Chapter Twenty-Five

I got some busy work done, ate a quick lunch alone at the Cozy Corner Café (since Angela was off today), then walked back to the library, intent on finally talking to Sally about Dorothy. I found her in her office. She was in a good mood and quick to sing Norman Tobin’s praises.

“I think he’ll be a big asset to our library, Carrie. He has all sorts of innovative ideas—like Kanopy, which can provide another source of electronic downloads to our patrons.”

“I suppose he’ll have to work with Harvey Kirk on that,” I said.

Sally waved her hand dismissively. “No problem. Norman told me he enjoys working with colleagues. And while I don’t mean to be sexist or genderist, if there’s such a word, I like the idea of there being another male librarian in the building.”

“Do you think Harvey will agree?”

Sally shot me a questioning glance. “Why should Harvey have a problem with someone wanting to update our system?”

“Because up until now he’s been in charge of everything electronic.”

She thought a moment before saying, “Harvey sometimes comes across as a bit gruff, but I’ve always found him to be reasonable. I’m sure he and Norman will get along just fine.”

“I’m sure you’re right. Sally, I’d like to talk to you—about something else.”

Sally sank back in her chair. “You mean Dorothy.”

I nodded. “Yes, Dorothy. I was the person who found the sheet of paper with the list of people she’d been blackmailing.”

Sally frowned. “I figured it was you. Who else would go sniffing around her desk after the police were done searching for clues?”

“I suspected it long before. I’d heard rumors, and I got the feeling that she was pressuring you to give her my job when Barbara left and it became available.”

“Only I gave it to you, didn’t I?” she said.

“Not willingly,” I reminded her.

Sally let out a bark of a laugh. “You’re like a dog with a bone, Carrie. So tenacious. So determined. I suppose that’s what makes you good at what you do.”

“You mean being head of programs and events or helping the police solve murders?”

This time her laughter was genuine. “Both, I suppose.”

“I wish you’d tell me what she tried to hold over you. I won’t tell anyone,” I said softly.

“I know. But every time I think of it I feel stupid—and ashamed.”

I waited for Sally to gather her thoughts.

“I was new at the time—when she got her claws into me,” Sally continued. “I’d had experience being a librarian, even overseeing the staff, but I hadn’t had much experience with the financial side of things. I’d no sooner become director of the Clover Ridge Library than I had to present the yearly budget to the board. The previous director had left things in a mess. Her notes were a jumble. One of the aides said she used to help the director finalize the annual budget and even managed some of the other accounts. She offered to do the same for me. In return, she wanted a raise in salary. I thought she was being high-handed and presumptuous. I was insulted that she assumed she could handle me because I was young and new at the job, so I told her I could do very well without her.”

Oh, Evelyn! You got off on the wrong foot with Sally. Was this after Ernie Pfeiffer had managed to lose your savings, and you were desperate for money?

Sally drew a deep breath. “I should have taken her up on her offer or asked one of the librarians to help me, because I made my own mess of things. I left out expenses I should have included, then added in more expenses than I should have.” She sighed. “I made the mistake of telling this to Dorothy. We’d become friends, and I thought I could trust her because she acted friendly and concerned. Until one day she wanted to change her schedule and take a day off. I couldn’t do it easily and told her so. That’s when she asked if I wanted her to tell the board what I’d done to pocket some money for myself. I caved and gave her the day off. Shortly after that, she asked for money. I gave her that too.”

“But you offered me the position of head of P and E, even though you knew she wanted it.”

Sally smiled. “So I did. For one thing, your Uncle Bosco’s on the library board. When he asked me to consider you for the job, I knew I had to. And since you had the right qualifications, I offered the job to you and not to Dorothy”

“So Uncle Bosco didn’t make you give me the position.”

“Of course not. How could he?”

“But you seemed so—unhappy when you offered me the job.”

“I was. I resented his having asked me to consider you when I had serious doubts about Goth Girl.”

I laughed, remembering how I used to look when I temped as an aide in the library—purple hair, Doc Martens, dressed all in black.

