the devil you know · the devil you know chapter 2 — time and tide the devil you know. mystery...

© 2017 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 1681703866

The Devil You KnowChapter 2 — Time and Tide

The Devil You KnowMystery written by Penny Pislaan

Mystery quilt designed by Cynthia McNutt Scollard

Henry arched a brow as the detective took a seat across the desk from him and made himself comfortable. He couldn’t possibly have heard the man right. “I’m sorry, there’s a what under the boat dock?”

“A dead body,” the detective repeated. “Woman from the looks of it. Hard to tell anything else, though. Too badly decomposed.”

“If it’s too badly decomposed, then how can you tell it’s a woman?”

“Clothing.”“I see.” Although he didn’t. What was

a dead body doing under his boat dock? And how long had it been there? He tried to remember when he first noticed the smell. A few days ago, at least. He swiveled his chair around to stare out the window that overlooked the backyard and the water beyond. A man about his own age wearing gloves and a black jacket emblazoned with the acronym “CSI” in big yellow letters across the back was

wrapping yellow police tape around one of the trees. It seemed that yellow was the police’s color of choice.

“Hey, what is he doing?” Henry demanded.“What’s who doing?” The detective stood

to look out the window.“The guy with the yellow tape.”“What does it look like he’s doing?” He

resumed his seat. “He’s securing the crime scene.”

“Crime scene?” Henry’s eyes followed the guy as he walked toward the dock, threaded the tape through the slats of the railing that he’d installed for his mother right after moving in, and then continued across the yard to another tree near the edge of his property. “Is that really necessary?”

“Of course, it is. We can’t have the lookie-loos messing up our crime scene.”

He turned his back on the activity outside and dragged his hand down his face with a sigh, wishing the detective would quit referring to his yard as a crime scene.

“So, the big questions are who is she and

Chapter 2 — Time and Tide



how did she come to be floating face down under your boat dock, Mr. Darrow?”

“Sorry, I can’t help you.”“Can’t? Or won’t?”“What is that supposed to mean?” Henry

asked, his eyes narrowing.The detective shrugged. “Nothing in

particular. Just speculating. Why? Is there something you’d like to tell me?”

“Do I need to call my lawyer?”“I don’t know. Do you?”“Will you quit answering my questions

with a question? If you have something to say, say it. Otherwise, I think we’re done here.”

Rising to his feet, the detective hiked up his pants and leveled his gaze at Henry. “I’ll be in touch.” Then he left the room.

Henry watched him go, a feeling of unease settling in his chest. Maybe he should call his lawyer, just in case.

The receptionist answered on the third ring. “Bloomfield and Associates, Attorneys at Law. How may I help you?”

“Good afternoon, Bridget. It’s Henry Darrow.”

“Good afternoon, Mr. Darrow. What can I do for you?”

“Well, if David’s around, you can put him on the phone.” He swiveled around to stare out the window as he had done earlier, watching the CSI team scour his yard for clues, he supposed.

“His one o’clock appointment is here but let me see if I can get his attention for a moment before calling the client back.”

“Thanks, Bridget. I’d appreciate it.”A moment later, the voice of David

Bloomfield came on the line. “Henry, my man. What’s up?”“The police found a dead body under

my boat dock, David,” he said without preamble, figuring it was better to just get it all out in the open from the start.

David didn’t say anything at first. “Come again?” he finally asked.

“I said the police found a dead body under my boat dock.”

“Whose?”Henry shrugged, though David couldn’t

see him. “I have no idea. Some woman, apparently. The CSI guys are here right now going

through my yard.”“Have the police talked to you yet?”“A detective did.”“Okay, I’m on my way. Whatever you do,

from this point on, don’t talk to anyone, got it?”

“But I didn’t do anything,” he protested.“I know but it doesn’t matter. If they want

to talk to you, they’re going to have to go through me.”

“All right. I won’t talk to anyone. What do I do if the detective comes back?”

