A Quilt in Time (A Harriet Turman/Loose Threads Mystery) (14 page)

Based on the success he’d enjoyed in every sport in which he’d chosen to participate his childhood, his parents had expected him to accept one of the several sport scholarships he was offered at the end of his high school years. They were mildly surprised when he chose to work his way through culinary school and then accepted an apprenticeship with a New York chef before returning a little over a year earlier to open his own restaurant.

She attempted to convey the whiplash she’d grown up with, shuttling between a series of mostly European boarding schools and the cozy warmth of her aunt and uncle’s home in Foggy Point, with the occasional command appearance for a photo op wherever her famous-scientist parents were plying their trade at the moment. An hour and a half was nowhere near long enough for that story.

“Wow, this is more hoopla than I expected for wiener dog races,” she said as James navigated the car to a parking lot next to the soccer fields.

“That’s because the races are just a part of the Wagfest. The local animal welfare organization puts on this event to raise money for its various programs.”

He parked and got Cyrano out of his travel crate.

“We need to take our star here to the veterinary check station before we can pick up his race packet.” He snapped the harness into place and set the chocolate brown-and-tan dachshund down on the grass to attend to his business. Picking him up again, he led the way to a path that wound through the park.

“I don’t believe this,” Harriet said as they came to a clearing.

The veterinary check station was in front of them, and standing behind it, examining a black-and-tan dachshund, was a familiar tall, dark-haired figure with unusually light blue eyes.

James sighed, his shoulders sagging.

“Is this going to be a problem?”

Harriet stiffened and strode toward the table.

“Not in the slightest.”

Aiden finished checking the dog then copied some numbers onto a form and handed it back to the woman who accompanied the entrant.

“I have to say, I’m surprised to see you here,” he said.

“I could say the same,” Harriet replied in a tight voice.

“Not really. I
am
a veterinarian, and you know I volunteer for dog welfare events all over the Puget Sound area.”

Hannah Pratt walked up to the trio and handed Aiden a printout of names and numbers.

“Here’s the list you wanted,” she said. She looked at Harriet. “Am I interrupting something?”

Harriet looked her over for some sign she was something other than a wide-eyed schoolgirl in awe of her mentor, the good doctor Jalbert, but she didn’t see any.

“Have you met Sarah’s sister Hannah?” Aiden asked. “She’s taking classes at the community college and is going to do an internship with me for the next six weeks.”

Hannah beamed at him as if he’d just presented her with the tiara and cape at the Miss America pageant.

“I’m so excited for this opportunity.” She smiled her megawatt smile again.

“Have you seen your sister?” Harriet asked.

Hannah’s eyes narrowed, and the sunshine left her face.

“She’s not my sister. My dad is married to her mother, but we’re not related in any way.”

“Okay. Do you know where your dad’s wife’s daughter is?” Harriet shot back.

Hannah took Cyrano from James, the sunny smile back in place.

“I have no idea where she is, but that’s not unusual. Sarah doesn’t have time for her family.”

Aiden took Cyrano with one hand and handed the dog’s paperwork to Hannah with the other.

“Let’s see how this little fella is,” he said and pressed his stethoscope against the dog’s chest.

“I take it you know the blonde,” James muttered to Harriet as they watched Aiden perform Cyrano’s pre-race physical.

“Her stepsister’s in my quilt group. She’s currently missing in action, after having been beaten within an inch of her life by her fiancé, who coincidentally is the bimbo’s half-brother.”

“Yikes! Can I do anything to help?”

“Thanks, but I can’t think of anything.” Harriet explained what she and the Threads had done and were planning to do. “If you can come up with something else for us to do, let me know.”

“All done,” Aiden said, interrupting their conversation. He handed Cyrano back to James. “He seems healthy. Make sure he drinks water before and after each heat he runs.” He handed Cyrano’s signed entrance papers to Harriet, brushing her hand with his as he did. “Good luck.”

She blushed. “Thanks,” she said and turned away to follow James and Cyrano back to the main trail and on to the field where the race course had been set up.

James stopped and greeted friends and customers along the path as they made their way to the field. Where Aiden had the terrible beauty of a brewing storm, James was a perfect summer day. Everyone smiled as he left them, some of his sunshine lingering with them after he moved on.

