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Page 1 Indebted Chapter 2 — Headframe © 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8 Indebted Mystery written by Penny Pislaan Mystery quilt designed by Cynthia McNutt Scollard Chapter 2 — Headframe J a ckson was asleep in the passenger’s seat when he got back to the car. “Wake up, Jackson. We’ve got work to do.” “Maybe you do,” Jackson said, not even bothering to open his eyes. “I’m not wasting my time interviewing a bunch of spoiled rich kids.” He wasn’t going to argue. Mainly because part of him agreed with Jackson. It was a monumental waste of their time to pursue this but then it was the assignment they were given and they didn’t have much choice. The house where the Congressman’s son gasped out his last breath was in the better part of town. Five to twenty thousand square foot homes with perfectly landscaped yards and Mercedes Benzs and BMWs in the driveways. The house next door even had a Bentley. Nice. Bridger pulled up at the curb and shut off the car. “Are you coming?” he asked. “Nope.” He didn’t think so but figured he’d give his makeshift partner a chance to redeem himself. Obviously, he needn’t have bothered. He got out of the car, remembering to take the keys again, and followed the walkway to the front door. Right after the congressman’s kid’s death, he’d spent a few days here, searching for possible evidence. The kid’s cause of death was apparent even then — nothing had changed in the months since. He might understand a grieving father’s refusal to believe that his son was a screw up but that wasn’t the case with Congressman Furness. His son’s drug abuse and subsequent death made him look bad and that he wouldn’t tolerate. A homicide was beyond his son’s control but, in the congressman’s eyes, a suicide was something entirely different. He might as well have thumbed his nose at everything his father stood for. The doorbell played Beethoven’s “Für Elise.” Just when he thought no one was home in spite of the cars in the driveway, the door opened to reveal the owner of the house. As soon as Ryan Donnelly recognized the detective standing on his porch, his demeanor changed from mildly curious to downright hostile. “What do you want?” he demanded. He wasn’t surprised by the kid’s antagonism. After all, his life had been dragged through the media thanks to Mason Furness and his father’s refusal to accept that one of his children was less than perfect. “Five minutes of your time,” Bridger told him. At first, he was sure the kid was going

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Page 1

IndebtedChapter 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

IndebtedMystery written by Penny Pislaan

Mystery quilt designed by Cynthia McNutt Scollard

Chapter 2 — Headframe

Jackson was asleep in the passenger’s seat when he got back to the car.

“Wake up, Jackson. We’ve got work to do.”

“Maybe you do,” Jackson said, not even bothering to open his eyes. “I’m not wasting my time interviewing a bunch of spoiled rich kids.”

He wasn’t going to argue. Mainly because part of him agreed with Jackson. It was a monumental waste of their time to pursue this but then it was the assignment they were given and they didn’t have much choice.

The house where the Congressman’s son gasped out his last breath was in the better part of town. Five to twenty thousand square foot homes with perfectly landscaped yards and Mercedes Benzs and BMWs in the driveways. The house next door even had a Bentley. Nice.

Bridger pulled up at the curb and shut off the car. “Are you coming?” he asked.

“Nope.”He didn’t think so but figured he’d

give his makeshift partner a chance to redeem himself. Obviously, he needn’t have bothered. He got out of the car, remembering to take the keys again, and followed the walkway to the front door.

Right after the congressman’s kid’s death, he’d spent a few days here,

searching for possible evidence. The kid’s cause of death was apparent even then — nothing had changed in the months since. He might understand a grieving father’s refusal to believe that his son was a screw up but that wasn’t the case with Congressman Furness. His son’s drug abuse and subsequent death made him look bad and that he wouldn’t tolerate. A homicide was beyond his son’s control but, in the congressman’s eyes, a suicide was something entirely different. He might as well have thumbed his nose at everything his father stood for.

The doorbell played Beethoven’s “Für Elise.” Just when he thought no one was home in spite of the cars in the driveway, the door opened to reveal the owner of the house.

As soon as Ryan Donnelly recognized the detective standing on his porch, his demeanor changed from mildly curious to downright hostile. “What do you want?” he demanded.

He wasn’t surprised by the kid’s antagonism. After all, his life had been dragged through the media thanks to Mason Furness and his father’s refusal to accept that one of his children was less than perfect.

