At the rehearsals, Annie was usually in the prompter’s box at the front of the stage, following along with the actors, trying to be engaged in each scene as the professor had instructed her. She was beginning to think she knew the play, as the professor had said, “like her favorite song”; if someone said the wrong words, she didn’t even need to look at the script. It just sounded “wrong” to her.
Even though she was mostly confined to her small space, the rehearsals were exciting to Annie. Watching the process of working out scenes—seeing how an emphasis on certain words, a different tone of voice, or the speed of delivery could make a tremendous difference—was a revelation to her about the acting profession. It wasn’t just memorizing words and standing in the right place at the right time. Dolores and Cyril were obviously the professionals, but there was no hint of condescension toward those who had less experience. The Fortescues were patient and seemed to like nothing better than to work with the other actors offstage to help them with their lines and to work out their scenes together.
And Peggy was blossoming. Annie could see a change in her. Though Peggy was a wife and a mother and worked hard to help support her family, this was something that was just for her. To Annie it was apparent Peggy was gaining confidence and poise.
For Annie, besides working at A Stitch in Time and attending all the rehearsals, part of her activities involved figuring out the best way to display the “Proverbs 31 Woman” tapestry, as she and the other members of the Hook and Needle Club had come to call it, to protect it so it could be used in the stage set. She and Molly Williams had both done research to figure out the best method, and they consulted with each other to reach a decision. Though Cyril Fortescue had said he would check with his friends in the antique business, he hadn’t mentioned anything to Annie, so she just assumed the play was taking up too much of his time, and that he hadn’t been able to follow through.
Annie and Molly decided a frame was needed for the tapestry since it would have to be raised and lowered on the stage several times. After first explaining her plan to Professor Howell and then getting approval from Stella, Annie went to the woodworking shop in the Cultural Center to see Wally about building a sturdy, but lightweight-as-possible frame.
When she walked into the shop, Annie noticed two things at once: the noise—the buzzing of a power saw—and the odors—freshly sawn wood, and stain, varnish, and paint. Wally was running the power table saw, wearing safety goggles and earmuff-style hearing protection. She would have to wait until he was finished. She wandered over to a couple of chairs against the wall and took a seat since she didn’t know how long it would take.
“What are you doing in here?” shouted a man who had just come out of the storage room next to the workshop. He was about thirty-five years old and his head was clean-shaven. He wore a dull green Henley shirt and blue jeans. Annie had seen him before at the rehearsals. Though they had not been introduced, she was pretty sure he was Trent Bodkin, who was in charge of the lighting and the sound in the theater.
Annie had been startled at the sound of his voice. She shouted back to be heard over the sound of the saw, “I’m here to see Wally.”
“You shouldn’t be in here!” he shouted. He roughly grabbed Annie’s arm and started to pull her out of the chair when the sound of the saw stopped.
“Hey!” said Wally. “Leave her alone.”
He released Annie’s arm. “She’s not supposed to be in here,” said the man. “It’s dangerous, and there’s a lot of expensive equipment and supplies in here. We can’t have just anybody coming in and out of here whenever they feel like it!”
“Mrs. Dawson is OK,” said Wally. “She’s part of the play too, and she’s not going to do anything stupid, or steal anything. I’ll vouch for her.”
The man looked angry. “Well, if something goes wrong, it’s on your head. Don’t come bellyaching to me!” And with that, he stormed out of the workshop.
“Thanks, Wally,” said Annie, a little shaken. “Is that Trent Bodkin? I’m sorry if I caused trouble between you and him.”
“Don’t worry about it, Annie,” said Wally. “Yes, that’s Trent Bodkin. I’m sorry if he scared you. He’s always like that. He gets sort of carried away sometimes. What can I do for you today?”
Annie proceeded to tell Wally about the tapestry and that she’d like him to build a frame for it so that it could be used for the stage set.
“Oh, yeah,” said Wally. “Peggy told me all about the tapestry when you first found it. From her description, it sounds like it’s pretty big. Do you have the dimensions for the size of frame you want?”
“Yes,” said Annie, “I have them right here.”
On a piece of notepaper, Annie had written the size of the tapestry itself and the size of the frame she wanted, telling Wally exactly what she planned to do.
Wally took the notepaper, and after listening to Annie, he drew a little sketch of what he thought she wanted.
“That looks just right,” said Annie.
“Good,” Wally said. “I should be able to finish it in a couple of days. I’ll get some lumber for it tomorrow, and I’ll call you when it’s done.”
“Thanks, Wally,” said Annie. “And thanks for coming to my rescue.”
The next day, Annie purchased several yards of 52-inch-wide linen at A Stitch in Time. When she got the fabric home, she cut it into large sections and then machine-stitched the sections together to make a rectangle that was several inches larger on each side than the size of the tapestry.
When Wally called to say that the frame was completed, Annie brought the linen rectangle to the workshop, and she and Wally worked to stretch the linen across the frame, stapling it neatly along the back edges of the frame.
When they were finished, Wally asked, “Now what?”
