Yarned and Dangerous by Sadie Hartwell Page A

her.” Every time someone said something sweet about Cora, Josie felt a stab of guilt.
    â€œWell, she was wonderful. And the fastest knitter I’ve ever seen. I could never keep up with her.” Gwen glanced toward the next intersection.
    Was everyone in this town a knitter? No wonder Josie had never felt like she belonged here. “I should let you go.” A big yellow bus appeared in her rearview.
    â€œThere it is. I need to catch my little monsters before they wreak their special brand of havoc on Dorset Falls. I’m downtown three mornings a week to do the books for my husband’s gas station and car repair shop. Maybe I’ll stop in and say good-bye to Miss Marple.”
    â€œSure,” Josie said. “That would be nice.” She found she meant it, then chastised herself. No sense getting attached to people when she’d be leaving soon. She rolled up the window and drove off, waving to Gwen as she passed.
    Another left turn took her onto Elm. This was where the big houses were, ancient saltboxes that were as old as Dorset Falls itself interspersed with oversized Victorians completely impractical for the small families of the twenty-first century. One of these would have belonged to Cora, though it was impossible to tell which one. Josie alternately watched the road in front of her and glanced at each home as she passed, trying to read the dates on the plaques on some of the historic houses.
    Oh, no. No, no, no. Diantha Humphries, the last person she wanted to see, had emerged from one of the houses and was walking gingerly toward a late-model car that idled in the driveway. Why could Josie not seem to get away from that woman? Diantha got into the car just as Josie passed by. Maybe the—what was it Lorna had called her?—old battle-ax hadn’t seen her. Though why should Josie care? She had just as much right to be driving down Elm Street, Dorset Falls, Connecticut, as any other person on the planet.
    â€œYou’re being ridiculous,” Josie said aloud. Maybe if she said it enough times, she’d come to believe it. A glance in the rearview mirror revealed Diantha’s taillights. Josie blew out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. Her old boyfriend’s mother was going in the opposite direction.
    Ten minutes later she pulled into Eb’s driveway. Her car sputtered again as she shut off the ignition. Hmmm. That was a new sound. Of course, the temperature was in the single digits. Miss Bessie didn’t like the cold any more than Josie did, apparently.
    She found Eb seated in his usual spot, with his daily crossword in progress. He didn’t look up as she came in, but filled something in on the newspaper. “Hope you’ve got something planned for dinner. Got skunked today.”
    â€œSkunked?” Josie hoped that didn’t mean Jethro had been sprayed. That smell might never come out of anything he touched, and the dog had the run of the house. At least Coco would have enough sense to stay away. Where was Jethro, anyway?
    Eb looked up at her, over the tops of his reading glasses. “Means we didn’t catch anything.” He returned to his puzzle.
    Whew. Josie loved to eat fish. In restaurants. Where someone else cooked them. “Oh. Well, I’ll figure out something for dinner.”
    â€œYup. Maybe you could figure out how to use the percolator, while you’re at it.”
    â€œSure thing.” Not. She’d asked Lorna to pick her up an automatic drip coffeemaker next time she went to the big-box store. That percolator thing scared Josie. What if it exploded?
    â€œYour nose is growing, missy. I’ll settle for tea.”
    By the time the water was hot and the tea was steeping, Eb had moved from the crossword on to the Jumble. She set the mug down on the table beside him. “The detective in charge of investigating Lillian’s death talked to me today. You’ll probably be hearing from