The Lady in the Attic

by Tara Randel

  * * *

  “We found the last clue,” Annie told her daughter later that night when LeeAnn called after dinner. She stood at the sink, gazing out over the backyard.

  “Okay, backtrack and fill me in on all the details.”

  Just as she had since this whole mystery started, Annie kept LeeAnn informed about their progress in phone conversations and letters. Anxious to share the latest news, Annie couldn’t wait to tell her about Alice’s discovery.

  “It’s funny how you can pass a house or a landmark and, over time, never really pay attention. The club has had a ball figuring out the scenes.”

  “Like you haven’t? You’ve laughed more in the last few weeks than you have since Dad died.”

  “That’s true.” As much as Annie missed Wayne, she had enjoyed herself these past weeks. That didn’t make her a bad person, did it? This is just what she’d wanted, right?

  Annie got back to the topic at hand. “Unfortunately, finding the clue doesn’t help. At least not yet, anyway. No one knows how it ties to your great-grandmother.”

  “Couldn’t she have made things easier on you?”

  “She could have, but it wouldn’t have been as worthwhile.”

  “I suppose she had her reasons.”

  “Gram always did.”

  Her grandmother had given her a challenge. Not just the cross-stitch, but fitting into life here in Stony Point. And, as the summer progressed, Annie grew more confident in that particular challenge. And more intrigued by her grandmother’s secrets.

  They chatted about the grandchildren before LeeAnn returned to the original topic. “You know those letters you’ve sent me, kind of chronicling what’s been going on in Stony Point? I’m going to keep them all together in a special stationery box. I think the kids would like to read them someday. Kind of like a legacy.”

  Her daughter’s idea touched her heart. Betsy had created so many lasting memories for Annie, now she had the opportunity to do the same for her grandchildren, connecting the generations with her words. “What a wonderful idea.”

  “I thought so.”

  “And here I’m always bragging about my clever daughter.”

  “As if you have a choice?”

  They laughed together.

  “Are you planning on staying there indefinitely?”

  Annie heard the worry in her daughter’s voice and tried to ignore the tug in her chest. LeeAnn didn’t want to admit that Annie was making a place for herself here in Stony Point. A place so far away from her home in Texas.

  In Texas Annie had been alone. Not lonely, since she had friends and kept herself busy, but alone just the same. Maybe it had been the empty house. The memory of Wayne, and their life together, shadowed her days. LeeAnn had a full life--the responsibilities and antics of her children and the companionship of her husband. She didn’t see the empty void in Annie’s life. And Annie would never burden her daughter by complaining.

  Stony Point had opened up a new chapter for Annie. Just like a good book, she didn’t know where the journey was going, but she wasn’t ready stop the adventure just yet.

  “Maybe after I discover what this Betsy Original means I’ll know better what I’m doing. Right now I’m not making any firm plans.”

  “Just remember you always have a family back here who loves you.”

  Tears of affection moistened Annie’s eyelids. No matter where she went, she had people in her life who loved her. They would always be there for her.

  Her throat grew raspy. “As if I could ever forget.”

  LeeAnn said goodbye, and Annie continued to stare out the window. She missed her family, but …

  Thinking she saw someone moving by the bushes out back, Annie squinted harder. With the deep shadows of twilight having settled in, she couldn’t tell if it was a play of the light or her imagination. When nothing stirred again, she shook her head. Obviously, Mr. Smith’s arrival had her on high alert. The least little thing had Annie second-guessing herself. One fact was for sure: This mystery was definitely getting to her.

  * * *

  At the next Hook and Needle Club, Annie clapped as Alice walked in, giving Alice all the credit for finding the last scene.

  “Thank you.” Alice took a long sweeping bow. “Thank you very much.”

  Of course Annie had called Mary Beth right after Alice’s discovery, and Mary Beth called the others. Each one had taken the time to drive by the house since then so they could compare notes, but this was the first chance they’d had to get together in person.