“You tell him your attorney is on his way and you aren’t answering any questions without me present.”

Henry hung up the phone and leaned his head back against the chair, staring up at the ceiling fan blades circling silently overhead. Maybe he should have listened to his mom and gone back home for a week rather than have his parents come here. No, then there would be strangers traipsing all over his property without him here to keep an eye on them.

“Henry, there are strange people in your yard.”

“I know, Mom.” He sighed. He really should have thought to close his office door after the detective left.

“What are they doing?”



“Looking for clues.”She frowned. “Clues to what?”“To how the dead body got under my boat

dock.”He probably shouldn’t have said anything.

She let out a strangled gasp. “Did you say dead body?”

“Forget I said that.” He stood and came around his desk to block his mother’s view of the people taking pictures on the beach. “Come on, Mom. Why don’t I take you and Dad to lunch? I’ll just call David and have him meet us somewhere.”

“You called David?” Her eyes widened. “Henry, what is going on?”

Before he could answer her, she spun around and hurried out of his office, bellowing for his dad. He winced. Was it too late to go on vacation? Maybe to the Bahamas. That should be far enough away. Yeah, more than likely it was way too late for that now. He could just imagine how a sudden out of town trip would look to the detective who already appeared to be the suspicious sort which, he had to admit, was probably a handy trait to have if you were a detective.

When he joined his parents in the living room, his mom was going on about the people in his yard and his dad looked confused.

“In Henry’s yard, Preston. In his yard,” she repeated, just in case he hadn’t gotten it the first time. “There are CSI people in Henry’s yard.”

If he had to guess, he would never suspect that his mother knew anything about Crime Scene Investigators. Anything that didn’t involve money, shopping, or charities usually wasn’t worth her time.

His dad turned toward him. “Why?”“Why what?”

His father looked at him as though he had lost his mind. “Why are there CSI people in your yard, Henry? Are you having trouble following this conversation?”

Unfortunately, no. “Do you remember yesterday when I told you I called Animal Control because of the smell by the boat dock and that I thought it was a dead animal?”

“Yes…” His father drew the word out.“It was something dead all right but it

wasn’t an animal.”“It wasn’t?”“No. It was a woman.”“What?”“The guy Animal Control sent out this

morning found a woman under the dock.” He shrugged. “He called the police, they sent a detective.”

“Henry had to call David,” his mother piped in.

His dad’s gaze shifted to his mom, then back to him. “Why did you have to call David?”

“I didn’t have to, I just thought it would be better if I did.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the backyard. “Especially since they’re searching my yard.”

“Well, that’s good then, son, that you called him. When will he be here?”

“He said he was on his way before he hung up.” Just then, there was a knock on the front door. “That’s probably him.” Henry left his parents standing there and went to answer the door. Only it wasn’t David. The detective was back.

“I have a few more questions,” the man said.

Henry seriously doubted it would be a good idea to slam the door in the face of a detective working an active investigation



but it was tempting. It didn’t matter anyway. The detective brushed past Henry without an invitation before he could make up his mind. He waited until the detective was inside, then he slammed the door shut. The sound brought his parents from the living room.

“Henry, what is going on?” his mother demanded again.

“Mom, Dad, this is Detective…uh…Detective…” He felt like an idiot. “I’m sorry, I can’t remember your name.”

Glaring at him, the detective reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. Whatever. He figured he had a right to be a bit forgetful. It wasn’t every day a dead body was found on one’s property. He glanced at the card, then at his parents. “Detective Tom Jones.” He looked at the card again, “Really? Your name is Tom Jones?” He must have missed that when the detective introduced himself earlier.

The man glared at him again. “You have a problem with that?”

“No, it’s just that I can’t imagine women throwing their panties at you.”

His mother gasped and his father’s eyes widened. Detective Jones looked like he was just waiting for an excuse to slap him in handcuffs. Maybe it wasn’t in his best interests to try and be funny right now. “I apologize, Detective…Jones.” He was never going to be able to get the visual out of his head of the middle-aged, overweight detective on stage, having women tossing their panties at him. He just might have to have his brain scrubbed. “What can I do for you?”

