Crewel Intentions (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery)

Acclaim for
Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun

“Crafty cozies don’t get any better than this hilarious confection...Anastasia is as deadpan droll as Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon, and readers can’t help cheering as she copes with caring for a host of colorful characters.” –
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“Winston has hit a homerun with this hilarious, laugh-until-your-sides-hurt tale. Oddball characters, uproariously funny situations, and a heroine with a strong sense of irony will delight fans of Janet Evanovich, Jess Lourey, and Kathleen Bacus. May this be the first of many in Winston’s Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series.” –
Booklist
(starred review)

“A comic tour de force...Lovers of funny mysteries, outrageous puns, self-deprecating humor, and light romance will all find something here.” –
ForeWord Magazine
Book of the Year nominee

“North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum. Funny, gutsy, and determined, Anastasia has a bright future in the planned series.” –
Kirkus Reviews

“...a delightful romp through the halls of who-done-it.” –
The Star-Ledger

“Make way for Lois Winston’s promising new series...I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next installment in this thoroughly delightful series.” –
Mystery Scene Magazine

“...once you read the first few pages of Lois Winston’s first-in-series whodunit, you’re hooked for the duration...” –
Bookpage

“...madcap but tough-as-nails, no holds barred plot and main character...a step above the usual crafty cozy.” –
The Mystery Reader

“...Anastasia is, above all, a JERSEY girl..., and never, ever mess with one of them. I can’t wait ‘til the next book in this series...” –
Suspense Magazine

“Fans of Stephanie Plum will love Lois Winston’s cast of quirky, laughable, and loveable characters.
Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun
is clever and thoroughly entertaining – a must read!” – Brenda Novak,
New York Times
best-selling author.

“What a treat – I can’t stop laughing! Witty, wise, and delightfully clever, Anastasia is going to be your new best friend. Her mysterious adventures are irresistible – you’ll be glued to the page!” – Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity award-winning author

“You think you’ve got trouble? Say hello to Anastasia Pollack, who also happens to be queen of the one-liners. Funny, funny, funny – this is a series you don’t want to miss!” – Kasey Michaels,
USA Today
best-selling author

Acclaim for
Death by Killer Mop Doll

“Anastasia is a crafting Stephanie Plum, surrounded by characters sure to bring chuckles as she careens through the narrative, crossing paths with the detectives assigned to the case and snooping around to solve it.” –
Booklist

“Several crafts projects, oodles of laughs and an older, more centered version of Stephanie Plum.” –
Kirkus Reviews

“In Winston’s droll second cozy featuring crafts magazine editor Anastasia Pollack...readers who relish the offbeat will be rewarded.” –
Publishers Weekly

“...a
30 Rock
vibe...Winston turns out another lighthearted amateur sleuth investigation. Laden with one-liners, Anastasia’s second outing (after
Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun
) points to another successful series in the works.” –
Library Journal

“Winston...plays for plenty of laughs...while letting Anastasia shine as a risk-taking investigator who doesn’t always know when to quit.” –
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

Acclaim for
Revenge of the Crafty Corpse

“Winston peppers the twisty and slightly edgy plot with humor and plenty of craft patterns. Fans of craft mysteries will like this, of course, but so will those who enjoy the smart and snarky humor of Janet Evanovich, Laura Levine, and Laura DeSilverio.” –
Booklist

“Winston’s entertaining third cozy plunges Anastasia into a surprisingly fraught stew of jealousy, greed, and sex...” and a “Sopranos-worthy lineup of eccentric character...” –
Publishers Weekly

“Winston provides a long-suffering heroine, amusing characters, a...good mystery and a series of crafting projects featuring cloth yo-yos.” –
Kirkus Reviews

“A fun addition to a series that keeps getting stronger.” –
Romantic Times Magazine

“Chuckles begin on page one and the steady humor sustains a comedic crafts cozy, the third (after Death by Killer Mop Doll)... Recommend for Chris Grabenstein (“John Ceepak” series) and Jess Lourey readers.” –
Library Journal

“You'll be both surprised and entertained by this terrific mystery. I can't wait to see what happens in the Pollack household next.” –
Suspense Magazine

“The book has what a mystery should...It moves along at a good pace...Like all good sleuths, Anastasia pieces together what others don't...The book has a fun twist...and it's clear that Anastasia, the everyday woman who loves crafts and desserts, and has a complete hottie in pursuit, will return to solve another murder and offer more crafts tips...” –
Star-Ledger

