Death's Door (11 page)

“In the rentals,” he called back.

The woman disappeared through the doorway, and Herculeah and Meat went back to sorting books. Both shelves—this one and the one Herculeah had pushed over on top of the gunman—were now erect. Herculeah and Meat were reshelving the books.

They were working on the Gs. Meat was taking great satisfaction in his work. “Gillis ... Gilman ... George, Elizabeth, goes back there. Grafton—she belongs in the Gr's. You're doing those, aren't you?”

He held out the book to her. She didn't take it. He looked around. She didn't even seem to see it. “Here!” he said.

“Oh.”

Herculeah took the book in a distracted way and set it on an empty shelf. Meat was suddenly aware that Herculeah had stopped working altogether.

She was holding one book in her hands. She was not staring at it, but looking into the distance.

“Did you find something interesting?”

Herculeah nodded.

Still she didn't look at him or the book in her hands.

“Uncle Neiman will give you any book you want to read—me too. He says the shop is ours.”

“I don't want to read it.”

“What is it?”

She turned the book over in her lap so that the title was hidden.

“So? What's the big secret?”

“It's not a big secret. I just picked up this book, and I had a premonition about something.”

“Your premonitions usually work,” Meat said uneasily. “I didn't believe your last one about the bull, but it turned out to be true.”

Herculeah didn't say anything.

“So what's the premonition?”

Herculeah glanced up as if to check the books she'd shelved. “Not yet.” She dropped the book in her lap, picked up two others from a pile and shelved one. “Anyway I never had a premonition your uncle was going to kidnap me.”

Meat glanced at the door. “You know he doesn't like that word.”

“Well, he better get used to it. I've had to get used to some hard things, too. It was not easy for me to come back here to Death's Door, the very spot where I was almost killed.”

“Yes, but you're stronger than most everybody. You could do something like that. Uncle Neiman is more like me.” He was going to add the word “unhardy,” but he decided not to.

Herculeah shrugged.

“So what's the title of the book?”

She didn't answer. She glanced down in her lap. She seemed to be in a world of her own. Meat hated it when she shut him out like that.

“At least tell me the author, If I knew the author, then I could find one of her books. They'd have her other titles inside.”

When she didn't answer, he said, “Well it has to start with G.”

“No, H. It was out of place.” She smiled, as if at herself. “The reason I'm not telling you is that this makes no sense at all.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

She hesitated, then turned the book around so he could see the title.

“Funny Bones.”
He read the words aloud. “You're right. It makes no sense.”

“I told you. All the same, Meat, when I picked this book up, I got a premonition.”

“I do not think one of Hercules' labors had anything to do with bones. And they certainly weren't funny.”

“I know. Maybe I'm safe at last.”

Herculeah put the book on the shelf. She watched it for a moment and then smiled at Meat.

Meat didn't smile back. He had a premonition of his own.

“I wouldn't count on it,” he said.

 

 

Don't miss her next terrifying adventure,

When Herculeah's best friend, Meat, decides to take a comedy class, he expects to get a few laughs. But then he discovers a dead body in the bathroom, and realizes that there's nothing funny about murder. Things can't get any worse—until the body disappears! Meat needs Herculeah's help to uncover the clues, but she's busy investigating a case of her own. One that just might change Meat's life forever....