by Ellery Adams
Nora pushed the phone away. She didn’t want to look at the marred bird for another second.
“If the devils are a product of that stupid article, then I’ll be getting one too.”
Nora remembered the day she’d come to work to find that someone had thrown a brick through her display window. The jagged hole in the glass had felt like a gut punch.
Though the damage had been repaired, it had been harder for Nora to let go of the feeling that she’d been violated. Miracle Books meant everything to Nora Pennington, and an attack on her bookstore was an attack against her. It had physically hurt to see the shattered window and ruined books. And it looked like it might be happening again.
“I’ll kill anyone who screws with my shop,” Nora growled.
Hester touched Nora’s hand. “It won’t come to that. Deputy Fuentes scheduled patrols to drive by your store all weekend. He’s in charge until McCabe comes back.”
“That’s a start,” Nora said, laying a piece of copier paper on the counter. She uncapped a black marker and began writing. A minute later, she showed Hester the finished product.
SMILE! YOU’RE ON CAMERA!
Hester frowned. “But you don’t have a security system.”
“No one else needs to know that,” Nora hissed.
Deputy Andrews entered the shop. When he paused to hold the door for the cookbook enthusiast who carried a bagful of books in each hand, Nora asked Hester why she was in her party dress when her boyfriend was in uniform.
Hester presented Nora with a leaf-shaped cookie. “I was hoping you’d be my date tonight.”
“As long as you’re open to threesomes, then yes.”
Andrews strode up to the counter. “Everything okay here? Any sign of mischief?”
“Everything’s fine,” Nora said, trying not to smile. With his boyish face and long, lean frame, it was easy to forget that Andrews was an officer of the law.
Nora spotted a teenage girl taking selfies near the bookmark spinner. Selfies were one thing. Selfies with dripping ice cream cones were another.
“Please take your ice cream outside,” Nora called out. The girl jumped in surprise. She then rolled her eyes in disgust and flounced out of the shop. Nora turned back to Andrews. “How’s Celeste?”
“Worried. Not about the devil mask. About her daughter.” Andrews lowered his voice. “Bren left the store at lunchtime and never came back. She hasn’t replied to calls or texts and Ms. Leopold thinks she could be in trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?” Nora asked.
“Ms. Leopold didn’t specify. All she’d say is that she moved here to get her daughter away from a bad influence. The thing is, Bren’s twenty. She’s an adult. With this festival crowd, those of us on duty are already stretched thin.” Andrews put a hand on Hester’s arm. “Text me if you see Bren tonight, okay? If nothing else, I can put a mama’s mind at ease.”
Nora looked at Hester. “Should we ask Celeste to join us?”
Andrews answered before Hester could. “That’s nice of you, but after she closes the shop, Celeste is staying in her apartment. She wants to try Bren on the phone again. We’ll keep an eye on the bookshop, so you and Hester should go have fun. That’s my official recommendation.”
Andrews smiled at Nora, gave Hester a quick kiss, and left.
When the last customer had gone, Hester helped Sheldon clean up the ticket agent’s booth while Nora shelved strays and straightened the table displays. She printed out the day’s totals, locked the cash in the stockroom safe, and turned off the lights.
“I’ll vacuum tomorrow,” she told her friends. “I hear a cheeseburger calling my name.”
The line for burgers was long, but the sound of live music and the jovial atmosphere made the wait easy to bear. June sent a text saying that she was in line for beer and that she’d trade a local brew for a fried green tomato burger if anyone was willing to buy her one.
Hester and Nora wanted iced cider, but Sheldon accepted her offer. Ten minutes later, they met June in the picnic area.
“It’s about time you showed up,” she said. “I practically had to lie down on this table to stop other people from sitting here.”
Sheldon made a big show of cleaning off the place in front of him, which earned him an elbow in the ribs from June. When he could breathe again, he examined his burger. “I’ve never had a spicy Tex-Mex double stack, but I feel like living dangerously tonight. What’d you get, Hester?”
“The black and blue. It’s so good.” Hester took a monster-sized bite and grinned.
