The Devil's Puzzle

Read The Devil's Puzzle for Free Online

Book: Read The Devil's Puzzle for Free Online
Authors: Clare O'Donohue
“That’s the confusing part. His teeth were in great shape, but his leg wasn’t set properly, as if he hadn’t gotten good medical care. If he had the money to look after his teeth, why didn’t he have the money to get his leg set?”
    I didn’t have an answer for that, only another question. “What about DNA? Can you identify him that way?”
    “I’d need DNA to compare it to,” Jesse said. “I’d need a relative.”
    “What about the blood spots you found?”
    “No match in the national criminal database.”
    “I’m sure people in town would volunteer to give samples of their DNA. All you need is to swab their cheek, right?”
    “Yeah, but to do the whole town would take a lot of money and a lot of time. I’d rather start with asking around. Maybe someone remembers a man who passed through Archers Rest, or has a relative that’s been unaccounted for all these years. We . . .” He smiled. “Sorry, I just have to start asking everyone if they know anything.”
    Just when I was about to ask if the coroner had been able to provide a cause of death, Ed announced that he’d fixed the projector. Despite reminding myself that I wasn’t going to get involved in this investigation, I was puzzled about how a well-dressed man that no one in town had reported missing had ended up in Eleanor’s garden. It was all I could think about until Janet Leigh stepped into the shower, and then I grabbed Jesse’s arm and got lost in the movie.

CHAPTER 8
    “H i, Nell.”
    The next morning I sat at the front counter of the shop, paging through the latest issue of my favorite art quilt magazine and trying to stay awake when Glad Warren snapped me to attention.
    “Just popping my head in to see how things are going.”
    ‘They’re going well, Mrs. Warren.”
    “Glad. Call me Glad. Anyone who would give so much of herself to help this town is a friend, and my friends call me Glad.”
    “Okay. Well, I’m working on some plans for the quilt show and hoping to get some other regulars at the shop involved.”
    Glad took a step into the store. It may have been her first time. She had a fussy, won’t-break-a-nail quality about her. Correcting other people’s manners and checking for dust seemed more likely to be Glad Warren’s hobbies than anything as useful as quilting.
    She sniffed at the general warmth of the place and then turned on a concerned—aka annoyed—expression when she looked at me. “This is a big responsibility, Nell. A well-designed quilt show can be a huge draw for us, or it could be a disaster if it’s just thrown together. I hope you’re taking it seriously.”
    “I’ve got a terrific plan for the show,” I assured her. “I just want to go over it with the other members of the quilt group and then I’ll clear it with you.”
    She eyed me suspiciously. “Is Eleanor helping you, dear?”
    “She’ll contribute a quilt or two, I’m sure, but she’s leaving the show to me.”
    “Well, I suppose she knows what she’s doing. Your grandmother sometimes can exhibit an inexplicable faith in people.”
    “I don’t think she’s ever been wrong.”
    She raised an eyebrow. “It’s good that you have such confidence in your grandmother’s judgment. Just let me know what you need before you get in over your head.”
    “Will do.”
    I watched her glance around the store before leaving. While I did sense that Glad approved of handmade things and the continuing of tradition, I also felt that she would never bother with the actual effort involved in making anything from scratch, and was wary of anyone who would. For Glad, the only duty of a prominent citizen was to form a committee and find some poor idiot to do all the work.
    “Who’s that?” Kathryn Brigham, a regular customer of Someday Quilts, had been pulling bolts of bright neon pink fabrics.
    “One of our town big shots. I somehow got myself put in charge of a quilt show this summer.”
    “It sounds like you have some great ideas for

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