To Be Read was crowded during Monday’s lunch hour. There wasn’t an empty aisle in sight, and the little café area was standing room only. Foot traffic in the independent bookstore was even better than before Fiona Lyle-Hayes’s murder. Some of her staff had worried customers would avoid the store for fear it would be haunted. A haunted bookstore. Let’s hope not.
The soft, powdery scent of air fresheners mingled with the subtle, sweet fragrance from the bouquets of flowers strategically set around the store. Over it all were the enticing scents of savory soups and freshly baked breads from the café counter.
Natural sunlight flooded the store, casting a warm glow over the blond wood bookshelves and fluffy, colorful armchairs nearby. Ignoring their silent beckoning, I turned toward the customer counter in search of Jo and Spence. We’d planned to order lunch from the bookstore café’s soup and sandwich menu before retreating to Jo’s office.
I found Jo helping one of her young employees. “Are we waiting for Spence?”
I glanced around in case Spence had followed the call of literature deeper into the aisles. I’d lost myself among those shelves a time or eleven.
“Yes, but you’re early. He’ll be here.” Jo stepped from behind the counter.
My attention shifted to the employee, a slender young woman with a mass of reddish-gold curls and big brown eyes. I had a good feeling for Blanche’s future. Not only was she learning critical job skills and responsibility at Jo’s store, but she also had a library card that she used often. She was especially fond of self-help books.
“Hello, Jo. Marvey. Jo, may I speak with you?”
I turned and was surprised to find Trudie at To Be Read. I thought she was too busy at the moment to read.
“Sure, Trudie.” Jo gave her a polite smile. “How can I help you?”
Trudie gave me a hesitant look before addressing Jo. “What’s going on between you and Nolan?”
Whoa! I hadn’t seen that coming.
I faced Jo, interested in her response.
Her smile faded to be replaced by confusion. “Me and Nolan? I don’t know what you mean.”
Give me a break. I sensed Trudie’s discomfort and reluctance. It must have taken a lot of courage for her to broach this subject with Jo. “Why do you ask?”
Trudie gave me an uncertain look. “I was just wondering.” Her cheeks filled with faint pink and she shuffled her feet again before returning her attention to Jo. “The two of you seem to spend a lot of time together. And he mentions you. Often. Is your relationship with him platonic or is it...more than that?”
Jo spread her hands. “Nolan and I are just friends. That’s all.”
“Are you sure?” Trudie didn’t seem to be buying that answer any more than I was.
“I’m positive.” Jo’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. Fibber. “We’re just very good friends.”
“All right.” Trudie’s face glowed. Her eyes glittered as she looked from Jo to me and back. She looked like she’d just taken first place in the Peach Coast Cobbler Crawl: happy and relieved. “Great! Thank you! Enjoy the rest of your day.”
I watched Trudie as she practically waltzed to the exit.
“Trudie’s not the right person for Nolan.” Jo’s voice was a blend of smug and insecure.
“Is that because you and Nolan are more than very good friends?” It was time we confronted the relationship fibs in the room.
“What?” Jo avoided eye contact. “What are you talking about? I told Trudie, Nolan and I are just friends and that’s the truth.”
“I don’t believe you. And you don’t believe you, either. I’ve seen the way you look at him. And the way he looks at you. There’s enough chemistry flowing between the two of you to require FDA approval.”
“Stop it.” Jo bent over with a startled laugh. She clutched my arm for balance. “That’s not true.”
“Oh, yes, it is.”
As Trudie arrived at the exit, the door was pulled open from the other side. Incredibly, her smile grew even brighter for the person holding the door for her. I waited to see the beneficiary of her exuberant mood. Spence. Of course.
I raised my hand in greeting as I continued speaking with Jo. “When’re you going to tell Nolan how you feel?”
“When’re you going to tell Spence?” Jo turned to our friend.
I almost swallowed my tongue.
“Tell me what?” Spence came to a stop beside us.
I felt like a deer in headlights. “That I need to know whether you’ve received a pennant.”
“I haven’t, but I promise to tell you right away—if I receive one.”
Jo shot me a disgusted look before leading us to the café. Service was fast and efficient. We carried our soups, sandwiches, and iced teas into Jo’s office. After catching up on each other’s day and well-being, I brought us to the point of the meeting.
“Our investigation’s moving in circles.”
