Page 71 of Little Empty Promises

“Suit yourself,” she said.

She swigged back the entire shot and then breathed a long sigh as she returned to the barstool.

“I believe I’m ready now,” she said.

Good.

I’d been ready for what felt like ages.

“It started out as a quiet, slow day in the library,” she began.“There’s often a lag time in the middle of it, and sometimes no one else is there except us—the employees who work there, which is me, Cordelia, and Johnny.I’d just started putting some books on the shelves, and I heard the front door open and close.I looked over to see who’d come in, and I saw a man.He was tall and muscular, and he didn’t look like the usual type of person who comes in.Everything about him stood out.”

“Can you explain why?”

“He was wearing dark sunglasses, and he had his long hair in a ponytail, which he’d pulled through the opening in the back of his ballcap.He also wore a black leather vest beneath a black T-shirt like he was in a motorcycle gang, except the pants he was wearing looked like nice dress slacks.His entire look seemed so odd to me, but I suppose I don’t know what’s trendy these days.”

“Do you remember what time he entered the library?”

“I’d say it was early afternoon, between one and two.”

“Did the man acknowledge you, or did you acknowledge him?”I asked.

“When he first came in, he was glancing around, and he saw me staring at him.He tipped his head toward me, but he didn’t say anything.Then he disappeared into one of the aisles.Because I was preoccupied with what I was doing, and he was so quiet, I forgot about him for a while.”

“And then?”

“I was walking to the front desk, and I saw him sitting in one of the chairs on the opposite end of the room, by the window.He had a book in his hand, and he was reading.Well, to clarify, I assumed he was reading at first.When I think back on it now, it seems to me he wasn’t focused on the book at all.”

“Whatwashe focused on?”

“He was looking around, watching people come in and out, that kind of thing.”

“Where was Cordelia at the time?”

“She was standing in the romance section, talking to Johnny.”

“Did the guy ever pay any specific attention to Cordelia while he was there?”

Samantha shrugged.“He may have.I’m not sure.”

“Did any of you talk to him?”

She pointed a finger at herself.“I did.”

“When?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say it was about an hour after he arrived.I wasn’t sure why he was hanging around and not leaving.And given he didn’t seem interested in the book in his hand, I went over to have a chat with him.”

“What did you say?”

She tapped a finger to the counter, thinking.“I mentioned I hadn’t ever seen him come in before.He said he’d just moved to the area, and I suggested he apply for a library card.He told me he already had one, but I doubt that.As we were talking, I glanced down at the book in his hand.In all the time he’d been sitting there, he’d only turned a few of its pages.”

“What was the book?”

“I couldn’t tell, and before we could chat any further, the phone rang, and I went to the desk to answer it.When I returned, the book was gone, and so was he.”

I had to admit, it did seem suspicious.

But the fact she found the man odd didn’t make him a murderer.

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