Page 113 of Reading Between the Lines
I moved the memoir aside. The next book was another text about the art of journalism spanning two decades. The third and fourth covered the same topic. The book on the bottom of the pile stood out and gave me pause.
Like at the cabin, it was the only fiction among a collection of nonfiction.
And it wasn’t just any book.
“Hey, D. Look.”
I angled the book in his direction so he could read the title.The Crimson Veil. “This is the one book from Ambrose’s series that was missing from the library. Weston had it checked out. Coincidence?”
Diem abandoned his task and jerked the book from my hand, staring at the cover. He turned it and thumbed the various tabs sticking out of the side. They marked pages and were filled with handwritten scrawls. Not bookmarks. Annotations.
“Not a coincidence.” Diem opened the book to one of the marked pages.
At the same time, a gruff voice from the doorway said, “I think you two have poked around long enough. Time to go.”
Startling, Diem slammed the book and shoved it into my arms. He spun to face Irvin. I feared my surly boyfriend might get caustic with the indignant man at the door, but he didn’t. They stared at one another for a long time. Diem’s gears visibly spun.
“Your wife said we could—”
“Get out.”
Diem seemed to consider, slapped the laptop closed, and told me to put the book back.
“But we need it to—”
“Put it back.”
I replaced the book in the pile and followed Diem out the door and down the stairs, Irvin close enough on my heels to make my skin crawl.
The man shuffled us into the front hallway and out the door, slamming it in our faces. I didn’t know where Delaney had gone, but she didn’t come to our rescue or tell her husband we were only trying to help.
Diem didn’t say much as we got into the rental. He drove us back to the B&B, where we earned a caustic glare from Madame Ivory herself upon entering the building. Gone was her gentledemeanor and accommodating personality. I didn’t know what we’d done to upset her, but we didn’t hang around to ask.
Only when we were secure in our room did Diem speak. “Find that book online.” He threw me the iPad. “Download it. The first tab was page fifty-six.”
I sat on the freshly made ruffled bedspread and searched forThe Crimson Veil. It was the fourth in the series. It took a hot minute to figure out how to download it since Diem’s iPad didn’t have a reading app installed. I went through the process of adding one before purchasing the e-book.
Diem paced. “The blurb. Start there. Read it out loud. We need to work this one like we did at the library.”
I located the blurb and did as he asked. “Detectives Angler and Raven are put to the test when the body of a veiled woman is discovered in an ancient churchyard. Their elusive killer has struck again, and his MO is more baffling than ever. The body is dressed in a crimson gown and holding a velvet box containing a gold ring. The detectives work to discover what message their killer is trying to leave them this time.”
Diem stopped pacing and met my gaze with a deep frown. “Why did Weston checkthisbook out?”
“Maybe he was reading the series. Could it be part of an initiation ritual to be in the club?”
“But he marked passages. I didn’t get to read what he put on the tabs.”
“He’s a scholar and likes to take notes. Maybe it’s nothing.”
“Or he discovered something he wasn’t supposed to find.”
I stared at the blurb again. The same eerie fingers that had tickled the back of my brain before returned. Diem was right. This book had caught Weston’s eye. But why?
“Look up page fifty-six.”
I did, but it was a chapter heading, and after examining it further, I decided eBooks and paperbacks didn’t align the same.Diem agreed. “What should we do? I could skim the parts around it and see if something pops out.”
Diem removed his phone from a pocket and checked the time. “I don’t expect to hear from Doyle until later today, if at all.”