“Now we take it to the fourth floor on the freight elevator,” said Annie. “Stella gave me a key for one of the empty offices up there, so we can store it. I’ll bring the tapestry over tomorrow and start working on getting it sewn to the linen.”
“If you’re going to be sewing on it, would it help if it was propped up or something?” asked Wally.
“Yes,” said Annie, “it probably would. Do you have any suggestions?”
“I think I can spare a couple of sawhorses for a little while, if you think it will only take a day or two,” said Wally.
“I think that would work perfectly. Thanks, Wally,” said Annie.
When it was time for Annie to bring the tapestry to the Cultural Center, she felt a little pang of guilt about taking it away from Grey Gables—though she didn’t know any reason why she should feel that way. She reminded herself that she had given her permission to use it in the play, and she had to stand by it.
She gently rolled up the tapestry and wrapped it in some of the leftover linen material. She left the muslin pocket lying on the bed in the upstairs bedroom. From the upstairs hallway closet she retrieved two flat sheets to take along with her to the Cultural Center. She thought she would use those to cover the tapestry to keep the dust off.
Molly was kind enough to come over to the Cultural Center two days in a row to help Annie carefully hand-stitch the tapestry to the linen cover of the frame. It was a time-consuming and uncomfortable job, but when it was finished, Annie was satisfied that they had made the right choice. Annie went down to the workshop to ask Wally to come up to the fourth floor to help them move the frame off of the sawhorses.
After they had propped the tapestry up against the wall, the three of them stood back to survey the work of art. Wally whistled low and said, “That’s really something, Annie. I can see why Peggy was so excited about it, besides it being a mystery, of course.” He said that last part with a big smile.
“Thanks for all your help, Wally,” said Annie. “And thanks to you, too, Molly. I’d still be working on this if you hadn’t come over to help me.”
“No problem,” said Molly. “You do find the most interesting things in your
grandmother’s attic.”
****
Annie returned the key to the office where the tapestry was stored to Stella the next day, and then she pretty much forgot about the tapestry. She had begun to get used to the busy schedule of working at the shop for a few hours a couple of days a week and going to rehearsals. It reminded her of her busy life when Wayne was alive, and they worked together at the car dealership they had owned. She had sold it after he died; she just didn’t see how she could manage it without him.
Though she was financially stable, she realized she had missed the purpose she felt by having a job to go to every day. But then she had enjoyed her free time too, being able to make plans on a moment’s notice. If she’d had a full-time job, she wouldn’t have been able to help Mary Beth like she had. It was something she’d have to give more thought to once the play was finished. She was certainly busy enough for the time being.
The first week of March rolled around quickly, and the first Hook and Needle Club meeting of the month found its members thinking of spring. There was still plenty of snow on the ground, but the days had gotten longer, and the extra sunshine made them long for warmer weather. The knitters and the crocheters were thinking about making lightweight yarn projects. Alice, the only embroiderer, had started on a pretty bouquet of flowers for a pillow cover. Peggy, the only quilter in the group, was making Emily’s favorite doll a small string quilt in bright yellows and greens.
Mary Beth was more than halfway through her radiation treatments, and she was still driving herself to her appointments and still coming in to work every day. The “sunburn” continued to get worse, but she was managing to deal with it.
Annie was a little concerned about Stella. When the project of the play had started there was a lot of excitement, and it seemed to buoy everyone along, but lately Stella had seemed very tired. She was still keeping up with her more “glamorous” appearance, but she was quieter at this meeting, and Annie didn’t see her at the rehearsals as often as she had before.
“How are things going for you?” Annie asked Stella.
Stella had begun knitting a prayer shawl that had a pretty shell pattern, using a super-fine weight yarn made of a blend of merino wool, rayon from bamboo, and nylon. She looked up from her needles at Annie and smiled. “I’m fine. I have been tired lately. There’s just a lot to do with the play and everything. Jason has been helpful, as always, getting me where I need to be and running errands. It’s a lot of responsibility; I think I’ll be ready for a break when this is all over.”
Jason was Stella’s driver—she never called him her “chauffer.” He had worked for her for many years and looked out for Stella.
“If I can do anything to help you,” said Gwen, “be sure to let me know. I’ve turned in everything for the programs to the printers already, so we won’t be getting any new sponsors at this point, and I’ve got the advertising taken care of for the play. I’ve got some free time.”
“Thank you, Gwen,” said Stella. “Since you mentioned it, there is something you can do. The Cultural Center committee is meeting this Thursday in the fourth-floor conference room. It’s nothing to do with the play, just some general business. Do you think you could go as my representative and take notes for me? Professor Howell is having a small dinner party that evening—just a few friends for an evening of ‘conversazione,’ as he put it.” That made Annie smile; she could just imagine how Professor Howell would have said it—with a certain amount of flair, of course. Stella continued, “I was going to tell him I couldn’t come, but I really would like to go.”
“Of course,” said Gwen, “I’d be glad to.”
But on Thursday afternoon, Annie received a call from Gwen. At first, Annie didn’t realize it was Gwen. A scratchy, whispery voice said, “Annie, can you go to the meeting for me this evening?”