He folded his arms across his chest, a scowl on his face. “I told you, I have a few more questions.”

“My attorney advised me not to talk to

anyone without him present.”The scowl turned into a smirk. “Felt the

need to lawyer up, did you?”“Not until you started answering my

questions with questions,” Henry muttered. “Detective,” his mother butted in, “our son

is an upstanding citizen of this community. He was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, for Heaven’s sake.”

What that had to do with anything was beyond Henry’s comprehension. He started to roll his eyes, caught the look his father gave him, and sighed instead. He seemed to be sighing a lot the past few days. Make that the past week which, coincidentally, just happened to be how long his mom and dad had been here. His parents were driving him nuts.

“So, as you can see, you have no reason to question him. Please leave.” She pointed toward the door.

Henry wondered how long he would have to stay in prison if his mother continued to help. At this rate, he might get a life sentence.

Another knock on the front door drew everyone’s attention. Hopefully, it would be David this time. And it was. Henry joined the others in the living room, his attorney in tow.

“David, this is Detective Jones.” The men shook hands and the detective handed David his card. If David thought the man’s name was funny, he didn’t comment. At least one of them was treating this business with the seriousness it deserved.

“David,” his mother said, “it is absolutely ridiculous that this detective is questioning Henry. He should be out there trying to find out what happened to that poor woman, not harassing our son.”

The attorney patted her shoulder. “Now,



Judith. There are certain procedures in place whenever a human body is found. The detective is just following protocol, that’s all. We’ll get this all cleared up soon enough, don’t worry.”

“I hope so. This is intolerable.”Henry ushered David and the detective

into his office, hoping to get the questioning over with without his parents’ presence but it wasn’t meant to be. His mother grabbed his father’s arm and dragged him along behind them, taking a stance near his desk where she would be able to hear and see everything going on. His father stood in the back of the room, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned casually against the doorframe.

“We have a sketch artist recreating the woman’s features,” the detective told him. “When he’s finished, we want you to come down to the station and have a look, see if she’s someone you know.”

Henry looked at David, who nodded. “Okay.” He wanted to say that he seriously doubted it was anyone he knew–not that he knew that many people but he was fairly certain he would have heard by now if someone was missing–but he wasn’t sure David wanted him to expand on his agreement so he kept his mouth shut and only answered questions if David gave him a nod of approval first.

When the detective finally left, Henry walked David to the door. “Thanks for coming on such short notice, David.”

“Anytime,” David said, shaking Henry’s hand. “If the detective comes back, remember not to talk to him without me here. They should have the preliminary autopsy report within 24 hours after the ME has had a chance to examine her, then we’ll know more about what’s going on.”

“Okay. Sounds good.” Or as good as it could, he supposed, given the circumstances. Closing the door behind his attorney, he leaned back against it for a moment, took a deep breath, then pushed away and followed the sound of his parents’ voices.

“I don’t like this one bit, Preston,” his mother was saying. “Maybe we should call Bradley.”

Bradley Thompson was a high-powered defense attorney and one of his parents’ oldest and dearest friends. Henry thought calling him in at this point was overkill.

“I don’t think we need Brad, Mom,” he said, entering the kitchen and stopping behind his mother, hands on his hips. “David will be able to handle it.”

She turned to face him. “Don’t be stubborn about this, Henry. What if word of this gets back to the family? Or your grandparents?” She looked horrified at the possibility. “What will they think?”

“Word is not going to find its way clear to Vermont unless someone says something.”

“Well, don’t look at me,” she huffed. “I certainly don’t want this to be common knowledge.”

They both directed their gaze toward his father. “What?” he demanded, frowning.

“Preston,” his mother began, “you know you have a tendency to just blurt things out without thinking. Do not tell your parents about this. In fact, do not even talk to them until this entire fiasco has blown over.”