Jo started to bite her fingernails. She lowered her hand when she saw my scowl. “During our last investigation, we had trouble gaining traction too. We’re still learning about the victims and the possible suspects.”
Spence nodded. “Jo’s right. It’s even more complicated this time because we’re looking for a serial killer; more victims, more motives, more suspects. And we aren’t trained investigators.”
Everything they said made sense. Still... “We’re running out of time. In fact, we don’t know how much time we have before the killer strikes again.”
Spence swallowed a bite of his sandwich. We’d all requested the spicy chicken. “Brittany and I are being careful.”
I hoped so. “As long as you’re taking this seriously.” I struggled to shrug off my unease. “Instead of looking at one suspect with a grudge against four people, is it possible we should be looking for two suspects working together?”
Jo’s eyes sharpened with interest. “You mean like Delores Polly working with Philomena Fossey?” She referred to her notes. “They both resented Hank and Nelle. And Delores has a grudge against you, Spence.” She sent him an apologetic look before turning again to her notebook. “And Philomena has a reason to be angry with Nelle and Brittany.”
I held up a cautioning finger. “Maybe not Delores. I think we can rule her out.”
Spence inclined his head toward me. “She said you’re the one who convinced her to apologize for the email she sent Hank, Nelle, and me.”
“She would’ve apologized eventually even if I hadn’t said anything.” I refocused on the case. “June’s definitely off the list. I spoke with her again this morning. It’s true that, if she’d had an accomplice, she wouldn’t’ve had to be at the event. But she really cared about Hank. She’d ended their relationship so he could be happy with Nelle.”
“Aww.” Jo’s lips formed a perfect circle. Her eyebrows knitted. “That makes me so sad.”
“I don’t think June’s involved, either. She seemed genuinely upset at Hank’s wake.” Spence consulted his notepad. “With her and Delores off the list, that leaves only Reba and Philomena.”
My mind spun. I struggled to corral my thoughts. “Reba may still be angry with you and Brittany because of her failed mayoral bid. That scandal is also threatening her reelection to town council. If she isn’t reelected to the council, she may feel that she can’t try again for the mayor’s office. She may hold you and Brittany responsible for destroying her political career.”
Jo’s eyes were wide with concern and anxiety. She glanced at her fingernails before fisting her hands. “And in addition to Philomena’s jealousy of Hank and Nelle, she’s angry about Brittany filing that lawsuit against her.”
We were quiet as we digested the enormity of our current situation. My muscles were weighted with fear and frustration. We couldn’t lose sight of the fact one of us was in mortal danger. This wasn’t a puzzle game. It was life and death.
Jo shattered the silence. “So we have potential motives. Now we need to find out if Philomena and Reba have been seen together more often.”
Spence put away his notes and checked his watch. “And whether they had the opportunity or means to kill Hank and Nelle. We won’t know the means until the deputies get the coroner’s report, though.”
“And we may not even know then, unless we can convince the deputies to tell us.” I gathered the refuse from my lunch. “I’m not giving up on the high school connection, either.”
Spence and I said our goodbyes to Jo. I accepted his offer of a ride back to the library.
He pulled out of the parking lot, merging with the traffic. “I have a meeting at the high school after work this evening. The summer academic program coordinator wants me to talk to his students about careers in the media.”
From the passenger seat, I stared at him, fighting my natural urge to smother. I lost. “Are you going to the high school alone? With a serial killer stalking you? Is that a good idea?”
He gave me a quick glance. “I’m telling you about the meeting so you don’t worry if I miss your evening check-in. The meeting starts at six. I promise to be careful.”
“Not good enough.” My jaw felt stiff with obstinacy. “I’m coming with you.”
“Marvey—”
“We agreed to protect each other, remember? I’ll be ready at five-thirty.” I sat back against the seat and scowled through the windshield. I allowed the silence to grow.
After several moments, Spence sighed his surrender. “If you insist on attending this dry, dull meeting with me, then I’ll pick you up at five. We’ll get dinner first.”
“Fine.”
I felt Spence’s impatience. He’d get over it, but I wasn’t going to risk his life to avoid an argument. As a bonus, this evening, I’d get a peek into Spence’s past. Perhaps I’d even pick up some information that could help resolve whatever’s happening in his present. Sort of like a time travel mystery. I loved those.