Page 57 of Up In Smoke

Fifteen minutes later, just as she thought she might be done until closing, the door opened.

A young man walked in and, instead of perusing the stacks, or checking the rotating bookshelf for any new releases, he walked right up to the desk. He was chewing gum as he asked, “Ivy Dean?”

He looked so familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Though it seemed odd that he knew her name, she couldn't deny that’s who she was. As the librarian it was her job to let everybody know who she was. “Yes.”

She watched as his face lit up.

“Carlos Hernandez.”

As she reached out and shook his hand, she thought she liked the warm, firm grip. And that smile? That charm? That must have been what she recognized, so like Luke’s.

“It's so nice to finally meet you.” His grin got a little wider. “Luke talks about you all the time.”

“Same,” she said, her own smile in place, glad that she could legitimately say that to him and didn't have to tell himfor a while we considered you a suspect.

“So, Luke messaged me asking if I could make the loop for him this evening.”

“The loop?” Ivy asked.

“You know, he drives around and checks all the old haunts.”

Ah! She did know.

“I was wondering if you'd come with me. Then we can grab some dinner and take it back to meet up with Luke.”

“He's not going?” she asked. This morning he had said he was exhausted.

Carlos shook his head. “That’s why he asked me to do it.”

Ivy nodded along. She hadn't heard from Luke all day. And that made perfect sense, given that he'd been working for twenty-four straight hours before that. “That sounds like a plan.”

“Shall we head out?” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder and tipped his head toward the door.

“I have fifteen more minutes.”

But as she said it, he scanned the empty library and tipped his head as if to sayis anyone else really going to come in?

But Ivy didn't care if anyone else came in. This place was her baby. She shrugged it off as though it wasn’t everything to her. “I’m legally obligated to be here fifteen more minutes. Make yourself at home, though. Grab a book. I'll check it out for you.”

Carlos did as she suggested and wandered over to the new release paperback carousel. When the place stayed empty and it felt as if she was just watching him, Ivy headed back into the office. She would hear if the door opened again.

Quickly, she flipped through the papers Lando had sent. The first was a recent arrest for Tiago—for car theft just three weeks ago. She tried to place it in the arson timeline and wondered if it lined up with the burning car that Luke had told her about. The next document was an arrest for someone whose name she didn't recognize. But Mario Hernandez was listed as a witness. The report was for a drug bust by the Redemption PD. Mario had been extensively questioned but eventually released. Next were two much older documents from Redemption Fire Department—Luke's application, listed as “accepted” and behind that Carlos’s application, listed as “rejected.” The last page was from just that morning. It was a pending warrant, waiting for a judge's approval to search Mario Hernandez’ house.

Ivy looked out the open door and past the front desk to spot Carlos across the way. He was now wandering the stacks. Given the aisle he was in, he was looking at fantasy novels. His head tipped as he read the titles, his expression as flat as could be. Probably not his genre.

She looked back down at the last page, again reading through it. The wording was broad so that the police could search for things that weren't specifically listed and could confiscate anything they found that linked him to the string of arsons. It was clear, they believed they would find evidence at Mario's apartment.

Carlos approached the desk again, pointing to his watch. “Five-fifty-eight.”

Beyond the windows, the sky was darkening and once again a light dusting of snow was falling. She conceded to the two minutes. Even if anyone did come in, they wouldn't have enough time to check out books. So she walked through her last check of the stacks and by the time she made it out the front door, locking it behind her, it actually was 6pm.

“My car's over here,” Carlos told her and pointed.

Did he expect her to ride with him? She frowned. “How about I follow you?”

He shrugged as if to sayif that's what you want.

Ivy felt the need to explain herself. “Then I can get my car home without having to come back around here for you to drop me off.”

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