Chapter Two

There was little else Kate could do. It was clear that her presence was only upsetting her friend. It was equally clear that something terrible was happening at the library.

Slowly, she turned and headed back to her car.

Before she left the building, movement in the fiction stacks nearest to the door caught her eye, and Kate peeped around the corner. Morty Robertson was removing books from the tall shelves, wiping them off, and placing them in a box. Not far from him, a woman Kate didn’t recognize was working at the same task.

“Hi, Morty,” Kate said.

The older man straightened, and his gaze met Kate’s. “Hi, Kate,” he said without a trace of his usual lighthearted manner.

The other volunteer stood as well, rubbing her back. Morty tossed a hand in her general direction and said, “Kate, this is Louisa Pellman. Louisa, Kate Hanlon.”

“Hello,” said the woman. She had dirty-blonde hair and blue eyes that might have been pretty if not for the dark circles beneath them. In fact, for a woman who probably wasn’t much more than thirty, she looked drawn and tired and older than her years.

Kate nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, Louisa.” Distracted by the strange goings-on, she turned back to Morty, who said, “Back from your trip, huh?”

She nodded. “It’s good to be home. Except for this. Morty, what’s going on?”

He shook his head. “Haven’t got a clue. All I can tell you is Livvy’s either getting ready to cry, crying or has just finished crying every time I set eyes on her.”

“When did the trouble begin?” Kate asked.

“Friday morning,” he said promptly. “Tosten Glass, that self-important windbag who’s the president of the town council, came rushing in here right after we opened. He and Livvy went into her office, and when they came out again, she had less color than a faded bedsheet in the sun. And then she gathered all of us, employees and volunteers alike, and told us we had to begin packing everything.”

“Tosten Glass.” Kate had never met the man, although she had seen his picture in the Copper Mill Chronicle. Glass and the town council were the real power behind the more visible and ceremonial office of the mayor.

“Yeah. He bustled in here Saturday and again today and fusses at everybody to move faster.” Morty snorted. “Like I’m going to take orders from him. Livvy’s the only one he can boss around.”

Kate lowered her voice. “And has he?”

Morty nodded. “They went into her office yesterday for a big, secret closed-door meeting, and when they came out, she looked even more upset than she already was.”

“And you haven’t heard why you’re packing all these books?”

He shook his head. “Not a whisper.”

The young woman Morty had just introduced her to drifted closer. “Are you talking about the library closing?” Her expression looked as dismayed as Kate felt.

Kate nodded. “Yes. I can’t imagine how this could happen so quickly without anyone in town hearing about it.”

Louisa clasped her hands tightly together. “It did seem to happen suddenly.”

“So I see.” Kate’s mind was whirling, her thoughts touching on one possibility after another. “I think I’m going to ask a few questions,” she told Morty and Louisa. “Maybe the mayor knows the reason behind this.”

Louisa grimaced. “The mayor just got back from a month of service work in Mexico. I’ll be surprised if he knows anything.”

FEELING THAT SHE should be doing something but not knowing what that something might be, Kate went home.

Paul had left her a note on the counter telling her that he had things to do that afternoon and would be back by four. Glancing at the clock, she saw that the afternoon was passing quickly, and she had things to do too. Her flight had gotten in late the previous evening, and by the time Paul had driven her home from the airport in Chattanooga, she had been too tired to do more than fall into bed.

She spent the next several hours unpacking, cleaning, and catching up on all the dirty laundry she had brought home from her trip. She usually tried to reserve Sunday as a day off from housework, but she’d been gone two weeks, and even though Paul had done his best, it was clear his talents lay in areas other than keeping a clean and tidy home.

While she worked, she puzzled over what she should do next about the library. Livvy clearly didn’t want her to do anything. So should she abide by her friend’s wishes?

Maybe she was seeing a problem where there was none, Kate thought. Maybe the library was being renovated or repainted. That could explain all the packing.

But it didn’t explain why Livvy was so upset. Or why she was afraid she would lose her job if she talked about it with Kate. Or why she had been so secretive, even with her own husband. And why would the head of the town council be coming in repeatedly to harass Livvy, as it sounded like he’d been doing?

Kate had a very bad feeling about the whole situation. She had learned to heed her intuition, and right now her intuition was shouting at her to figure out what was going on.

Paul came home as she was breading a couple of boneless chicken breasts dipped in honey-mustard sauce. She heard his truck pull into the driveway, and moments later, the door shut behind him. She looked up, smiling, as he came into the kitchen.

“Hi, honey. What’s for dinner?”

Kate indicated the chicken, which she was just sliding into the oven. “Chick—” She stopped short, taking in her husband’s appearance. “Paul Hanlon, what on earth have you been doing? You’re fried!

And indeed he was. Paul was wearing a pair of his oldest jeans and a T-shirt. Both were filthy. His face, exposed arms, and neck all were so red, he nearly glowed.

“How did you get so sunburned?” she asked.

Paul lifted one hand to his neck for a moment. “I was working on a roof,” he said in a nonchalant tone.

“A roof!”

He nodded. “Lucas Gregory called the day after you left. He asked if Faith Briar would like to be included in a multichurch building-repair effort. First Baptist and the Presbyterian church are also getting involved.”

