The Miss Fortune Series: Overdue (Kindle Worlds Novella) (4 page)

“No. I’ve never met him.”

“He’s a bit odd,” Madigan said. “Is that okay to say, even though he’s fighting for his life?”

Ida Belle nodded. “It’s the truth. He’s a peculiar individual.”

“But, you know, he’s OUR peculiar guy,” Madigan said, sniffling. “He’s Sinful’s Boo Radley.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Gertie said. “It’s not like he was a shut-in.”

“I meant that people misunderstood him,” Madigan said. “Oh, I know, everybody says he gambles too much and gets into fights at the Swamp Bar, but he’s always been nice to me. I’ve always felt sorry for him because he doesn’t have many friends.”

I asked if he was a regular at the library. Madigan nodded her head.

“He’s always in here doing research.”

“Research?” Gertie asked. “He never impressed me as the intellectual type.”

Madigan shrugged. “Me neither. But the past year he’s been coming several times a week with a file folder full of papers that he copies. Called it his ‘research.’ He said he didn’t have a copier at home.” She dabbed at her nose with the tissue. “After he does his copying he usually sits and reads. Sometimes I’ll go back there and find him asleep.”

Madigan cringed as Celia and Lucy stepped out of the break room, deep in conversation and heading toward our group.

“All I’m saying is it just doesn’t look good to have a Sheriff’s SUV in front of the library,” Lucy said. “You need to get him to move it.”

“I’m sure half of Sinful already knows about Waddell,” Ida Belle said. “Moving Carter’s SUV isn’t going to stop anyone from spreading the news.”

Lucy looked over at us. “I’m shutting down the library for the rest of the day while the deputies gather all their information. We’ll start up bright and early tomorrow morning.” She glared at Ida Belle and Gertie. “You two shouldn’t even be in here now. I hope tomorrow not to see you.”

Celia and Lucy made their way back where Carter was still investigating, Lucy resuming her complaints about Carter’s SUV spoiling the sanctity of the library parking lot.

Madigan sighed. “Well, you heard her. We get the afternoon off. Guess I’ll take my lunch home to eat.”

Madigan headed for the break room to gather her belongings. As soon as she was gone, Gertie turned to me. “Why don’t you take your lunch home, and Ida Belle and I will bring ours over and join you?”

“Okay, but we’re not getting involved. We’re going to let Carter handle this one.”

Gertie patted me on the shoulder. “Of course we are.”

“We’re just joining you for lunch,” Ida Belle said. “That’s all.”

It was the eye rolls between them that made me worry.

Gertie had one foot in my house when she blurted it out. “Waddell died.” She held up a paper bag in one hand. “Lunch.” Then a covered casserole dish in another. “Peach cobbler. We’ll need the sugar to help us think.”

Ida Belle followed, also carrying a sack lunch and a large bag of chips. “Myrtle said Carter thinks it was murder.”

“Did Myrtle say whether Carter liked anyone for it?”

“No, but she did say Waddell may have been involved with a married woman. But that’s been rumored about him for years. Myrtle said she’d try to snag a peek at the compiled list of patrons Lucy gave Carter.”

Myrtle certainly came in handy on a day like today. She was the night dispatch at the sheriff’s office, as well as Gertie and Ida Belle’s spy.

We set our lunches on the dining-room table and sat.

“I think we can eliminate all the story time mothers,” Ida Belle said. “I was keeping an eye on them when they arrived. None of them left the children’s area.”

I tapped my fingers on the table. “Whoever we’re looking for could have also come in contact with Waddell before jabbing him in the neck in the library. Maybe he even tampered with his drink before he came into the building. That way Waddell would be asleep when the killer wanted to inject him.”

“Why not just make sure whatever he put in his drink would kill him?” Gertie asked. “That way the killer wouldn’t have to be there when it happened.”

I shrugged. “Maybe the killer wanted to make sure he actually died. Maybe he needed to be there because he wanted to take something from Waddell. There was an empty file folder on the desk.”

“Meaning somebody took whatever it was Waddell was copying.”

Ida Belle nodded. “We’ll know more when Carter gets the toxicology report.”

“Which he’ll never let Myrtle see,” Gertie said. “And it’s not like we can go in there anymore and sneak a peek at the report while Fortune distracts him by flashing a little cleavage.”

