Arlene Sachitano - Quilt By Association

"We can't just sit on this,” Harriet argued.

"It must be a real burden running the whole world,” Lauren said.

"Are you suggesting we ignore this?"

"Of course not, I'm not heartless. I just have my ego in check."

"So?"

"So, we show this to the detective. Someone needs to verify it, and then someone needs to arrest our buddy Joseph."

"It's so hard to believe Joseph could do that to DeAnn and then come around asking the Loose Threads to make quilts for him a week later."

"Hello! It's the baby he did something to. DeAnn's known the kid for…what? A week? The poor kid got ripped from what looks like a large loving family, and who knows when that actually happened."

"I thought we agreed the dates matched between the family's missing child report and DeAnn's adoption."

"Those dates match, but according to the internet, these child theft scams usually involve some sort of school or healthcare deception. The family thinks their child is going to a larger clinic for some bogus health problem, or going for special evaluation or schooling in a larger city. They have every expectation their child will return in a few days or a few weeks, if not months. By the time the family realizes their child is actually missing, a lot of time has passed and the trail is cold."

"Are you ladies ready for an appetizer?” Mavis asked from the kitchen, and before Harriet or Lauren could answer, she brought a plate that held small slices of smoked Gouda cheese, water crackers and a small bunch of grapes.

"This should hold you until dinner's ready, which shouldn't be too much longer. If Aiden calls, tell him I've got enough for him, too."

Aiden did call just as they were sitting down to eat. He assured Harriet he could be there before they had their napkins unfolded. Mavis dished up a plate for him and put it in the oven to keep warm, but he arrived before the women were half through with their meal.

"Things are pretty calm over at your place,” he said to Harriet when he was seated at the table. “Your aunt was going to leave a half-hour after I did. The police figure Joseph will wait until he thinks ‘Harriet’ is alone."

"Is this where the party is?” Aunt Beth asked as she let herself in the front door a short while later. “I was booted off the quilting machine for the night by Harriet's clone."

"I told them the police are trying to sweeten the trap for Joseph,” Aiden said. “If he's bought the clone act, he needs to think she's alone."

"The real action's been over here, anyway,” Lauren said. She proceeded to explain what she and Harriet had uncovered about DeAnn's new daughter.

"That's bizarre,” Aunt Beth said when Lauren had finished the story.

Aiden pulled Aunt Beth's step stool from its place in her broom closet and unfolded it next to Harriet's chair.

"Slide around here and put your bad foot up on this. If we're going to sit out here, you need to keep your ankle elevated."

"Does anyone else think it's weird that we have two baby dramas going on at the same time in one small town?” Harriet asked when she was settled. “Frankly, the odds of having two murders and two baby situations at the same time have to be astronomical."

"You've been a one-woman crime wave since you moved back to Foggy Point,” Lauren offered. Mavis glared at her until she looked away. “You can't tell me it hasn't crossed anyone else's mind,” she muttered without looking up.

"Beth and I had the same conversation the day before yesterday,” Mavis said referring to Harriet's comment. “You're right-the chances of adoption fraud, a baby con and two murders happening at the same time and not being connected are pretty small. The problem is, no matter how we rearranged what we knew, we couldn't get the dots to connect."

"There has to be a connection between Neelie, Rodney and Joseph, but what it is-or was-is anyone's guess,” Harriet said. “I heard her arguing on the phone with someone when she was staying at Aiden's, but after I met Rodney, I assumed it was him. I suppose it could have been Joseph."

"I can look him up on the internet and see what I can find out about him,” Lauren offered. “It'll take a little while, though."

"If Neelie was in foster care here, I suppose it's possible she and Joseph knew each other before she turned eighteen,” Harriet said.

"She would have been underage when they had whatever relationship they had,” Aiden pointed out.

"That's creepy,” Harriet said.

"Anyone want tea or coffee?” Aunt Beth asked.

Everyone stated their preference and retreated to the living room except Mavis, who was clearing the table and loading the dishwasher while Beth made coffee and the beverages.

"So, Iloai really was stolen?” Aiden said when he finished looking at Lauren's sharpened photo. “Wow."

Harriet's phone rang, and she struggled to twist around and reach it off the end table. Aiden picked it up and held it out to her.

"Hello,” she said after she'd keyed it on. She listened in silence. “Okay, thanks,” she said. “Sure, we'll be up.” She ended the call and looked at her assembled friends.

"They caught Joseph,” she said.

"What?” Aunt Beth said. “Who was that?"

"It was Detective Morse. She didn't have time to talk, but she wanted us to know Joseph is in custody and it's safe to return to my house. As they expected, he approached the studio a short while after you all left, and they apparently grabbed him without incident."

"What a relief,” Mavis said. “Now we can concentrate on getting our quilts done."

"Did he say anything?” Aiden asked.

"If he did, she didn't tell me. She said she'd call back in a couple of hours if we were still going to be up. I told her we would be."

"I'm going back over to the studio, then,” Beth said. “Phyl's quilt isn't difficult, but time is getting short. I can get another hour or two in while we wait for Jane to call."

"I'm coming, too,” Harriet said.

"No, you're not,” chorused Mavis, Beth and Aiden.

"You still have to rest,” Aunt Beth said. “You don't need to be moving home in the middle of the night."

"Eight o'clock. That's the middle of the night?"

Aunt Beth picked up her bag and left, ending Harriet's protests.

"I better get going, too.” Lauren said, and stood up. “By the way, I didn't get anywhere with Neelie Obote."

"Oh, I almost forgot,” Harriet said. “I have a better name for her."

"Oh, great-and you were going to tell me when?"

"Hey, we just found out this afternoon."

"Things like that I need to know right away. That could have saved me hours of searching."

"I'm sorry. Do you want to know her name or not?"

"Fine,” Lauren said then listened in relative silence as Mavis and Harriet related the information they'd learned about Nancy Lou Freeman.

"Let me see what I can do with this,” she said. “Thanks for dinner."

"How are the dogs doing?” Harriet asked Aiden when they were alone in the living room.

"I think we're finally turning the corner on most of them-physically, anyway. Now we begin the process of trying to figure out who is mentally well enough to be adopted and who will need socialization."

He was describing the process he went through trying to decide if a rescue dog was ready to be adopted when the doorbell sounded. Aiden got up and opened the door, letting Detective Jane Morse in.

"I hope you don't mind my coming by,” she said. “I know I said I would call, but I had to come right by here on my way home, so I thought I'd stop."

"Would you care for some tea or coffee?” Mavis asked from the kitchen door.

"Tea sounds good,” said Detective Morse. Her medium-length brown hair was swept back from her face and probably had covered her ears at the start of her day. Now, one ear poked out between drooping strands, dark smudges shadowed her eyes and her lipstick had worn off. It was clear she had put in a long, hard day.