Page 11 of Secrets in the Stacks

“My folks wanted me to come home after just a few weeks. They were afraid I’d fall in love with Grandma and want to stay. I doubt they would have let me come at all if she hadn’t insisted that they send me here. Then we moved to Sedona during high school. Now, they’re in Alaska. Maybe that’s why I loved this house so much. It was one steady place after living with my parents, who moved at the drop of a hat.” Darby went over and pulled a book off the shelf and tucked it in her bag. “I doubt I’ll be able to sleep tonight, so this will keep me from bugging Holly.”

And as if she’d been summoned by her name, Holly came into the room with Drew following her. She ran to Darby and pulled her into a hug. “Oh, Darby, I’m so sorry.”

“I guess Carson was right about the Death card. I thought it was my tests coming in, but instead, it was Grandma. I can’t believe it.” Darby started crying again.

“Anyway, we need to get you out of here. Maybe some food and a few bottles of wine will help for tonight. Malia’s in the car, and we’re heading to Flagstaff to eat. We need sustenance.” Holly looked around and spied the bags. “Are these yours? I’ll grab them.”

“I can help,” Darby called after Holly, who’d already grabbed all the bags and was heading to the door. Darby smiled at Rarity. “Or not. I’ll see you Tuesday, but if I’m not coming in, I’ll call you.”

Rarity hugged her. Then she watched as Darby ran after Holly. Rarity felt Archer’s arm around her, pulling her to his side. “I hope she’s okay.”

“At least she’s with friends where she can fall apart.” Drew glanced around the room. “And now, I can do my job and search this place without feeling like a jerk.”

“Sometimes it’s hard to be the adult.” Rarity stepped away from Archer and paused at the bookshelves. “Darby’s grandmother was a serious collector.”

“Catherine loved to read.” Archer stepped toward her. “She got me started with that book right there.”

Rarity pulled down the worn book. She turned it to the front. “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer?”

“I loved all the Tom books. I tried to make a raft using the branches from the firewood my folks brought down from the mountains. It didn’t work. But then I ran out of those books, and Catherine took me to the library and we found the choose-your-own-adventure books. Within a year, I was reading Jack London and dreaming of running dog sleds.” He nodded to the bookcase. “Catherine always seemed to know just the right book to suggest. And somehow, she always had a copy in her personal library.”

“She sounds like an amazing person. I wish I’d known her.” Rarity saw Drew look at his watch. “I guess we need to get out of here so Drew and the guys can do their work.”

“Sorry, I don’t mean to run you off since I asked you to come, but I’d like to get out of here as fast as possible to let Darby back inside.” He stood at the door and looked around the room. “This reminds me of Dad’s library when I was growing up. Of course, this is a lot bigger. And Dad stayed with mostly mysteries and thrillers.”

“I ran into Jonathon yesterday. I guess he’s going to be around for a while?” Rarity almost laughed when she saw Drew’s reaction. “He can’t be that bad to live with.”

He motioned them forward to the main door and followed them outside. “He’s not. I just got used to being home alone. And I was thinking about going to the shelter next weekend to look for a dog, but since I got the message that he is going to be here for a while and now, well, this, I guess my dog hunting will have to be put on hold.”

“Dude, you know I’ll babysit when you need me to watch the dog.” Archer slapped Drew on the back. “I’ve got you.”

“And then the pup will fall in love with you and not want to come home.” Drew shook his head. “That’s not going to happen, at least not for a few weeks.”

“Well, you can always come visit Killer,” Rarity offered.

A man called Drew’s name from the door of the house. He waved a hand, then turned back to Rarity and Archer. “And with that, I’m being called back inside. Thanks for coming and sitting with Darby. I know she felt better with someone she thought was on her side in this mess.”

“You’ll find out who did this. And it’s not Darby.” Rarity met Drew’s gaze. “Promise me you’ll look for other answers.”

“I’m not going to send an innocent young woman to jail just to clear up my caseload.” He stared back at her. “Unless she killed her grandmother.”

“She didn’t,” Rarity shot back.

Archer took her arm and turned her to the street where her car sat. “We’ll see you later, Drew. There’s no need for a scene out here where everyone is waiting for something to gossip about.”

She looked around and saw the lines of tape that had been up when they entered the house now had a line of people on the other side, with cameras that were all aimed at the three of them. “Sorry, you’re right. Drew, go do your job. Thanks for calling me.”

He smiled and put a finger to his baseball cap. “Happy to, ma’am.”

When she was in the car and Archer had started the engine, she watched the people still watching the house. A few had watched them as they crossed the street, but even those had turned back to see if anything interesting was going on. “They’re all vultures. Waiting for a piece of information they can talk about at their bridge club.”

“Human nature. Everyone wants to solve the mystery first.” He pulled out into traffic. “And they all want to feel like this is an isolated incident. Like they couldn’t be in danger. And they wouldn’t find any skeletons in their own closet. It proves it’s not random to them. Random is a whole lot scarier, since it could be them in that ambulance running back to the city without sirens.”

Chapter 5

Tuesday morning, Rarity and Killer walked into town to open the bookstore. Rarity had taken advantage of the warmer morning to swim, but the water still felt cold, so she cut the number of laps. She looked down at Killer, who was checking out a smell in the grass. “Maybe we should take long morning walks instead of me trying to swim in the mornings?”

“I’m sure he’d love the idea.” Terrance Oldman must have heard her comment as he walked toward her. “And if you’re in need of more of a security team than the little guy there, you can walk with me. I do a couple of miles around the neighborhood after I do a five-mile bike ride. You know, as a cooldown.”

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