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In the morning, Sady left Matt sleeping and walked to the diner for a quick breakfast. Ryan's room was quiet when she passed. He was likely still sleeping after a rough night. When Sady finished eating, she asked Ally for directions to the library.
Ally looked surprised and Sady explained. "Occupational curiosity. I used to be a librarian," she confessed. "I like to see what unique books other libraries have."
"Oh, then make sure you ask Patty about the books in storage," she urged. "A lot of the old items get put there to make room for new books, but Patty doesn't throw anything away."
Sady thanked her for the tip and walked to the library enjoying the peaceful morning in the quiet town. Less than a half block from her destination, the peace and quiet was shattered by a blaring horn and the squeal of tires. Sady jumped into a nearby bush, her heart nearly pounding through her chest at the close call. Was someone trying to kill her? She crawled out of the bushes in time to see a familiar blonde gazing out the back window of the land barge plowing its way down the street. A little wave of acknowledgment was all Sady saw before the Cadillac roared around a corner without even hesitating at the STOP sign.
After a few deep breaths, Sady entered the library and stopped. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath, this one in pleasure. There was something about the smell of a library that drew book lovers like nerds to a sci-fi convention.
She opened her eyes to see the librarian nodding her approval. The look on her face reflected Sady's, and she smiled a welcome. Sady approached the desk, and the women conversed quietly. When Patty learned Sady was fellow member of the book guardians, she gave her a personal tour of the library.
"Ally said you have old books in storage?" Sady asked, her eyes shining in eager anticipation.
Patty laughed and said, "I seldom see that crazed look in others eyes. I feel like I'm looking in the mirror." Sady didn't need to ask to see the books in storage. Patty proudly showed her the storage room, and Sady stopped in awe.
"You have them categorized?" Sady asked.
Patty nodded and explained. "There's not room to put them on shelves, so I box them and label each box with the contents, along with the date they were pulled from the shelves."
"Please say I can look around," Sady begged. "I promise to be careful and put everything back exactly the way it is now."
Patty nodded, thrilled that someone appreciated her hard work and dedication to the library. She left Sady and went to monitor a group of small fry that entered from a local day care.
Sady looked around at the boxes upon boxes of old books. She could lose herself in here, but her visit had a purpose. She made her way to the back of the room where the oldest books were stored and perused the labels. Surely some of these came from Louis' collection. Patty must have put in hundreds of hours sorting and labeling books that were stored before her time as head librarian.
Sady read the headers on the boxes- CLASSIC LITERATURE, HISTORY, SCIENCE, TRAVEL... She stopped at one labeled MISCELLANEOUS, then moved the stacked boxes out of the way and pulled that one closer to light. Matt and Ryan found her there hours later, still looking through the books.
"Don't you check your phone for messages?" Matt asked, sounding peeved.
"Don't you follow the rules?" she replied. "The sign on the front door plainly says..."
"Yeah, I know," he interrupted. "We've spent half the morning tearing the town apart looking for you!"
"And my mention of the library yesterday didn't ring a bell with you boys?"
"We forgot about that," Ryan admitted. "Other matters, like bad food, took priority."
Sady grinned and asked, "Are you feeling better?" Ryan nodded, and Matt gave a reluctant yes.
"Good. Have a seat and start looking through the books in this box. They're from the era when Louis' books would have been donated. I figured the miscellaneous box was a good place to start."
Ryan sat down and grabbed a book. Matt looked around the room like he was trapped in a torture chamber. Sady nudged Ryan and said, "Matt, I ran into Mary Jane this morning at the diner. She says she's free to give you a personal tour of the Colbert house any time you want. Would you like me to call her?"
Matt sat next to her with a grin. "You're lying, Sassafras. How about if I supervise?" He looked over her shoulder, resting his chin on it. "Will this work?"
She brushed her cheek against his with a nod, then turned back to the box. After skimming a few more books she was ready for a break.
"I don't think we'll find anything," she admitted. "We're almost to the bottom of the box, and the next one marked MISCELLANEOUS is from the 1970s."
Ryan, engrossed in his work, waved his hand to quiet her and pulled another book from the box. He opened the back and said, "This book was never put into the system. There's no card pocket." He opened the front of the book and a paper fluttered out.