“Who is this?” asked Annie.
“It’s me, Gwen,” said the voice. “I’m sick. I hate to call Stella and spoil her plans. Do you think you could go to the meeting and take notes?”
Annie agreed to attend the meeting that was scheduled for seven o’clock.
She decided to go to The Cup & Saucer for a quick dinner, and then she walked over to the Cultural Center. The museum was closed, but Bill Witherell was at the door, letting in each committee member as they arrived.
“What are you doing here, Annie?” he asked, in a friendly manner.
Annie explained the situation.
“Glad you could join us then. I hope that Gwen will be better soon,” said Bill. He leaned over toward Annie and said in a quiet voice with a hint of amusement, “I never thought I’d see the day that Stella Brickson would chose a dinner party over a committee meeting. That Professor Howell is quite a character.”
When all the members of the committee had arrived—four others besides Bill and Annie—Bill locked the front door, and they all boarded the elevator and made their way to the conference room. The meeting took about forty-five minutes, and as Stella had said, they just discussed some general business, mostly having to do with the upkeep of the building. When the meeting was adjourned, the others asked Annie how things were going with the play. Eventually the conversation got around to the tapestry; they had all heard about it from Stella.
Annie explained how they had decided to display it, and that it was in an office on that floor. “Would you like to see it?” she asked. There was a general chorus of “yes” from the committee members, so they closed up the conference room and made their way to the opposite end of the hallway to the office where the tapestry was stored.
Bill unlocked the door and let the others walk into the office first. The tapestry was just as Annie had left it—propped up against the wall, covered with the two sheets she had brought from Grey Gables.
“Bill, could you help me with these?” asked Annie.
She lifted the bottom corner of one sheet and pulled it back to the side of the frame, and Bill did the same with the other sheet. Annie looked at the committee members, expecting to see their admiration for the tapestry reflected in their faces, but instead they all looked rather blank. In fact, they looked puzzled. Annie moved to the front of the frame to see the tapestry, but to her dismay, she only saw the plain linen fabric that was attached to the frame. The tapestry was no longer there.
12
Annie was in a swivet. Bill called the police right away, and Reed Edwards, Stony Point’s chief of police, was at the Cultural Center in a matter of minutes. Officer Cal Peters, who had actually saved Annie’s life not so long ago, was also there. They promised to do everything they could to find the tapestry, but Annie knew the clues were scarce. There was no way for her to know exactly how long the tapestry had been gone since she hadn’t seen it since the day she had returned the key to Stella.
The other problem was the number of people who knew about the tapestry. Annie had learned through firsthand experience that news of any sort spread like wildfire through Stony Point. It had become common knowledge that the tapestry was going to be used on the stage set among the college people involved with the play as well. She remembered that Cyril had taken photos with his cellphone and was going to contact his friends in the antique and auction businesses about it. Who knew how far afield the news had traveled?
And it wasn’t like the Cultural Center was Fort Knox. The people of Stony Point were generally pretty trusting. Anyone who came into the building could have come up to the fourth floor. The door didn’t show any signs of being forced, but Annie didn’t think the lock would be that hard to pick for a real thief, or perhaps someone had stolen a key.
It had been Annie’s gut instinct to keep the tapestry at Grey Gables, but she had ignored it. Now she berated herself for not listening to that instinct. She felt like she had let her grandmother down. And what about Lily Cornette? Had she let her down too? With all the activity of the last several weeks, Annie had never followed up on her discovery of the letter. The two boxes of letters still sat in the corner of the l
iving room, and she had never made it over to Longfellow College to see what she could find out about Lily.
All of this still weighed heavily on Annie’s mind the next evening at the Friday-night rehearsal. The professor had arranged for a longer rehearsal than usual, so that they could do a complete run-through of the play. He asked everyone to show up at six that evening and to be prepared to stay as long as necessary.
Peggy’s sister, Mitzy, had been at the theater early on; the professor wanted her to have a chance to apply her newly acquired theatrical skills for hair and makeup. All the actors had either applied makeup themselves, or they had been guinea pigs for Mitzy. To Annie, they looked a little grotesque close up, but she knew that from a distance and in the bright stage lights, the heavy makeup wouldn’t look so odd.
Jacob Martin was there too. Annie had seldom seen him at the rehearsals, and when he was there, she had never seen him interact with the Fortescues—the same was true that evening. Apparently the trouble between them had not been resolved yet. Jacob sat next to Professor Howell in the house seats as they watched the actors work their way through the play.
Annie was in her usual place in the prompter’s box, but it was hard to keep her mind on the play. Several times, one of the actors had to ask Annie for his or her line, rather than her offering it at the right moment, as she had been doing. Annie wasn’t sure if it was just her perception, but it seemed like everyone in the play was on edge. At the intermission mark, Professor Howell called for a twenty-minute break.
“Let’s see if we can come back with a little higher level of concentration,” said the professor. Annie didn’t think he was referring to her; perhaps it wasn’t just Annie’s perception after all that everyone seemed to be affected by the disappearance of the tapestry.
The Tapestry in the Attic Page 11