Nora was too busy devouring her cheeseburger to talk. She only came up for air when Sheldon offered her some waffle fries. As she reached for the ketchup bottle on the end of the table, she noticed two figures sitting on a bench near the children’s playground.
“Hey,” Nora said. “Don’t look now, but Bren’s on the far side of the park. She’s sitting on a bench, talking to a guy. I can’t see his face. It’s just shadow.”
Sheldon, who was on Nora’s right, clicked his tongue. “Oh, Bren. Methinks that’s not a cigarette.”
Hester swiveled around to take a look. “Is it a joint?”
“Bren’s holding a roach clip, so survey says yes,” said Sheldon.
June sighed. “I wonder if Celeste knows.”
“She told Andrews that Bren might be in trouble,” Nora said. “So I guess she knows.”
As Hester took out her phone to report the sighting to her boyfriend, June’s forehead creased with worry. “Bren’s a young woman, on her own, sitting as far away from the crowd as she can get, smoking weed with a strange man. Can she really be that reckless?”
“Reckless enough to share her drugs. The man just took a hit,” said Nora. “I still can’t see his face, but he blew smoke back at Bren.”
Hester waved her phone in the air. “Jasper hasn’t replied to my text yet, so I think we should keep watching her.”
Sheldon arched a brow. “Why? Bren’s a grown woman. She’s not missing. She’s not in danger.” Looking at June, he softened his tone. “I sympathize with Celeste. Of course, I do. But is the right move to narc on Bren for smoking a joint? Is that who we are?”
“It’s not the joint,” Nora said. “You didn’t see her last Friday night. The way she dropped on the sidewalk—it was scary. She might need help.”
“She probably did something stupid that night, just like she’s doing something stupid now. We all make mistakes when we’re young,” said Sheldon. “That girl’s as cuddly as a cactus. She wears black, has a bunch of facial piercings, and is permanently ticked off. Maybe she doesn’t like it here. Maybe she doesn’t want to bake magic muffins. If we want to help, we should listen to Bren’s story. Who died and made us the hall monitors, anyway?”
Before anyone could reply, June pointed at someone in the crowd. “Estella and Jack are headed this way. Can I wave them over, Nora, or are you two still fake fighting?”
Nora didn’t hear the question because she was too distracted by what was happening across the park. Bren had grabbed hold of the man’s hand, and even from a distance, Nora could feel the desperation in the young woman’s grip.
The man shot to his feet, shaking off Bren’s hand in the process. The bottom of his right arm entered the streetlight’s sphere, and Nora caught a glimpse of sinewy muscle and a line of tattooed symbols marching from elbow to wrist. The man uncurled a Nosferatu-like finger and stabbed the air in front of Bren’s face. There was authority in the gesture. And quite possibly, menace.
Bren stiffened as if she’d been struck. Then, she reached out, clearly pleading with the man. Unmoved, he turned away and melted into the darkness behind the swing set.
“Be right back,” Nora told her friends.
She jogged over leaf-covered grass and mulch beds to where Bren sat, staring into the distance with the moist-eyed longing of a dog missing its owner.
Nora sat down at the far end of the bench and said, “Hey.”
Like
the flip of a switch, Bren’s face went blank. She shoved a hand into her black hoodie and came up with a fresh joint and a plastic lighter.
“A sheriff’s deputy stopped by Soothe this afternoon,” Nora said. “Your mom’s worried, so she asked him to keep an eye out for you. He knows you’re here.”
“Good for him.” Bren lit the joint.
“I saw you talking to that guy. You seemed upset, so I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Bren glared at her. “What’s your deal? I keep telling you to leave me alone.”
Nora saw the anger in the young woman’s eyes. She knew that behind the anger, there must be hurt.
“It can’t have been easy—moving here. Opening the shop,” Nora said gently. “You and your mom haven’t gotten the warmest welcome, either.”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass about the people in this town. I won’t be here long.” Bren blew a stream of smoke into the sky. “I’ll sell muffins and jewelry until I have what I need. After that, I’m gone. So focus your neighborly concern on my mom. I don’t need it, and I don’t want it.”
