Page 10 of Secrets in the Stacks

“Hey, I carried my tote bag and all of Killer’s stuff too.” Rarity knew Archer was trying to get her to relax a bit. “Anyway, when my slave, I mean, Archer, arrived at the tent, I let Darby go because she was going to go have dinner with Holly and Malia.”

“Did she go anywhere today? Or did she work with you all of the time?” Drew was writing in his notebook, a habit Rarity didn’t like, especially when he was talking to her.

“She worked the bookstore the entire day.”

“So you had eyes on her all day?” Drew looked up hopefully.

“Well”—Rarity looked down at the driveway—“she worked all day.”

“What aren’t you saying?” Drew pushed.

“I sent her to the hydration tent to have lunch, so she was gone maybe thirty minutes for that. But she was with Carson and Holly. And when she got back, I sent her to the bookstore to grab some more books. She wasn’t gone very long, maybe another thirty minutes. When we closed up, she took two loads over to the bookstore back to back.” Rarity looked over at Drew. “You can’t be thinking she did this.”

“I’m trying to prove she couldn’t have done it.” Drew squeezed her arm. “Anyway, can you come in and talk to her? I can’t let her stay here tonight, not until we have had the lab techs in, and they can’t get here until tomorrow.”

“She can stay with me.” Rarity nodded to the house. “Let’s not keep her waiting. She must be freaked out enough.”

Darby was sitting in the dining room, which was just off the main foyer of the midcentury modern house. The dining room was formal with a cherrywood table and matching hutch and credenza. It had a second doorway, and Darby was staring through it toward what must have been the living room from the way it was furnished.

“Oh, Darby, are you okay? I’m so sorry for your loss.” Rarity hurried up to the young woman, and to her surprise, Darby stood and fell into her arms.

“Rarity, she’s dead. I came home and called out, but no one answered. Then I go into the living room with the mail, and she’s just lying there. On the floor. Someone must have hit her,” Darby mumbled into Rarity’s shoulder in between sobs.

“I know. Are you okay?” Rarity waited for the tears to slow before pushing her off her shoulder and looking her over. “You weren’t hurt, right?”

“I’m fine. No one was here. I wish I had walked in on them. At least I’d be able to identify the attacker rather than just saying I’ve been working at the bookstore all day.” She fell back into her chair, sighing. “Archer, what are you doing here? Don’t tell me I interrupted date night. I told Mr. Anderson that I was fine and didn’t need anyone to babysit me.”

“Don’t think of it as babysitting. Think of it as a concerned friend who wants to be stuck like glue to you until they find the killer.” Rarity pulled out a second chair and sat down. “Do you want to come home with me? Killer would love to see you.”

“I’m fine. Holly’s coming to get me in a few minutes. That way you can search my car, too, while you’re in my room and my underwear drawer.” This last comment she aimed at Drew.

“Darby, you know I’m committed to finding out who killed your grandmother. I just have to rule you out as the most likely suspect. It’s not personal,” he explained, for what seemed to be not the first time.

“It feels personal to me.” Darby leaned her head down. “I know, be nice to the police officer. He’s only doing his job. But right now, I feel like he’s just doing his job and not listening for the facts. I didn’t kill my grandmother. There’s no way on God’s green earth I’d even try. She was my light, especially after my folks disappeared on me one night last year. I wouldn’t have done anything to hurt her. She was all I had left.”

Rarity handed Darby another tissue as the tears started flowing again. She shook her head at Drew when he appeared to be about to ask a follow-up question. “Drew, can Darby and I go into her bedroom and grab some clothes for a few days?”

“That’s a good idea. A police officer has already cleared that room.” He winced as Darby’s face scrunched like he’d hit her. “Look, I’ll get you back home as soon as I can, but you should plan for a few days with Holly.”

Rarity stood and waited for Darby to stand so she could follow her. As they walked out of the dining room, Darby leaned her head on Rarity’s shoulder.

“It’s going to be okay.” Rarity put her arm around Darby’s shoulders, pulling her closer into the hug.

Darby shook her head as they went up the stairs. “You’re wrong, Rarity. It’s never going to be okay again.”

* * * *

Drew had them wait in the study for Holly to show up. Darby had packed her bag with clothes and bathroom stuff. And she’d packed another bag with books and papers. When she saw Rarity watching her, she shrugged. “I’ve got homework to do before the next class. Even if I don’t go, I don’t want to be behind.”

“That’s very responsible of you. If you need time off from work, just let me know.” Rarity held her hand out for one of the bags and was thankful when Darby gave her the clothes bag, even if it did have two pairs of boots tucked inside. One for dress and one for hiking. Apparently, Darby wanted to be prepared for anything. Which wasn’t a bad trait to have.

“I need to call Mom and Dad. Once they get here, they can figure out all this funeral stuff and find her will and her lawyer. I know she always used a firm out of town. She said she didn’t want Malia’s uncle to know too much about her. Living in such a small town, she hadn’t wanted people to figure out what she owned and who was going to get it. She said there were two people who needed to know what she had, herself and the person she was giving it to.” A smile curved Darby’s face. “She hated being gossiped about.”

“Well, if I’d known she had such an amazing library, I would have been over here when I first moved to town. I can’t believe some of these volumes. If you want to sell later, I’ll give you top dollar for this stuff.” Rarity walked the perimeter of the study, which was all in dark woods. The main desk was wood as well and sat in the middle of the room on an oriental rug.

“This was one place I wasn’t allowed into until I was sixteen. She kept the door locked. I’d hear her in here and always wondered what she was working on, but she’d never tell me.” Darby leaned against the leather upholstery on the wing chairs by the fireplace. “Once I was old enough, I mostly stayed here every time we came to visit. One summer, I spent my entire six weeks’ vacation here in the study, reading. Of course, that was before I found out about boys.”

Rarity laughed as she pulled a book on Sedona history and leafed through it. Yes, Catherine Doyle’s collection was a gem. “I’d stay here all summer too.”

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