A Miss Clarple Mystery
Swapped Skeins: Chapter 3: A Car in the Night
Previously: Renowned hand-dyer Penelope Tweed consulted textile sleuth Miss Clarple about a disturbing thing that’s happening to the yarn at her knitting camps. Penelope and Miss Clarple have just arrived at the Whinfield Inn for an intimate weekend with the suspects. In this chapter, we finally get to meet everyone in the flesh.
The guests were comfortably sprawled in the sitting room when, fortified with tea, Miss Clarple came downstairs.
“There she is!” exclaimed Penelope, rising from her chair to meet her friend at the door. Four heads whipped around to see who “she” was.
“I suspect many of you already recognize our guest, but allow me to present my dear friend Clarice Clarple.”
“Hello everyone!” Miss Clarple smiled.
“Let’s have introductions.” Penelope pointed to an impeccable older man with wavy salt and pepper hair. “This is Rupert Cross. Rupert, I’d like you to meet Miss Clarple.”
“How do you do?” he said, standing up and holding out a hand for her to shake. “I have all of your books. I even have a galley of Yarntopia, don’t ask me where I got it. Thank goodness they caught the modelle/modal typo, that would’ve been an embarrassment.”
Penelope turned to a grim woman sitting bolt upright while throttling the stitches of a stranded colorwork sweater into submission. “And this is Cathy Wolfe.”
“Miss Clarple,” Cathy nodded crisply, briefly releasing the chokehold on her needles. “I’ve read your work in the Journal of Textile Authentication. Your methodology for tracing polyamide infiltration in the southern Mongolian cashmere market was solid.”
“Thank you,” she replied.
“And this is Georgina Hart,” Penelope addressed a cloud of golden hair sitting cross-legged by herself on the couch. “This is Miss Clarple.”
“Wow, I didn’t know you were still alive!” chirped a voice from beneath the hair. “My mom has all your books! I just launched my own yarn line, so we’re basically colleagues!”
“And Constance Webb,” Penelope spoke to a meek figure disappearing into the cushions of a large chair. “Constance, this is Miss Clarple.”
“Ohhhhh!” Constance blushed. “I always wanted to attend one of your seminars, but I was too busy taking care of my mum.” Miss Clarple claimed a seat between Constance and Cathy. “And now,” Constance continued, “years later, my dear mum is gone and you appear and I get to be with you for an entire weekend! Goodness. It all feels rather wonderful.”
Miss Clarple smiled.
“Rupert was just showing us what he was working on,” Penelope said.
“Ah,” he said, eyeing Miss Clarple somewhat nervously. “Well, then.” He coughed. “I’ve been swatching a fishnet and ladder motif for a fisherman’s gansey sweater I’m currently designing.” He held up several beautiful pieces of fine textured navy fabric.
“Would this be the same fisherman’s gansey sweater you’ve been designing for the last two years?” Cathy asked.
“It would be a version thereof, yes, thank you, Cathy,” he glared at her over his glasses. “I have several other swatches in here,” he began rummaging in his bag.
“Why don’t you just start the sweater and let your stitches fend for themselves?” asked Georgina. “That’s what I do.” She was kneading a mass of fuchsia yarn that appeared to be some sort of shawl.
“For the same reason I do not start to drive without first securing my seatbelt, my child,” replied an appalled Rupert.
“All I’m saying is that swatching seems like a big waste of time,” she protested. “Besides, I don’t need to. I always get gauge.”
This produced total silence. Miss Clarple opened her mouth as if to speak, and then closed it again. She turned to Constance and asked what she was knitting.
“Just a thing,” Constance said quickly, dropping her knitting into her lap. “A scarf. It’s nothing compared to what everyone else is making.”
“It’s beautiful,” countered Miss Clarple. “Too bad you had to undo that whole row just now.”
Constance’s face turned faintly purple. “I made a mistake,” she stammered.
“Did you?” Miss Clarple asked. She’d been watching Constance. Her work had been neither flawed nor slow. The woman had simply reached the end of her row and then undone each stitch.
“I’m almost done with my shawl!” said Georgina proudly. “This is my own line of yarn, Miss Clarple.” She held up the colorful mass of fluff. “It’s called Frequency Shift.”