“Yeah, not doing that anymore.”

Ida Belle and Gertie exchanged concerned looks. “How was it between you two today?” Ida Belle asked.

“Actually, not as bad as I expected.”

“I still think you’ll get back together,” Gertie said while unwrapping her sandwich.

“He doesn’t want someone like me. He wants someone who doesn’t need the excitement in her life.”

“You need excitement?” Gertie asked before ripping open the bag of chips and popping a few in her mouth.

“Of course she needs excitement,” Ida Belle said. “She’s a CIA agent. If she’s not out solving something and clearing the decks of bad guys, she gets bored. And don’t look now, but you and I are cut from the same cloth.”

“I don’t need excitement,” Gertie mumbled, wrinkling her nose.

“You can’t even say that with a straight face,” Ida Belle said. “If we weren’t investigating Waddell’s murder, you’d be looking for something else to get involved with.”

“Would not.”

Ida Belle pulled her phone from her pocket and tapped the screen a couple of times. “Here’s your text from last night.
Babs Babineaux thinks Cyrille Wallace is stealing women’s underwear again. We need to do a stakeout
.”

Gertie looked at me. “Okay. I need excitement. But not another murder. I wasn’t fond of Waddell, but I hate to think someone killed him. Staking out an underwear thief would have been good enough for me.”

Ida Belle nodded. “That’ll have to wait. Once we get the list of names of library visitors from Myrtle, we’ll divvy them up and go talk to them.”

I held up my hands. “Hold on. I said I liked excitement. I didn’t say we should investigate.”

Gertie was about to bite into her sandwich, but stopped. “What? Why not?”

“Come on, it was one thing when we interfered with Carter’s investigations when he didn’t know how capable we were. But now… It can’t be good for his ego. I mean, what kind of message does that send to him? That we think he’s incompetent?”

“I don’t think he’s incompetent,” Ida Belle said. “I think he’s an outstanding deputy surrounded by incompetents. I like Deputy Breaux, don’t get me wrong. He’s a nice man. But he’s not the sharpest gator in the swamp. That leaves Sheriff Lee. Again, nice man. But he chases down leads on a horse. Colorful, I’ll give you that. But there’s a murderer on the loose. One who struck right under our noses.”

“With a library full of kids,” Gertie said. “If we can’t lend Carter a helping hand, who can?”

I shook my head. As much as I wanted to join them, I didn’t want to alienate Carter any further. “Look, I don’t want to cramp your style just because Carter and I…” I couldn’t say, “broke up.” It wasn’t like we were committed to one another to begin with, still, I just couldn’t bring myself to say it. “You two have been running Sinful longer than I’ve been alive. You’re more than capable of helping to solve this one without me.” I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “I’ll just sit this one out.”

Gertie’s face dropped. She looked down at her sandwich and began wrapping it up. “I don’t think I’m hungry.”

Ida Belle wrapped up her sandwich as well and stuck it in the bag.

“That doesn’t mean you two can’t stay and finish your lunch.”

Ida Belle shook her head. “And then Gertie and I will start talking about what we found out about the case, and then you’ll feel conflicted. No. We don’t want to put any undue influence on you. We’ll let you sit with your thoughts through the day. If you want to be a part of our investigation, we’d love it. But if you think you should skip this one, we’ll understand. Won’t we, Gertie?”

Gertie sighed.

“Won’t we Gertie?”

She shook her head. “You have to do what’s best for you. We’ll keep you in the loop, though, if that’s okay.”

“Sure,” I said. Now I felt sad.

They stood from the table and made their way to the front door. Ida Belle turned her head and winked at me. “Talk to you later.”

And then they were gone and the room felt strangely empty, except for Merlin, who ambled in from the kitchen and planted himself a couple feet from the table.

“Don’t even think about jumping up here. You know your furry butt’s not allowed on the table.”

Two seconds later Merlin was on the dining-room table and making his way over to my lunch. I’d love it if someday that cat learned English. I stood and picked him up. I could feel a mix of emotions stirring inside. Angry that I was right there when someone was being murdered and I couldn’t stop it, and sad that I wasn’t going to help find who did it. I also felt lost, which is how I felt when I first went into hiding in Sinful. I remember feeling like I had lost my purpose because I couldn’t carry out my duties as a CIA agent. Then I met Gertie and Ida Belle. As much as I hadn’t wanted to become involved in their goings-on in Sinful, I had to admit, they gave me my purpose back. And Carter? He gave me something else entirely.

