"Not any more . . . and never again! Did you have a power outage last night?"
"Everybody did. There's no discrimination when it comes to power lines. Taters and Spuds, we all black out together."
"Where's your mother today?"
"She doesn't work on Sundays."
With the weaver's help Qwilleran chose violet for Lori, green for Fran, royal blue for Mildred, and taupe for Hixie. He signed traveler's checks while Chrysalis packed the capes in a yarn box.
"I never saw this much money all at once," she said.
When the transaction was concluded, Qwilleran lingered, uncertain whether to broach a painful subject. Abruptly he said, "You didn't tell me that J.J. Hawkinfield was the man your brother was accused of murdering."
"Did you know him?" she asked sharply.
"No, but I'm renting his former home."
She gasped in repugnance. "Tiptop? That's where it happened—a year ago today! They called it the Father's Day murder. Wouldn't you know the press would have to give it a catchy label?"
"Why was your brother accused?"
"It's a long story," she said with an audible sigh.
"I want to hear it, if you don't mind."
"You'd better sit down," she said, kicking a wooden crate across the floor. She climbed onto the bench at the loom, where she sat with back straight and eyes flashing.
Qwilleran thought, She's not unattractive; she has good bones and the lean, strong look of a mountaineer and the lean, strong hands of a weaver; she needs a little makeup to be really good-looking.
"Forest went to college and studied earth sciences," she began boldly, as if she had recited this tale before. "When he came home he was terribly concerned about the environment, and he resented the people who were ruining our mountains. Hawkinfield was the instigator of it all. Look what he did to Big Potato! And he set up projects that will continue to rape the landscape."
"Exactly what did Hawkinfield plan?" Qwilleran asked in tones of concern. His profession had made him a sympathetic listener.
"After developing Tiptop Estates and making a pile of money, he sold parcels of land and then organized syndicates to promote condos, a motel, a mobile home park, even a ski lodge! Clear-cutting has already begun for the ski runs. Isn't it ironic that they're naming a scenic drive after that man?"
"What did your brother do about this situation?"
"Perhaps he was a little hotheaded, but he believed in militant action. He wasn't the only one who wanted to stop the desecration, but Hawkinfield was a very powerful figure in the valley. Owning the newspaper and radio station, you know, and having money and political influence, he had everybody up against the wall. Forest was the only one who dared to speak out."
"Did he have a forum for his opinions?"
"Well, hardly, under the circumstances. All he could do was organize meetings and outdoor rallies. He had to pass out handbills to get an audience. At first nobody would print them, but a friend of ours worked in the job-printing shop at the Gazette and volunteered to run off a few flyers between jobs. Unfortunately he got caught and was fired. We felt terrible about it, but he didn't hold it against us."
"What kind of response did you get to your announcements?" Qwilleran asked.
"Pretty good the first time, and there was a reporter in the crowd from the Gazette, so we thought we were going to get publicity—good or bad, it didn't matter. It would be exposure. But we were so naive! There was not a word reported in the paper, but he photographed everyone in the audience! Is that dirty or isn't it? Just like secret police! People got the message, and only a few brave ones with nothing to lose showed up for the next rally. This environmental issue has really separated the good guys from the bad guys in this county."
"In what way?"
"Well, for one thing, the board of education wouldn't let us use the school auditorium or playfield, and the city wouldn't let us use the community house, but one of the pastors stuck his neck out and let us use the church basement. I'll never forget him—the Reverend Perry Lump-ton."
"Is he the one with the contemporary-style building on the way to the golf club?"
"No, he has the oldest church in town, sort of a historic building."
"And what was Hawkinfield's reaction?"
"He wrote an editorial about 'church interference in secular affairs, in opposition to the economic welfare of the community which it pretends to serve.' Those were the very words! But that wasn't the end of it. The city immediately slapped some code violations on the old church building. Hawkinfield was a real stinker."
"If your brother is innocent," Qwilleran asked, "do you have any idea who's guilty?"
Chrysalis shook her head. "It could be anybody. That man had a lot of secret enemies who didn't dare cross him. Even people who played along with him to save their skins really hated his guts, Forest said."
"Were there no witnesses to the crime?"
