by C A Phipps
Scarlett coughed. “Pardon? I’m bossy?”
Her sisters looked at her as though she’d asked the craziest thing, and Scarlett flinched. Perhaps bossy and super organized fell into a similar pool? Her shoulders drooped. Today was turning out to be pretty horrible.
Always the peacemaker, Ruby couldn’t stay mad for long over anything or anyone. “Well, you’re the oldest,” she said soothingly. “And mostly you’re right about things because you paid closer attention to mom than we did.”
“Speak for yourself,” Violet called out to Ruby before pushing Scarlett out the back and into a chair. “You don’t look so good. Sorry if I’ve upset you.”
Scarlett took a deep breath. The bossy or not business would have to wait. “Sit down, both of you. I have something to tell you, and it’s not good.”
Violet slumped into a chair next to Scarlett. “Did we do something else wrong?” she asked warily.
“We weren’t really fighting.” Ruby insisted, kneeling in front of her, a frown marring her sweet face. “You know how we love to tease.”
Scarlett loved them so much and would like to have had a better outcome from her visit this afternoon. The sour taste of guilt over taking the letter disturbed her more than she could have imagined. Then there was the fact that her sisters had been discussing Ruby taking another job added a barb to the terrible news she had to tell them, despite the fact she’d been thinking the same thing.
“Whatever it is, say it fast. You know I hate waiting.”
It was true that Violet had little patience. “I was at the library,” Scarlett began.
“What? Why would you go there when Ms. Norris is so mean to you?” Ruby asked.
“I wondered where you went,” Violet said at the same time. “You never explained when you called, just that you’d been detained.”
“I went to ask Ms. Norris if Ruby could work there part-time,” Scarlett picked up a cloth that lay in front of her and wiped the area of the table she could reach.
Ruby shook her head. “Oh, Scarlett. I don’t know whether to kiss or kill you.”
“Please don’t say that!” Scarlett yelled.
Ruby reared back. “What’s wrong? You’re behaving very strangely. Did she refuse point blank?”
Scarlett dropped the cloth to take the smaller hands in hers. “The thing is, I really was detained—by the sheriff. I found Ms. Norris on the floor of her office. She’s dead.”
Ruby and Violet gasped.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Violet admitted. “It does make me feel bad for all the things I thought about her. And not just today.”
Ruby’s eyes filled with tears. “Poor Ms. Norris. I knew she wasn’t feeling great. I should have been kinder.”
“No one could have been nicer to her than you.” Scarlett squeezed her hands. “As it happens, she may not have been as ill as she looked.”
Violet pulled her chair closer. “You’re not making sense. How did she die if she wasn’t sick?”
“Sam and the sheriff don’t know what the cause of her death is. It may have been foul play,” Scarlett’s voice faded away.
“You can’t mean that she was murdered?” Ruby squealed.
“It’s a possibility. Nate asked me a lot of questions about who might not like her.”
Violet raised an eyebrow. “And you’re back already? I could imagine that taking all night.”
“Violet, that’s a terrible thing to joke about,” Scarlett scolded.
“Sorry, but I’ve been constantly surprised that having to contend with Ms. Norris, anyone entered the library at all.”
“It’s true that she wasn’t an easy person to like.” Ruby allowed, then suddenly looked horrified. “What about George?”
Confused, Scarlett shrugged. “Who do you mean? I don’t know anyone by that name.”
The look changed to one of disbelief. “Ms. Norris’s cat. He’s always at the library and will be all alone now and probably hungry. He’s a large tortoiseshell, and you can’t say you’ve never seen him.”
Scarlett nodded. “Of course. I did see him as I left, and I have to say that he didn’t look like he’d missed a meal his entire life. Also, he kind of led me to her.”
“He is very clever,” Ruby agreed. “Sometimes he’d hiss at a child who folded the pages in a book. It was adorable, and better yet, they didn’t do it again.”