“Your yarn, you say?” Miss Clarple asked, and looking with great interest at what Georgina was holding. “May I see?”
“I’d be honored!” Georgina exclaimed. She reached into her bag and pulled out a fresh skein. The bag seemed to be full of them.
Miss Clarple took the skein in her hands and began admiring it.
“I think new yarns can be such a breath of fresh air, don’t you?” Georgina asked the room. “Of course, it’s 100% wool.”
“Is it?” asked Miss Clarple, tilting the yarn back and forth under the light.
“Mm-hmm,” Georgina replied. “It’s pretty much identical to Penelope’s, but my yarn is less expensive and you get 15 more yards in each skein.”
“Isn’t that something?” asked Miss Clarple. Penelope watched her friend squeeze the yarn, and a slow smile crept across her face.
“Very nice,” said Miss Clarple, handing the yarn back to Georgina.
“Please, no!” Georgina held up her hand. “Keep it. I have plenty more. Consider it a business gift. My info is on the tag if you’d like to order more.”
“Thank you,” Miss Clarple said, patting the skein. “The evenness of your dye distribution shows great promise.”
Georgina gasped and began fanning her face. “Coming from a fixture like you…I’m going to cry!”
“You know,” offered Rupert, “in Victorian times, people used to collect their tears in little bottles. Of course it’s probably a myth, but I think we should bring it back.”
“My bottle would be empty,” said Cathy. “I haven’t cried since I was nine years old.”
At which moment Bellamy appeared in the doorway and announced that dinner was ready.
The meal offered no outstanding features beyond being warm and edible—another unfortunate change with the new ownership. The only rather striking exception was Georgina’s vegan chickpea curry and coconut rice, which the others eyed enviously. Otherwise, while the promotional material still advertised home-cooked meals, it was doubtful that any actual cooking took place beyond reheating the contents of cans, boxes, and bags. People didn’t come to Penelope’s camp for the food, but, still, an improvement would’ve been nice.
Everyone returned to the sitting room, reclaimed their spots, and resumed their knitting. A fire was going in the magnificent fireplace. But the fire didn’t crackle or pop. All the fireplaces had been converted to gas by the new owner.
“Penelope,” asked a cross-legged Georgina, “have you ever tried dyeing yellow with antimony?”
“The poison?” asked Constance, alarmed.
”It’s a fabulous poison!” cheered Rupert. “It was the secret ingredient in Dr. James’s notorious Fever Powder! I say, between arsenic in the wallpaper, mercury in the hats, and boric acid in the milk, those Victorians sure loved to douse themselves in toxins. It’s a miracle anybody survived.”
Miss Clarple was suddenly struck with an idea. She turned to Cathy and asked, “Do you use antimony much in your work?”
“Not in my branch of polymer science,” Cathy replied, briefly releasing her chokehold on her stitches. “I wish they’d get away from antimony trioxide altogether, it’s nasty stuff. No, we use titanium tetrachloride and an organoaluminum compound for our activation process.”
“So you use Ziegler-Natta catalysts, then?” Miss Clarple asked.
After a rather stunned pause, Cathy finally managed to reply, “Yes, that’s exactly what we use.”
“Interesting,” said Miss Clarple, whose eye had been caught by the yarn on Cathy’s needles.
Nobody else seemed to find it the least bit interesting, because the conversation died. For a few minutes, all that could be heard was the movement of yarn and needles, until a tentative Constance asked Georgina, “Did you mean anemones?”
“Not for yellow,” Penelope said. “I think she meant agrimony.”
“Agrimony! Yes!” Georgina nodded, flustered. “That’s what I meant.”
“It’ll give you a lovely yellow,” Penelope replied, “But it’s tricky to reproduce with any consistency. Don’t bother trying to match dye lots, just do it in limited-release batches.”
Georgina nodded somberly.
“It’s a fine herb, agrimony,” replied Rupert. “The ancient Greeks made infusions with it to treat their diarrhea.”
Cathy muttered, “After tonight’s dinner, we might need it.”
The conversation was interrupted by footsteps on the stairs. But the figure who appeared at the doorway wasn’t a person at all. It was a large, orange, long-haired cat. He glared at everyone and let out a dismissive meow before sauntering into the room.
“A cat!” gasped Constance.
“Boris, what are you doing?” asked a surprised Rupert.
