Annie swiftly counted the lines. “Nope. No such luck. There are eleven lines of word clues and only nine lines of numbers. And each of the number lines only have four numbers in it. Besides, the numbers go way too high to stand for the alphabet.”
Mary Beth frowned. “I don’t seem to be that great with numbers lately anyway.”
Annie kept her eyes on the brittle yellow page. “It’s not easy being in business these days. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about the car dealership anymore.”
“At least you had Wayne to shoulder a lot of the load.”
“Most of it, if you want the truth.” Annie glanced up at her friend. “If I had tried to keep the dealership after he died, I would have had a hard time doing everything on my own. I don’t know how you keep things going at the shop all by yourself.”
“Not very well. Not lately.”
“You have a lot of friends to help you. We’d all be happy to—”
“Don’t be silly. Businesses go through bad patches. That’s just normal. Either they stay afloat or they don’t. That’s normal too.”
“But Mary Beth—”
“I said don’t be silly.” Mary Beth cleared her throat and got that no-nonsense look Annie was very familiar with. “Now we have a puzzle to solve.”
The two of them bandied around ideas for a while over more coffee and some pecan tarts Mary Beth had brought home, left over from the latest church supper. Annie had hoped there would be something else in Mary Beth’s box of family memorabilia that would help them solve the puzzle, but there was nothing.
“It’s probably something obvious,” Mary Beth said, and then an enormous yawn escaped her. “Oh, excuse me. I don’t know where that came from.”
Annie smiled and stood up. “I think that’s my cue to go home and let you get some rest.”
“It’s early. I never go to bed at this hour.”
Annie put her coffee cup and her plate in the sink. “You’ve had a lot on your mind, Mary Beth. Some extra sleep is probably just what you need.”
“But—”
“No buts, now. I’ll take my notes home with me. Maybe something will come to me on the way there. If not, I’ll get Alice to have a look too. She’s bound to have some good ideas.” Annie gave Mary Beth a wink. “Maybe the answer will come to you in a dream.”
Mary Beth laughed. “Then I guess I’d better try to get some sleep.”
****
“Did you find something? Let me see!”
As soon as Annie pulled her classic Malibu into the driveway at Grey Gables, Alice scooted out of the carriage house next door and hurried up the hill to meet her. Alice’s blue eyes were sparkling, obviously eager to know if the little key had actually unlocked some mystery at Mary Beth’s house.
“Let me get the door unlocked.” Annie fumbled with her key and finally turned the lock. “Go on in the kitchen. Start some coffee, please, if you don’t mind. Let me check my messages and feed Boots, and then I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Now you’re torturing me,” Alice complained, but she hurried toward the kitchen. “You did find something, though, didn’t you?”
“Just hang on. I’ll be right there.”
The only message on Annie’s voicemail was a portion of an automated political survey. She promptly pressed the delete key and went into the kitchen. Boots was already pacing by her empty food bowl. Annie put her purse in a chair and opened the cabinet where she kept the dry cat food.
“OK, OK, Miss Boots. I’m coming.”
“She probably just wants to know what happened at Mary Beth’s too,” Alice said as she filled the coffeepot with tap water.
Annie dumped a scoop of crunchy seafood-flavored cat food into Boots’s bowl and then got two large coffee cups out of the cabinet on the other side of the coffeemaker.
“I’ll do that,” Alice said, shooing Annie toward the big table in the middle of the kitchen. “You start talking.”
“OK. The key did open up the pedestal of her antique table, and there was this note inside.” Annie took her copy of the clue out of her purse and spread it out on the table. “We think it’s from sometime around the Civil War.”
Alice lifted one dark brow. “They had bright orange note paper during the Civil War?”
“Very funny. This is what I copied down. Mary Beth has the original.”
Alice scanned the page. “Angeline and Geoffrey?”
“Angeline was Mary Beth’s great-great-grandmother, but Geoffrey wasn’t her great-great-grandfather. We think he was the one who signed her dance card in 1861—the dance card she kept all her life. He had to have meant something to her.”