Violet rolled her eyes. “I read somewhere that animals adopt their human’s personality traits, which is far more believable.”
“Well, he wasn’t exactly grumpy when I saw him.” Scarlett thought of the winks he gave her and the flick of his tail. “Maybe he was upset?”
Ruby huffed. “If his human died right in front of him, you can appreciate that it would be enough to upset anyone.”
“I’m sure it was just that Mable wouldn’t move, and he didn’t understand, because he was outside when I arrived.” Scarlett didn’t say that he might be looking for help. Not a lover of cats, unlike Ruby, she still couldn’t bear to think of any animal being homeless or mistreated. “Anyway, perhaps we should ring the animal shelter?”
“We can’t do that!” Ruby shook her head adamantly. “George isn’t a kitten, so he might not get another home. If Ms. Norris has no family, then we should at least see if anyone in town wants to take him.”
“How is that our job?” Violet countered. “And, who would we ask when pretty much everyone we know has a pet?”
“It’s not a job. It’s just the right thing to do,” Ruby insisted. “I’ll make up a flyer, and we can put posters on the wall of the bakery and also around town. You’ll see, someone will love to adopt him.”
Having such faith in human nature was another trait Ruby had been blessed with, making this mission one her sister would clearly relish. Unfortunately, the outcome, unless it suited the youngest Finch, might result in a pet they couldn’t afford and had no time to look after. “What do we do with George in the meantime?” Scarlett asked warily.
Ruby stood as if the decision was made. “I’ll go find him right now and bring him home.”
A line in the sand had to be drawn. “We can’t have a cat in the bakery,” Scarlett told her firmly.
“No, I meant that I’ll take him to our house,” Ruby explained. “I’ll leave him in the laundry, so he gets used to the house and doesn’t wander and get lost. On the way, I’ll also pick up some cat food.”
It sounded like Ruby had it all worked out, and Violet said what Scarlett was thinking. “Who exactly will look after him?”
“Me.”
Ruby’s sadness for Mable was replaced by the excitement of a child getting their first pet, and Scarlett didn’t have the heart to say no. She knew that her sister intended to keep her word, but since she often had her head in the clouds and sometimes forgot what she was supposed to be doing, the actual scenario was likely to be very different.
But, in the end, the happiness on her kid sister’s face was so appealing that Scarlett folded like a deck chair, along with the bemused Violet, whose look said, ‘This is your problem now.’
“If you promise to clean up after him, feed him, and look for another home fast, then I suppose we could let him stay a few days.”
With their mom sick for so long, they’d been unable to have pets. Ruby had always longed for a cat. Scarlett had imagined her one day with a cute kitten—not the monstrosity from the library.
Ruby hugged her as if she had been given an incredible gift, and Scarlett reveled in it. It was a good feeling to be held after what she’d witnessed—and done.
“We need to close-up first,” Violet reminded Ruby. “Plus, you’re supposed to be looking after the Lester children.”
Almost at the door, Ruby slid to a halt. “Oh, darn, I forgot. Will you get him, Scarlett? Please. He’ll be wondering where Ms. Norris is, and probably getting far more upset when he realizes she’s not there.”
About to say the cat would have to wait, Scarlett slipped on her apron
and was tying it when she felt the slight bulge in her pocket. The note! Touching the paper brought the guilt back ten-fold. At this rate, she’d soon be a nervous wreck. Carrying on, as usual, wasn’t going to work.
“Actually, once we close, I need to talk to you both about something else.”
Her sisters edged closer.
“No way are we waiting. Tell us now.” Violet crossed her arms.
Ruby clasped her hands in front of her. “You’re scaring me. I haven’t seen that look on your face in months.”
“What look?”
“The one that says—this news is worse than the last, so brace yourselves.”
Scarlett immediately knew what Ruby meant. It seemed that the last year was filled with moments like that. When their mom passed away, and the reality of it set in, she’d assumed that those moments were behind them. Until now. She took a shaky breath and pulled the note from her pocket.
