Mary Clough wiped her dusty hands on her shorts.
No one had cleaned the attic for years. Decades? No; more than that. Centuries. Her ancestors had built the old colonial in 1770. She was the last of them. The one who’d promised her fiancé they’d sell the house.
She’d been working for months, and had finally managed to sort most of the furnishings in the rooms she and her parents had used every day. She’d left the attic for last.
She’d hidden here as a child, behind and between old cartons of books and fabrics, fragile Christmas tree ornaments, warped snowshoes, metal and wooden trunks. She’d curled up on the Victorian horsehair couch to read forbidden books.
This attic had been her sanctuary. Her private place, full of unknown treasures. Long-discarded clothes to try on. Musty books full of stories from the past. Faded ships’ logs left by seafaring ancestors. Quilts stitched by their wives. Samplers proudly embroidered by their daughters.
An occasional field mouse, alive or dead, would appear when she unfolded an old quilt or opened a box of long-discarded toys. She didn’t mind. Mice deserved a warm place to spend the winter as much as she did. Maine winters were long and cold.
Her memories of this place were happy.
But this was July, and it was stifling under the eaves. Mary’s wispy blond hair stuck to her head and dust streaks covered her arms and legs.
How could she discard treasures that had meant so much to generations before? Each crate was filled with stories, she knew, not just flow-blue china from the Far East or school books used to teach a captain’s children on board a schooner heading around the Horn.
But at seventeen she was the only one left. The only one who cared about these things and their stories.
And she loved Rob. They were going to start a life together, and he needed the money this house and its contents would bring to buy a lobster boat to support them, and their children to come.
Mary had a quick vision of the little girl she’d been, loving this place and these things. Her children wouldn’t know that joy.
She wiped away a tear. Rob would laugh at her. Who would cry about getting rid of all this junk?
She reached up to the beams where her great great great grandparents had hung herbs to dry for the winter, and picked up a hummingbird’s nest someone a hundred years or more ago had found. Who’d collected nests? A boy, or a girl? Dozens had been carefully saved.
She dropped the tiny nest into a garbage bag. A treasure once, now junk.
One day when she was twelve she’d unpacked cartons of old books and lined them up on the rough cross boards just above where the slanted roof met the floor. They were still there. This afternoon she had time to fill one more carton with the leather bound (and sometimes mouse- nibbled) books.
The first two slipped from her hands, falling into the narrow space under the beam, next to the outside wall.
She knelt on the rough pine boards and reached for them. Pages had fallen out of one book; the other binding was intact. As she lifted the books out of the dusty opening she felt something else, stuck in the crevice. Leather? Maybe another book had fallen there, years ago. She managed to pull it out.
Not a book. A small leather case, sealed with sealing wax.
How long had it been there, between the floor and the wall?
Carefully, she unfolded the leather, breaking the red wax.
Inside was a folded piece of heavy paper, covered with elaborate hand-writing. She couldn’t read the French words.
Beneath the note was a piece of needlepoint. Needlepoint different from anything Mary had ever seen.
Who’d stitched it? When? And why was it sealed in a leather case in her family’s Maine attic?
As Mary held the message from the past, she vowed to find out.
This is a prequel of Lea Wait’s Thread And Gone, the third in her “Mainely Needlepoint” series set in Haven Harbor, Maine. Angie Curtis runs Mainely Needlepoint, a group of Mainers who create custom needlepoint and identify and restores old needlepoint. And because threads and needles can be deadly, Angie’s experience working for a private investigator helps her to solve crimes, both of today and yesterday. Twisted Threads and Threads Of Evidence, the first two books in this series, were both USA Today best sellers. Thread And Gone will be released December 29.
GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of THREAD AND GONE. (US entries only, please.) The giveaway will end January 6 at 12 AM EST. Good luck everyone!
About the author
Maine author Lea Wait also writes the Shadows Antique Print mystery series, the most recent of which is 
Shadows On A Maine Christmas, and historical novels for ages eight and up, the most recent of which, Uncertain Glory, is set during the first two weeks of the Civil War. She invites readers to check her website, www.leawait.com, for more about her and her books, and friend her on Facebook or Goodreads.