“Five minutes of your time,” Bridger told him.

At first, he was sure the kid was going

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IndebtedChapter 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

to refuse but then with a long, exaggerated sigh, he stepped back. “I don’t know what I can tell you that I haven’t already said.”

“I’m just trying to straighten out some facts.” It was the best he could come up with on the spur of the moment.

“I wasn’t even home that night,” he said, leading Bridger to the kitchen. The room was massive, at least three times the size of his own kitchen, with top of the line appliances and expensive furnishings. “Want a beer?” He opened the refrigerator door and pulled out two bottles.

“No, thanks.”Donnelly nodded, putting one bottle

back. “That’s right. You’re on duty. I hope you don’t mind if I have one. Talking about Mason makes me want to drink.”

Bridger shrugged. The kid was over twenty-one and in his own home, he could drink if he wanted. He pulled the pad of paper and pen out of his breast pocket.

“You know, I can’t even sleep in my own room,” Donnelly continued. He leaned back against the counter and popped the top off the bottle. “And I can’t sell the house. I tried. No one wants a house where someone killed themselves in the master bedroom. I always knew Mason was spoiled and inconsiderate but we were friends.” He took a drink of his beer. “I gotta admit, I never thought he’d break into my house and take his own life.”

“Why did you have a gun in your room?”“Someone broke into my car a couple

of months before the incident with Mason.” He took another swig of his beer. “I thought if I had a gun, I’d be able to scare them off next time.”

“Do you have a permit?”“I do. And I took shooting lessons, too. I

didn’t want to accidentally shoot someone.

Or myself.” He took another drink.This was useless and the kid didn’t

have any more information now than he did three months ago. As he’d pointed out, he wasn’t even home that night. “Is there anything else you might be able to tell me?”

“Well, the good Congressman contacted me a couple of months ago and offered me a butt-load of money if I changed my story and made it look like Mason had been murdered.”

Bridger’s head jerked up. “What did you tell him?”

“I told him I’d think about it then I called my dad.”

If he remembered right, Donnelly’s parents were corporate lawyers. “What did your father say?”

He chuckled. “He said he never liked Furness. He didn’t even vote for him. Then he told me not to talk to anyone about what happened except the police. It’s not like I need his money, anyway.” Holding his arms out, he indicated his home. “My parents bought me this house for my eighteenth birthday. I got the Porsche in the driveway for my sixteenth. I don’t need his money,” he repeated.

Must be nice, Bridger thought. He flipped his notebook shut and put it back in his pocket. “If you can think of anything else...” he began.

“...I’ll let you know,” Donnelly finished for him.

“Right.” He handed his card to the kid and when he got out to his car, Jackson was arguing with someone on the phone.

“Come on, honey. Don’t be like that.” As soon as Bridger climbed into the driver’s seat, Jackson whispered, “I gotta go. I’ll call you later,” into the phone and hung up.

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© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

Neither said anything for a few minutes while Bridger tried to decide which useless lead they should tackle next, then Jackson said, “That was my girlfriend.”

Did he ask? No, because he didn’t care. He didn’t have a permanent partner since he didn’t play well with others — the commander’s words, not his — but he’d worked with Jackson a few times and he was all right, if a bit lazy. But Jackson’s personal problems were his own. Bridger never brought his personal stuff to work with him to burden his fellow detectives with, all he asked for was the same consideration. So, rather than respond to his statement, he chose to ignore him. Jackson shrugged and closed his eyes again.

Bridger started the car and pulled away from the curb, his thoughts already moving on from Mason Furness and returning to three suspicious deaths close together in both time and proximity. What he needed, he decided, was someone to bounce ideas off of and since Jackson was the only one here, he just got volunteered.

“Wake up, Jackson. It time to start earning your paycheck.”

Without opening his eyes, Jackson mumbled, “I’m riding in this car with you. I am earning my paycheck.”

Whatever. “I need help with a hypothetical scenario. But what I’m going to tell you does not leave this car, understand?”

“What if the car is bugged?”“What?” Bridger demanded, taking his

eyes off the road long enough to glance over at his partner. “The car’s not bugged. Just keep your mouth shut, all right?”