“There’s going to be a police K-Nine demonstration and then the All-Breed Canine Search and Rescue group is going to do a demo.” James snapped Cyrano’s leash onto his harness and set him down. “The wiener dog races start after that.”

“Should we be doing anything for the star athlete?” Harriet asked with a grin.

“All he needs to do is put his colored shirt on, and he’s ready. If you wouldn’t mind holding him for a minute, I’ll go back to the car and get a waterproof blanket for us to sit on and his water dish and bottled water.”

Harriet took Cyrano’s leash and watched James jog back down the path and out of sight.

“I have to say, I was surprised to see you here,” Aiden said from behind her. She turned and saw that he was alone.

“So you said.”

“I didn’t know you were seeing—what’s his name—James?”

“I’m not seeing him, unless you consider eating in his restaurant seeing him. His sister’s child got sick at the last minute, so he asked if I could sub for her. As it turned out, I could.”

“You can tell a lot about a person from his pet,” Aiden said cryptically.

“And?”

“Okay, he has good taste in dogs and obviously takes very good care of this little fellow.” He reached down and scratched Cyrano’s ears.

“What’s the deal with Sarah’s not-sister?”

Aiden smiled his lopsided grin.

“Would
you
claim Sarah if you could help it?”

Harriet couldn’t argue when he smiled at her like that. She smiled in return.

“No, I guess not. I feel bad that she got hurt, but she’s still the most annoying person I’ve ever met.”

“I read a statistic that narcissism is on the rise in the current generation compared to our parents. They blamed it on parents who gave participation trophies to their kids every time they turned around.”

“After meeting Sarah’s parents at the open house, it’s hard for me to believe they overdid it on her self-esteem.”

“They aren’t your average family, that’s for sure.”

Harriet sighed. “I just wish I knew Sarah was safe. Even she doesn’t deserve what that guy did to her.”

“That’s actually why I came to find you. Is there anything I can do to help find her?”

“Lauren and I are going to see if we can go to the women’s shelter tomorrow to install some of the curtains Aunt Beth and Mavis made. That’ll give us an excuse to look around and see if she’s there.”

“Let me know if you have any trouble getting in. I can take you if the curtain scam doesn’t work.”

Harriet laughed. “We really do have curtains to put up.”

Aiden put his hand on her arm and squeezed gently.

“I have no doubt.” He smiled at her. “I’ve got to get back to work. And I won’t embarrass you with a PDA.”

Harriet raised her left eyebrow.

“Public display of affection,” he translated with a laugh as he turned and went up the path to the activity area.

“Wow, he really does like to run, doesn’t he?”

Cyrano was licking James’s face and wagging his tail for all he was worth as James tried to wipe the mud off the dog’s belly. Harriet reached out, and Cyrano lunged into her arms, licking her face as he came.

“I told you it was his passion. I know you didn’t believe me, but it is.” James smiled as he finished cleaning the dog’s paws. “And he’s good at it.”

“I guess so. He won all his heats and the finals by a wide margin.”

“If all the dogs were as focused on the finish line as he is, it might be a different story.” James looked up at the now-cloudy sky. “We should get going before the rain starts.”

Harriet set the dog down to pick up the picnic blanket and dog dish while James gathered Cyrano’s racing shirt, towel and toys. They let him lead them back down the trail to the parking lot.

Cyrano started barking as soon as they reached the paved edge of the car park.

“Hush,” James said, but that just seemed to make the dog redouble his hysterics. “I don’t know what his problem is.”

He picked the dog up and held him close to his chest, muffling the noise slightly.

“Oh, no!” Harriet pointed as they approached the car. Someone had smashed the driver’s-side window.

“Darn it.” James picked Cyrano up to prevent the dog from stepping in broken glass.

“Something wrong?” Aiden asked. He was in the next row up, loading his supplies into the back of his vintage Bronco.

“Someone broke into James’s car,” Harriet called back. “They broke the window.”

Aiden joined them in examining the damage. Hannah followed him.

“The CD player and GPS are gone,” James reported.

“Do you have a car alarm?” Hannah asked.

“I do. I’m guessing whoever did this timed it for the height of the dog races. With all the crowd noise, no one would notice a car alarm going off.”

“Look.” Hannah pointed several cars away to another broken window.

“Can we do anything for you?” Aiden offered. “I can wait until help comes, or we could give you a ride back to Foggy Point, if you want.”

Hannah looked at Aiden, her eyes wide.