Matt and Sady knocked heads as they sat up. Ryan picked up the paper and read it silently, the small grin on his face growing to a huge smile. He passed the paper to Sady and opened the small book he held.
Matt read the paper and snorted, "You've got to be kidding!"
Sady giggled at his crabby tone. "It's not treasure to you, but it is to historians," she told him. Then she nodded at Ryan, "And investigative journalists."
"All this time we've been searching for treasure, and Louis confesses with this note that says the safe was rifled before he opened it? And all he found in the safe was this book?" Matt shook his head, still disgusted.
"Not just a book," Ryan said, the excitement evident in his voice. "It's a journal, Huey Long's personal journal!" He jumped up and rushed out to find Patty.
"Isn't he blowing his story?" Matt asked Sady.
"No, he's sharing the limelight. He'll get credit for uncovering the real story, while the library in Sinful will get credit for preserving a valuable piece of Louisiana's history. Plus, the real mystery surrounding the missing safe contents continues for other treasure hunters. Now help me put these books back in the same order they came out."
A minute later she said, "Stop cheating!" He gave her an unrepentant grin, and she asked, "You didn't like school, did you?"
"I liked recess and gym," he replied. "And any class that had a pretty girl who let me copy her answers."
"Your poor mother," she said.
"You have no idea," he agreed. "Hey, does this mean we can blow this place? If we hurry, we can catch a flight and be home before it's late!"
Sady sighed, "It sounds good to me. Let's see what Ryan has planned."
Sady laughed when she talked to Ryan. He wasn't about to leave Sinful and let someone else steal his thunder. The state historical society, and numerous other groups needed to be contacted, the journal authenticated, and so on. Ryan planned on staying for every step of the process.
Sady and Ryan spent a long time saying goodbye. As she and Matt got ready to leave for the airport she teared up. Biting her lip and wiping her eyes she hugged Ryan again. "I'm going to miss you," she blubbered.
Ryan hugged her, then rolled his eyes, and passed her off to Matt. She cried on his shoulder while Ryan made his escape. With a smile Matt held her and let her sob. After a few minutes he shook her gently. "We're going to miss our flight if you keep this up," he reminded her. "I'm sure everyone in Ann Arbor misses us." She gave him one final hug, then wiped her eyes.
"Okay, I'm ready to go home," she announced.
It was dark and rainy when Matt pulled his truck into the parking garage of their apartment building.
"I'm beat," Sady said. "But it was better than the bus trip. Remind me to never do that again!"
Matt wasn't listening. He stared at a car parked in one of the spots reserved for guests. Sady poked him. "What's wrong?"
He gave her a stunned look. "What's my dad's car doing here? From the looks of the wet tire tracks he hasn't been here long."
Sady perked up. "Your dad's here?" He nodded and went to check the sticker in the window showing which tenant the guest was visiting.
"This can't be good," he said, while Sady looked over his shoulder. "Why did Amanda drag my dad here? He's probably getting a beat down in my apartment right now."
"There's only one way to find out," Sady said as she eagerly grabbed his hand and pulled him to the lobby elevator. When the doors opened on the tenth floor, she bounced down the hall to Matt's apartment and put her ear to the door.
"Hear anything, nosy?" he teased. She shook her head, so he put his key in the lock and cracked the door. They both listened, but there was no sound. The elevator dinged and Matt whispered, "Oh, no!" Now they heard Amanda's scolding voice. He shoved Sady into his apartment and locked the door behind him. Then he hustled her to the only room where he could be sure they wouldn't get busted by his folks- his bedroom.
Less than a minute later they heard the front door open and Amanda still talked. Matt laughed at the sight of Sady crouched on the floor with her ear pressed to the door. It wasn't necessary since Amanda's voice carried clearly.
"Let me give you some advice, Mr. Stubbles," Amanda stated. "If you don't start treating this fine woman like the lady she is, you're gonna lose her. This is a college town. You know what that means, don't you?" Matt's dad must have shaken his head because Amanda continued her rant.
"It means this town is full of hot young men who appreciate a fine woman. And let me tell you- age and size doesn't make a difference. Fine is fine if you know what I mean. I could pick up my phone and let have Mrs. Ellen have her choice of at least five men right now. And that's without my big black book!"