“Yeah, yeah.”“I’m dead serious, Jackson.” The last

thing he wanted to do was start a rumor that

there was a serial killer in the area. “If you tell anyone,” he tried to think of something bad enough to threaten him with, “I’ll shoot you.”

Jackson’s head whipped around so fast, it was a wonder he didn’t get whiplash. His glare was hot enough to burn. “You can’t threaten to shoot me. I’m a cop.”

“So am I,” Bridger pointed out.Apparently, Jackson had to think about

that one. “Does that cancel out the legality of the threat?”

“I believe it does.”“Dang. All right, fine. I won’t tell anyone.”

He held up his right hand. “Scout’s honor.”“When were you ever a Boy Scout?”

The skepticism in his voice was evident.“For about five minutes when I was

seven.”Bridger rolled his eyes.“Go ahead, explain your hypothetical

scenario,” Jackson told him, using air quotes.

Bridger rolled his eyes again. What was it his mom always told him whenever he did that? Oh yeah. That his eyes were going to get stuck that way. If he had to work with Jackson very much longer, she just might be right.

“Okay, so, hypothetically, we have three bodies. And each one of them has what appears to be a bug bite somewhere on their body.”

Jackson flipped the seat forward and sat up. “I can see you aren’t going to let me go back to sleep,” he grouched. “Are you sure they’re bug bites? Could they be from a vampire? Were the DBs drained of blood?”

It was Bridger’s turn to glare at Jackson. “A vampire,” he repeated, incredulous. “How can you even ask that question with

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IndebtedChapter 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

a straight face?”Jackson shrugged. “Vampires are really

big right now.”Dragging his hand down his face,

Bridger muttered under his breath. “Can’t you be serious for two minutes?”

“If I have to, I suppose.”And the commander wondered why he

didn’t play well with others.“I’m assuming autopsies were

performed,” Jackson said. “What do the reports say?”

“Natural causes due to kidney failure of undetermined origin.”

Jackson snorted. “Did Richardson perform the autopsies on these hypothetical people?”

“No,” Bridger said. “Two were in other counties. Tom Ricker performed the autopsy for the one in Teller County.”

“Figures. He was trained by Richardson. What are their ages and genders?”

“An eighty-six-year-old man, a thirty-five-year-old man, and a thirty-one-year-old woman.”

“Hmmm, the thirty-five-year-old and the thirty-one-year-old are kind of young for death by natural causes although it’s not unheard of. So, they were labeled natural causes but you’re thinking they might be homicides,” Jackson surmised.

Bridger shrugged. “It’s a possibility. Richardson says their symptoms weren’t consistent with any bug bite he is aware of,” he said, giving up the pretense of the conversation being hypothetical.

“What were the symptoms?”“I’m not sure about the woman but

the two men were confused, had rapid heartbeats, blurred vision, and clamminess. The doctors couldn’t find a reason for the symptoms and while they were running

tests, they fell into a coma and the next day, they both died.”

“You should probably check and see if the woman had the same symptoms.”

He would do that as soon as he got a minute. Right now, he was more interested in seeing if someone else agreed with his hypothesis. “What do you think?”

“Hypothetically?”“Yeah, hypothetically.”Jackson pulled the lever on the side of

his seat and laid back again, closing his eyes. “I think you have a hypothetical serial killer.”

So did he. Three people, including himself, now believed the victims had been murdered. And as Richardson pointed out — two is a coincidence, three is a pattern.

They spent the rest of the afternoon interviewing Mason Furness’ friends. Again. Well, Bridger spent the rest of the afternoon interviewing them, anyway. Jackson spent his time sleeping in the car. And just as he’d known would be the case, he didn’t really learn anything he didn’t already know, other than the fact that the good Congressman was trying to bribe his son’s friends. Technically, that wasn’t a crime. Unethical, yeah, it was definitely that, but not a crime. However, trying to bribe Richardson to change the results of an autopsy was a crime. He seriously doubted, though, that he would be able to find anyone willing to prosecute the man. For some reason, everyone and their grandmother loved Congressman Furness.

There was one thing that he had found interesting and it had come from several different sources, although he didn’t know how much help it would be – it seemed that Mason Furness met often with someone

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IndebtedChapter 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

none of them knew out at the old mine head frame in Victor. His friends didn’t know what they were doing out there but if they had to guess, they assumed Mason was buying drugs. It was about an hour’s drive from his father so he probably felt safe engaging in illicit activities that far from the Congressional seat.