Only his mother would consider a dead body under his boat dock as a fiasco. He doubted the dead woman would think of the loss of her life in such terms.

His father’s frown deepened. “Give me some credit, Judith.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m going to lie



down. This has been a most trying day.”They watched her walk away. As soon

as the door to the spare bedroom closed, Henry’s father turned to him. “What is there to do in this town?”

“Uh…” Henry’s mind drew a blank. He never really went anywhere besides the mill and home.

“Never mind. There must be a tavern or two in town. Let’s go.”

They drove around until his father found a place that looked promising, whatever that meant. Before getting out of his father’s rental car, Henry stared out the windshield. “What are we doing here, Dad?”

“It’s too late in the day to go fishing.”Henry slowly smiled. “I’m surprised you

and Mom are still together.”His dad shrugged. “Your mother went to

a lot of trouble to marry me. I suppose the least I can do is stick it out.”

That had to be one of the sorriest reasons he’d ever heard for staying together. He knew his parents’ story, of course. Not because they told him but because he’d been eavesdropping on one of their arguments when he was about ten. It was a little disconcerting at the time to learn that his father had only married his mother because he was on the way and that she had only married him because his family had money. Leaning back against the headrest, he rolled his head toward his father. “You know it wouldn’t have mattered to me if you guys divorced.”

“Not now, of course, but it would have when you were little. Besides, and don’t ever tell your mother I said this or I’ll deny it, she does have her moments. And in her own way, I know she cares about us.”

Yeah, Henry knew that, too. Because she had been raised by nuns in an orphanage

where her parents had dumped her when she was only a few days old, she never had anyone to learn parenting skills from and she’d never been the nurturing kind. Once she’d produced the obligatory heir, she wasn’t interested in having any more children. When he was younger, he’d often wished that he’d had brothers and sisters, at least one or two to help share the burden of dealing with his mother so she wouldn’t have to direct all her attention on him. Sometimes being an only child sucked, especially now that he lived 1200 miles away. He had aunts, uncles, and cousins who lived closer than he did if his parents needed help but it wasn’t exactly the same.

“I’m sorry I moved away, Dad.”His father clasped his shoulder. “It was

time for you to be your own man, son. I understand. I did the same thing. Don’t think it wasn’t hard to move three thousand miles away from your grandparents but I did it.”

“Yeah, but you have siblings who stayed in the area to take care of them.”

Sighing, his father reached for the car’s door handle. “I’m only fifty-three, son, and your mother is fifty. We’re both in good health. Don’t let your mother guilt trip you into giving up your dreams and moving back home.”

“I won’t.”“Good. You ready to get out of the car

now?”Henry chuckled. “Yeah, Dad. I’m ready.

Where are we going?”He pointed at a tavern. “It’s been awhile

since I shot pool.”“It’s been awhile for me, too,” Henry

admitted, thinking that he really needed to get out more often because like the Italian



restaurant they’d gone to last night, he had no idea this place was even here.

It was dark and kind of musty inside the tavern. The only real lights were those over the four pool tables in the back of the room. Two of them were being used so Henry’s dad fished in his pocket for quarters as he headed for one of the empty tables. Henry detoured toward the bar to get them a couple of beers.

The place was a little more crowded than he thought it would be on a weeknight and it took a few minutes to get served once be made it to the bar. As the bartender popped the top on two beers and handed them to him, the subtle scent of a woman’s perfume caught his attention, playing around the edges of his memory. He’d smelled it before, but couldn’t recall where. And then he heard a familiar voice.

“Hey, handsome. Buy a lady a drink?”He looked over at his personal assistant

and his eyes widened. At work, Madelyn Rawlings always wore very conservative attire. Apparently, she liked to loosen up when she was on her own time. A lot.

“Henry? Are you all right?” She always called him “Mr. Darrow,” even

when no one else was around. It was strange to hear her use his given name.

