Page 58 of Secrets in the Stacks

“I’m grabbing some lunch at the quad. I’m glad you called. I’m not sure I locked the back door. I’m kind of freaking out here and wondered if you’d go lock up.” She sighed. “Maybe I should just skip class and come back to town.”

“Don’t do that. I’ll go check it. I guess I can get in if the door is unlocked, right?”

“Actually, I left a key to the house in my bag at the bookstore. I worried I was going to lock myself out. I did it a lot, but that was when… Well, now I don’t have anyone to let me in. So I hung a bag in the back room and put a key to the house in there. It also has a little money in case I need it.”

“Okay, then. I guess it’s a smart idea, but maybe we should put it in the safe or the register, just in case someone breaks in here.”

“I hope you’re not mad. I was going to ask you if it was okay, but it’s been a little crazy.”

Rarity tapped the card. “I’m not mad. I think it’s a great idea. I just want you to be safe. Anyway, Lloyd Jones is leaving town since the journals have been stolen, and he wanted to buy you dinner tonight. He says he’d like to tell you about your grandmother.”

There was no answer on the other end.

“Darby? Are you still there?” Rarity held out the phone to see if they were still connected.

“I’m here. I’m just a little shocked. Maybe Malia would come with me. I don’t want to say no, but I don’t want to go alone.”

“Well, if she can’t, call me, and I’ll go with you.” She called Killer over to the counter and clicked on his leash. “I’ll text you and let you know I’ve locked up the house. That way you don’t have to answer during class.” She went back to the back room and found the bag hanging with a few random jackets. The key was down in the bottom. She pulled it out and put it in her jeans pocket.

“Thanks, Rarity. I appreciate you.”

After she hung up, Rarity put up the out-to-lunch sign. She looked down at Killer. “This way we can stop at the diner and get a sandwich for lunch. And maybe some fries.”

Killer barked at the word fries. Rarity knew she shouldn’t, but every once in a while, he got one or two of her fries. Sharing was good. She locked up the store, headed down the sidewalk, and stopped at Carole’s, which was on the way.

Rarity waved at the hostess from the window, and she came outside to meet her. “Sorry, I need to get a to-go order. I’ll be back in about ten minutes to pick it up.”

“Sounds good.” The girl leaned down and rubbed Killer’s ears. “What can I get for you?”

After ordering lunch, Rarity and Killer headed to Darby’s house. The place was larger than most of the houses on the street, but not so big as to be out of place. It looked like a happy house. Rarity used the key to let herself in, and they went straight to the back door that, as Darby was worried about, was unlocked. She locked the door and then checked it to make sure.

As she was walking out, she glanced at the door to the study. Something about the red journal covers had bothered her. Like she’d seen one before. Maybe it was still on the bookshelves.

She opened the door to the study and froze. A man with a gun was standing there. Their gazes locked, and Killer started barking. She reached down to pick him up, hoping to calm him.

“Smart move. I have to say, you’re not who I was waiting for, but maybe you and your dog can keep me company while we wait for the grandchild to show up. Darby’s her name, right? I would have rather had the son, but he’s gone missing. Again. You wouldn’t know where he’s hiding, would you?” The man waved at her with the gun, and Rarity moved into the room and sat on the couch where he’d pointed. It was the man she’d talked to at the bookstore. And now, she realized where she’d seen him before. He had bought and thrown away the Churchill book.

“I’m expected elsewhere,” Rarity said. “But if you want to stop by the store, I have the book you trashed waiting for you.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize it would find its way back. I guess I should have left it somewhere else.” The man shrugged. “Hopefully, no one will come looking for you. I’m trying to keep the collateral damage to a minimum. I’m not a monster.”

“Yet you’re the one pointing a gun at me,” Rarity pointed out.

“It’s unfortunate. If it makes you feel better, I won’t kill the dog. Someone will find your bodies before he starves. People are in and out of this house all the time. Catherine built a good life for her family here.” He sank into a chair opposite her. “A life I didn’t get.”

“You knew Catherine?” Rarity decided that keeping him talking might not save her life, but maybe it would extend it. Drew was busy with his dad. Archer was at a hike until later today. Sam was with Drew. No one but Darby knew she was here. And her life was on the line, just like Rarity’s was. She had to find a way to either escape or warn Darby. It might not save Rarity’s life, but maybe she could save Darby’s.

“Let’s just say Catherine knew me. She dug in too deeply, but I didn’t realize how much she’d already poisoned my life with her meddling. By the time I’d convinced her to back out of writing the story, the damage had been done. I lost my job, my wife, my family because of her. I thought I’d return the favor.”

“You’re Taft.” The words came out without Rarity realizing she was saying them.

His eyes narrowed. “Oh, I hadn’t expected that. You were already onto me. I don’t understand how. Catherine hid from that life very well. If she hadn’t gotten that award for her work with the homeless in Flagstaff, I might never have found her. Good deeds can get you in hot water. At least I have her journals. That way no one should be able to track me after I leave.”

Rarity wanted Taft to tell her everything. It wouldn’t save her life, but maybe if she stalled long enough, Darby would realize something was wrong and call Drew. “You killed her husband, Tom.”

He rolled his shoulders and let his arm holding the gun rest on his leg. “He was supposed to be a warning for her to back off. Like I said, the damage had already been done. I didn’t realize that at the time. It was a calculated risk, and I lost. But this was her fault. She put herself in this position.”

“By trying to tell the truth?” Rarity saw the anger on Taft’s face and pulled Killer closer. She wasn’t extending her life by making him mad. “Anyway, you took her life from her when you killed Tom. And she stopped writing the article. Wasn’t that enough?”

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