When it was time to head home, he was more than ready. All he wanted was a shower, a beer, and something mindless to watch on TV until he crashed. His personal phone rang as he was pulling out of the parking lot and he almost didn’t answer it. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with whatever drama was going on in his extended family today but he hadn’t counted on his conscience stepping in and taking over.

He was disgusted with himself when he answered the phone. “Yeah?”

“I hear you’ve been snooping around in business that doesn’t concern you, Detective.”

His entire body stiffened. The voice didn’t sound familiar. It did hold an underlying menace, though, that was impossible to miss. “Who is this?” He pulled off onto the shoulder, reached for his work phone, and pushed the button for the station. Holding his thumb over the microphone and his phone as far away from him as he could, he whispered to Ruby as soon as she answered, “Ruby, it’s Bridger. Have the call coming in on my personal cell traced. Do it now.”

“On it,” she said, and hung up.“A concerned citizen. By the way,” the

caller continued, “your little sister is a very beautiful young lady. It would be a real shame if anything happened to her.” Then the line went dead.

He sat there for a moment, the phone still to his ear. He’d threatened Sophie. The scumbag had threatened Sophie. He finally snapped out of it and called Ruby back.

“They were able to pinpoint a tower in Boulder. However, the prepaid phone the call was coming from wasn’t purchased in Boulder, it came from a Walmart in Dallas, Texas. Max said chances are the caller probably destroyed the phone as soon as he hung up and threw it in a garbage can somewhere.”

He was pretty sure Max was right. The guy could be anywhere. Boulder was about a two-hour drive away so even if he left now and drove there, the caller could be long gone.

He’d worry about all that in a minute. Right now, he needed to know where his sister was. He dialed her number and waited while she took her sweet time answering. Just when he thought he was going to have to hunt her down, she picked up.

“Where are you?” he all but yelled into the phone.

“Why are you yelling?” she asked. “I’m at your house. Why?”

What the…? “Why are you at my house?” He thought about that for a minute. Did it really matter? At least he knew where she was. “Never mind. Stay there. Don’t answer the door to anyone, even if you know them. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Uh, okay.”He called Ruby again. “Is there a patrol

car near my house?”She typed something out on the

keyboard, her artificially long nails making clicking noises as she did. “Brooks is down

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IndebtedChapter 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

the street.”“Anyone else?” he asked, grimacing.“Porter is about five minutes away.”Looked like it was gonna have to be

Brooks. “Can you send Brooks to my house and have him stay with my little sister until I get there? And tell him if he comes within ten feet of her, I’ll shoot him.”

“Got it, boss.”Pushing the speed limit as much as

he dared, he made it to his house in less than ten minutes. Brooks patrol car was parked in the street and he passed it when he turned into his driveway. His sister was fine, he kept chanting as he hurried to the front door. Whoever had called him hadn’t gotten to her and Brooks knew better. She was fine. He wasn’t going to believe it though, until he saw her for himself.

Brooks stood just inside the door, his arms folded across his chest and a scowl on his face. Sophie was flipping through channels on the TV.

“Shoot me? Really?”He was surprised Ruby had passed

that little piece of information along. He shrugged in response. At least he’d gotten his point across. The officer was a good fifteen feet away from Sophie. “You can go now. I appreciate your watching over my sister, though.”

Brooks dropped his arms with a sigh and rolled his eyes. “Sure. No problem.” He closed the door with a snap behind him.

“Why are you threatening to shoot people this time?”

He rounded on his sister. “What are you doing here, Sophie? When I gave you my key, it was for emergencies only.”

“This is an emergency.”His eyes narrowed. He seriously doubted

that. “What kind of an emergency?”

“I got in a fight with my mom.”“A fight with your mom is not an

emergency, Sophia,” he said, using her legal name because he knew how much she hated it. “It’s a daily occurrence.”

“Why did you send a policeman to stay with me?” she asked.