“He’s adorable,” said Georgina, reaching out and making kissy noises. He dodged her hand and made for Cathy’s feet instead. He sniffed her open knitting bag, then rubbed his cheeks against it and began purring.
“Looks like he’s claiming you,” said Penelope.
“Go away, I’m not your human,” Cathy said, reaching down and closing her bag—which proved to be a challenge because of the two finished sleeves that refused to bend.
“Everyone, this is Boris,” Rupert said, standing and gathering his belongings. “His minder had an emergency. They said I could bring him if he stayed in my room, and, as is clearly evident, he is not in my room. I’m sorry to knit and run, but I need to get my friend back into his chamber. The door must have come open. ”
The others stood up and made mumblings about needing to get to bed too. Rupert hoisted Boris into his arms, and the four guests marched upstairs, with Boris’s tail twitching behind them.
“Will wonders never cease,” Penelope said, watching the procession.
“Quite the cat, too,” said Miss Clarple admiringly. After the group was upstairs and they heard the groan of doors closing, she whispered, “Now, where are the goody bags stored?”
Penelope led her across the great room to an alcove by the dining room. It had a small door that opened soundlessly, revealing the bags hanging on a hook. Miss Clarple reached into one, pulled out a deep green skein, and nodded. “Still yours. I didn’t think anything would begin this quickly. Tomorrow morning is when we should know.”
She replaced the skein, Penelope closed the door, and they headed upstairs.
Later, after Miss Clarple was tucked into her chintz bed and contemplating her swatch, she heard a creak in the floorboards outside her door. She stopped knitting and listened. Soon came the low groan of the downstairs door, then the slam of a car door, then the start of an engine. She tiptoed to her window in time to spot a pair of tail lights slipping down the driveway and off towards the main road.
To Be Continued…
Illustrations by Hannah Jones
Miss Clarple will be solving the mystery of the swapped skeins on Sundays through March. We’re celebrating the arrival of Miss Clarple by giving away a $50 MDK gift card each week. Winners will be selected on Thursdays. Last week’s winner was Mary O. Leave a comment for chance to win!
Thoroughly enjoying this story!
Every great caper needs a sassy orange cat!
Hysterical! x
Thank you for this fun serial!
I do love the appearance of Boris and, being a cat, he will naturally gravitate to the human who least wants to be near him.
The description of the stuff sleeves is so hilarious!
Perfect addition of the cat! And he’s orange so there’s sure to be mischief!
That was stiff sleeves, thank you autocarrot!
OOOOOOH. The plot thickens!! I am on the edge of my rocker!
A fabulous antidote & much needed tonic … Miss Clarple & co are just fabulously fun characters
what an interesting cast, thoroughly entertaining!
“Just a thing.”
~ Constance
Hmmm …
Oooooh! The suspense!!
I love all the characters. Could they be inspired by someone you know?
Love the descriptions of the characters! And the illustrations!
Such a fun addition to the MDK week!
Can’t wait to see how this story goes.
Clever writing.
If this was a book. I’d be tempted to fill to the last chapter. I’m intrigued and ready for more!
Enjoying the story. I’m betting Boris may help solve the mystery.
This is fabulous. I can hardly wait for the next installment. The writing is captivating and the illustrations are wonderful.
I looked forward to the latest installment all week. It did not disappoint. The waiting begins again….
Lovely humor and the illustrations are spot on. Starting to form some guesses…
Loving this!
So fun, I can’t wait for what happens next!!
Interesting! Love the artwork
Such a fun mystery with equally fun characters.
It’ll take me a minute to figure out names Clarple/Marple (?) and who belongs to what name and their “story”! ♀️
Yarn chemistry!! Should we anticipate a poisoning?
Loving this! Such a treat. Thank you!
Absolutely fantastic so far. Can’t wait for next week!
Very cozy mystery. I love the illustrations!
And the plot thickens can’t wait till the next chapter!
An orange kitty…they are devilish and smart!watch out!
This is completely wonderful! Thank you!
Your characters are wonderful! Next Sunday won’t get here soon enough!
0700hrs, hot water ginger, citrus and honey and the latest chapter of the mystery is a purr-fect way to start the day. (I love cats also), now time to knit!
