Page 36 of Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Book
“Yes,” Mara admitted as she made her way around the desk. “But it seems to me like there are a number of ways to deal with the situation that don’t involve murder.”
“People keep calling me, telling me Darlene is exaggerating. That it was a long time ago and it wasn’t that bad and why is she dragging this stuff out now.” Melody stopped. An index finger popped out of her fist and she wagged it at Mara. “You know what that means? It means they all knew! This whole time they knew and nobody told me.”
Mara would have murdered the bastard, too, but she wasn’t about to say that. Melody was teetering on the edge and she didn’t need anyone giving her an excuse to jump.
“If that’s true, I’m sorry,” Mara said instead. “If I were in your shoes, I suppose I’d be reading up on mushrooms, too.”
“This is not what I signed up for! I did not leave college early and move here from Texas so I could end up a pariah in a little hick town in the middle of Georgia.”
Mara felt her sympathy drain away. “Still, you have two kids here who need you. I don’t think poison’s the answer.”
Melody’s jaw clenched. “Then there is no answer,” she said through gritted teeth.
“What about a divorce? My friend Crystal Moore just—”
“Adivorce? Where would I go? My parents are dead. I’ve never worked outside the home. I can’t leave my boys, and if I take them with me, we’ll be poor as church mice.”
“Get a good lawyer, and I’m sure you’ll be able to keep the house and the kids.”
That suggestion only appeared to increase the woman’s frustration. “Where am I going to find a lawyer around here? Besides, Randy has my phone password and he keeps an eye on the family computer. He says he wants to know where the boys go on the internet.” Melody took in a deep breath. “I always figured he was watching me, too. I just didn’t think it would be a problem.”
“We have computers here,” Mara told her. “You can use them all you like and your husband will never find out what you’re researching. That’s why libraries exist—to make sure people always have access to the information they need. Every day, we help people find answers to questions that they’re terrified to ask.”
“What if somebody sees me searching for divorce lawyers and tells Randy?”
“You can use my computer for the next couple of hours,” Mara offered. It meant she’d need to stay late to get her own work done, but that seemed a small sacrifice to prevent a murder. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Melody started to shake her head. Then she stopped. “Actually, yes. There is. Darlene mentioned a book in her Facebook post,” Melody said. “If you have it, I’d like to read it.” Melody didn’t seem aware of the irony of her request, but it certainly wasn’t lost on Mara.
“Speakis one of the books your committee confiscated. I believe it’s being stored in Beverly Underwood’s basement until this town comes to its senses and stops letting Lula Dean tell us what we can and can’t read.”
Melody seemed to realize she’d just stumbled across a trip wire. “If that book was on the committee’s list, a lot of other people must have found it offensive, too.”
“Speakis about a girl who’s beenraped.” Mara heard her voice building and she paused for a moment to regain control. “The things the book talks about need to be said because there are people like Darlene who desperately need to hear them.”
Melody’s eyes glazed over and Mara knew the former mayor’s wife was about to repeat the party line. “We just want to shield our children until they’re ready for more mature material.”
“Children?” Mara shot back. “You mean like a high school kid who’s been raped by classmates and has nowhere to turn?”
This time, Melody offered no defense.
“When people like Lula hide all the books about rape, who do you suppose they’re really protecting?” Mara demanded. “Do you want to go back to the days when we never talked about rape? When women like Darlene kept their mouths shut and the men who assaulted them went on to be mayor?”
Melody’s face turned scarlet, but she refused to admit defeat. “See, you’re talking about older readers,” she argued. “As far as I’m concerned, they can do what they want. I’m just concerned about the little children—”
“Okay, so let’s focus on younger kids,” Mara pressed on. She hadn’t planned to get into a debate, but she wasn’t going to let Melody off easy. “What exactly do you think books will do to them?”
Melody threw up her arms. “Scare them, for starters!”
“That’s funny, ’cause I didn’t see you pulling any horror books off the shelves. Most of the books you took were about Black history, the Holocaust, and LGBTQ subjects. A few of the YA novels you banned were a bit raunchy in parts, but I noticed the romance section remains untouched.”
“There was that pornographic cake book in the baking section!”
“Which a teenager snuck onto the shelves. But I fail to see how a book of penis cakes could do anyone irreparable harm.”
“Maybe that’s ’cause you’re not one of us,” Melody said.
Mara couldn’t believe her ears. “Excuse me?”