He noticed that she changed the subject, ignoring his comment. He let it go for now because he had a bigger worry to deal with – who had threatened his sister and why, besides the obvious? He wasn’t sure if this had to do with his investigation into the death of Mason Furness or the possibility of a serial killer…or both. Maybe the two were connected, although at the moment he didn’t see how that was possible. But then in his line of work, he knew that things weren’t necessarily as they seem and to always expect the unexpected.

“It’s on a need-to-know basis and you don’t need to know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She was frowning at him.

“Just what I said.” Not only was he fairly certain she would freak out if she knew the truth, which he couldn’t really blame her for, but he was just as certain she would post it on one or more of her social media accounts and it would be all over town within the hour. That was the last thing he needed and he would definitely be able to blame her for that one.

“Are you calling my mom?” she asked when he reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and began searching through his favorites.

“I’m calling Dad,” he told her.“Good luck with that. He’s at work.”

She turned her attention back to the TV. “He has a big court case coming up.”

He didn’t care, this was more important,

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© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

but before he could call their father, his phone rang. He groaned at the name that popped up on the caller ID. Weighing the consequences of ignoring his stepmother’s call against getting sucked further into this latest crisis, he finally gave into the inevitable and answered it. She would just blow up his phone if he didn’t.

“Hi, Paula.”Sophie jumped up off the sofa and

started making slashing movements with her hands. He glared at her and motioned her to stop. She folded her arms across her chest and sat back down on the sofa in a huff.

“Is Sophie there?” his stepmother asked before he even finished getting the greeting out of his mouth.

“Yes, but—”“I’ve had it, Dominic,” she bellowed into

the phone loud enough that he had to hold it away from his ear. “Do you hear me? I. Have. Had. It!”

He figured people in the next county had heard her but wisely decided to keep his mouth shut.

“She doesn’t want to live by our rules, fine. She can just get out.”

“Now, wait a minute…” He knew where this was going and he wanted no part of it.

“I’m serious, Dominic. Tell her she can come and get her clothes but everything else we paid for so it all stays here. And that includes her phone. Let’s see how long she likes living with you.”

The line went dead.Dominic took a deep breath and let it

out slowly. “What did you do this time to get her that worked up?”

His sister’s eyes filled with tears. “Why is it no one is ever on my side?” She ran off to the spare bedroom and slammed the

door hard enough to rattle the windows.Dominic bit back a curse. He supposed

he shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions. She was right, he had just assumed she was the problem and hadn’t given her a chance to tell her side. After all, he was trained to look at all the possibilities – the least he could do was to give his little sister the benefit of the doubt. On the other hand, fights with her mother usually involved her doing something she wasn’t supposed to have been doing. But she usually wasn’t so emotional. Something told him this wasn’t the normal drama of a teenage girl.

“Open the door, Sophie,” he said, knocking, then added, “Please.”

“Go away,” she answered, her voice breaking on a sob.

“Come on, Sophie. I’m sorry. Talk to me, okay?”

“Why should I? You’ll just take my mom’s side.”

“Have you ever known me to take your mom’s side on anything?”

“Well, no.”He pushed his advantage. “So, I doubt

I’ll start now. Tell me what’s going on. I want to help.” He wondered if she would buy that. When she opened the door, he guessed she did.

“Do you really?”He almost winced at her red-rimmed

eyes and tear-streaked face but he was afraid she’d retreat back inside the room if he did, then he’d never get this over and done with. Instead, he put his arm around her shoulders and hauled her up against his side.

“Yeah, of course, I do. That’s what big brothers are for, right?”

“Tell that to Jeremy,” she scoffed.His brows drew together. “You went to

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IndebtedChapter 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

his place first?”“I tried to. His girlfriend wouldn’t even

let me in.”He was going to have to have a little

chat with his stepbrother. Family comes first — always. “I thought Rachael seemed like a decent person.”

“Rachael?” she asked, pulling back in surprise. “She was two girlfriends ago. Where have you been?”

“Not paying attention, apparently,” he muttered.

“Apparently,” she agreed. “Anyway, Arianna said he wasn’t home and slammed the door in my face. So, I came over here.”

“Wait a minute.” A thought just occurred to him. “You can’t drive. Who took you to Jeremy’s then brought you here?”

“Dalton.”Who? He’d never heard the name

before. “What’s his last name?”“Like I’m going to tell you. You’d

probably run a background check on him or something.”