  “We still don’t know what meaning this house holds.” Annie handed the picture of the cross-stitch scene to Gwendolyn. “Any idea who the original owner was?”

  Gwendolyn shook her head and passed the picture on to Kate. “No. That house was there when I was a girl. I don’t remember anything about it.” Her brow puckered in thought. “The town records would most likely have that information. We could check there.”

  “And it just so happens that we have a friend at the town hall,” Alice reminded them. “I’m sure the mayor would be more than happy to help. Again.”

  “He did say he loves digging up information about Stony Point.” Annie hesitated to bother the man, but they could use his help once again. “I’ll give him a call.”

  “Your grandmother sure had a way of drawing you into the world she created with her needlework.” Kate examined the photo and smiled. “I would love to live in the house or a magical place like it.”

  Peggy glanced up from stitching her fabric. “Trouble with your ex again?”

  “He’s trying to make Vanessa choose between us.” Kate’s cheeks grew red. “It doesn’t help that Harry just bought her a new cell phone and drops by out of the blue. I’m trying to teach her to be responsible, which makes me the bad guy while Harry can do no wrong.”

  Alice dropped down into a chair. “That’s just wrong.”

  “That’s why I asked Vanessa to come in a couple hours a day to help out,” Mary Beth told them as she tidied up the shop. “We taught her to quilt years ago, so I have her working with the teen class. She’s a natural.”

  A smile crossed Kate’s features. “She’s stoked, to use her word, about working, and the hours are good. She doesn’t have to get up too early, and she never misses time with her friends. A teenager’s dream job.”

  The women laughed at Kate’s accurate depiction.

  “I remember those days.” Alice sighed wistfully. “If it weren’t for Annie, I’d probably never have gotten into any really good trouble.”

  “Hey!”

  “It’s true. You loved to get into mischief.”

  “That’s why my grandmother always had lists of things to keep me busy.”

  “Which you always managed to get out of if the day was sunny and you had an idea in mind.”

  “Like what?” Kate asked, clearly intrigued. “Just so I know what to watch out for with Vanessa.”

  Alice’s face grew animated as she got ready to rat out her friend. “One summer, Betsy got Annie hooked on beads, you know, making bracelets, earrings, that sort of thing. Betsy paid us to clean the entire first floor of Grey Gables until every surface shined. With the money we earned, she drove us to Portland to a craft store full of beads and accessories. We spent hours designing and making all this wonderful jewelry. Then we promised Betsy we’d sell it and give half the profits to the church summer camp.”

  “Alice--” Annie warned, knowing where Alice headed with this story.

  “It’s history now. It must be told.”

  Annie rolled her eyes and took her seat. Despite her mock objection, she enjoyed hearing Alice tell stories about their youth.

  “So we’re on our way to town to set up a table in the Town Square--”

  “You can’t do that without a permit,” Gwendolyn cut in.

  “--thinking we were going to make a fortune, which really, after parts and labor, wasn’t much, but we were excited. And at the time, we didn’t know we neede
d a permit. We probably wouldn’t have gotten one anyway.”

  “Then you surely would have been arrested.”

  “At twelve?” Alice glanced over at Annie. “That would have been fun.”

  Annie shook her head, a smile playing at the corner of her lips. “Just finish the story.”

  “On the way, Betsy asked us to stop at a friend’s house to deliver a pie she’d baked--blueberry or raspberry, I don’t know, some kind of berry. Anyway, lo and behold, there’s a birthday party going on. We were asked to stay and the topic of our bead jewelry came up and the next thing you know, Annie is giving it all away.”

  “They really liked it.”

  “There went our profits. We had nothing to give to the church program.”

  Kate laughed. “So what happened?”

  “Since we didn’t have the money, Betsy made us volunteer at the camp. We worked for two weeks straight.” Alice grinned. “But we ended up having fun. A lot more fun than just handing the money over. All because kind-hearted Annie wanted to share.”

  “What can I say? I’m a soft touch.”

  Mary Beth patted Annie on the shoulder as she walked by. “And I bet your grandchildren are grateful for that.”