Ooh a mystery and with French writing and needlepoint…I have to say this sounds good…Please enter me. Happy New Year.
Marilyn ewatvess@yahoo.com
Love to read , this story line sound’s Great 🙂 Awesome that this book has a craft clue included , I love to do crafts 🙂 Thank you for the chance to win a Great book 🙂
This mystery sounds amazing! I would love to read the book to find out what happens. And the cover art is lovely. Thank you for the giveaway.
myrifraf (at) gmail (dot) com
I love this series.
Sounds like a great series. 🙂
I love it when I find a new series and this is one I must definitely must read!
This is a great series!!
I am definitely intrigued! Would love to read this one ~
I’ve been following this series. thank for the chance to win this won.
This sounds like something right up my alley! I love historic homes with attics stuffed full of treasures.
What an awesome cover on this new book….love it!!! I loved, loved, loved the first book in this series and am excited to read this new one! This sounds like a really super duper exciting read!!! Thanks for the chance to win dearest Dru!!!!
I would like to know the significance of what she found. Thanks.
So glad so many people are excited by THREAD AND GONE — I had such fun writing it! Wish you could all win!!! And thank you, so much, Dru, for posting this!
This sounds like a treasure trove with riches beyond a lobster boat! I am anxious to find out what happens next! Thanks for the introduction, Dru! Thanks to Lea for the chance to win this book! It is sure to be a treasure just like the “stuff” in the attic! 🙂
I’ve been a long time fan of Lea Waits Shadows books but I’m enjoying this new series and hope for many more books in the series..
Wow, sounds great and I think U really NEED to read the 1st 2 books in this series, very interesting ,
An intriguing series which I would enjoy. Thanks.
Lea Wait is one author I love to read. Her series is worthy of following with each new release. Thanks for the chance to enter this giveaway. robeader53@yahoo.com
I love needle point. Would love to try this book.
You had me at mystery! (And I love mysteries from the past.) I’d like to win this book. rebarger@bellsouth.net
Love it! This one is waiting on my kindle and may start it tonight! Love all your mystery books.
Have added all 3 to my wish list. This reminds me of exploring my grandparents attic back in the 40s/50s!
kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com
I can’t wait to read it.
I enjoy reading Lea Wait’s books and I would love to win this one. Thanks for the chance.
I share her sadness over having to get rid of all these memory laden items.
And a mystery packet? Wonderful.
Happy new year
Looks like an interesting mystery. Already I don’t like Rob! Thanks for the giveaway.
Oh, that attic sounds like a place I’d love exploring myself. Looking forward to doing so more through Lea’s book. Thanks for the chance to win.
This one sounds fascinating. I love old books, treasures from the past and a good mystery, too.
I have enjoyed this series. Thank you for the chance to win.
So glad so many people are enjoying reading about Haven Harbor — as much as I’m having fun writing about it! Happy, happy New Year, everyone! Read on!
Thanks for a chance to win. Lea Wait is one of my favorite authors.g
Sounds really good!! Another must read!
I can’t wait to read this book and find out what is going on.
Oh my, Ditch the fiancé and keep the house! A home with that much history of one’s family – what a treasure, and a great mystery to solve! Thank you for the chance to win, and congrats on the new release!
This sounds excellent! I’m really looking forward to reading this!
Sounds like a wonderful series. Will look for the first two.and hope I win #3. Thank you!
A ‘must-read’ for me…..
Thank you for the giveaway…..
This installment sounds wonderful!
I so enjoy this author’s writing. Her mysteries are a must-read for me. this prequel sounds very interesting/fascinating. Can’t wait to read.
Haven’t heard of this author before. This posting is very interesting. I had a friends who loved needlepoint. She collected needlepoint styles, techniques, and patterns from just about everywhere in her travels. When she died 20 years ago her daughter gave me the Russian ones. From the synopsis Thread & Gone should prove to be an exciting read. And again. My TBR has grown. Thank you for this chance at one of your books
I would love to read this book
I love this series. I can’t wait to read the new book. Her books are so inspiring I want to stitch when I read this series. I love the cover and title and can’t wait to be inspired.
I would love to read this series! Putting it on my TBR list and marking it “Important “.
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