“I lost them both, Merlin,” I said, rubbing under his chin. “A purpose and a boyfriend.”

But Merlin didn’t care. He just cared that I rubbed him at just the right spot on his neck. I couldn’t help it. I thought of Waddell’s neck. The puncture wound. I was sure Waddell hadn’t injected himself. Madigan had said he would come into the library regularly, sometimes falling asleep at the desk. Did someone know this? Did that someone wait for him to fall asleep, then come and position the needle over an artery and inject him with something? Or maybe slip something into his drink to knock him out so he couldn’t fight the needle off? That was pretty cold and calculating. And at the library. Where there were children settling in for story time.

And under our noses.

And that person was walking around Sinful.

And people were going to blame me.

“I know Carter can handle things, Merlin, but if I helped, maybe this person would be caught earlier. Before he could commit another murder. I mean, maybe Waddell isn’t supposed to be the only victim. Breaking the case a week earlier, an hour earlier, hell, even a few minutes earlier could save another life.”

Merlin squirmed in my arms and jumped to the floor. I raced for the front door and flung it open, expecting to see Gertie and Ida Belle pulling away from the curb in the Caddy.

“Wait!” I yelled at Gertie’s car, before realizing that they were sitting calmly on my patio chairs.

They knew me too well.

“I’m joining under one condition,” I said. “This is Carter’s investigation. All good leads and evidence we turn over to him so he can investigate further. We don’t sit on anything.”

“Deal,” Ida Belle said. “So can we go back inside and eat? I’m hungry.”

I nodded and held the door open for them.

“Took you long enough,” Gertie said as she passed me.

I gently scraped the—whatever disgusting stuff constituted the hardened blob—from page 27 of the recently returned children’s book. Unlike my challenging first day as Librarian Sandy-Sue, day two was shaping up to be a huge snore. There were few visitors. Apparently the rumors of a potential murder scared off all those except the most dedicated library patrons. That would include Gertie and Ida Belle, who were scouring the library for any clues regarding Waddell’s death.

All evidence in the vicinity of the “death desk,” as it was now being referred to by the library staff, had already been collected by Carter. Since there was no blood, a simple removal of the desk and a vacuuming of the area were the only steps needed to restore that part of the library to its original state. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t evidence lying around somewhere, and if Carter missed it, Ida Belle and Gertie were sure to find it.

Lucy hadn’t been happy to see them, so, as punishment, she assigned me the task of preparing books to reenter circulation. Checking books for anything stuck inside, whether literally stuck or loose between pages, was part of my new duties.
Shake and Scrape
is what Lucy called it. First shake out the loose items, then scrape out the stuck-ons. So far I’d shaken ten returned books and had amassed quite a little mound of loose items, including a recipe for crab balls, a training bra stuck inside a young adult book, a used Kleenex, and a strip of bacon. The hardened blob I was now extracting with a knife was my first
scraper
.

“Kid’s book?”

I looked up and saw Gertie approaching my desk. I nodded.

“What do you think it is?” I asked.

“First rule of working around kids,” she said, “is never think about where the things they stick in books come from. Just wear your latex gloves, wash your hands in half a bottle of Sinful Ladies Cough Syrup when you get home, and drink the rest. You’ll be all right.”

She leaned in and whispered, “Myrtle just texted the compiled list of people observed in the library yesterday,” before slipping a piece of paper in my hand. “Ida Belle and I starred the names of people who might have had a grudge against Waddell, along with the reasons why.”

I opened the paper and scanned the names. In our strategy session yesterday we had decided that I would take advantage of my temporary librarian status and interview people on the list. Carter was sure to be interviewing these people as well. If I could find a way into their homes by way of official library business, that would head off any suspicion from Carter about me interfering in his investigation.

At least in theory. I knew Carter better than that. And he knew us. The three of us going around his back now, particularly since he’d found out about our “special training,” was going to be tougher.

As I looked over the list, Gertie said they added the name of Lila Rose Fontaine, Waddell’s aunt. “She’s an author, or at least she used to be, before her breakdown a few years ago. According to Myrtle’s sources, Lila Rose hired Waddell to do odd jobs for her and helped him out financially in the past with some gambling debts. She might know whether he was in debt to anyone now.”

