Page 18 of Dying to Read

Then she got Killer ready to go to work with her. It wasn’t Terrance’s fault he couldn’t babysit her dog. Killer was her dog, after all. And her responsibility. She’d gotten comfortable having either Archer or Terrance there to help. She was going to have to be responsible for herown situation.

But she was also feeling grumpy when she got to the shop. Maybe Terrance had passed his emotion on to her. Some kind of text virus. Or she might have read too many science fiction books lately.

Whatever was going on, she needed to fix her attitude and quickly. Her mom would have told her to turn that frown upside down. Or fake it until you make it. Rarity thought both sayings would be needed to get through this day.

Chapter 7

As soon as Shirley walked in the door before the book club was to start, Rarity perked up. Maybe her friend had good news about George and, hopefully, Terrance. Then her daughter followed her inside with a large Tupperware container filled with cookies. Shirley pointed Kathy over to the table; then she came over to the register where Rarity stood. “I didn’t think I’d see you,” Rarity said.

Shirley glanced over to where Kathy was setting up the treat table. “I didn’t want to leave you hanging tonight.”

“You didn’t have to bring food. I was planning on calling Annie’s and having them deliver something but then I forgot.” Rarity had been off her game all day. She kept thinking about the rare book and where it could have come from. Arthur mentioned that sometimes he found rare books in boxes of giveaways, but this book had been by itself. Like someone was reading it and left it on the counter inthe bathroom.

Rarity had left the notice up, but no one had returned to claim the book. If they did now, they’d have to go to the police station to claim it. Which might make things more complicated for them. Especially since the book was now tied up in a cold murder case.

“I don’t have much to do, so I’m baking like a crazy woman. I dropped off treats at church Sunday. The nursing home’s dietician won’t let me bring cookies in for the residents, but the staff seems to like them.” She sighed as she watched Kathy arrange the display with the coffee, cups, and juice. “She likes things set in a specific way. I think she gets that from me but on a larger scale. I’ve mellowed over the years.”

“Shirley.” Jonathon came in the door and made a beeline to the register. “I’m so glad you came tonight. We’ll find out who killed that man. We all know it’s not Georgeor Terrance.”

Rarity watched Kathy’s head pop up at the mention of Terrance’s name. She was not happy with Rarity’s neighbor, and her look told the story. She thought Terrance was the problem. And it was obvious that she didn’t care if he went down for killing Jully, as long as he left her momand dad alone.

“Oh, Jonathon. Thank you so much, but I’m not staying. I told Kathy we’d come and get some books to tide us over. Besides, I needed to get the cookies out of my house.” Shirley glanced over at her daughter, who was now scanning a shelf of books.

“Why don’t you stay for the book discussion? I’m sure Kathy would love to get to know some of your friends here.” Rarity held up the book they would discuss that night. “I have some questions about the main character’s motivation I’d love to get your take on. I promise we won’t talk about the murder until you leave.”

“I would love to get everyone’s input on this book. I found it a little challenging. Probably because of when the author decided to set the book. I’m not sure I’m ready to read about the pandemic right now.” Shirley took the bookWhat Never Happenedout of her tote. She’d obviously been prepared to stay. “I know Kathy’s read it because she borrowed the book from me afew days ago.”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll talk about the book; then we’ll take a break and the nonsleuths can leave, and then we’ll talk about a few mysteries popping up in Sedona this week.” Rarity hoped that maybe Shirley would change her mind and decide to stay for the discussion. But Kathy was a wild card. How would she react to talking about what happened to Jully, especially since her dad had been accused of killing the man?

“I’ll go let Kathy know.” Shirley looked over in the direction of her daughter. “She’ll be happy. Not. The girl hasn’t been happy sinceshe arrived.”

When the group got settled, Shirley introduced everyone to Kathy. As Shirley had predicted, her daughter didn’t look thrilled to be there, but Shirley had won the argument. Rarity thought keepingShirley’s routine as normal as possible would keep her from focusing on things she couldn’t change. Maybe Kathy had realizedthe same thing.

Rarity was leading the discussion tonight. Both about the book and when they went into sleuth mode. “So, general comments about the book?”

Malia held up her hand. “I wasn’t sure what the main character was doing and why for most of the book. She was reacting to whatever happened rather than having a plan.”

“Who else felt that way?” Everyone but Kathy raised their hands. Rarity focused on her. “So tell us, howdid you feel?”

“About the book? Or her actions?” Kathy looked surprised to be called out. She squirmed in her seat. When Rarity confirmed the question, she continued. “I think she was doing the best she could. She had been seeing a therapist for years. You can’t expect someone who found their parents dead, killed violently, to be normal and act like she’s got her life together.”

“So you thought her hooking up with that guy so early wasn’t suspicious?” Holly asked.

Kathy shrugged. “I have different values. Who are we to say that her way of processing her trauma wasbad or good?”

“It kept the book moving, though. Since she kept getting into the wrong place at the wrong time.” Rarity smiled and changed the subject. “What about the setting and the climate? Did that add to the mystery or pull attentionaway from it?”

“Both, probably,” Holly admitted. “Since they were on an island, she didn’t have the ability to leave. And when she tried, it gave the real killers the opportunity to use that as a red herring forkilling her.”

“I don’t know about the climate. I know that COVID books have to be written now. It’s a part of our history and writers are probably trying to process what they went through. But George got sick during that time, and the book brought all those memories back to the forefront,” Shirley said. “I love the book, but at times, the shutdown that was happening around her gave me chills.”

“I didn’t know that about Dad,” Kathy said as she reached out to squeeze her mom’s hand.

“He didn’t want you kids to know. Now, looking back, I think that was the start of his decline. He wasn’t thinking rationally, even back then. I didn’t want you or your brother coming to help and then getting sick and taking it back to the kids. No one knew what was going on, and the CDC kept changing the rules.” Shirley looked around the group. “Sorry, I’m dominating this discussion. Did that factor in the book botheranyone else?”

Rarity nodded. “The time period bothered me too. In my life, I’d recently finished my cancer treatment. I worried that if the cancer came back, I’d have to weigh the decision of treatment with whether I wanted to be around a hospital at all.”

Kathy seemed to be taking in the discussion. It appeared that she was seeing why the book club was important, not only to her mom but to the community. Or at least that was what Rarity hoped she was learning.

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