“When I was at the library, I found this and took it. I shouldn’t have, and now I don’t know what to do about it.”
Violet snatched the paper from her hand, carefully unfolding it she placed it face up on the worn table. It was also Scarlett’s first chance to read it properly. Their heads touched as they bent over the words.
Dear Mayor Tully
I am writing today as a matter of urgency.
You will appreciate that Ruby Finch is a long-standing library member. Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that she has been lending our books to non-library members. This is deplorable and against the rules. The books have been found around town in a terrible condition.
She has also been feeding my cat and encouraging him to follow her. I suspect she intends to steal him from me.
Therefore, I have decided to ban her from the library as of today and expect the committee to back me in this decision one hundred percent.
Ms. M. Nor
The beginnings of a signature tailed off.
“Exactly where did you find this?” Violet demanded, waving the letter at her.
“On her desk,” Scarlett ashamedly admitted.
Ruby gasped. “You took this from the crime scene? You can’t do that!”
Her excuse when it came was particularly lame. “We don’t know for sure that a crime was committed.”
“Sure, we do.” Violet thrust the paper back into her hand.
Scarlett and Ruby stared at her waiting for more.
Violet shrugged. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have taken it.”
Scarlett sat back down. “Do you honestly think I could kill someone?”
“Don’t be silly.”
Ruby was so pale, Scarlett became afraid she would pass out.
Violet shook her head, looking exasperated. “Nothing could convince me of that, but you did it to protect Ruby. Am I right?”
Scarlett nodded. “I just thought it might cloud things. Actually, I didn’t think at all. I’m sorry. I should have known better.”
“Scarlett, you have to call the police right now and tell them about this before you get into all kinds of trouble,” Ruby insisted.
Violet nodded. “The kid’s right.”
Knowing and fixing it wasn’t so easy. Scarlett put her face in her hands. “I can’t actually believe I did it. I’ve never done anything remotely this stupid, and now I’m worried in case this incriminates you, Ruby.”
Ruby’s arms snaked around Scarlett’s neck. “Then we’ll deal with it. I know I did nothing wrong. Read the letter, it’s easy to see that it was the ramblings of someone wanting to make another person miserable for whatever reason she concocted. Ms. Norris knew that banning me from the library would do just that. As for stealing or coercing George away, that’s rubbish. We adore each other, but that’s all there is to it.”
Scarlett wiped the corner of her eye. She was the oldest and was supposedly the more level-headed. Here she stood being consoled by her sisters and as lovely as it was—it felt like all kinds of wrong.
“I’m sorry, Ruby. I just wanted you to be happy and have a job you could love as much as I love mine. When I saw the note, I panicked.”
“I’m sure it gave you a fright, but Mom always told us that we can’t get what we want at any cost. Working at the library might have been wonderful, or it could have been horrendous. Since Ms. Norris didn’t like me, I wasn’t holding out any hopes for it.”
Violet nodded. “She didn’t like anyone, and was probably threatened by your cleverness.”
“Do you think so?” Ruby looked doubtful.
“Absolutely. You might have wanted to make changes, and that would be unforgivable in Mable’s eyes.”
Ruby relaxed for a moment, then turned to Scarlett. “Make the call.”
How had her kid sister become the most sensible? She knew she should mention the wrapper, but maybe it wouldn’t come up again if Mable did die of natural causes. Why would it?
They sat close while Scarlett called the station.
“Officer Adams, please.”
Chapter Six
“You did what?”
Nate stared across the table at Scarlett. At his horror, Ruby and Violet, sitting, one on either side of her, gave a knowing look.
Scarlett wiped at some imaginary crumbs. “My only defense is that I wasn’t in my right mind.”
“Obviously.” Nate’s annoyance came through loud and clear. “You do realize that you could be in serious trouble?”
“I understand. It was a stupid thing to do. I was just so worried about Ruby if the letter was found and she really was banned. In hindsight, pretty much as soon as I’d done it, I appreciated what a mistake I’d made.”