“And he sent her this clue to something: ‘A letter brought you here and now you must find more.’ What other letters was she supposed to find?”
“I guess that’s what the clue will tell us.”
“Hmmm.” Alice leaned down, her elbows on the table, her forehead wrinkled. “They use the metric system in England, don’t they? How many centimeters is forty-five inches?”
“Don’t forget this is from 1861 or so. I don’t think England used the metric system until about a hundred years later.”
“OK, then what did they use for forty-five inches back then, smarty?”
“We’ll come back to that one. What about the next clue? ‘Twice indebted.’”
Alice finally pulled out a chair and sat down. “Double indemnity?”
“I don’t think that’s the same thing. There are two other ‘twice’ clues in here besides this one. Indebted, beholden, obliged, they all mean kind of the same thing, but they’re somewhat different.”
“Didn’t you and Mary Beth work any of this out at her place?”
“Not really. We looked at it, but as excited as she was about this, Mary Beth seemed like she was really tired. I told her she should sleep on it and that I’d let you have a look too. Between the three of us, I’m sure we can figure it out.” Annie tapped her pencil on the page. “How about this one. ‘Katherine at home.’”
“Do you suppose Katherine was a friend of Mary Beth’s great-great grandmother?”
“Could have been. She’s in here twice. ‘At home’ and ‘to her friends.’”
Alice frowned, thinking. “Maybe she had a nickname. I mean, that’s what you’d use at home or with friends, right?”
“That seems logical. A Katherine would be called what? Kate? Katie?”
“Kit, maybe. Or Kay.”
“Slow down.” Annie started jotting down names next to the clue. “Kate, Katie, Kit, Kay. Maybe Kitty? Any others?”
“I’ll keep thinking, but at least we have a start.” Alice went over to the coffeemaker and filled both cups. “Where’s your sugar?”
“Oh—I left it by the stove.”
Alice added sugar and cream to both cups and brought them back to the table. “Did you and Mary Beth talk about anything?”
“You mean did we talk about her business problems? Not really. She pretty much cut me off when I tried to get the conversation turned that way.”
“That means there is something going on with her. I wish she’d just tell us.”
Annie took a sip of her coffee. “It’s really not our business, you know, but I do want to help. I just wish I knew what else to do.”
“You know, Annie, maybe we should put the puzzle up and do some brainstorming on how to help Mary Beth. Whatever these letters are that we’re supposed to find, if they’re even still around somewhere, they’re not very likely to be a practical help to her.”
“I suppose you’re right.” With a wistful sigh, Annie folded up her copy of the clue and put it in her purse. Then she pulled out a second notepad. “OK, let’s brainstorm.”
Alice and Annie spent the rest of the evening dreaming up and then discarding ideas until Alice finally gave up and went home to bed.
****
The next morning, Annie sat on the porch drinking coffee, watching the world wake up, and watching the sea.
There was something mesmerizing about the waves that rushed to the shore, hurrying one after another only to immediately retreat. Annie listened to the hypnotic sound of the water as it crashed over and over against the rocks and sand, until the sound seemed to be a part of her, like the beating of her heart. Her gaze took in the gulls that circled endlessly above the water, which was gilded with the light of the dawn. The electronic ring of the telephone broke the spell.
“Hi Grammy!” called a chipper little voice as soon as she said hello. Her grandson—her little chip off the block—had always been an early riser, much to his mother’s dismay.
“Hi there! How’s my John?”
“We went swimming and rode a pony.”
Annie smiled, picturing John’s little face, big eyes shining, wiggling all over with excitement. “And when was this?”
“Yesterday. It was Mikey Morgan’s birthday. He had a bounce house too. And I won some gummy worms for pinning the tail on the donkey.”
“Oh, how fun. And did you have cake?”
“Uh-huh. It looked like a fire truck, but Jenny stuck her hand in it. Right where the ladder was.”
