled. “You don’t have to ask me twice,” she said, shoving the recycled silk into her bag.

Six

    Kelly shifted in the wooden chair, trying to get comfortable. The morning meeting at Warner Development’s north Denver office was in full swing. The speaker at the end of the long conference table was winding down his presentation. The last chart was on the screen. Kelly hoped there would be a short break before the next speaker took over. She needed coffee badly. And judging from the looks on the faces of some of Warner’s staff, she wasn’t the only one.
    Most presenters brought pages of drawings and plans and reports to help explain whatever they were talking about. Whether it was current mortgage interest rates in northern Colorado or housing foreclosures spreading throughout the Denver metro and northern Colorado areas. Consequently, Kelly and everyone else in the crowded meeting room had a sheaf of papers to shuffle through for each speaker.
    Kelly managed to stifle a yawn as she rested her chin on her hand. Glancing to the side, she saw Dave Germaine give her a quick smile. He’d obviously noticed her yawn. Kelly sent him a little smile in return. Warner had brought Dave on board to head up the joint project in Thornton with all the assorted project developers. According to Warner, Germaine had made a name for himself among Denver’s developers as someone who could guide a project through any number of minefields to successful conclusion, all while keeping costs under control. Not an easy task, especially in the present economic climate. Considering Dave Germaine had only been on the Denver development scene for eight years, it was quite an accomplishment. Tall with rugged good looks and in his late thirties, Germaine was a rising star on metro Denver’s real estate and development scene.
    Kelly recalled how pleased Warner had been to entice Dave Germaine to join his company and had bragged about Germaine’s commitment to service. Apparently Germaine had gone for his architect degree after he returned from his military service. That was a definite plus with Warner, whose own son was serving overseas in