Finders Keepers Mystery Read Free

extra money when this house was still a farmhouse. The rest she made for the family as gifts for weddings or christenings or birthdays,” Lina explained.
    “Look at this!” exclaimed Jessie, pointing. In the corner of one of the quilts, the letters HB were embroidered in green. “HB — Hope Bidwell! She signed it with her initials.”
    “Green was her favorite color, my grandfather said.” Lina smiled. “It’s mine, too. Apparently, Hope’s wedding quilt had lots of green in it.”
    “Wedding quilt?” said Violet.
    “The quilt she made for her marriage. It’s sort of a legend in our family, even more than her hidden treasure. Hope was going to marry her true love, you see,” Lina explained. “Robert, his name was. After their engagement, Robert went on a trip. While he was gone, Hope sewed a beautiful quilt that they would use when he came home to marry her.”
    “But he didn’t come home,” Jessie guessed.
    Lina nodded. “Very good, Jessie. No, he didn’t come home. The very day Hope finished her wedding quilt, word came that Robert had died of a sudden illness. Hope was overcome with grief. All she had left of him were the letters he’d sent. And nobody ever saw that wedding quilt again.”
    Violet clasped her hands together. “Oh, what a sad story,” she said.
    “I know,” said Lina. “I was sort of hoping Robert’s letters might turn up in the attic. That and her wedding quilt would mean so much to me.” She sighed. “But these other quilts are pretty wonderful, too.”
    “Hey, wait!” Benny said, his voice muffled as he leaned down into the chest. “There’s one more quilt in here!”
    Lina rushed over and lifted the last quilt from the trunk. This quilt wasn’t beautiful like the others. It was made of rough gray wool, and it didn’t have careful, perfect stitching or embroidery on it as the other quilts did. It looked as if someone had just wanted to finish it in a hurry.
    “Oh,” said Benny disappointed. “That’s not the wedding quilt. It’s not pretty at all. It doesn’t belong with these other quilts.” He dropped his end of the old quilt on a chair. Lina smoothed the rough fabric and set the quilt aside.
    “Maybe it was just an everyday quilt and these were special quilts for company,” said Lina. She reached out to touch a velvet patch on the nearest quilt. “I know these are special. I wish I could learn more about them.”
    “We could look them up at the library,” said Jessie. “Quilts, I mean.”
    “And you could call a museum,” said Violet. “The State History Museum, maybe?”
    “Good ideas,” said Lina. “I’ll call the museum first thing tomorrow.”
    “And we’ll go to the library as soon as we finish helping you get ready for your yard sale,” said Jessie.
    “Meanwhile, we should put these quilts back in the trunk,” Henry said.
    “Yes, to keep them safe,” agreed Lina.
    The Aldens and Lina carefully folded the quilts and set them back into the trunk. Lina spread the gray everyday quilt on top of the others, then closed the lid.
    As they left the attic, Lina glanced back at the cedar trunk. “You know,” she said thoughtfully, “when my grandfather told me stories about Great-great-aunt Hope’s hidden treasure, I thought it must be gold or silver or jewels. But these quilts are a treasure.”
    “Yes,” said Violet softly. “They are.”

CHAPTER 3
Log Cabins and Flying Geese
    “Achoo! AAAAAA-CHOOO!” Those were the first sounds the Aldens heard from Edward Munsey. Mr. Munsey was a quilt expert sent by the State History Museum. He had just followed Lina into the attic. The four Aldens had been there all morning helping Lina sort through things for the yard sale.
    “It’s not as dusty as it was when we first got here,” Benny said helpfully.
    “Ah, oooh, urgh,” said Mr. Munsey, his round face half hidden by a large handkerchief. He whisked the handkerchief away, revealing his watery green eyes. “Allergies,” he finally said.