“Is Lila Rose a member of the SLS?”

Gertie shook her head. “For one thing, she hasn’t been ‘without man’ for the requisite number of years to be a Sinful Lady. Her husband died four years ago.”

“Without man” was crucial to the philosophy of the Sinful Ladies Society. According to them, men made women wonky, or something like that, so a woman had to either never have married, or not been married for at least ten years prior to membership. When I first heard of the SLS I thought the membership requirements were too strict. Having had my judgment clouded by my relationship with Carter, though, I now fully understood their reasoning.

Gertie continued, “Besides, Lila Rose is Catholic and leans more toward Celia’s God’s Wives. It wouldn’t look natural for an SLS gal to pop over there for a chat. Any way you can show up on official library business?”

I casually slipped her a list of people with overdue books that Lucy had given me. In addition to scraping mysterious blobs out of returned books, I was also responsible for contacting the people on the overdue book list and asking for the books’ swift return. Lila Rose Fontaine had a book that was several days overdue.

“I think it’s time the Sinful Library got serious about collecting overdue fines,” I said, smiling.

*  *  *  *  *

Conning Lucy into allowing me to make home visits on behalf of the library had been easy. I had a feeling she was spooked to be working so close to me anyway, given my proximity to many of the murders that had plagued Sinful since my arrival. In fact, not only could I contact those with overdue books, but Lucy had shoved a Sinful residential map in my hands with instructions to recruit new patrons as well as accept donations of books.

“And take your friends with you,” she had said, pointing to Gertie and Ida Belle.

Our first priority was to talk to all those who had either been to the library yesterday or who might have a grudge against Waddell. We each took five names and headed out.

My first stop was the home of CJ Banks, the author of
Murder in Pancake Junction
. Not only had Mr. Banks been in the library yesterday, most likely at the same time as Waddell, but he was also on the overdue book list. Though Lila Rose would probably yield the most promising leads about Waddell’s enemies, Carter could smell my involvement a mile away if he found out I went to her house first. I had to make it look natural and talk to the first person on the list Lucy gave me.

And that would be you, Pancake Boy.
A heavy, iron letter “B” hung from his apartment door on a leather rope, serving as a knocker.

I had meant for my visit to be short, but Mr. Banks had other ideas, inviting me in for coffee and apple fritters while he hunted down the overdue book. Halfway through my fritter he came back into the living room.

“Success!” he said, waiving the book in the air. “Unfortunately, I spilled coffee on it last night.”

He handed the book to me. Half of the cover of the book was stained. A good portion of the pages were dry, but bloated from having been wet.

“Obviously I can’t return it in this condition, can I? Tell me how much the replacement fee is, and I’ll pay it,” he said, taking the book from my hands.

I glanced at my overdue list. “twenty-three total.”

He shrugged and took his wallet from his back pocket, handing me five twenties. “Luckily my own books are doing quite well. Why don’t you use the rest to stock the librarians’ lounge?”

“That’s awfully generous.”

He shrugged again. “Well, serves me right for not turning the book in when I first stepped inside the library yesterday. But then the whole tragedy occurred with Waddell and we were all told to leave the building.” He shook his head. “I heard he died.”

I nodded. “Did you know him?”

“Of course I did. Sinful’s a small town, Miss Morrow, and it’d be hard not to know Waddell. He’s done odd jobs for most everybody, me included.”

I shook my head. “I can’t imagine who could do such a thing.” Took a sip of my coffee. “Can you?”

“You want the short-story version or the full novel?”

I put my coffee on the side table. “He had enemies?”

“Number one,” CJ said, holding up the index finger of his left hand, “he couldn’t stay away from women with wedding rings on their fingers. At least, that’s what he was bragging about last week after I hired him to paint my fence. Number two,” he said adding another finger, “Waddell’s odd jobs encompassed anything anybody wanted. He mentioned to me that he was branching out, acting as a courier. He didn’t go into details, but if he was delivering something illegal for the wrong person…”

CJ held up a third finger. “And, number three, Waddell was a gambler. Although, from what I heard, his aunt bailed him out most of those times.”

“His aunt? Lila Rose Fontaine? The author?”

He nodded. “And quite an accomplished one. I should be so lucky to achieve her level of success.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Though I’ve heard she’s become a little… eccentric.”