  “Much to my daughter’s displeasure.”

  “That’s what we grandmothers do.” Gwendolyn added her view on the subject. “It’s our turn to spoil.”

  “I’m glad my mother spoils,” Peggy told the group. “My daughter gets the extras I can’t afford to buy her right now.”

  “Well, I don’t want Vanessa spoiled,” Kate said, her tone serious until a small smile emerged. “Well, not too much,” she added as she walked to the counter.

  “Vanessa is a hard worker. Don’t worry about her,” Mary Beth assured her.

  The women continued to talk about family as the door opened, and Jason hesitantly stepped in.

  “Jason?” Mary Beth met him at the door. “Is Stella all right?”

  “Fine, just fine. Dictating orders like usual.” He smiled at the circle of women. “Look, uh, I stopped by to bring you a message. Seems Mrs. Brickson has a woman from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston coming to town in a few weeks. She wants to get an opinion on her new cultural center.”

  “She’s really going through with it,” Peggy said more than asked.

  “Looks that way. Listen, I came by to ask a favor. I don’t know what happened, Ms. Brickson won’t say, but you’ve all been friends for a long time. I’m just asking you to be patient with her. It really looks like the cultural center will happen this time.”

  The women took turns glancing at each other. The normally gregarious man seemed a bit nervous in this decidedly female atmosphere.

  “Good for Stella,” Mary Beth told him. “And thank you for stopping by to let us know.”

  “Oh, and Jason, if you want to stick around,” Alice grinned, “there’s a quilting class about to start.”

  He backed to the door. “Sorry, not my thing, ladies. I’ll just be leaving.”

  Before he had a chance to grab the doorknob, the door swung in, nearly hitting him. Vanessa breezed in, all smiles, flowing long hair and trendy teen outfit of a summer tank, crop pants, and flip-flops.

  “Hey, Jason,” she greeted him.

  “Morning. I was just leaving.” And with that, he hightailed it from the store.

  “What did you do to him?” Vanessa asked the room in general.

  “Threatened to enroll him in your quilting class,” her mother told her.

  Vanessa raised an eyebrow. “I doubt the girls would like that.”

  “Neither did Jason,” Alice deadpanned. “That’s why he left in such a hurry.”

  “That’s cool.” Vanessa walked behind the counter to place her purse, before moving into the interior of the store. “Anything you want me to do before class?” she asked Mary Beth.

  “Yes. Tell us where you got those cute jeans.”

  Vanessa looked down at her denim crop pants. “At the mall.”

  “How different.” Annie rose from her chair and crossed the room to admire the pants. “I love the crochet on the cuff and the matching belt.”

  “My mom did that.”

  Annie looked over at a blushing Kate.

  “It was nothing,” Kate told her.

  “Nothing? Ladies, take a look at this.”

  At the hem of the cuff, Kate had used ecru classic crochet thread in a scallop pattern. With the same thread, she’d crocheted a matching belt in a lacy floral pattern that Vanessa had knotted low, leaving the long ends to trail down her leg. The effect was stunning and stylish at the same time.

  “I am seriously envious of your talent,” Annie told her.

  “Thanks.” Kate smiled.

  Annie glanced at Mary Beth. “You’ve got a real winner here.”

  Mary Beth nodded. “That’s what I keep telling her. If only she’d listen.”

  “Some of my friends want her to do their pants,” Vanessa said as she walked over to hug her mom. “Of course, being the super mom that she is, she said yes.”

  “After my paying jobs,” Kate said. “I reminded you last night.”

  “Oh, c’mon,” Vanessa pushed. “It won’t take that long. I promised.”

  “Vanessa, we talked about this. I have to work.”

  “You always have to work,” she groused. “I liked it better when you stayed home.”

  “You know, Kate,” Alice interrupted what was about to become a mother-daughter argument, “you could have your own little cottage industry going here.”

  “I told you that too, Mom.”

  “I can’t charge your friends.”