Gazing at the picnic area, Nora saw that Estella and Jack had joined her friends. Would Estella know how to handle Bren? Would any of them?
“What do you want?” Nora said.
Bren’s mouth curved into a small, secretive smile. “You’re like my mom—too old to understand. Too old to be daring. You pay your taxes and live your small, safe, polite lives. That’ll never be me. I found a shortcut, and I’m going to take it. So go back to your books, and your flannel nightie, and your cats. You’re killing my buzz.”
“Okay.” Nora stood up. “But just so you know, I don’t have cats. I live alone in a railroad car behind the bookshop. And if you ever need a friend, you can find me there. Day or night. Because you’re partially right about me. I used to live a safe, polite life. But it wasn’t a life. It was a lie.”
“So?” Bren blew smoke like a truculent dragon. “Did you just keep living it?”
“I set it on fire. And became someone else.” Holding out her scarred hand for Bren to see, Nora repeated what Celeste said the day her sculpture had been damaged. “Broken things are still beautiful.”
For just a second, Bren let her mask slip. And in that moment, Nora saw her for who she truly was. A lost and lonely young woman. What part did the man with the tattoos play in Bren’s life? Was he a lover? A father? Was he friend or foe?
“The railroad car behind the bookshop. Anytime.”
Bren stared straight ahead, so Nora walked away.
As she returned to the festival, she thought about how the right book at the right time could change a reader’s life. It could instill hope. Inspire courage. Elicit laughter. If anyone needed the companionship of books, it was Bren.
Nora didn’t head back to the picnic area. She simply moved with the crowd like a fish caught in a strong current, her mind totally focused on book titles.
“Jane Eyre, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Amber Smith’s The Way I Used to Be, Little Fires Everywhere,” she murmured.
She could leave the books on Bren’s doorstep. Maybe, just maybe, Bren would read one. Or all.
Someone grabbed Nora’s arm. “Were you just going to leave without telling anyone?”
Blinking, Nora came out of her trance.
“Are you okay?” Sheldon asked. “What happened with Wednesday Addams?”
“You were right. We need to hear her story. But we need to give her something first. Or I do. I need to give her some books. The right books.”
Taking Nora’s arm, Sheldon led her back to their friends.
Hester presented Nora with a baked apple. “This is from Estella. She and Jack decided to call it an early night.” She pointed across the park. “Bren left right after you did.”
Nora dug her spoon into the center of the apple, loading it with warm, sweet, cinnamon goodness. Then, she lowered the spoon. She wasn’t in the mood for a treat. Instead, she told her friends about her brief exchange with Bren.
“We’ll just have to keep trying until we get through to her,” said June.
Sheldon stroked his chin. “I have an idea. Why don’t you invite Bren for a midnight stroll? Maybe the cats will fall in love with her and leave us alone.”
“Oh, please. You’re crazy about those damned cats,” June scoffed. “I see you sneaking food to them when you think I’m not looking.”
Sheldon turned to Nora and whispered, “If you’re not going to eat that apple, can I take it home?”
June rolled her eyes. “You need to take yourself home. I should have cut you off after your second beer.”
“I’ll switch to water,” Sheldon promised. “I’m not ready to go home.”
None of them were. They sat at their picnic table and talked, listened to music, and did some people watching until their yawns became too contagious to ignore.
“The old farts are leaving,” June said, tugging Sheldon to his feet.
Sheldon looked like he was about to argue, but another yawn made that impossible.
After saying good night to the housemates, Nora and Hester decided to head home too. Together, they walked toward the bookshop.
“I parked in the lot behind your shop so I could look at your window again,” said Hester. “The night we finished working on it, I went home and wrote down a whole list of new flavor combos—things I’ve never dared to work with before but want to try. Hot peppers and wasabi. Black truffle salt and sumac. That window inspired me. It made me want to be bold.”