It had taken me six weeks of living in Sinful to realize that the word, “eccentric” was polite speak for “crazy.”

“Who knows,” CJ said in his normal speaking level, “maybe Lila Rose wised up and decided it was time for him to pay his own debts.” He shook his head. “Deputy LeBlanc sure has one mess on his hands with this one.”

The next name on my overdue list, Florine Cormier, didn’t have much to say about Waddell except that her cats didn’t like him. All twenty of them. I collected the three dollars and fifty cents in fines for the ten days her book was overdue. Oddly enough, it was a book about a detective and his basset hound.

I finally came to the third, and what I considered the most important name on my list, Lila Rose Fontaine, Waddell’s aunt. Maybe she could narrow down some of the numerous leads that CJ Banks provided.

Carter was leaving Lila Rose’s house as I got out of my Jeep. He shook his head, one side of his mouth turning upward. He was expecting me.

“Carter,” I said as I approached him coming down the woman’s walkway. Lord help me I wanted to kiss him.

“So this is the way it’s going to be now?” he asked, folding his arms. “You’re not even going to hide your interference in my investigation?”

I held up the overdue list from the library. “Official library business.”

He took the list from me and scanned it.

“As you can tell from the check marks, I’ve already visited two scofflaws already. Lila Rose is third on the list.”

“The library is now sending a librarian to collect the fines? Whose idea was that?”

“All Lucy’s.”

“With a little assist from you?”

“Hey, someone has to get tough with overdue offenders. Oh, by the way, check out number five. You owe us thirty-five cents. I hope
Ten Steps to Better Fly Fishing
was worth it.”

“I’ll drop it by the library later.”

He handed back the list.

I nodded toward the house. “How’s Mrs. Fontaine holding up since her nephew’s death?”

“She’s shocked, of course, but they weren’t really that close. She used him for odd jobs like everyone else. But you’re not going to ask her anything about Waddell, are you? You’re going to ask for the overdue book and fine and move on to the next name, right?”

I shook my head. “I’m not going to ask about Waddell.”
Because a good operative doesn’t have to ask. All I need to do is get her talking.

We stood awkwardly, him shifting on his feet, me folding the overdue list once, twice, three times, then unfolding, then refolding.

“I guess I’d better go,” I said. “You take care.” How I hated saying that.
You take care
was something you said to someone you didn’t intend to see for a while.

“You too.”

He walked to his truck and I walked to Lila Rose’s front door. I didn’t look back to see if he tossed me a glance before he took off. This constant saying goodbye really sucked. But I couldn’t dwell on whether staying in Sinful was the correct decision. Right now I had a job to do. Setting aside my feelings about Carter was easier once I slipped into operative mode. Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, it worked for me.

I was hoping Lila Rose would answer my knock. Instead, it was her daughter, Janice. Late twenties, she had a harried look about her. Of course, she’d just been questioned by Carter, so that could explain some of it. Hopefully her mother would be in a position to talk. After exchanging pleasantries, I explained who I was and asked if her mother was available.

“Is this about my cousin, Waddell? My mother already spoke with Deputy LeBlanc about him.”

“Actually,” I said, “I’m sorry about the timing and all, but…” I shook my head. “I knew this was a bad idea, but Lucy insisted.” I wrinkled my nose. “I’m here to pick up an overdue book.”

Janice shook her head and sighed. “Mom’s always forgetting to tell me when a book needs returning.”

Just then a woman appeared behind Janice. “Did I hear you say you’re a librarian?”

“She’s here to pick up an overdue book, Mom. You go back to your writing. I’ll get it for her.”

“You do that, Janice. And she’ll wait with me.”

“Mom, you just took your medicine. Maybe you should rest.”

“Oh, it was just a pill to help me relax. Honestly, I’m not an invalid.”

Janice’s face betrayed her concern. She extended her arm firmly in front of her mother and placed her hand on the door jam. “Maybe I should bring the book in later today. It might take a while to find.”

Lila Rose dipped beneath Janice’s arm and stepped outside. “Good. That will give our guest and me time for a glass of sweet tea.”

Janice placed her hand on her mother’s shoulder. “Mother…”

Lila Rose removed Janice’s hand and gently nudged her daughter inside the house. “Go now.”

Janice forced a smile at me. “I shouldn’t be long.”