Page 53 of Fire Harbor

“Great observation,” Lake muttered under her breath.

“Looking on the bright side of this whole thing is not a bad idea. After all, you prepared yourself for an angry lecture from Derrick. Instead, he let you off the hook. He was understanding about it.”

“Yeah. And on the other hand, Linus couldn’t shut up about it.” She shoved her hair out of her face and let out a nervous laugh. “Everyone already thinks I’m an oddball. When this gets out, I will have confirmed their suspicions.”

“I see this as the nutty, flip side to you, a part of you completely different from the level-headed librarian with three college degrees.”

“If you’re trying to cheer me up, you’re doing a lousy job. There’s a serial killer out there who will likely go after other women. I simply tried to eliminate a suspect. Maybe I went about it all wrong, but at least I was doing something.”

“Okay. But next time you plan an adventure that includes digging up the dead, maybe coordinate it better. I’ve seen enough zombie movies to know that two heads are always better than one, especially when dealing with the undead. Bella could’ve been a zombie cat.”

Lake tossed her head back and cackled with laughter. “Oh, that’s rich. The irony is that I’m crossing the street while talking to the undead ghost who seems to want to cheer me up. Where were you two hours ago when I got this wild idea to dig up someone’s rabbit?”

“It was so unlike you that I had to watch it play out. There’s one thing about Derrick you should know.”

“What’s that?”

“He does give off a weird vibe. Ask Linus about him. But regardless, the whole thing did liven up an otherwise dull Wednesday morning.”

She shot daggers at him. “I’m so very glad you were entertained. I’ll see to it Greta sends you a copy of the video.”

Scott watched as she marched off toward Ocean Street, mad as a hornet.

Chapter Fourteen

Lake’s digging up Derrick’s pet rabbit spread like wildfire around town. At work, she endured the jokes and teasing with a smile and a nod, every minute drilling down to a new level of humiliation.

Glynnis tried to cheer her up in motherly fashion. The older woman clucked her tongue at the insults. “Don’t listen to them. You’re the best librarian we’ve ever had. Don’t let them get to you.”

“I did an incredibly stupid thing,” Lake replied. “They’re simply reminding me.”

“We’ve all done stupid things,” Glynnis noted. “I once set fire to my trash can when I emptied live embers from a charcoal grill we’d used earlier in the day for a cookout. All I wanted was to clean up after the barbecue. Instead, the entire trash can caught fire and spread to my neighbor’s shrubbery and then to the eaves of her house. Our homeowner’s insurance paid for the damage, but Ron, my husband, threw that incident up to me for at least a decade. We almost got a divorce over it. I thought he’d never let me live it down. But all I had to do was wait for him to do something equally stupid. When he tried to spray paint our outdoor dining set on a very windy day, all the paint ended up on the side of the house. We ended up having to replace the siding.”

Lake smiled at the story and gave the woman a hug. “Thanks, Glynnis. I needed that. You’re the best.”

“Well, here’s something else to consider. If Greta tries to post that video on Instagram, you also have a little nugget in your arsenal. All you have to do is remind her about karaoke three years ago.”

Lake chuckled. “I’d forgotten Bodie’s bachelorette party. Greta had too much to drink, talked me into going up on stage with her to sing Mamma Mia and she ended up falling off the edge into the arms of a very shocked and surprised Seth Larrabee.”

Glynnis hooted at the memory. “Seth was only there to drop off Ophelia’s medicine she’d forgotten to take before the party. Bodie took a video of the whole thing happening in real-time.”

“I feel better already. Thanks,” Lake responded again.

Everyone got a laugh out of Lake’s misery, everyone except Brent Cody, who showed up at the library that afternoon right before closing. Although she hadn’t received a lecture from Derrick, the police chief made up for that in quick order. His sharp gaze bore into her as he approached the front desk, his expression somber.

“Do I need to remind you about the seriousness of trespassing?” Brent began, “Because everyone has a gun these days. You could’ve been shot going into Derrick’s backyard uninvited. Or have you learned a valuable lesson about taking matters into your own hands?”

Lake let out a sigh. “I’ve learned my lesson. From now on, I’m relying on you to catch the bad guys. No more amateur sleuthing for me.”

“That’s what I like to hear. If, in the future, you suspect someone is up to no good, you pick up the phone and call us with a tip. Understood?”

“Understood. Plus, I apologized to Derrick. I don’t even want to discuss the reason I went there in the first place. That whole discussion is off the table.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“Believe it. I’m done looking for a killer. I’ll leave that to law enforcement. You have my word on it.”

After spending hours listening to people around him make fun of Lake’s bold move, Linus finished his shift in a foul mood, regretting their fight. By the time he walked outside to the parking lot, she had become the brunt of jokes meant to demean.

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