Page 47 of Dead End

Hailey wasn’t in her office. It took me almost a full circuit of the perimeter to find her sandwiched between two trolleys of books.

“Hiding again?” I asked. Hailey routinely found ways to dodge her patrons.

“Can you blame me? There’ve been all sorts of weird occurrences lately. It isn’t every day Fairhaven issues a curfew. I’m a homebody, but even I get tired of microwave dinners and reruns ofTheGolden Girls.” She squinted. “Whatam I saying? Nobody can get tired ofThe Golden Girls. That show holds up.”

“You weren’t tempted to pick up a book?” I teased.

Hailey shuddered. “I swear I have nightmares where books are chasing me. Every once in a blue moon, one of them catches me and swallows me whole.”

I laughed. “I think Freud would have a few things to say about that.”

Hailey used one of the trolleys to hoist herself to her feet. “I haven’t seen you in a few weeks. I guess you stayed locked behind closed doors in that giant Castle of yours.”

“I was locked away, for sure.” No need to delve into the details.

“You know I’m always interested in whatever you’ve got going on. What’s this week’s project?”

“I’m researching someone or something named Unas. Spelling could be u-n-a-s or u-n-i-s. I’m not sure.”

“Any cultural context?”

I shook my head. “Sorry, no. That’s all I’ve got. Text me with any information you find.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks. I owe you.”

“You owe me nothing. Your visits keep me sane.”

“That’s good to hear. My presence usually has the opposite effect.”

I exited the library and sat in the truck for a couple minutes to collect my thoughts. A text message popped up from Kane. He was awake and showered, and Nana Pratt had cooked him an omelette. Bless her helpful heart. I replied with a thumbs up emoji and nothing else. I preferred to tell him about Ziz in person, unless Goran beat me to it.

I drove to the grocery store and stocked up on extra food. With two man-sized appetites in the house, my food budgetwould be stretched beyond capacity. Kane had ample funds, but now didn’t seem to be the right time to discuss finances.

I left the groceries in the back of the truck and returned to Leather Bound to check on Ray.

Jessie glanced up from behind the counter. “I think I heard him rustling the books in the astronomy section.”

Sure enough, I found him in the astronomy aisle with a stack of books. “There’s so much left to learn,” he said. “If I lived a thousand years, I’d never manage it all.”

“That’s what makes life so interesting. It’s up to you how to spend the time you’re given.”

Ray returned the books to the shelves. “You ready?”

“If you are.”

He nodded. I commanded him to return to the truck, then I thanked Jessie.

“My pleasure,” the older woman said. “See you next time.”

I sat in the driver’s seat of the truck to find Ray’s head in the flatbed, investigating the contents of the grocery bags.

His head returned to the cab. “You forgot trash bags.”

“I didn’t know I needed them.”

“Goran generates a lot of garbage.”

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