Page 67 of Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Book
“Everybody, this is my wonderful daughter. Lindsay, these are our cousins, the Wrights, and this gentleman is from theJournal-Constitution.”
Lindsay offered the guests an awkward wave, and they responded in kind.
“Give us a couple minutes, sweetheart. We’re just finishing up here. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, Mom,” Lindsay assured her. Then she stepped out into the hall and ordered herself to keep it together until the visitors were gone.
“Beverly, when you discovered the connection between the Wainwrights and the Wrights—” she heard the reporter in the living room start to say. Lindsay’s mother stopped him.
“Oh no, I didn’t discover the connection. Isaac did. He’s the reason we’re sitting here today.”
“Isaac, when you discovered the connection, did you ever worry for the safety of your family?”
There was a pause, then Lindsay heard an older man speak.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll answer that question,” said James Wright.
“Please, by all means,” the reporter said.
“Isaac discovered the connection on his own. Apparently one of my brothers let the truth slip a while back. I’ve known since I was a young boy, but I didn’t tell my sons and I had no intention of doing so. When I was growing up, there was nothing we could do with the information. There was no DNA testing back then, so we had no way to prove it. But that was okay, because we didn’twantto talk about it. Not just because it was horrible, which it was. We knew that telling our story could get us killed. I hear people saying we live in more enlightened times now. Do we? After everything that’s happened over the past few days, can anyone look me in the eye and tell me things are all that different?”
“There is one thing that’s different.” Lindsay peeked around the corner and saw it was the younger boy, Elijah.
“What’s that?” James Wright asked.
“There are a whole lot more of us now.”
The tilt of Mr. Wright’s head suggested he hadn’t considered that fact. Then, unable to argue, he nodded.
“That’s right,” said the reporter, who sounded thrilled to move on. “I’ve been told that dozens of potential family members have contacted you about the reunion.”
“Logan Walsh’s suicide has brought a great deal of attention to our cause,” Beverly said.
“The Lord works in mysterious ways,” Betsy Wright added.
There was a knock at the front door just a few feet from where Lindsay stood. She looked through the peephole, expecting to see people with cameras and microphones. Standing on her mother’s custom welcome mat were the county sheriff and two deputies.
“Morning, Miss Underwood,” Sheriff Bradley said when she opened the door. “May I speak with your parents, please?”
She assumed it was something to do with Logan Walsh. “My father isn’t home and Mom is giving an interview right now. Is there something I can do for you?”
“I’m afraid there isn’t,” said the sheriff. “I’ll need to speak to your mother right away.”
“Lindsay? Honey? Everything okay?” Beverly Underwood had stepped into the hallway to see what was happening.
“Ma’am, I have a warrant to search the premises.” The sheriff held out a sheet of paper while his deputies moved forward into the house. The man kept a straight face, but there was no hiding the fact that he was enjoying his duties.
Lindsay’s mother took the page and scanned it. “I don’t understand. You’re looking for books?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the sheriff told her. “I think we’re all aware by now that someone removed the books from Mrs. Lula Dean’s library and replaced them with titles from the banned books list.”
“And you honestly think it wasme?” Her mother was still smiling. Lindsay could barely hear the conversation over the pounding of her own heart.
“You took the banned books that were removed from the town’s libraries and stored them in your home, is that correct?” the sheriff asked.
“Yes, of course. They’re still in my basement.”
The sheriff gestured for his two men to head down to the basement. “The books have never been in anyone else’s possession?”
