Read Online Finders Keepers Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner - Free Book Online

trunk.
    The lid of the quilt trunk creaked open. “What is this rag?” a voice muttered. “Where is the wedding quilt? And…”
    Henry stood up. Lina stepped out from behind the door. At the same moment, Jessie, Benny, and Violet came out from their hiding places, too.
    “May I help you find something?” Lina asked in a cool voice.
    Regina Lott gave a small shriek as she jerked upright in surprise. She almost fell over backward. She took a few quick steps toward the door, then stopped when she saw that Henry was blocking the way.
    “What — what are you doing here?” Regina stammered.
    “Waiting for you,” said Jessie.
    “You came to steal the treasure,” Benny couldn’t stop himself from blurting out.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Regina almost shouted.
    “Yes, you do,” Violet said quietly.
    “Your source told you we’d found the treasure and that it was still in this trunk. He also told you the house would be empty this afternoon,” said Henry.
    “Mr. Grey,” said Benny. “He told you. We let him listen to us, and he believed us!”
    Regina’s face turned dull red. For once, she seemed to have nothing to say.
    “Mr. Grey is the one who told you about the quilts in the first place, isn’t he?” said Jessie.
    “He — it was just a news tip,” said Regina. “We’re old friends.”
    “A news tip — or was he trying to help you steal the quilts?” asked Violet.
    “No!” gasped Regina.
    “Yes,” said Henry. “And this isn’t the first time you’ve tried to take them.”
    Regina’s face crumpled. “I just wanted to make it a better story,” she explained. “Just imagine the news hook: ‘Valuable Quilts Found — Then Stolen!’ I would have brought them back after I’d aired the story.”
    “You sent Mr. Grey to look for the quilts while we were distracted with the yard sale,” said Violet. “But Henry and I caught him.”
    Regina looked down. “That was his idea. He’d heard you might give the quilts to Mr. Munsey for the museum. Dirk hates Mr. Munsey, so he wanted to stop you.”
    “But he never made it to the attic,” Violet finished. “He stopped to look at china along the way.”
    Regina nodded her head.
    “He must have called you yesterday right after he saw us in the shop, getting the pattern from Coral. That’s why you were here when we got back,” Henry said.
    “You were going to try to sneak into the house while we were away, weren’t you?” Jessie asked. “But Mr. Munsey stopped you.”
    “No, it wasn’t like that,” said Regina.
    Lina spoke up. “I think it was exactly like that. You wanted a story — and a treasure. What were you going to do with the quilts?”
    There was a long silence. Then Regina said quietly, “I wanted to sell them. They’re worth so much money. I didn’t think. I just acted. I was wrong.”
    “Yes, you were. So was Mr. Grey,” said Benny.
    Regina’s shoulders slumped. “What are you going to do to me?” she asked.
    Lina stared at the reporter. Then she shook her head. “Just go,” she said. “You’ve lost your story. My quilts are safe. But if I hear of you doing anything like this again, I’m going to tell my story — about what you did — to another reporter. I hope you’ve learned your lesson.”
    Regina cast one more look at the trunk. “I’m not a very good reporter, to fall for a trick like that, am I?” she said in a dull voice. “There’s no hidden treasure and no special wedding quilt, is there?”
    “Time to go,” said Lina, standing aside and motioning toward the attic door. “I’ll show you the way out. And I’ll be speaking to Mr. Grey.”
    Regina nodded in defeat. She walked slowly out of the attic. The Aldens listened to her plodding footsteps as she went downstairs with Lina.
    A few minutes later, Lina returned. She sighed and sank onto an old stool. “The trick worked,” she said. “I didn’t think it would. I wonder what she thought when she saw that old hops