“Uh, sure,” he said, snapping out of his shock. “Give the lady whatever she wants.”

“What’ll it be?” the bartender asked. She rattled off the name of something

that sounded like wine. Not being a wine drinker himself, though, he couldn’t be certain.

The bartender inhaled sharply. “That’s a hundred dollars per glass,” he told her.

She shrugged. “He’s rich, he can afford it.”

Henry’s brows drew together in a frown.

Her attitude irritated him. Whether or not he was rich was not the point. He had to remind himself that she was an excellent assistant and she kept him organized, which was monumental on its own, and she was right, he could afford it so he motioned for the bartender to pour the wine she wanted.

When he started to walk away, she scrambled off the bar stool and hurried after him, her hundred-dollar-per-glass drink in hand. “Where are you going?”

“To shoot pool with my dad,” he called back over his shoulder, gesturing toward the table where his dad was waiting patiently.

“Do you mind if I watch?”He did but he didn’t have the right to tell

her she had to leave. He firmly believed in keeping his professional life and his personal life separate and she was definitely intruding on the latter.

“Good evening, Mr. Darrow,” she said to his father.

Preston Darrow inclined his head. “Ms. Rawlings.”

More than once, as the evening wore on, Henry could feel Madelyn’s gaze on him. She wasn’t really doing anything wrong so he wasn’t sure why her attention was beginning to make him feel extremely uncomfortable but it did and he didn’t much care for the feeling. And worse, his father noticed his discomfort. Every now and then, he would arch a brow, a curious look on his face. Short of leaving, which his father didn’t seem ready to do just yet, there wasn’t anything he could do other than ignore her.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, his father laid his cue on the table. “Ready to go, son? Your mother is going to wonder



what happened to us.”Oh, yeah, he was more than ready.

Madelyn was still propped on a chair she’d dragged over to where they were playing, her legs crossed, and the short skirt of her low-cut dress hiked halfway up her thighs. He made sure his gaze settled anywhere but on her.

Apparently, she’d been waiting for them to leave because she followed them outside. “You’ll be back at work on Monday morning?” she asked him.

Henry cleared his throat. “Yeah.”“I’ll see you then.” She gave a quick

wave and walked away.Watching her as she headed toward her

car, Henry dragged his hand down his face. Another habit, along with sighing, that he seemed to have developed in the past few days.

“What was that all about?” his father demanded.

“I don’t even know,” he admitted.“Keep an eye on her, Henry. She looks

like trouble.”He couldn’t agree more.



The Devil You KnowMystery written by Penny Pislaan

Mystery quilt designed by Cynthia McNutt Scollard

Chapter 2 — Time and TideCutting & Sewing Instructions

Figure 1Layout of Time and Tide Block

Block Size: 12” finished; 12-1/2” unfinished



Difficulty level: Beginner/intermediate.

Cut: 28 pieces total — Place templates printed side up on fabric that is right side up. Cut templates and fabric on solid lines on templates. The dashed lines are seam lines to show you how the locations of seams on the occasional odd template.

• 4 of template A using fabric #1 (shown as light blue on the fabric list)• 4 of template B using fabric #2 (shown as medium blue on the fabric list)• 4 of template C using fabric #2 (shown as medium blue on the fabric list)• 4 of template D using fabric #2 (shown as medium blue on the fabric list)• 4 of template E using fabric #2 (shown as medium blue on the fabric list)• 2 of template F using fabric #7 (shown as medium green on the fabric list)• 2 of template F using fabric #8 (shown as dark green on the fabric list)• 2 of template G using fabric #7 (shown as medium green on the fabric list)• 2 of template G using fabric #8 (shown as dark green on the fabric list)

History: I wasn’t able to find any historical information on this block. It would be difficult to cut this one out using only a rotary cutter and ruler since the pieces of this block have odd angles such as template A’s 26° angle. It’s far easier to cut your pieces out using these templates. If you’ve ever sewn clothing, this is no different than cutting out a pattern.

