Murder of a Needled Knitter by Denise Swanson

information they do have.” He shook his head. “This isn’t Scumble River, where you know everyone and they’re willing to talk to you.”
    â€œTrixie does have one tool, if we were to poke around a little,” Skye pointed out. She stared meaningfully at her friend’s chest and said, “Right?”
    â€œHer cleavage?” Owen shook his head. “I love Trixie and all, but she’s not exactly as well-endowed as Dolly Parton or even Trisha Yearwood.”
    â€œThanks a lot.” Trixie shot her husband a fake venomous look, then giggled. “At least I don’t have men speaking to my boobs instead of to my face.”
    â€œTrixie’s décolletage aside,” Skye said, “something that she does have might be useful in an investigation.”
    â€œTrue . . .” Trixie pushed her plate aside and reached into her bra. “After I made the call, I took pictures of the victim and the scene. I took the memory card out in case they confiscated my camera, but since they didn’t, I’ll put it back in, transfer the images to my netbook, and copy them onto a flash drive.” She shrugged at her husband’s horrified expression. “At the time, I was thinking of it as research for my book.”
    â€œBut the photos might come in handy if we do try to solve Guinevere’s murder,” Skye said, glancing at Wally, who didn’t seem as opposed to the idea as she thought he would be. “I mean, we could at least hang around the knitting group and listen to the gossip.”
    â€œSure.” May nodded. “I could say you two want to learn to knit.” She grinned, her mood suddenly improved. “After all, now that you’re married, the littleones will be on the way soon, and it would be natural to want to make some darling booties or a hat or even an afghan for your future babies.”
    â€œMother.” Skye hurried to stop May’s train of thought. “Let’s worry about babies after I’ve been married for more than two seconds.”
    May cocked her head. “That reminds me. Tomorrow, when we’re in port, I need to find a phone—maybe I
should
get a cell like everyone keeps telling me,” she muttered, then frowned and went back to her original train of thought. “I want to call Vince to see if Loretta has had my grandchild yet. I still don’t understand why those two wouldn’t tell us if it’s a boy or girl.”
    Skye rolled her eyes at May, then said to Wally, “What do you think, sweetie? Should we look into the murder?”
    â€œWell . . .” Wally paused for a long moment, tapped his fingers on the tabletop, and finally seemed to make a decision. “An investigation might be the only way to clear all of you completely.” His lips thinned. “And more importantly, it might be the only way the vic will get any justice.”

CHAPTER 8
    Scuttlebutt
    S kye had been amazed that Wally had agreed that they should look into Guinevere’s murder. Then again, Wally couldn’t stomach letting anyone get away with breaking the law, especially someone who took another’s life. Still, that he was willing to support her and investigate when none of them had any legal standing in the matter made her love him all the more.
    Realizing that any further discussion should take place in private, they quickly finished eating and left the dining room. Trixie and Owen followed Skye and Wally to their stateroom, while May stopped by her cabin to leave Jed a note regarding her whereabouts.
    Once the five of them were settled in the suite’s living room, Skye said, “We need to make a list of what we’re going to do.”
    Wally glanced at her, then scanned the others. “Any suggestions?”
    May pulled a folded sheet of paper from her pocket, consulted it, and announced, “The U-knitted Nations group has a cocktail party at five.”