“Great job, everyone.” I smiled at Floyd, Viv, and Adrian seated around the small conference table in the corner of my office early Tuesday morning. “Saturday’s book swap appears to be in great shape.”
We’d wrapped up an efficient status meeting on the event, which was another part of our Summer Solicitation Drive. Everything was lined up and waiting for us with three days to go. What a relief. There were carts to display the scores of books contributed to the cause, donation forms for any we received the day of, change for those buying the gently used books, a sign-up sheet for new library e-newsletter subscribers, and library card registration forms.
Hope springs eternal.
“We’ve been movin’ faster than a hot knife through butter to get everything done.” Adrian fussed with the rubber band holding his small ponytail. Was growing his hair out more trouble than he’d expected?
I looked at the members of my project team and remembered with gratitude how they’d helped me prove Jo’s innocence last month. “Before you leave, I have another project I was hoping you’d help me with.”
Adrian perked up. “Are we going to investigate the murders?”
I needed to try harder to broaden Adrian’s reading interests. We could rotate in other genres to supplement true crime and horror.
“In a way.” Opening the manila folder I’d tucked beneath my fundraiser project binder, I retrieved photocopies of the hit list and passed them out. “I’m hoping you can help me prevent a murder.”
“Prevent a murder?” Adrian’s voice rose to excited octaves as he accepted one of the copies.
Floyd and Viv studied the paper with almost identical expressions of surprise and concern.
I leaned into the table. “I found this list Thursday evening while I was giving the activity room a final review after the kickoff. As you’ll recall, at that time, Deputies Whatley and Cole were suspicious of Hank Figg’s death. Then Nelle Kenton was found dead Saturday. The same deputies are investigating her death as well.”
Adrian’s eyes were wide. His voice was low. “Are you sayin’ this is a hit list?”
I hesitated. I didn’t like to say it out loud.
Floyd had no such qualms. “Sounds like a hit list to me.”
Viv’s eyes widened. “Spence Holt’s on the list.”
Floyd leaned into the table to get a better look at the names. “Who’d want to kill Holt? That’s like someone putting a hit out on Mr. Rogers.”
The comparison was a stretch, but I understood what he meant. “That’s what I want to find out. Jo and Spence are helping me.”
“I’d known Hank Figg almost since the day he was born.” Floyd’s voice was rough. His eyes reddened as they locked with mine. “He was a stand-up kid who’d grown into a better-than-decent man. And Nelle Kenton. I think she was in her teens when she and her family moved to town. All good people.” He blinked quickly as though clearing his vision. “If they really were murdered, this community needs to bring their killer to justice. We owe that to their families.”
The gruff man’s grief shook me. I felt his sorrow like a blast from across the table. My throat thickened with emotion. “Is Hank’s family still in town?”
Nelle had told me about her family and shown me pictures of her parents and younger sisters. I grieved for their loss. I didn’t know anything about Hank’s family.
“An aunt.” Floyd cleared his throat. “Think he has cousins out of state.”
What a tragedy. And now his aunt was without family to celebrate holidays and other special occasions. A wave of anger threatened to swamp me. Pushing past it, I stood to grab the box of facial tissue from my desk. I set it in the center of my conference table. Viv, Adrian, and I each took one. After a short hesitation, Floyd did too.
“Coach Figg was only a few years older’n me when I took his geometry class in high school.” Adrian mumbled the words. “He was a good teacher. I really liked him.” He blew his nose. “Hated his class.”
Seated across from Adrian, Viv gave a faint smile. “Hank was a flirt, but he wasn’t obnoxious or aggressive.” Her smile faded. “I didn’t know Nelle well, but she was always friendly and courteous when our paths crossed.”
That was Nelle, warm and polite. And now she was gone. I swallowed the lump in my throat. It was a moment before I could speak. “Deputy Cole’s open to the theory that this list is connected to Hank’s and Nelle’s murders, but Deputy Whatley doesn’t agree. At least they’re dusting the original note for prints. It’s a start, but not enough. I was hoping you would help me try to track down whoever wrote it. I know you’re looking at a photocopy, but does the handwriting look at all familiar?”
Floyd frowned at the sheet of paper for several moments, his expression intense. “No. There’s nothing distinct about it.”
Viv and Adrian stared at the names a few moments longer before shaking their heads in denial.
“I thought it was a long shot.” Disappointed, I rubbed my forehead where a headache had been nagging me since I’d opened my eyes that morning. “All we really know is the four people on this list went to the same high school.”