Too moved to speak, Nora squeezed Hester’s hand, and the two friends walked on in companionable silence.
Leaves drifted across the sidewalk and a harvest moon illuminated the quiet street. There was an edge to the night air, and Nora couldn’t wait to put on her pajamas and curl up on the sofa with a blanket and a book.
To her immense relief, all was well at Miracle Books. There were no devils in any form, so after gazing at the window for a few minutes, she and Hester headed to the parking lot.
“Jasper will swing by again before his shift ends,” Hester said as she got into her car. “Thanks for a great date.”
Nora watched her friend drive away before turning toward home.
Suddenly, the space above her pinkie knuckle began to tingle. Nora covered it with her other hand, hoping to stop the sensation but knowing that she’d fail. She didn’t want to feel phantom pins and needles in flesh that wasn’t there. Not only did it make her feel seasick, but she knew from experience that the tingle was an omen. And it was never a good one.
Nora took out her phone, and her thumb hovered over the emergency button. She moved slowly, glancing around as she climbed the metal stairs to her deck.
The bright moon cast a spotlight on her front door, and Nora saw a piece of paper poking out from under her welcome mat. Her uneasiness doubled as she bent down and yanked the paper free.
If it had been something she recognized—a book page, a newspaper clipping, a computer printout—Nora would have carried it inside her house. But it was unlike anything she’d ever seen before and she couldn’t stop looking at it.
The paper seemed old. It was much thicker than modern paper and had the yellow-tinged patina of incunabula. The page was covered in symbols written in black ink with a penpoint that bit deep into the paper. Nora wasn’t sure if she was looking at a language or some kind of code, but the peculiar symbols reminded her of a tattooed arm reaching out to Bren.
Nora didn’t understand why this page was under her mat or what its contents meant. Nor could she begin to comprehend the bizarre drawing in the middle of the symbols. It was a spiral. On either side of the spiral stood two robed figures. One held a bowl. The other, a snake.
The ghost tingle in Nora’s finger intensified.
Is someone watching me?
Moving to the edge of her deck, she scanned the slope behind her house and froze. She saw a shadowy shape lying on the grass. A mass of darkness that didn’t belong
there. It could be a dead fox or deer, but Nora knew that it wasn’t.
Panicking, she unlocked her door with shaky hands. Inside her house, she dropped the mysterious paper and grabbed a flashlight and a sheathed carving knife. She stuck the knife under the waistband of her jeans and took the stairs two at a time until she hit the ground, her phone in one hand and the flashlight in the other.
Fear raised gooseflesh on Nora’s arms and the back of her neck, and the grass soaked her shoes in cold dew. She was all alone, with her house behind her and the dark form in front of her.
“Who’s there?” she called, her voice sounding muffled and small.
She hadn’t expected an answer, so Nora steeled herself and aimed the flashlight beam at the lump.
The dead thing was not a deer.
Nora cried out in horror.
She’d looked into those eyes and watched expressions cross that moon-pale face earlier tonight. She’d heard words come from those blue lips. She’d made a list of books to give this young woman.
But it was too late now. Bren Leopold was beyond help.
Chapter 6
Life is short, and time is swift;
Roses fade, and shadows shift
—Ebenezer Elliott
Nora was scared. Out on that shadowy hill, she felt completely exposed.
Despite her fear, she wouldn’t leave Bren. She knew no one would blame her if she watched over the dead girl from the safety of her deck, but she couldn’t do it. Bren had been alone in the dark for too long already. She deserved a friend now, even though she was beyond caring about such things.
Sitting in the damp grass, Nora was keenly aware of the night’s stillness. The stars were frozen in the black sky. The woods beyond the railroad tracks were a silent fortress. There were no bird calls or animal cries. It was as if all of nature was paying its respects to the dead.
Nora wished a long freight train would come rumbling by. She’d welcome the familiar vibration and the clackety-clack of the wheels, but the track stayed empty and cold.
As the minutes passed, the feeling of solitude increased. And with it, Nora’s unease. She needed to focus her mind on something, so she looked at Bren.