“I gave you the job and finally told Dorothy off. I’d decided I wasn’t going to go on as director of this library living under the fear of her threats. I figured that if she went ahead and told them I’d embezzled funds, which wasn’t true, the board knew me well enough to hear my side of the story. And by then I had a written account of every penny spent in the library since I’d started as director.”

“So she had nothing more to hold over you,” I said. “Then what were you arguing about the day before she was murdered?”

Sally grimaced. “I don’t know why it took me so long, but after I shook myself free of her threats, I realized that Dorothy must have done the same to other people, probably people I know. And sure enough, after her first accident—falling down or being pushed down outside the supermarket—I ran into Lillian Morris, who used to work here and had been a friend of Dorothy’s. When I told her Dorothy was laid up after a fall, the woman said, ‘It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.’ I asked her what she meant, and she told me that she had once told Dorothy about a petty crime she’d committed. Dorothy had demanded money from her and threatened to tell the head of the library at the time. Lillian said she’d paid up but warned Dorothy she wouldn’t again, and Dorothy never bothered her again.

“When Dorothy came back to work, I told her I knew what she’d been doing. She merely laughed and asked how I planned to stop her. I said I’d go to the police. She stormed out of my office. That was the last time I ever saw her.”

I nodded, trying to take it all in. “Did you tell this to John Mathers?”

“I did. John asked me if I recognized certain initials, and I was able to help him with a few—with people who once worked here and former friends of Dorothy’s.”

“Harvey Kirk was one of Dorothy’s victims,” I said. “What on earth did Harvey do? Play computer games when he should have been helping patrons?”

“Harvey’s a compulsive gambler. Sports are his downfall, especially football. He’s lost a lot of money over the years. He’s gone into debt. His wife left him.”

“I had no idea,” I said. “Do you know what Dorothy was holding over him?”

“I’d rather not say, Carrie. It’s not my secret to share.”

I nodded. “Fair enough.”

I headed back to my office, wondering if anything Sally had told me shed new light on Dorothy’s murder. Or murderer.

“Harvey often gambles online when he should be working,” Evelyn said, suddenly manifesting at my side. “Dorothy found out and started looking up online gambling sites. When his name appeared as a big winner, she decided to add him to her list.”

“Thank you,” I murmured as someone called out my name.

I looked up. Doris Maris was waving to me from a chair in the reading room. I hurried over to her, feeling a bit guilty. I’d been so busy, I hadn’t had a chance to speak to her in the past few days.

“I wanted to thank you for asking your uncle to look into a facility for Henry. He’s settled in nicely, and they’re taking good care of him.”

I squeezed her hand. “I’m so glad.”

“It’s such a relief not to be worrying about him.”

“And what about you? How are you doing?”

Doris sighed. “I’m managing. The good thing is, the shelter has hired a counselor to place us in permanent homes.” She gestured to the woman sitting across from her. “Now that Henry’s being cared for in his residence, Shondra and I are hoping to share an apartment in the spring.”

I smiled at the woman, who glowered back at me. I hoped Doris wasn’t making a mistake, planning to room with someone so angry.

“We’ll have to share a bedroom, but I suppose we’re not in a position to ask for more,” Shondra said.

Doris touched Shondra’s arm. “Not to worry. We’ll work it out.”

Shondra seemed to soften before my eyes. “I know.”

“And they want us to work at least fifteen hours a week,” Doris said. “As long as it’s not in a factory, I look forward to having a job.”

Shondra sent her a cocky smile. “You’ll do fine, Doris, wherever they place us. And we’ll have plenty of time to watch our TV shows.”

“Or we can spend time in Haven House when we’re free,” Doris said. “This is the best thing that’s happened to us. It’s the reason why we now have Mary, our counselor. She’ll also be working in Haven House, once the renovations are completed.

I chatted with them a few minutes longer, then wished them well and left. I was happy that Henry was being cared for and that Doris would soon be leaving the shelter. Haven House was such a marvelous venture. I wished that providing the homeless a place to spend their days were its only purpose. With all the rumors and innuendoes about the place, it was time I did some actual digging to see what facts I could unearth about the project.