Adrian blew out a breath. “Most of the people in this town went to that high school.”
“Do you really think the murders could have a connection to their high school experience?” Viv tapped her copy of the list. “That was thirteen years ago for Spence and even longer for the others. It doesn’t make sense that someone would wait that long before committing murder.”
Floyd grunted. “This isn’t The Count of Monte Cristo.”
I tipped my head, acknowledging the literary reference. In the Alexandre Dumas story, the mysterious count spends more than a decade plotting his murderous revenge against the antagonists who’d wronged him.
“Will you help me?” I looked at my coworkers—my friends. “I know I’m asking a lot. This adversary is much more dangerous. Last time, we were trying to identify a murderer who’d acted on impulse. This time, we’re looking for a serial killer whose actions are premeditated.”
Viv straightened on her chair. “If there’s any chance we can prevent another tragedy like Hank’s and Nelle’s deaths, we should take it.”
“Especially if someone’s trying to kill Mr. Holt.” Adrian sounded outraged.
“Count me in.” Floyd’s nod was decisive.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.” My body was weak with relief. The headache I’d woken with eased. “This isn’t going to be easy. As I said, I don’t have much information.”
Floyd grunted. “It’s gotta be someone from the event. How else would the list have made it to the activity room? None of us left it. If it’d been there when we were setting up, we’d have seen it.”
“So that narrows our potential suspects from almost one thousand people to seventy-six.” I look around the table.
Floyd looked at us askance. “Do the deputies know the cause of death?”
“They don’t have the coroner’s report yet.” I gave Floyd a dubious look. “But I won’t hold my breath that they’ll share it with us, though.”
“It would help to know what killed them.” Floyd studied the paper. “We need more to go on. Something.”
“You’re right.” I sat back against my chair. “And we’re running out of time.”
“Well, now, Ms. Marvey, it sounds like you’re doing one of your so-called investigations, but I’m sure that can’t be right, can it?”
I looked up at the new voice. Jed stood framed in my office doorway. His expression was less than enthusiastic. Way less.
Busted.
“Deputies, how can I help you?” As casually as I could manage, I hid my list, slipping it back into its manila folder. In my peripheral vision, I watched Floyd, Viv, and Adrian do the same with their copies. Jed and Errol didn’t need to know about the duplicates.
Fortunately, they were more interested in my office than my clandestine maneuvers. I glanced around the space, trying to see it through their eyes. The room was tidy, in large part thanks to the custodial staff. The furnishings were probably older than me. I had the impression at least the desks and chairs, if not the cabinets, had been making the rounds through various government offices. Oh, the stories they could tell if they could talk.
Beside me, my desk was well organized. My black wire inbox was full, but the day was young. Photos of my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew were arranged beside my computer. Framed photos of literacy posters hung on the walls around us.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been inside of one of these.” Jed turned his attention from the posters to me. I saw a flicker of discomfort in his ice gray eyes.
“A library?” That was a troubling thought. “How long?”
“Don’t know, really.” Jed’s shrug seemed intended to release tension rather than express confusion. He took off his green campaign hat. “If I had to guess, I’d say finals week my senior year of college. I don’t like how silent libraries are. It’s unsettling.”
I blinked. Considering his thinning, snow-white hair, Jed seemed to be saying he hadn’t been inside a library in decades. I inhaled a sharp breath, catching the scent of coffee from my teammates’ partially filled mugs.
How could someone be apart from the library for so long? The books and periodicals. CDs and DVDs. Presentations and workshops. How. Was. That. Possible?
I pulled myself together before my inner screams became outer screams.
“I invited you to the fundraiser with me.” Errol’s delivery was chiding.
“I was busy.” Jed mumbled his excuse, which made it even more unbelievable.
“Doing what?” I considered him with skepticism.
“I don’t remember.” More mumbles. Jed’s steps were hesitant as he crossed into my office. He looked over his shoulder as though making sure he had a clear path to the exit.
Standing, I looked between the two men. They hadn’t answered my question. “How can we help you?”
“We just want to ask y’all some questions about that event.” Jed gestured toward us with the mid-sized black notepad he carried. “Since you’re all here together, it’ll make things easier for us. We can speak with Ms. Corrinne separate.”
Errol rocked back on his heels. “We’re questioning everyone who attended the kickoff.”
“Let me get a couple of chairs for you.” I started to circle the table.
“I’ll get them, Marvey.” Adrian popped out of his seat beside me.
He was barely missed before he returned, dragging two weathered, gray-cushioned chairs that had seen better days. He positioned them side by side in front of the conference table before resuming his seat. Jed and Errol thanked him as they settled down.