I am enjoying the story, but the most exceptional thing is the illustration! What a fabulous artist!
Rupert. Are you nuts? Never use BLUE for a complicated sweater. Ask me how I know.
Another great installment!
Ziegler-Natta catalysts? Oh my, now we are getting into it!
Retired bench scientist, but I haven’t studied polymerization reactions in many years. Thanks for the refresher, Clara!
Loving this!!
I have all kinds of theories about why Constance is tinking
The plot thickens. I’m going with the cat leads to the culprit.
It’s rare to see the words ‘throttle’ and ‘stitches’ in the same sentence, although I’ve seen it happening. Looks like more fun to come!
Oh my goodness, too many suspicions to even venture a guess yet. So fun.
Very entertaining, thank you!
I’m hooked on this fiber caper!
“Besides, I don’t need to. I always get gauge.” Very funny!
I’m loving this story!
What fun! Enjoying this so much!
Poison in the yarn. What a novel idea!
Loving the story and illustrations!
This chapter sets up the characters so effectively. Agatha Christie hovers!
Kudos to the artist. This week’s drawings are delightful.
Love the description of the knitting! Stiff sleeves:) of course the cat would go to the person who does not like cats!
This is a swell story, Clara! I like being drawn into it— a nice getaway for me.
Looking forward to part 4.
“throttling the stitches of a stranded colorwork sweater into submission.” Perfect image.
Really enjoying the story.
What a fun story!
Well! The plot thickens! I’ve started a list of characters, with notes on each (I think that’s what Nancy Drew would do), and I have some suspicions…..
Fabulous illustrations.
OK, I have my prime suspect & my alternate, because mystery authors always leave 2 close suspects intertwined with possibilities until the last!
There is a collaboration afoot… & that’s all I’m gonna say!
What fun characters— reminds me of a typical knit gathering…. Also complete with’characters’. So much fun!
Love the plot development. And the illustrations!!!
Intriguing. Love the cat and different characters. An interesting group of people.
Where can I find chapter 1?
Hi Peg! It’s the first link in the summary up at the very top of the chapter.
Love the characters!
Oh what a tangled web . . .
Aah ha! Boris is a pill!
This is delightful! I’d love to read an entire Miss Clarple series.
Love all the character and book clues! Thanks Clara!
Oh me, It’s getting good!
The plot thickens
I love this idea!
Ooooh! The character development is almost as intriguing as the plot!
Love the characters! Must keep this episode close at hand so I can remember their quirks as the story moves ahead.
Love a good yarn❣️ this would make a fun Netflix series
I am loving this treat each Sunday!
Love the cat. If I were single I’d surely have a houseful. Great cast of characters too. What fun.
Can’t wait for the next installment!
Chemsnippits!
antimony/agrimony…hmmmmm….
Oh! Someone is sneaking out at night. What next?
I enjoyed the description of the meal – I think it could be used to describe meals at my mom’s senior residence…
Fun! Thank you for the developing story
Love the description of the characters and their knitting! I look forward to this every week now. Thanks so much.
I feel like I’m meeting the variety of participants at knit night at any LYS I’ve had the pleasure of joining. (I try to find them when traveling. ). I’m reminded that although we can be sl different, knitting brings us together as a community
..not just to learn a new skill but to spend time with wonderful unique humans that we would likely otherwise never meet.
(And I can’t wait foe the next episode!)
So exciting!! Love that there is a cat involved. Can’t wait for next week!
Am totally loving this! Kudos Clara & Hannah!!!
Delightful!
Oh. Who is absconding in the middle of the night? And more importantly, did they take the wool?
The characters are so fun and once again the drawings perfectly capture them.
Learned a new plant today — agrimony. I might need it for the garden!
Where is my graph paper? I need more stitch markers. This is like me trying to follow a very complicated cable pattern using only written instructions and no picture. Swatch in pattern to determine gauge. Oh my!
The plot thickens!
But how did Boris get out of his room ….
I am on the edge of my seat! Can’t wait to find out who just drove off and if they took the yarn with them!
Very fun. Laughed out loud about the bad food.
Love the illustrations!
Thoroughly enjoying this each Sunday!
This story is getting interesting, can’t wait to read the next chapter.