Crewel Intentions

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery

by Lois Winston

Also by Lois Winston

Talk Gertie to Me

Elementary, My Dear Gertie

Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception

Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun

Death by Killer Mop Doll

Revenge of the Crafty Corpse

Mosaic Mayhem

Top Ten Reasons Your Novel Is Rejected

Once Upon a Romance

Writing as Emma Carlyle

Hooking Mr. Right

Finding Hope

Four Uncles and a Wedding

Lost in Manhattan

Someone to Watch Over Me

Crewel Intentions
copyright 2012 by Lois Winston. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locations, or events is coincidental or fictionalized.

Cover design by Scott Winston

ONE

“Anastasia, I need your help.”

I recognized the voice at once. “Erica? You shouldn’t be calling me.”

“I had to. I don’t know where else to turn.”

“Hold on.” I poked my head out of my cubicle and found the hall empty. Quickly I darted down the corridor to the models’ closet, a walk-in storage area where I kept arts and crafts supplies and models from past magazine issues.

Once inside, with the door closed and keeping my voice to a whisper, I said, “Are you crazy? You’ll get kicked out of the program.” Although I had gleaned my knowledge of WitSec one hundred percent from a now-canceled TV show, I assumed breaking the
No Contact With Anyone From Your Past
rule was definitely grounds for expulsion.

“I’ve taken precautions.”

“What kind of precautions?”

“I’m on a burner phone. No one will know.”

Erica Milano, former
American Woman
fashion editor and daughter of crime boss Joey Milano, now lived under an assumed name in an undisclosed city, compliments of Witness Protection. Several months ago, she’d provided a federal prosecutor with evidence against her ex-boyfriend after he tried to kill me. Attempted murder was only one of the many crimes that permanently relocated Ricardo to a federally run establishment with bars on the windows and razor wire landscaping.

In addition, Joey Milano now awaited trial on more than two dozen counts. Thanks to Erica, the feds had enough information to cripple her father’s organization and put him in standard-issue neon-orange jumpsuits for the rest of his life—unless his goons got to her before she testified against him.

“I really shouldn’t be talking to you, Erica. For your safety and my own.” This call not only put her in jeopardy, but might also lead to a couple of Neanderthals with baseball bats showing up at my front door. And they wouldn’t be asking directions to Yankee Stadium.

She panicked, her voice trembling as she sniffed back tears. “P…please don’t hang up, Anastasia.”

I caved. After all, Erica had played a major role in saving my life. I owed her. “What’s going on?”

“I need to see you. Can we meet?”

“Is that such a good idea?”

“I’ll make sure no one finds out. You’re the only person I can trust.”

“What about the U.S. Marshals? Aren’t they supposed to protect you?”

“If I tell them what’s going on, they’ll relocate me.”

“So?”

“I can’t leave.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve met someone.”

Translation:
I have a new boyfriend
. “Won’t they relocate him with you?” Again, my source of knowledge was totally television-based.

“He wouldn’t be able to move with me.”

“Why not?”

“It’s complicated.”

Isn’t everything?
I sighed. “I don’t think meeting with you is a good idea, Erica.”

“I’ll pay you.”

Bull’s eye. Erica knew all about Karl Pollack, my not-so-dearly departed husband, leaving me in debt that rivaled the gross national product of many a small third-world nation. Ricardo had been Karl’s bookie, a fact I learned only after Karl dropped dead at a roulette table in Las Vegas when I naively believed he was at a sales meeting in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Since then, my life has been reduced to scrounging for whatever additional money I can earn to supplement my paltry craft editor’s salary.

“Three thousand dollars,” she added.

A sum much too large to pass up, even though I had no clue what she needed from me. Too many bill collectors had me on speed dial, and every day my sons inched closer to college. Right now I couldn’t even afford to send them to the local community college. Hoping I didn’t regret whatever I was about to dive blindly into, I said, “Okay, where do you want to meet?”

“First, swear you won’t tell anyone.”

Was she kidding?
“Of course, I won’t tell anyone. You shouldn’t even be telling me where you are.”

A huge heave of relief made its way through the phone line. “Thank you. I knew I could depend on you. I sent you a plane ticket.”

“You were pretty sure of yourself. What if I turned you down?”

“I knew you wouldn’t.”

“And why is that?”