General observation: This is a nine-patch variation.

Skills acquired: Cutting fabric using a template and accurate piecing.

Preparation: Make sure your fabric is wrinkle-free before cutting your pieces out. Otherwise, your pieces won’t be accurate due to small folds in the fabric. And then you’ll be fighting trying to get the finished block to come out to the correct size. It helps me to starch and press my fabric before cutting it out. It makes the cutting easier and stabilizes edges on the bias so they don’t stretch.



Sewing Instructions

Step 1: Using the block layout shown in Figure 1 on page 1 as a guide, sew together pieces to make the nine squares, as shown below.

Figure 2Nine Blocks Sewn Together



Figure 3Finished Block

Step 2: Sew together the small blocks into three rows.



Step 3: Press the first and third row seams away from the center. Press the middle row seams towards the center.



Step 4: Then sew the three rows together to make the complete block. Press seams towards the center. You did it! You’ve now completed your second Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilt block...



Test Square:

Print this page at 100% scale – this square should measure 1" square. If not, increase or decrease the percentage size on the print "custom scale" as required to make this square print out correctly. When this measures 1" square, your templates will be the correct size.

Template ACut 4 of fabric #1

(light blue)

The Devil You Know

Block 2 —Time and Tide

www.murderandmayhemmurdermysteryquilts.com

© 2017 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts

ISBN 1681703866

All templates include seam allowances. Sew with scant 1/4” seams.



Template BCut 4 of fabric #2

(medium blue)

The Devil You Know

Block 2, Time and Tim

e

ISBN 1681703866

© 2017 Murder and M

ayhem M

urder Mystery Quilts

www.murderandm

ayhemm

urdermysteryquilts.com



The Devil You Know

Block 2, Time and Time

ISBN 1681703866

Template CCut 4 of fabric #2

(medium blue)




Template ECut 4 of fabric #2

(medium blue)

The Devil You Know


ISBN 1681703866


www.murderandmayhemmurdermysteryquilts.comTemplate D

Cut 4 of fabric #2

(medium blue)

The Devil You Know


ISBN 1681703866






Template F —Cut 2 of fabric #7

(light green) and 2 of fabric #8 (dark green)

The Devil You KnowBlock 2, Time and Time

ISBN 1681703866© 2017 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quiltswww.murderandmayhemmurdermysteryquilts.com

Template G —Cut 2 of fabric #7 (light green)and 2 of fabric #8 (dark green)

The Devil You Know


ISBN 1681703866






Notes:1. Use a scant ¼ inch seam. A scant ¼ inch seam is a thread or two short of a full

¼ inch seam. This is difficult at first to get right. A scant ¼ inch seam has to take into account the thickness of a double layer of fabric and the thread when pressed. If you sew a full ¼ inch seam, your block will be too small. On my machine, I have the ability to move my needle left or right of center. (If you do this, make sure you use a zigzag needleplate and foot so that needle clears the needleplate and foot when it’s offset.) It turns out that in order to get a scant ¼ inch seam, I have to offset my needle two spaces to the right of center. Once pressed, this consistently yields the correct size block for me.

• To check your seams, cut 3 strips of fabric measuring 2-1/2 inches by 6-1/2 inches.

Sew these 3 strips together on the long side using a ¼ inch seam. Press seams to one side or open, as you desire

• Measure the width of your test piece. If your seam widths are correct, it should measure 6-1/2 inches square. If it doesn’t measure this size, rip the seam out and try again. Most likely, you’ll have to make the seam narrower. Once your “block” is 6-1/2 inches square, use that seam width on your machine from now on.

2. Your Time and Tide block should measure 12-1/2 inches by 12-1/2 inches when sewn according to these instructions. This is the size before it is sewn together with the other blocks and is called the “unfinished size.” Once the blocks are sewn together, each block will measure 12 inches by 12 inches and this is called the “finished size.”

the devil you know · the devil you know chapter 2 — time and tide the devil you know. mystery...

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