Georgina is being rather bold in her yarn’s comparison to Penelope’s …
This is so much fun! I’m going to be sad when the series is done. Can it become an ongoing feature? Even if it was without prizes?
I identify mostly with Constance
Well done, Clara! I’m still hooked. Read the last paragraph and thought no; that can’t be. Clara wouldn’t leave us hanging like that! Or would she? Bwah ha ha!
Absolutely delightful!
Thoroughly enjoying this yarn!
Ooooh, this is so much fun! Thank you to the multi-talented Clara Parkes!
Terrible food at a knitting weekend! That would be distressing!
Hannah Jones goes to much tonier knitting retreats than I do – have never seen such a beautifully dressed group of suspects!
Delightful mystery especially with Boris now.
I’m hooked!
The plot thickens!
This is SO MUCH FUN. Can’t wait for the next installment!
This is shaping up to be quite the charming whodunit!
“two finished sleeves that refused to bend”.
I spewed coffee at this point.
Too good. Thanks for this.
You say antimony, I say agrimony, this is great fun!
“I always get gauge.”
The plot is thickening!
Boris is invited to stay with me next time his human is off and about.
Loving this! Can’t wait for next week
The story is charming and I’m obsessed with the illustrations
So much fun!
Maybe someone went out for a slice of pizza.
Great story! Loving the intrigue!
I loved the bit about the stiff sleeves. Unfortunately, it reminded me of my own knitting!
Thoroughly enjoying this weekly series: mystery, yarn, character sketches – thank you, Clara. What a delight!
The character descriptions are needle sharp!
This is so much fun!
Such a fun addition to the MDK week!
I am enjoying this mystery! Anxiously awaiting the next chapter.
Love the mystery!
And the illustrations!
Thanks for the chemistry lesson! I find Georgina off-putting, looking forward to future installments to learn if there is something to it.
I love mysteries. It’s building the suspense and I want to keep reading! And I have only 6 more chapters to wait for on Sundays only. Ugh!
Cats always add a big something, don’t they!
I’ve always preferred “acrimony” for my yellow dyes… 😉
Better and better. So much fun.
Is Boris a yarn loving kitty? I get the feeling he is!
Can’t help but think of Clara giggling and sharing this as she wrote this – just like the rest of us.
This is brilliant! Thank you so much for this delightful yarn!
Totally into it. SOOOOO much fun.
Oh! This is like not having the upgraded subscription of BritBox: I have to wait until next week. The agony!
What fun! Looking forward to the next installment.
This series is delightful. First thing I reach for on a Sunday morning.
As a person very allergic to cats, I find they usually pick me out of a crowd for leg rubbing. What a fun story! I’ll be looking forward to next week….again!
Fun story.
What a perfect thriller. Cliff hanging at its best. Excited for the next episode.
“I always get gauge” . . . silence.
Love it.
I am truly enjoying this marvelous mystery!
At first I thought the chemistry part of this story was made up. But a quick Google search tells me more than I can understand about the Ziegler Natta catalyst. If understanding that is required to solve this mystery, you are on your own Miss Clarple!
Wow, I’m loving this story. Very funny!
Science, chintz, swatch and a creeping floorboard – who could ask for more!!!
This is great, both the writing and the illustrations!
I especially got a kick out of this:
“All I’m saying is that swatching seems like a big waste of time,” she protested. “Besides, I don’t need to. I always get gauge.”
This produced total silence.
The plot thickens!!! I love Boris, I’m so glad you included a beautiful cat in this story, Clara! As always, Hannah’s illustrations are gorgeous and add to the story. I’m curious who left the inn and why! This is a very exciting story!
Looking forward to the untangling of the mystery.
Ooh, when dyers call each other out, I want to get snacks and watch the fight! (usually it’s between equals, but the hinting here is ominous!)
Boris the Cat!!
Excellent chapter!
Such. Fun.
Love the artwork. I think that I know each of these knitters :-). Don’t we all..
So much suspense and fun on a Sunday morning.
Ok the conversation about the yellow dye has to factor in somehow!
“… the two finished sleeves that refused to bend.” Ha ha ha! That’s great!
I’m gripped! Can’t wait for the next chapter.
The illustrations are just the right complement–“unbendable sleeves” indeed!
Miss Clarple makes my Sunday morning!
This is such fun!
Am enjoying this!