Annie held back a giggle. “Oh, that’s too bad. And who’s Jenny?”
“Mikey’s baby sister. He has two, but she’s the little one. His other one is Kendra. Jenny just turned one year old.”
“And did your sister go to the party too?”
“For a little while, but then she went home.”
“That’s not much like Joanna. Wasn’t she having fun?”
“Until the clown came.”
“Oh, dear. I know she doesn’t like those. Was she OK?”
“She ran into the house and told Mommy she wanted to go home right then. But she didn’t cry this time. Mommy said she was doing better.”
“What did you think of the clown?”
“He smelled funny. Mommy said it probably was the kind of makeup he used. He made balloon animals, and those were cool, but besides that he was pretty lame.”
Annie turned a laugh into a slight cough, wondering which of the “big kids” her grandson picked up his newest slang words from. “That’s too bad. But I’m glad the party wasn’t lame.”
“Mom said when you come back home, and we have my birthday, we can have a pony again too.”
“Well, that’ll be fun.”
“When are you coming home, Grammy? I mean really coming home and not just visiting?”
“Now, sweetie, you know I live up here now. My Grandma Betsy loved this house, and now I’m loving it for her too. You don’t think she’d want me to let somebody else live in her house, do you?”
“No, I guess not,” John said grudgingly. “Did she want you to leave us forever?”
“Now, honey, you know I haven’t left you forever. I come see you all the time, don’t I?”
“But you don’t live here close to us like you used to. Mommy says it’s like losing Grandpa all over again.”
Annie felt a pain deep in her heart. After her husband Wayne’s sudden death, her daughter LeeAnn had told her in so many words that she wasn’t needed to help with the children anymore. Coming from Texas to Maine to see to Gram’s estate had been a wonderful distraction, a chance to get away and establish herself as her own person, not just someone’s mother or someone’s grandmother. Now she was at home here in Stony Point, even though she knew LeeAnn and the kids would love to have her back.
“Sweetie,” she said softly, “can you ask Mommy to come to the telephone?”
“Moooooooooom! It’s Grammy!”
Annie held the phone away from her ear until she heard her daughter’s voice.
“Mom. Hi.”
LeeAnn’s voice sounded thick, a little sleepy. She hadn’t been up long.
“I’m sorry, honey. I wasn’t thinking about the time when I asked John to speak with you. I sometimes forget it’s an hour earlier down there than it is up here. I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No, it’s all right. I have to get going this morning anyway. I just hope John didn’t wake you up. I’ve told him a hundred times—”
“No, no,” Annie assured her, laughing. “You know me. I’m usually up with the sun.”
“Yeah,” LeeAnn deadpanned. “I remember.”
“You’re like your daddy. Some mornings he had to be pried out of bed.”
“But he’d stay up half the night and watch movies with me.” LeeAnn sighed. “I sure miss him.”
Annie felt her throat tighten. Did it ever get any easier?
“I know you miss him, honey. I do too.”
For a moment, there was only silence on the line. Then LeeAnn cleared her throat.
“So, how are you?”
“I’m all right, LeeAnn. I’m a little concerned about the kids.”
“Really? Why?”
“John was asking me about coming back there for his birthday, and of course, I will. But I get the feeling he’s upset because it will be just a visit.”
“Well, I guess we’re all getting used to you living up there now.”
“Before I came up here, you told me you didn’t need me anymore, didn’t you?”
“I just meant you shouldn’t feel tied down. I didn’t mean we didn’t want you.” Again there were sudden tears in LeeAnn’s voice. “And I didn’t mean I didn’t need you.”
“I know, honey. Anyway, what’s so bad about having a place that you and Herb and the kids can come visit when it’s a hundred and ten in the shade down there in Texas?”
LeeAnn laughed. “Nothing at all.”
“Now, you have to let me tell you about this key I found up in the attic.”
“Oh Mom!” LeeAnn half scolded, half teased. “Another mystery?”