Since that was exactly what he planned to do, he didn’t feel the need to confirm her suspicions. “I want his last name, Sophie, and his birthdate if you know it.”

She refused to tell him but that was okay. He wasn’t a detective for nothing. A couple of phone calls and he’d know everything there was to know about this Dalton, including what he had for breakfast.

“I’m going to take a shower. Can you stay out of trouble for ten minutes?”

“I’m pretty sure I can handle it.”“Keep the door locked and don’t answer

it to anyone, even someone you know.”“You told me that when you called

earlier.”“Yeah, well, same rules still apply.”As soon as he was in his room with the

door closed, he placed the call to his dad. Once his dad finally answered, he quickly explained what was going on. His dad sucked in a sharp breath.

“Do you think I should hire a bodyguard?” he asked.

“It can’t hurt, Dad. Just for now, until I figure out who this guy is and put a stop to whatever he may be planning.”

“Okay, son. I’ll make some calls.”“Okay. Oh, and Dad?”“Yeah?”“Sophie got in a fight with her mom so

she’s here. I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to stay with me. This guy has my personal phone number. Whose to say he doesn’t have more of my information like my address and the make, model, and license plate number of my car?”

His father didn’t say anything at first. “It’s going to be a couple of hours before I can get out of here. I’ll stop by and pick Sophie up on my way home and smooth things over between her and her mother. Don’t worry, son. She’ll be protected.”

“Thanks, Dad.”As he set the phone on the nightstand,

he couldn’t help but feel that he was missing something. For the life of him, he had no idea what it could possibly be. He just hoped that no one in his family would have to pay the price.

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IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

IndebtedMystery written by Penny Pislaan

Mystery quilt designed by Cynthia McNutt Scollard

Block 2 — Headframe

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

Figure 1Layout of Headframe Block

A

B

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IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

Difficulty level: Intermediate.

Additional supplies: • You’ll need either 2 yards of 1/4" wide black twill tape (can be purchased through amazon.com) or 2

yards of 1/4" wide black bias tape.• 2 yards of 1/16" diameter cord. Obviously, you can use whatever color you want. I used gold cord since

this headframe is in the gold country of Colorado and was used to extract gold from the mine. Gold cord can also be purchased from amazon.com.

• Temporary glue of some kind. • Two buttons — one 1-1/2" to 2" in diameter, the other about 3/4" to 1" in diameter. In brown, black, navy

blue, etc., or any color you want if you want to go bold!!

Cut: Cut the following pieces —• Piece A: Cut a 12-1/2" by 12-1/2" square out of fabric #1, Frost• Piece B: Cut one piece using template B out of fabric #4, Tan.• Piece C: Cut one piece using template C out of fabric #1, Frost.

History: This block has no history as it was designed specifically for this mystery quilt. :o)

Skills acquired: Cutting fabric using a rotary cutter and ruler. Cutting fabric using templates. Accurate piecing. Machine sewn appliqué.

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.

Templates: Templates B and C will have to be assembled as shown below. Since this block is 12-1/2" unfinished, the full width template pieces won’t fit on a standard letter-sized page. Templates are on pages 9 and 10. In each case, cut out the two pieces of the templates on the solid lines and line up the cut edge of one piece with the solid line on the other piece. It doesn’t matter which piece overlaps the other. There will be a 1/2" overlap. Tape edges down where they overlap on both the front and back sides. Pin to fabric (this is the same as cutting out a clothing pattern). Cut out appliqué piece B and facing piece C in fabric noted above. Set aside.

Template BLeft

Template BRight

Template CLeft

Template CRight

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IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

Sewing Instructions:

Refer back to Figure 1, Layout of Headframe Block, on page 1 as a guide, if/when needed. It shows which pieces are sewn where.

Step 1: Place piece C onto piece B, right sides together. Sew together, as shown in Figure 2, below. Turn facing C to the wrong side of piece B and press. Set aside.

Figure 2: Sew together pieces B and C, right sides together. Turn facing C to the wrong side of piece B and press.

