Murders on Elderberry Road: A Queen Bees Quilt Mystery Read online

  Now, at last, after countless Saturdays spent sewing and not sleuthing, the anniversary quilt was finished, just in time for the fiftieth anniversary of the Quilt Shop. But they decided to have a private unveiling first, just the Queen Bees, and family, of course.

  Susan insisted it be out at her farm. She had moved her mother and a nurse into the guesthouse behind the main house, and she lived alone in the spacious home that Owen had loved. Today the house was ready for her first guests: the ladies she trusted with her life.

  Po and Kate busied themselves in the kitchen, putting out champagne glasses, small plates for the cake, and silverware and napkins. The others prepared the quilt in the great room, attaching it to a rod and covering it with a satin sheet. They had all seen it completed, of course, except for Selma, who had been excluded from the final binding.

  “We’re ready,” Leah called out from the big room, as Owen had called it. Kate and Po gathered up the glasses and came into the room. Po stood on the porch and called to the others.

  Jimmy and the twins, walking as straight as little rulers now, came in from feeding the horses, and P.J. poured champagne all around. Tim lit a fire in the fireplace to take the bite out of the air, then stood beside Leah while Po took center stage.

  “We’ve so much to celebrate,” Po said. Everyone gathered around her. “First, to Life …”

  The clink of glasses echoed in the air. “Here, here!”

  “And healing,” Po said. They turned as one and lifted their glasses to the small quiet man sitting off to the side. Max was in a wheelchair now, and recovering every day. Po had been there visiting the day he woke up. After three months in a coma, he had rolled his head to the side of the pillow, looked Po in the eye, and said in a strong, clear voice: “Po, where’s my meatloaf? Food’s terrible here.”

  Ambrose and Jesse had helped build a ramp for Max’s office after he was released from rehab, and he managed to show up for a couple of hours each day. In exchange, Max was helping them clean up all the discrepancies in their books that he and Owen had discovered. It was a second chance for them, designed to keep the IRS at bay — and Max would help them do it.

  Po lifted her glass and met Max’s eyes. She smiled as glasses were raised in his direction.

  “To Max.” Voices chimed and glasses clinked.

  “And to friendship,” Po said, as the billowy drape fell off the quilt, and the room fell silent

  Selma sat on the couch, right in front of the Queen Bees’ dazzling star quilt. Her eyes were moist as she looked at the millions of tiny stitches that held it together, the hours of chatter and tears and friendship that bound it as tightly as the deep purple binding.

  In the center of the quilt was Susan’s contribution: magnificent beaded clusters of deep blue-black elderberries, their appliquéd stems standing out in relief.

  As Selma reached out and touched it, Susan walked over and planted a big kiss on her cheek. Susan had begun teaching new quilting techniques in Selma’s back room — beading and ribbon appliqué and photograph transfers. The shop was alive with new art, and a public television station had even included the class, and the Queen Bees, in a documentary for public television.

  The attention and the classes had brought new customers and revenue streams to Selma’s store, and the fiftieth anniversary was truly a celebration. The Elderberry neighborhood had taken on new life as it shook itself free of fear. The antique store was in new hands, and the young couple who bought it thought brick sidewalks were terribly dangerous. They also believed antiques should be seen, and had brightened up the store, adding a skylight in the very center. Daisy had finally agreed to an anger management class, and Selma went with her every Tuesday to make sure she didn’t skip. Leah and Susan helped her fix and paint the old window boxes, and at Christmas time, she filled them with tiny live pine trees and dozens of sparkling lights.

  Gus and his wife Rita were helping plan Selma’s anniversary celebration, even inviting the mayor to make a toast. And Marla’s ovens had been humming for two weeks straight as she baked enough anniversary desserts to line Elderberry Road from one end to the other.

  “A good day,” Po said to Kate as the evening at the farm wound down. They were standing side-by-side at Susan’s sink, their arms up to elbows in hot, soapy water.

  Kate nodded. She shoved up the sleeve of her white blouse, leaving clusters of soap bubbles standing on her arm.

  Po looked over at her goddaughter. Good day, for sure. And a good life. She lifted her arm from the sink of suds and pulled Kate close. Her eyes looked across the window and toward the sun sinking slowly behind the woods.

  “See, Meg?” she said silently to herself. “I promised — and she’s still safe. Still sassy, still our girl. Stay tuned, dear friend.”

  About the Author

  Sally Goldenbaum is the author of over two dozen published novels, including a mystery written with Nancy Pickard. She is an editor at a veterinary publishing company, mother of three grown children, and lives in Prairie Village, Kansas, with her husband, Don, two dogs, and a cat.

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  From the background fabric, cut four squares using template A and four triangles using template C.

  From the medium fabric, cut 12 triangles using template B.

  From the light fabric, cut on square using template D.

  Sew a medium B triangle to two sides of each C triangle making a flying geese unit. Make four of these units.

  Sew a medium B triangle to each side of the D square.

  Sew an A square to opposing sides of two of the flying geese units. This will make the top and bottom row of the block.

  Now sew a flying geese unit to either side of the center square in a square block

  Sew the top and bottom rows to the center row to complete the block.

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  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Copyright

  Title Page

  Acknowledgment

  Dedication

  Cast of Characters

  Chapter 1 - Sunshine & Shadow

  Chapter 2 - Trail of Friendship

  Chapter 3 - Streak of Lightning

  Chapter 4 - Hearts & Hands

  Chapter 5 - Twisted Ribbons

  Chapter 6 - Tea Leaf

  Chapter 7 - Tumbling Blocks

  Chapter 8 - Next Door Neighbor

  Chapter 9 - Monkey Wrench

  Chapter 10 - Falling Timbers

  Chapter 11 - Chain Links

  Chapter 12 - Storm at Sea

  Chapter 13 - Light and Dark

  Chapter 14 - Flock of Birds

  Chapter 15 - Snail’s Trail

  Chapter 16 - Spider & the Fly

  Chapter 17 - Wild Goose Chase

  Chapter 18 - Sawtooth Edge

  Chapter 19 - Drunkard’s Path

  Chapter 20 - Barn Raising

  Chapter 21 - Crossroads

  Chapter 22 - Spinning Tops

  Chapter 23 - End of the Day

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Other Books by This Publisher