4
A little before eleven, Annie hurried into A Stitch in Time, glad to see she was the only customer in the shop so far.
“Hi, Mary Beth. I know I’m a tiny bit early for the meeting, but I was hoping you had some new crochet patterns in. Does Kate have any new originals out? Where is she? Organizing your stock again?”
Mary Beth didn’t quite look at her. “She’s not working today, but she’ll be here for the meeting.”
Annie stepped lightly past the topic of Kate’s reduced hours. “Oh, OK. Anyway … I feel like making something really big this time, and I want to make an heirloom. How much of that glorious Two Ewe yarn do you have in stock?”
Mary Beth shook her head, and Annie could see now that her eyes were red-rimmed. “You don’t have to do it anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“You and the rest of the club, you don’t have to keep buying a lot of expensive stuff you don’t really need. I know you mean well, and it means a lot to me that you’re willing to do it, but you shouldn’t.”
“Mary Beth—”
“It’s no use throwing good money after bad.”
“What do you mean?”
Mary Beth managed half of a smile. “I mean I love you all, more than I can say, but there’s no reason for you to bankrupt yourselves trying to help me.”
The bell on the front door jingled as Alice and Peggy came into the shop.
“Hi, girls.” Peggy’s bright expression faded. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing’s going on.” Mary Beth gestured toward the circle of comfortable chairs that was home to the Hook and Needle Club, all business. “Make yourselves comfortable. Did you finish cross-stitching those Christmas ornaments yet, Alice?”
Alice glanced at Annie who could only shrug.
“Not quite, Mary Beth. I think I want to add some beading to them, just for the sparkle.”
Mary Beth and Alice were looking over the bead rack when Kate and Gwen came in, followed by Stella, and they all settled into the sewing circle. Once Alice had made her selection, she joined them. Only Mary Beth was left standing, looking expectantly at them until their chatter died down.
“I’m glad everybody is here today. There are some things I need to let you all kn
ow.”
Everyone looked at everyone else, worry in their eyes, but nobody said anything. Kate kept her head down, and there was an extra touch of color in her cheeks. Had Mary Beth decided to let her go all together?
“As I told Kate yesterday, my landlord, the owner of this building, has given me notice that he wants to sell out when my lease expires at the end of next month. He says he has a good offer for the place, but he wants to give me the chance to match it, if I’d like to stay.”
Still no one said anything. Annie finally asked Mary Beth what they all wanted to know.
“What are you going to do?”
Mary Beth smiled wryly. “There’s not much I can do. I don’t have the money to buy him out. I’d have to have enough for the shop and the theater next door too. He has to sell both places. It doesn’t matter anyway. My credit is already maxed out. I think I’m going to have to close up.”
“Close up?” Peggy wailed. “You can’t just close up. How will you live?”
“I’ll just have to find a job, won’t I?” Mary Beth shrugged. “Or maybe I’ll retire.”
“You’re too young to retire,” Stella said firmly. “Maybe in another twenty years, when you’re my age. And who knows what’s going to happen to Social Security anyway?”
“Do you know who he plans to sell to?” Gwen asked.
Mary Beth’s mouth was tight. “They want to tear down this building and the theater to build a Burly Boy’s Burger Barn, complete with drive-through, all-night service, searchlights, and a twenty-foot-tall Burly Boy looming over it. I think A Stitch in Time will mostly end up as the parking lot.”
A chorus of groans went up from the members of the Hook and Needle Club.
“Not a Burly Boy!” Peggy moaned. “Not in Stony Point. What’s that going to do to business at The Cup & Saucer?”
“What’s it going to do to our quaint little village?” Annie pressed her lips together. “I can’t believe the town council would allow that. Ian would never even consider such a thing.”
“My guess is that Burly Boy made it well worth their while to reconsider some of the zoning restrictions.” Mary Beth’s smile was wry. “I guess our town is a little strapped for cash too.”
The Key in the Attic Page 3