A Midsummer Night's Scream

didn’t know if she’d pursue them. And anything that popped into her mind as she worked could be added.
    She’d also decided she should sit in on some of the rehearsals, or at least ask for a copy of the script that would be used for the community theater play. It was, if Shelley was right, a lightweight mystery story set in the 1930s. It might provide some additional insights. If not, it wouldn’t matter. She already had a vague sense of what she should be doing.
    On the morning of the day Jane and Shelley were due to attend the beginning of the rehearsals that evening, they also took their first lesson in Beginner’s Needlepoint. Both of them had admitted to having tried it when they were younger and made a botch of it. The materials cost fifty dollars, but that included a book of patterns, the canvas, needles, and thread. The lessons themselves were ten dollars each and would take place on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for four weeks.
    The teacher was a woman in her late fifties, Jane guessed, and the class was held at her needlepoint shop in a room in the back. She had all sorts of her own work displayed and some borrowed from former students, in the shop and in the small classroom.
    “We’ll start with introductions. I’m Martha Haworth. Call me Martha.“
    Jane and Shelley introduced themselves aslongtime friends and next-door neighbors. A young woman with brutally short blond hair and a bit too much makeup said her name was Tazz. The next student was in her late twenties and very well groomed. Junior League, Jane thought. Her name was Elizabeth. Elizabeth didn’t say so out loud, but made it clear that calling her Liz wasn’t acceptable.
    The fifth student was a middle-aged man, with a fierce-looking mustache and old-fashioned sideburns. “I’m Sam. My wife does needlepoint and I’d like to learn, but someone years ago told me not to ever ask someone who calls you ‘honey’ to instruct you.“
    Everybody laughed.
    “The basics are simple,“ Martha said as she passed out books. “There are two kinds of needlepoint canvas. Mono, which is one thread, stiffly starched. And penelope, which is double strands very close together. We’re starting with mono, which is thirteen holes to the inch. It’s the best for using cotton floss. Good coverage, but not too fat. If you prefer to work in wool, we’ll cover that later. And I’ve put together a bag of goodies from the shop for each of you.
    “What you’re going to do first is a sampler,“ she went on. “As many different stitches as you’d like to try. They’re all in this book.“ She handed out a seventy-five-page book with detailed instructions on how to stitch sixty different patterns. The rest of it was a few colored pictures of ten of the examples, followed by an index. Martha let them browse through it for a few minutes.
    She then distributed equal-sized canvases, all with a lightweight binding around the edge. “I’m going to turn you loose in the shop now. I’d suggest you choose three colors that you like together. I have a color wheel you can consult. I suggest you choose one packet of floss for each color, one in a fairly light tone, and another of a medium tone, and a third a little darker. If you run out, you can always come to the shop for more. You want Number 3 weight cotton floss for this project. There are books on the front counter you can consult for what colors come in what sizes.“
    Jane hadn’t paid a lot of attention to the shop on the way in and was stunned by the variety of colors available. She chose a combination of pinks, purples, and an off-white called ecru. Shelley picked greens, blues, and yellows.
    When they were corralled back in the workroom, they compared their choices. Sam had chosen tans, blues, and ecru. Tazz had picked violent reds, blues, and stark white. Elizabeth had chosen colors that looked awful together to Jane—oranges, greens, and reds. All in sort of muddy hues.
    The teacher’s last remarks were warnings. “Don’t get nervous and stitch too tight. It will buckle the canvas. Don’t stint on imagination. Make strips, odd sizes of rectangles or triangles. I’m giving each of you a packet of gridded paper to experiment with. There are also markers if you want to outline your pattern on the canvas. Don’t worry, it will disappear when the work is washed. Remember to mark the canvas on the threads, not on the valleys between them.
    “Wash your hands well before each session of