Finders Keepers Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Read Free Book Online Page B

quilting work to one side. She took a deep breath.
    “I have something I think you should see,” Coral said quietly. She got up and went to the back of the shop. When she returned, she was holding the old basket she’d bought at the yard sale.
    “The scrap basket,” said Jessie.
    “That’s right,” Coral said. “But it had more than scraps in it.”
    “Treasure!” said Benny hopefully.
    “Of a sort,” said Coral.
    She reached into the basket and brought out a few folded sheets of yellow paper.
    “More letters?” Lina said, her voice going up in excitement.
    “No,” said Coral. “Look.”
    Carefully, she unfolded the fragile papers and spread them out on a nearby table. The papers were full of lines and drawings, notes and sketches.
    “These papers were Hope’s,” Violet said. “Look, she signed her name in that corner.”
    Lina looked bewildered. “What does all this mean?” she asked.
    “It looks like… is it a quilting pattern?” Henry asked.
    “Yes, a Wedding Ring quilt pattern,” said Coral. She pulled a book from the shelf by her chair and flipped it open. “Like this one.”
    Lina was looking at Hope’s signature. “It’s dated,” she said. “This pattern has a date on it. It must be the pattern for Hope’s wedding quilt.”
    “The missing quilt,” Violet said softly.
    “I found it underneath the scraps, right after I got home,” said Coral. “I wanted to keep it. I thought how wonderful it would look hanging in my store, framed. But that would have been wrong. It belongs to you.”
    Lina stared down at the pattern unfolded on the table in front of her. “Thank you,” she said.
    They all stood silently for a minute, looking at the pattern. Then Lina spoke softly. “Everything but the quilt itself,” she said. “What happened to that quilt?”
    A shadow fell across the open doorway. They all looked up. Dirk Grey was standing there.
    “Hello,” he said. “Coral, I saw your door was open and thought you might like a sweet roll for breakfast. I’m just taking a quick walk to the bakery.”
    Coral, sounding surprised and pleased, said, “How nice. But no, thank you, I’ve had breakfast.”
    Dirk nodded and turned away.
    “That was thoughtful of him,” said Coral. “When he first opened up his shop, he wasn’t very friendly, but he’s been coming around. I think he’s even beginning to like quilts. He’s been so much more pleasant since he quit his job at the museum and started working in his shop full-time.”
    “Museum!” exclaimed Jessie.
    “What museum?” asked Henry at almost the same time.
    Looking startled, Coral said, “The State History Museum. Why?”
    “Did he work on the quilt exhibits?” Violet asked.
    “Oh, no,” Coral replied. “He worked in what I call the china department. But he quit last week.”
    Henry said, “Will you excuse us for a minute, please? We’d like to catch up with Mr. Grey. We’ll be right back.”
    “Okay,” said Lina. She was stroking the pattern as if it were an actual quilt.
    As they hurried out of the shop, they heard Coral say, “So you think this was made into a wedding quilt?”
    “Yes,” Lina answered. “Let me tell you the story.”
    They didn’t hear the rest. They were running down the street after Dirk Grey. They caught up with him right outside the door of the coffee shop.
    “Excuse me,” Jessie said breathlessly. “Excuse me, Mr. Grey?”
    Dirk paused, raising his eyebrows. “Yes?” he said.
    “Why did you tell us you didn’t know Mr. Munsey?” Henry asked. “You worked at the museum together.”
    Dirk frowned. “So what if I did?”
    “So you must have known him,” Jessie said.
    “We can ask Mr. Munsey,” said Violet, “if you won’t tell us.”
    That made Dirk Grey frown harder. “Okay,” he snapped. “I know Mr. Munsey.” He started to turn away.
    “Why didn’t you tell us the truth?” Benny asked.
    The bouncy man didn’t look quite so bouncy as he turned back to face them.