Page 54 of Secrets in the Stacks

“Bye,” Rarity called as she started turning off lights. She kissed Archer as she walked by. “Can you get Killer ready? I’ll go lock up the back.”

“Of course. Come on, big guy. Let’s go home, and we can play some ball after your dinner.” Archer moved toward the fireplace, and Rarity went to the back to finish locking up. In less than five minutes, they were locking the front door.

A scream echoed into the night.

Rarity almost dropped her keys before tucking them into her pocket. “That sounded like Sam.”

“Let’s go see.” Archer picked up Killer and handed him to her. “I can run faster without dragging him.”

Rarity watched as he ran toward the direction they’d heard the scream. The direction Sam and Jonathon would have taken home. Then she hurried after him, holding her cell phone in her hand, ready to call in an emergency.

Chapter 22

When Rarity caught up with them, Jonathon was sitting on the ground, a hand on his head. He was bleeding. Sam was on the phone, and Archer was nowhere to be seen. Rarity knelt next to Jonathon and dug into Killer’s bag. When she found the potty pad, she unfolded it. Moving Jonathon’s hand away from the wound, she pressed the pad down on the cut. “Where’s Archer?”

“He went after the guy. He stole your books. And mine, I guess. He must have been waiting outside the bookstore when we came out. We got this far, and I felt something hit me. When I went down, he grabbed both sacks.” Jonathon pushed Rarity’s hand away, staring at the plastic-lined paper. “Let me do that. Is this a pee pad?”

“Yes and it’s clean. It will help soak up some of this blood.” She moved his hand back to the wound, then stood and looked at Sam, who’d just got off the phone.

“Drew and an ambulance are on the way. He’s got a patrol car at the end of town who’s going to come up the street toward us. Maybe he’ll catch the guy.” Sam knelt and put a hand on Jonathon’s shoulder. “Look at me. You might have a concussion. We’re supposed to keep you awake.”

“Believe me, sleeping on the street is the last thing I’m planning on doing. Unless Drew kicks me out of his house for causing all this trouble. I hope the journals weren’t important.” Jonathon met Rarity’s gaze.

“Oh, no. Those were the investigation notes, weren’t they?” Sam looked up, but before Rarity could answer, Archer ran back and knelt by Jonathon.

He was breathing hard. “Sorry, I couldn’t find him.”

“I can’t believe you went after him.” Rarity pulled him into a hug. “Are you all right?”

He sighed into her as they stood together. “I’m feeling much better now.”

“I’m glad.” She blinked tears away as the sirens got closer. “Now we just need to get Jonathon checked out and stitched up.”

“And figure out where your journals are,” Jonathon added. “I am so sorry.”

She put her arm around Archer. “You don’t worry about that. You just need to take care of yourself.”

The ambulance showed up, and the EMTs jumped out of the van. They came over to where he was sitting. “Mr. Anderson? Are you okay?”

Drew pulled up a few seconds later in his truck. Archer and Rarity stepped back to give them more room. Sam came over to where they were standing. Rarity put her other arm out, and Sam leaned into her. “Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

Sam shook her head. “I’m fine. Just shook up. It happened so fast. I can’t believe it. We were just walking. Jonathon was telling me about the progress he was making with Martha’s estate, and then he went down. The guy grabbed his bags and took off. I bet he’s going to be upset when he realizes he stole some books. And most of them were just old journals.”

“I think he knew exactly what was in the bags,” Rarity said, and Sam stepped back and looked at her.

“You think he was after the journals?” Archer asked.

Rarity watched as they loaded Jonathon on a stretcher. “The guy didn’t ask for Jonathon’s wallet or your diamond bracelet. Not even your very expensive backpack. He went for two bags clearly labeled as from The Next Chapter.”

Drew turned to them after the EMTs finished loading Jonathon onto the stretcher. “Tell me what happened quickly. I need to get to the hospital to be with my dad. Then I have to call Mom. I bet she’s going to try to drive up here tonight. Maybe I should call her in the morning.”

“Sam, go first.” Rarity nodded to her friend. As Sam told her story, Rarity leaned up against Archer. All she wanted to do was to go home.

When Sam finished, Rarity told her part of the story. She hadn’t seen much, just the aftereffects.

Archer finished the report with his story. “I ran as fast as I could, but either he had a car on the road that he climbed into and hid inside, or he went behind or in a house. Why would someone take books?”

Drew and Rarity shared a glance. He was thinking the same reason she was; she could tell.

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