Nate didn’t argue on that score, and Scarlett, who didn’t like to be thought of as stupid by anyone—accepted his disapproval, because she deserved every bit of it.
“Can I see the letter?”
She pulled it from her apron pocket, where she’d placed it for safe-keeping while they cleaned and closed the shop, waiting for Nate to come by.
Nate looked down at the paper and sighed. “I’m assuming that you’ve all touched this?”
Scarlett flushed, and Violet nodded.
“I didn’t,” Ruby said with a little superiority.
He shook his head, picked up the letter by his fingertips, and read, his face impassive.
“You found it on the floor beside Ms. Norris?”
“On her desk. She must have been in the middle of signing it.” Scarlett pointed to the last few letters.
He nodded. “It does slope quite dramatically there. We talked about Ms. Norris not liking you, but it appears Ruby was not on her friend list either.”
Scarlett bristled. “Which wasn’t due to anything Ruby would have done. She spent every spare moment there, helping the children of this town while trying to stay away from Ms. Norris. The woman ruled the library with an iron hand and watched over Ruby like a hawk, so this couldn’t always be avoided. There were occasions that she would deny Ruby books, saying they were requested by someone else.”
“It could have been true,” he noted, scratching away at a notepad.
Mirroring Violet, Scarlett adopted crossed arms. “If Ruby didn’t think so, then I’d rather believe my sister. She never lies.”
“No one can know for sure unless it was documented.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Sticking up for your sister is noble, but in this case, you crossed a line. A line that, with your intelligence, should have been obvious.”
She looked down in shame.
He switched his attention to Ruby. The hem of her apron got several punishing twists, her wide-eyed look reminding Scarlett of a deer caught in headlights.
“What’s this about you lending books unofficially?” Nate’s official growly voice should make them fearful, but since he had such a kind face, it didn’t work as well as he might have hoped.
Under the table, Ruby scuffed one foot against the other. “Ms. Norris wouldn’t let some of the local children borrow books for all kinds of
reasons. So I would take them out under my name then let the children take them home.”
Nate’s expression softened then hardened in a second. “What reasons could she have to stop them from taking the books out themselves?”
“She said that they wouldn’t take care of them. Maybe they’d lost one in the past, but in my opinion, she simply didn’t like particular children.”
“Such as?” Nate pressed Ruby.
“Poor children, and ones whose parents she didn’t like.”
“What did you do about that?”
“Their parents and I took it to the town committee and asked them to rescind the exclusions. It was a split vote, Aunt Olivia told us, so they decided that the librarian should have the final say in the matter.”
“How did you feel when you heard the news?”
“Sad and angry,” Ruby’s voice rose along with her outrage. “It was wrong, and I don’t understand how this could happen in our town. All children, despite their family life or how grubby they might be, should be allowed and encouraged to read as much as possible.”
Violet nodded and rubbed Ruby’s back soothingly. Scarlett couldn’t help a small smile at the touching display between her sisters. Even Nate’s mouth threatened to break out from its grim line.
“As admirable as that is, why would you risk being banned if you love books so much?” he asked.
“I couldn’t face myself in the mornings if I didn’t at least try. How can children learn or flourish into knowledgeable adults without books? Right now, I read to them or help them to read as a group. When you see how hungry kids are to find things out for themselves—well, there simply was no choice. I would do it again, and if I could afford it, I would start my own library just for them.”
Ruby’s passion lit her pretty face, and the flush to her cheeks enhanced the whole sweet package that was their baby sister.
“What will happen now?” Scarlett asked.
“I’ll add the letter to the evidence, but we’ll wait and see what Ms. Norris died of.” Nate sighed as he placed the paper into one of his plastic bags.
“Before you tell everyone what I did?” Although she was terribly ashamed, the thought that the whole town might become aware of it was horrifying. It could have a long-lasting detrimental effect on the business she’d been trying to protect for what felt like forever.