"You think she wants to spend the rest of her life waiting for you to come home from a weekend with the boys smelling like beer, sweat, and fish guts? Because none of the men I know would treat a lady that way. He'd show up smelling divine and tell her how beautiful she is. And he'd have flowers, then he'd take her somewhere nice to eat. That's just the start of the evening, you know what I mean? Because I can tell you how it proceeds..."
"I get the picture," a grumpy male voice said. Sady smiled because it sounded like Matt.
"Well? I'm not talking about just one weekend," Amanda continued as though she hadn't been interrupted. "A fine woman deserves nice vacations, and good back rubs with a bottle of wine. When's the last time you gave your wife a good back rub and a bottle of wine?" she demanded.
Sady shook with silent laughter as she imagined the look on the face of Mr. Meadows.
"I bet Ellen could tell me," Amanda said. "The fact that you can't lets me know it's been way too long. You wanna spend the rest of your life with your stinky fishing buddies while your wife moves on to a man who shows some appreciation? If so, then keep it up. She didn't come to visit your son and mess up his love life- no offense, Ellen- because she's so happy at home. That's a lonely woman, and I'm ashamed of you."
A male voice tried to interrupt her tirade.
"I'm not finished with you!" Amanda snapped, ignoring the his protest. "I'm ready to take you to meet my folks. My pops knows how to appreciate his woman. Maybe you should take some lessons from him while Ellen decides if she even wants to take your sorry ass back. If she asked me, I'd tell her to send you packing while she took you to the cleaners. Ellen, let me know if you need the name of a good divorce attorney. Pops is connected. Now, I'm tired of you, Mr. Stubbles, so I'm gonna go soak my feet. Ellen, you're welcome to come stay with me until he leaves town." The loud slamming of the door let them know Amanda left.
Sady tugged on Matt's shirt. "Open the door a crack," she whispered. "I want to see what your dad looks like!" He shook his head. Indistinct voices could now be heard from Matt's living room.
"Oh, no! I don't want to hear the conversation out there," he whispered back. "I'm about ready to sit in the corner and Amanda wasn't even yelling at me." A half hour later Sady was propped against the wall, yawning. Matt sat beside her.
"I'm tired," she hissed. "And hungry!"
"Well, I don't keep a stash of food in my bedroom, but you're welcome to stretch out on the bed," he said, hoping she wouldn't give them away. She held up a hand for him to pull her to her feet. He stood, doing so, and she headed for the bed.
"Tell me when it's okay to go for food," she said as she curled up and closed her eyes. Matt leaned back in an easy chair and hoped it would be safe to leave the room soon. He dozed off, but sat up straight when he heard unmistakable sounds coming from the guest bedroom. Sady sat up as well, her eyes big and her mouth open in shock.
"Oh, my God, I'm scarred for life," Matt groaned. "Leave it to Amanda to lay this previously unwitnessed humiliation at my door!" Sady started to giggle, and she slapped her hand over her mouth. "It's not funny," Matt whispered.
"Your mom thinks it is," she giggled. A few seconds later she added, "So does your dad!" She rolled back onto the bed laughing. Matt grabbed her hand and yanked her off the bed.
"We need to get out of here," he pleaded. "Or I'll never be able to look my parents in the face again." Sady kept giggling. "Please?" he begged, and she rolled off the bed and headed to his front door.
She giggled in main hall as she stood by her door, while he grumbled, "I'm going to kill Amanda." His phone vibrated with an incoming message, then his face turned red, and he swore. When Sady looked at him he shook his head with his eyes narrowed. "That woman is dead."
Sady grabbed his phone to see the text Amanda sent. Your music collection sucks! It's no wonder you and your dad are so far out of the game. When's the last time either of you even made it to third base? Never mind. Next time let me know when you need to borrow some Barry White or Marvin Gaye. You could have escaped your bedroom sooner if you had either of those CD's!
How did you know? Sady used his phone to text Amanda.
I saw the bedroom light just before you turned it off. You ARE slow! Now let me get back to my wine and back rub. Welcome home!
Matt snatched the phone. "Don't even ask," he warned her. Then, seeing the look on her face he asked, "What's wrong?"
She gave him a toothy 'I'm so embarrassed' grin. "I don't have my key," she said.
"What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.
She gave a shrug to match her grin and pointed to his apartment. "I think I left my purse on your bed," she admitted.