Waves of excitement at the prospect of being interrogated by the deputies rolled off of Adrian. I wasn’t the only one who sensed his enthusiasm. Viv looked amused. Floyd and I exchanged concerned looks.
I turned back to Errol. “You’re going to interview everyone who attended the kickoff? That’s a lot of people.”
Jed gave us a look of amused condescension. “How many would that be, Ms. Marvey?”
Viv crossed her legs, smoothing the skirt of her suit. “We had seventy-six attendees.”
Errol gave his partner a look of exasperation. “I told you it’d been packed.”
My teammates and I exchanged smug looks. It would be quite some time before the pleasure of achieving nearly one hundred percent attendance to our event wore off.
Viv turned back to Jed. “The library has a lot of community support.”
Floyd inclined his head toward me. “And that’s been building even more since Marvey’s joined us.”
My cheeks heated. Such a generous compliment from the gruff reference librarian was unexpected. “It’s a team effort.”
Jed lifted his hands. “If we could cut short the mutual admiration and return to our questioning, we’ll be able to get y’all back to work that much faster.” He looked to me. “I’m gonna need a list of all the people who were there.”
I made a note to myself on a fresh sheet of paper from my writing tablet. “I’ll run that report for you, but a few people who’d confirmed didn’t attend. I’ll remove their names before sending you the list.”
Errol tossed a smile toward me. “Thank you, Ms. Marvey. That’d be real helpful. And again, it was a real nice event.”
Jed arched an eyebrow. “I’m just thrilled that you enjoyed yourself, Errol.”
“Thanks, JW.” Errol inclined his head. “You know, ever since I got back into reading, I’ve been a happier person. Maybe reading could help you to be more content, too.”
“I’m so pleased to hear that.” Viv gave the young deputy an approving look. “You’re one of our most enthusiastic patrons, and that’s saying a lot.”
“Really?” Errol’s cheeks flushed with pleasure.
Jed scowled. “Can we focus on the interview now, deputy? If that’s not too much trouble.”
Errol straightened on his seat. “Sure thing, JW.”
Seated across from me, Floyd rested his forearms on the table. “Why do you want to talk with the people who came to the kickoff? Do you think someone from the reception killed Nelle Kenton?”
I waited for the deputies’ response, glad Floyd had asked the question. Yesterday, they’d dismissed my concerns. Today, they seemed to be taking them more seriously. Had something happened?
Jed shrugged a little too nonchalantly. “The people who came to your event are some of the last people to see Ms. Nelle alive.”
“But Nelle wasn’t murdered until two days after the kickoff.” I looked between the deputies. “Are you reconsidering the list of names I showed you this morning? Do you now think Hank’s and Nelle’s homicides are connected?”
Jed gave me a quick look, then dropped his eyes to his notepad. A virtual curtain seemed to lower over his flushed features, making his expression unreadable. “We’re looking at all angles, Ms. Marvey.”
“Have you identified the cause of death?” Adrian leaned toward the veteran officer.
Jed held up a hand again. “I know y’all probably have never been interrogated by law enforcement before—except you, Ms. Marvey, but that was during the last homicide investigation. You see, the way this here process actually works is we ask the questions.” He gestured between himself and Errol. Then he waved a hand toward us. “And y’all answer them. Understood?”
“Why wouldn’t I understand?” Adrian gave the deputy a confused look. “But do you know how they died?”
Jed squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. He regarded Adrian in befuddlement. It was obvious he’d never encountered the combined intellectual curiosity contained within a roomful of librarians. He turned toward me and glared as though the situation in which he found himself had been my fault. “Figg was poisoned. Looks like Kenton was poisoned, too. The M.E. wants to do more testing.”
Adrian’s jaw dropped. “Poison is typically a woman’s weapon.”
Viv, Floyd, and I exchanged curious looks.
“Can you cite your source?” Floyd sounded impressed yet skeptical. He was going to be a tough sell. On the other hand, I could be convinced—depending on his source material.
“The FBI.” Adrian spread his arms. “Its Supplemental Homicide Report says men and women both prefer to kill with guns, but women use poison more often than men.” He shrugged. “Poison’s not a popular weapon, though. I think it’s used in half of one percent of all murders.”
He’d had me at FBI.
“Nelle and Hank were killed and their murders are connected.” My voice was breathless. My mind went blank. My body grew cold.
“Yes.” Jed was grim. “There’s a serial killer in Peach Coast.”
And Spence was on their list.