Page 71 of Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Book
The woman’s eyes rolled upward as though searching for the answer on the shop’s ceiling tiles. “Well, there wasChicken Soup for the Soul,I remember that one. And there were a couple I thought we’d never get rid of. One about a girl going to Europe and one on crochet. Can’t remember any of the rest off the top of my head. I reckon there were about two dozen in all.”
“You happen to remember how much she paid?” Bella asked, though she figured it was a long shot.
“As a matter of fact I do ’cause she demanded a fifty percent discount. Said they smelled musty. I was just glad to get rid of ’em so I gave them to her for seven dollars and seventy-five cents.”
“You’re sure about that? Seven dollars and seventy-five cents?”
“Oh yes, I’m sure. Had to count it out myself. She paid in dimes, nickels, and pennies.”
Outside in the dry, dusty parking lot with the sun beating down on her, Bella phoned Wilma. “I got a woman at a Goodwill in Macon says she sold Lula the books for the library. All of them together cost seven dollars and seventy-five cents. You can’t have someone arrested for stealing something that’s worth less than ten dollars.”
Wilma cackled on the other end of the phone. “What are you talking about? Of course you can, darlin’. This is Georgia. But you just got the charge dropped down to a misdemeanor. And it might be embarrassing enough to make Lula drop the charges as well. I’ll reach out to the sheriff’s department.”
When Bella got to Wilma’s house, her great-grandmother greeted her at the door with a frown and a shake of her head. “No dice. We’re not looking at a felony anymore, but Lula won’t budge,” she said.
“Can’t say I’m surprised,” Bella responded. “But I’ve got another idea I want to explore.”
On the drive back from Macon, she’d been thinking about the rally—and the moments right before she’d gotten shoved off the stage. She remembered the Wright brothers unfurling their banner. A couple of reporters down below had called out questions. Then Lula had shouted, “Stop him!” She’d saidhim.Notthem. Bella was sure of it. Something strange had been happening up on that stage.
Bella cracked open her laptop and searched for news footage of the rally. The professionals’ cameras had all been aimed at the two boys and their banner. In each of the videos, Lula shouted, “Stophim!” But she hadn’teven been facing the Wright boys at the time.Who was she talking about?Bella wondered. That was the million-dollar question.
She found the answer on Instagram. Mara Ocumma had posted a video she’d taken from the left side of the stage. You couldn’t read the Wrights’ banner, but it offered a clear view of Lula and her followers. Bella studied the film frame by frame and found the moment someone caught Lula’s eye. The woman wasn’t looking at Isaac or Elijah. She was staring in horror at Logan Walsh, who’d dropped to one knee. At first, Bella thought he might be tying a bootlace. But his fingers were on the cuff of his pants. Bella moved forward two frames and saw what she recognized as a gun strapped to Logan’s ankle.
Her heart pounding, Bella pressed play. Mitch Sweeney barreled forward, blocking Logan’s view of the Wright brothers. Mitch stumbled over a wire and rammed into her. Bella watched her own body fly out over the crowd. Then everyone surged to the front of the stage, and Logan Walsh disappeared in the chaos.
Bella sat back in shock. The Wright brothers could have died that day—and Lula had known all along. She had seen Logan’s gun.
“She never called the police,” Bella told her great-grandmother. “Logan Walsh could have killed Isaac and Elijah and that bitch didn’t call the police.”
Never once in her life had she seen Wilma struck speechless. It felt like minutes passed before her great-grandmother cleared her throat. “You were up on that stage, too.”
And yet when Bella phoned their client to report their discovery, Lindsay didn’t think it was useful.
“You think someone like Lula will ever fess up?” Lindsay sounded tired and resigned to her fate. “She’ll just say she didn’t see the gun. Doesn’t seem like you can prove that she did.”
They could try, but Bella knew Lindsay was right. “I don’t understand. Why is Lula Dean out to get you?”
“It’s not me she wants to destroy,” Lindsay said. “It’s my mother. She and Lula have hated each other since high school.”
Bella grabbed a notebook. “Interesting.” She readied her pen. “What’s the source of the bad blood?”
“No clue,” said Lindsay. “Whenever I ask, my mother just says it’s not her story to tell. I know she looks like a sweet little thing, but when Beverly Underwood doesn’t want to do something, there’s no point in trying to make her. Listen, Bella, I really appreciate all the work you’ve done, but I’d rather just have this over with.”
Bella nearly threw her pen across the room in frustration. “Lindsay, you’re acting like youwantto be punished!”
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
“Oh my God. You do!Why?” Bella demanded.
Lindsay sighed. “When Logan Walsh shot himself, there was a copy ofTheCatcher in the Ryeon his desk. I think my prank may have given him the inspiration to kill your best friend and my mother.”
For a while, they sat in silence on either end of the phone.
It was Bella who finally spoke. “Your mail been delivered yet?”
“What?”
“What time does your mail usually come?”