Kate smiled. Lucas was an Episcopalian priest and one of Paul’s good friends. “What are you repairing?”

“There’s a family named Pellman out in Skunk Hollow—”

“Where?” She couldn’t hold back the laugh that bubbled up.

“Skunk Hollow. It’s an area just past the Ash Grove Campground. In fact, the road that runs through there is called Skunk Hollow Trail.”

Kate shook her head, chuckling. “Anyway, go on. You were telling me about the Pellman family. Wait!” She threw up a hand in a “stop” gesture. “I just met a woman named Louisa Pellman today at the library.”

Paul nodded. “I heard she was volunteering there.”

“So how do you know her?” As far as Kate could remember, she had never heard Paul mention the woman’s name.

“I didn’t. Lucas knew her, and she’s the lady whose roof we’re repairing.”

“So this is the project you mentioned yesterday.”

On the way home from the airport, Kate had done most of the talking, but Paul had told her that he was involved in a big project he would tell her about later.

Kate studied her husband. “That explains the sunburn.”

“Mrs. Pellman’s roof is in terrible condition,” Paul said, “The house needed some structural repairs that she just couldn’t afford.” He raised a hand, index finger extended upward in a “hold on one minute” gesture, when Kate started to speak again. “St. Lucy’s, First Baptist, the Presbyterians, and Faith Briar are all working together to reroof the home. We’ve organized four different teams that take turns working.”

Kate didn’t feel much better. “Don’t all these people have to work?”

Paul shook his head. “We all agreed to take a week of our own vacation time.”

“There are a lot of generous hearts in this little town.” Kate was warmed by the story.

“Very generous,” Paul agreed. “Several people at St. Lucy’s chipped in to buy some insulated windows, which are also being installed. And Lucas has been thrilled with all the volunteers who’ve stepped up.”

“So your sunburn is from working on Louisa Pellman’s roof.” Kate suddenly felt anxiety rise inside her. “Paul, what do you know about roofing? Thinking of you that high off the ground makes me a little nervous.”

“I don’t have to know a whole lot,” he assured her. “Drew Mears from First Baptist works for a roofing contractor in Pine Ridge, so he’s the crew chief. Ephraim Dresser from the Presbyterian church volunteered to take over the chairmanship. Between the two of them, they’ve got us and the materials organized.”

“Who else is helping from our congregation?”

“Each church provided a five-man team. Ours includes Carl Wilson, Sam Gorman, Eli Weston—Eli was in construction, remember?—Joe Tucker, and me.”

Kate reached into the fridge for the lettuce to make a salad. “Joe was also in construction when he was younger, wasn’t he?”

“Yes. Both he and Sam worked for the same company. And even though Carl’s a mechanic, he and I figured we can follow directions as well as the next guy.”

“When did you start all this?” she asked while chopping tomatoes.

“Last week,” Paul told her. “I spoke to the church about it last Sunday while you were away, and those fellows volunteered. We got organized and started later in the week.”

Kate was impressed. “You’ve moved pretty quickly.”

“Our goal is to get the roof done by next weekend.”

“Is that reasonable?”

“Drew Mears thinks so, especially if we’re working in four shifts.”

“That’s exciting. But you need to start wearing sunscreen,” Kate told him.

“I know.” Paul grimaced. “Before I picked you up in Chattanooga, I bought a big straw hat with a wide brim. That should help too.” He stepped forward as if he intended to kiss her, then halted and looked down at himself. “I’d better go shower and change.”

Kate chuckled. “You’d better.”

OVER DINNER, Kate filled Paul in on the very little she had learned during her trip to the library. “So the library definitely is closed,” she concluded. “But I have no idea why, and no one knows when—or if—it might open again.”

“Are you going back?” Paul asked.

Kate’s eyebrows rose as she looked up at her husband, who resembled a very large lobster at the moment. “Of course,” she said simply. “Livvy’s my best friend, and she’s hurting. I have to help.”

Paul put an arm around her and gave her a warm hug. “That’s my Katie.” He withdrew his keys from his pocket and jingled them. “Why don’t we go over to Emma’s and get an ice-cream cone? It can be sort of a ‘welcome home’ celebration.”

Kate regarded him with amusement. “You just want an excuse to indulge that sweet tooth, honey.”

“You caught me.” Paul grinned.

“I always do,” Kate said with a sassy smile as she grabbed her handbag and preceded him into the garage, where they climbed into Kate’s Accord and set off for town.

As they drove, Paul turned on the radio and tuned in to a local station just in time to hear the weather forecast.

“There’s a chance of severe thunderstorms again tonight, folks,” the announcer said. “And until 10:00 PM, the National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for Harrington County. So keep your eye on the sky and be careful out there.”

With a sense of dread, Kate remembered some of the high winds and hail that had accompanied other storms that year. She did not want to be caught in a car during one of those. “Tornado season is supposed to be in the spring,” she grumbled.

“That’s true,” Paul said, “but summer storms have spawned some pretty devastating tornadoes. The chance of a tornado coming through Copper Mill is pretty remote, though.”

“Any chance at all makes me nervous,” Kate told him. Neither of them had ever been close to a tornado, despite their years in Texas, and Kate was happy to keep it that way.