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IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

Step 2: The headframe template is provided on page 11. Using your sewing machine without thread, follow the outlines shown. You don’t have to start and stop your stitching. Simply follow the lines from top to bottom and from left to right. Place your paper template about 1" from the bottom of piece A as shown. Place the headframe a bit skewed more to the left since a larger drive pulley will be placed on the right of the headframe. Mark the headframe onto your fabric using a pounce with a contrasting chalk. These marks will eventually be covered by the black twill tape or bias tape. Alternatively you can use a light table to trace the headframe onto your fabric with a pencil.

Figure 2: Mark your headframe onto your piece A using either a pounce or a light table and pencil, as shown above.

Step 3: Start applying the twill tape to outline your headframe on piece A as shown in Figure 3, below. Glue the twill tape down as shown. The sequence was determined so that each of the cross pieces is covered by subsequent tape. Stitch tape down along the edges.

Figure 3: Temporarily glue down twill tape. Stitch edges down.

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IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

Step 6: Temporarily glue down the piece shown below in Figure 4. Stitch the tape down along the edges.

Figure 4: Glue down and stitch the twill tape as shown.

Step 7: Temporarily glue down the pieces shown below in Figure 5, below. Each piece will cover the ends of previous tapes. Stitch the tape down along the edges.

Figure 5: Temporarily glue down remaining tapes and stitch down.

This long piece first. Stitch edges down.

And then this piece. One continuous piece up one side and down the other side. Stitch down.

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IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

Step 8: Temporarily place piece B on the block. Determine where the buttons will be placed -- large button on the right side of headframe, small button on top, as shown in thumbnail on page 1. Mark outline of buttoms to determine location of gold cord.

Figure 9: Mark button locations.

Step 9: Remove piece B. Place the gold cord provided up one side of the headframe, over the top drive wheel, down the other side of the headframe and around the lower drive wheel, as shown in Figure 10, below. The edges of the cord are long enough to tuck below piece B, as shown. I used a cording foot to zigzag over the cord. Test stitch down the cord on a test piece of fabric to adjust tension on the thread so the cord doesn’t pucker.

Figure 9: Place gold braid as shown and stitch down.

Page 7

IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

Step 10: Place piece B from Step 1 along the bottom of your block, covering up the base of the headframe and the gold cord. Pin in place. Stitch down along top edge.

Figure 11: Place piece B down. Pin and stitch into place.

Step 11: Remove pins. Turn block over to the reverse side and trim piece A approximately 1/2" to 3/4" below the stitching line of piece B as shown in Figure 12, below.

Figure 12: Trim piece A approximately 1/2" to 3/4" below stitching line in Step 10.

Page 8

IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

Step 12: Turn block over and press. Stitch buttons into place. Note: The button I used on the right is 2-3/8" in diameter instead of the 2" button noted in additional supplies on page 2.

Congratulations — you did it!! You’ve finished your Headframe block.

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IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

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 B — Left Side — HeadframeTape together per instructions on page 2.

Cut 1 of fabric #4 — TanIncludes 1/4" seam allowances.

IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

www.murderandmayhemquilts.com© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts

ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

Page 10

IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

Template B — Right Side — HeadframeTape together per instructions on page 2.

Cut 1 of fabric #4 — TanIncludes 1/4" seam allowances.

IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

www.murderandmayhemquilts.com© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts

ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

www.murderandmayhemquilts.com© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts

ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

Template C — Right Side & Left Side — HeadframeTape together per instructions on page 3.

Cut 1 of fabric #1 — FrostIncludes 1/4" seam allowances.

Template C Left Side

Template C Right Side

Headframe — Cut one of fabric #1 — Frost

Page 11

IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

www.murderandmayhemquilts.com© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts

Page 12

IndebtedBlock 2 — Headframe

© 2018 Murder and Mayhem Murder Mystery Quilts ISBN 978-1-68170-016-8

Notes:

1. Use a scant ¼" seam. A scant ¼" seam is a thread or two short of a full ¼" seam. This is difficult at first to get right. A scant ¼" 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" 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" 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" by 6-1/2". Sew these 3 strips

together on the long side using a ¼" 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" square. If it doesn’t measure this size, rip the seams out and try again. If the test piece is too large, make your seams slightly wider. If it’s too small, make your seams slightly narrower. Once your “block” is 6-1/2" square, use that seam width on your machine from now on.

2. Your Headframe block should measure 12-1/2" by 12-1/2" 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" by 12" and this is called the “finished size.”