  “Sure you can. I would. They’ve got tons of money.”

  Annie grimaced. She remembered the hurtful barbs of teenage candor. It was obvious that Kate felt the financial burden of raising her daughter, yet there seemed to be some residual guilt in Kate’s eyes. She had a tough job ahead of her.

  Alice nodded. “Spoken like a true entrepreneur.”

  “I don’t know…” Kate started to say.

  “It’s a great way to start a money-making venture,” Annie told her. “And there’s nothing like shaping your own destiny.”

  “I second that.” Alice grew serious as she regarded Kate. “Just think about it,” she urged her.

  Kate held up her hands in defense. “Okay. I’ll think about it.” She pointed to Vanessa. “We’ll talk later.”

  “I’ve heard that before.” Vanessa rolled her eyes before turning to Annie. “Mom said you found another clue to your mystery lady.”

  “Yes. Now all four scenes have been discovered, but we’re still no closer to figuring out who the young woman in the cross-stitch is.”

  “Bummer.”

  “I couldn’t have said it better.”

  “What do we do now?” Peggy asked.

  “Honestly, I’m stumped.” Annie returned to her chair. “But I owe you all so much for helping me.”

  “Are you kidding?” Mary Beth joined the circle. “We’ve been thrilled to help.”

  “In that case, thank you all.” Annie took a deep breath and announced her next step in the cross-stitch saga. “I think it’s time to bring the cross-stitch here to the shop.”

  “Thank goodness.” Gwendolyn dropped her knitting in her lap. “I thought you’d never let us see it in person! I mean, it’s a little tough to solve a mystery when we haven’t personally seen the scenes in question up close and personal.”

  Annie felt bad about that, but she hadn’t been able to let go. Hadn’t been able to shed her fear that once the piece was out of her hands, she’d lose what little control she had in this whole endeavor. Now, with the scenes discovered, she realized, ready or not, it was time. “I’m afraid I’ve been a little selfish about sharing the Betsy Original. It’s such a link between Betsy and me.”

  “We understand.” Mary Beth’s eyes glistened. “But we are thrilled to finally see it in person.”

  Kate clasped her
hands together over her chest. “I can’t wait. This has got to be the highlight of the summer.”

  “Then it’s a date,” Annie told them. “You finally get to meet the Lady.”

  16

  Later that afternoon, after a quick bite to eat, Annie went to the living room to tackle the next remodel- ing task on her list. She and Alice had chosen a soft sea-green paint for the walls, and Annie planned on prepping the room so she could start painting tomorrow.As she lifted the Lady in the Attic to carry it into the library for safe keeping, her gaze fell to the little house scene. They’d found the house, yes, but like the other scenes, not the significance behind it. So really they hadn’t fully uncovered the clues. Why were they having such a hard time understanding what tied the various scenes together?

  After setting up the frame and returning the piece to its place, she got an urge to call Ian. He’d been helpful with the storefront, maybe he could find out who originally owned the house.

  She crossed to the desk and the purse she’d dumped there earlier, searching for the card with Ian’s work number. She paused for a moment. Even though Ian had given her his work number and encouraged her to call, she didn’t want him to think she was a nuisance, only using him for information--when in fact she sort of was. No, change that to asking a friend for a favor. “He’s a nice guy,” she muttered to Boots, who had just jumped onto the window seat to take yet another nap in the sunlight. “He said to call if I need anything, so call.” After arguing with herself, she finally punched the numbers. Her call went right through.

  “Annie, you’re still in town,” he said instead of hello.

  “Imagine that. No one’s asked to me leave.”

  “After the last conversation we had …”

  “No one’s bothered me since, Ian.”

  “Good to hear it.” Annie heard papers rustle on the other end. “What can I help you with today?”

  “I have good news, actually. Alice found the house from the scene on the cross-stitch. But none of the Hook and Needle members can recall who originally lived there, especially since it’s changed owners several times through the years. I thought maybe you could help us out again.”

  “You have a team working on the mystery now?”