"You're kidding, right?" he asked hopefully. His brows went down when she shook her head. "Did you give one to Amanda for safekeeping?" Another head shake from Sady.
"I thought you had a spare," she said.
"I do, but it's in my nightstand," he groaned. "It's NOT funny!" he complained as they walked back to his apartment.
She tapped him on the shoulder and asked, "Do we rush in, grab it, and run? Or go slow, so they don't hear us?"
"You're kidding, right? Are there any other options?" he asked, and she grabbed his key.
"I'll go," she offered biting her lip. "I don't have as much to lose as you!"
He closed his eyes as she unlocked his door. She made exaggerated tiptoe steps into his apartment, still grinning.
"Be serious," he hissed.
"I am... as much as I can be in this situation," she whispered with her hand over her mouth.
"You're gonna blow it," he warned, entering behind her. He pointed to his bedroom and mouthed, "Go!"
Sady made her goofy tiptoe steps down the hall and he followed. She paused for a second, then took three quick steps while he tried to ignore the guest bedroom as they passed the door. At the doorway of his room she stopped, and he bumped into her, almost knocking her over. A snicker of amusement slipped out, and he clapped his hand over her mouth. "Get the key," he whispered in her ear.
Sady went to the bed and looked for her purse. "Uh, oh it's not here," she whispered. "It must still be in your truck."
He gave her an exasperated look. "We'll get it later," he mouthed, then pointed to the nightstand. They both reached for the drawer and pulled from different angles. The drawer screamed in protest and there was a crash from the other room. Sady looked at Matt, her eyes big. The sound of a door opening pushed them into panic mode. He shoved her under the bed and squeezed under after her. They heard his bedroom door open.
"Is anyone there?" Ellen called through the cracked door. Sady held her breath while Matt prayed for mercy.
"Hey, Paul," Ellen called her husband. "I think Matt has a better bed." Matt shook his head and Sady's eyes got bigger. She gave him a worried poke when Ellen bounced on his bed.
"Never mind," Ellen said. "It's just not right." She left the room, closing the door behind her. Matt and Sady both let out a breath of relief and waited a minute before scooting out from under the bed.
"I'll get the key," Matt hissed. "You go make sure the hall is clear!"
***
"My psyche is permanently damaged," he moaned when they finally made it to Sady's apartment.
"Look on the bright side," she advised.
"I am... and there isn't one. Not for me, anyway," he replied as he headed to her kitchen. "I hope you're not on a diet," he sighed, opening the fridge. Then he stopped, closed the fridge, and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I meant to say that I'm really hungry, and I'd be happy to order us something if you'd like."
"Amanda's gonna love this!" Sady said. "She's got you and your dad stepping and fetching, and she's not even in the room. I'll order a pizza while you bring up our bags."
Neither mentioned the last pizza that arrived at her door. That was the evening his mother showed up and their relationship went down the toilet faster than Sady's dead fish, Bob. When Matt returned, he dropped her purse and gave her a crabby look as she shrugged with embarrassment.
A half hour later, they relaxed on the couch enjoying pizza and beer, talking about their trip to Sinful. The evening wore on, and Matt seemed hesitant to leave, growing visibly more agitated. He finally admitted the problem. "I'm afraid to go home," he confessed, which made Sady grin.
"Well, I think it's sweet," she told him. "And cute."
"That's because it's not your parents... I'm sorry. That was thoughtless, Sady."
"Amanda's a miracle worker," she yelled. "From the first floor of this building her vibes are turning men into thoughtful gentlemen!" She snickered and said, "Imagine what she could do if she had her own radio show?... I won't tell her what you just said."
"Uh, would it be okay if I borrowed your couch for tonight?" he asked hesitantly. "If it's a problem, I can go to the office, or call Harry." She was already pulling out the spare bedding, and she tossed it on the couch.
"It's a good thing your apartment isn't bugged," she said as she closed her door.
"Yeah, thanks for that! Because I want that to be on my mind as I go to sleep," he yelled. But when he settled down, he did think about it and wondered how his parent's relationship had slipped so much through the years. He'd never admit it, but Amanda was right. Her dad, Willie, knew how to treat his wife well. Amanda's mom, Patricia, was a little crazy, but she knew she was loved. They were a happy couple and Matt hoped his parents would find their way back to that.