Trouble on the Books

by Essie Lang

  “Something like that,” Shelby agreed. “Of course, I’ve been busy helping my aunt and getting up to speed with the bookstores. How long have you been with the newspaper?”

  Shelby was leery about talking to the press and hoped she could put off any questions by asking her own first. Of course, maybe Rose was just being friendly. She was probably one of Edie’s friends, judging by her appearance. She was approximately the same age, but although she dressed casually, there was none of the flair that surrounded Edie. Her long salt-and-pepper hair was held back by a sensible black barrette. Her blue eyes were inquisitive, which wasn’t a surprise, given her profession, and her eyebrows added to the look with their high arch, like she was constantly questioning things. A good thing to remember.

  “I was born into it, you know. My grandfather started it, and my dad took it over. Eventually, I fell into running it and doing almost every other job there. Typical Alexandria Bay. You don’t mind if I join you, do you?”

  Shelby nodded, though she was still apprehensive.

  After they’d placed their orders, Rose leaned back in her chair and asked, “How are you liking it here?’

  “I’m enjoying the village. Everyone seems friendly, Bayside Books is doing well, and I love working over at the castle. It’s such an amazing place.”

  Rose chuckled. “It certainly is. I’m glad the village was able to get things going with the owner and have this added tourist attraction. It’s not necessarily the best place to be right now, though, is it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know, with the murder in the grotto. Shades of Joseph Cabana and all the illegal stuff happening in those days.” She smiled. “I’ve been talking to Cody Tucker, and he’s been doing a lot of research. I’m quite impressed. But I hear you’ve been asking around about it yourself.”

  Uh-oh. Word does travel in a small town. Or maybe there are no secrets. But that’s not true. Loreena had her secrets. She must have.

  That all ran through Shelby’s mind in an instant. This was what she’d been afraid of. There went her privacy. Shelby shrugged, which she hoped showed she wasn’t really concerned. “It just sounded like symmetry, although I know it’s not true. Cody does tend to get caught up in things. You know teenagers and crime stories.”

  Their food arrived, and Shelby gratefully tucked into her grilled cheese sandwich. She’d been wondering how the slices of green apple listed in the menu description would work in the dish and decided they were a tasty addition. She was pleased that Rose also seemed engrossed in her meal and was reluctant to ask more questions at that point.

  When she’d finished her coffee, Shelby looked at her watch. “I can’t believe it’s so late. You’ll have to excuse me. I’m headed for the board meeting at the Heritage Society.” She stood quickly, grabbing her purse and her check at the same time. “It’s been nice talking with you.”

  Rose smiled, a little too knowingly. “It has been. We’ll talk again, I’m sure.”

  Shelby nodded and walked stiffly to the cashier to pay, leaving without glancing back at the table. The encounter had left her unsettled. She had nothing to say to the press and certainly nothing she wanted printed in the paper. But if Rose knew about her interest in smuggling, might the news reach the wrong ears? Had Matthew been right to warn her off asking more questions? Should she have a talk with Cody and ask him to do the same? She tried to put the thought out of her mind as she rushed down the street to the Heritage Society building.

  Shelby made it to the board meeting with only a few minutes to spare. She had to walk the length of the room to take a seat at the far end of the dark oak table. So much for anonymity. She felt like all eyes were on her, but she tried not to meet any eyes until she sat down. Then she looked around the room. It appeared to double as a storage area, with file cabinets and bankers’ boxes stashed along one wall. The table itself looked to be as old as the building, sporting gouges in the wood and discoloration from many spills and hot cups placed directly on it. The chairs were obviously where the budget had been concentrated. There were eight of them, the swivel kind with wheels, fully padded with navy nylon coverings. Shelby was not fond of meetings but knew the added value of a comfortable chair.

  She was surprised to see Rose Denison take the chair across from her.

  “I didn’t realize you were on the board,” Shelby said, hoping she didn’t sound impertinent. She refrained from asking why Rose hadn’t mentioned it at lunch.

  Rose chuckled and leaned across the table. “I’m not on it. I’m working. These usually aren’t the most scintillating meetings, but I do try to report on what happens in the Bay.” She nodded at the woman who sat down to her left and said to Shelby, “If you haven’t yet met Pat Drucker, she’s our chief librarian and a font of information, particularly if there’s a certain time period you’re interested in researching, say Prohibition.”

  Shelby inwardly cringed. She’d probably hear a lot of references to this in the future. She smiled at Pat. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “And you. I’ve seen you around town but not had the pleasure before. This committee likes to talk a lot, but I’m sure you’ll find it the ideal way to get caught up on what’s going on both at the castle and in town. We’ve missed having Edie’s input. How is she doing?”

  “She’s on the mend and anxious to get back into the store.”

  “Well, please give her my best wishes.”

  “I will.” Shelby nodded and watched while Pat got up again and went over to talk to one of the men. She was wearing a long-sleeved multicolored tunic with black leggings, which gave her a decidedly un-librarian look. She must be a hit with the younger kids.

  Of the remaining five people around the table, everyone seemed paired off except for an older man she’d passed on her way in, sitting at the end of the table, with a gavel in front of him. Obviously, the chairperson. She smiled when he looked at her, but it wasn’t returned. Now she really felt uncomfortable, until the woman on her left introduced herself.

  “I’m Felicity Foxworth. And you must be Shelby Cox, am I right?”

  Shelby nodded. “I am, and I’m also surprised. How do you know my name?”

  Felicity chuckled. Her black hair showed no signs of gray, though she had to have been at least in her fifties. It looked like she’d just walked out of the salon. In fact, Shelby was sure she could smell the hair spray. Her features were delicate, made even more obvious by her large oval red-framed glasses. She had a multicolored silk scarf draped under the collar of her white cotton blouse. Very polished, Shelby thought.

  “Alex Bay is small, remember?” Felicity stated, not expecting an answer. “I’m so glad you’re finally able to come and meet us all. Especially while Edie’s laid up. How do you like having the store in the castle?”

  “It’s the perfect location. I’m really enjoying it.” Shelby didn’t get a chance to expound, as the sound of the gavel hitting the table captured everyone’s attention.

  “I’m calling this meeting to order. Did everyone get the email with the minutes and the agenda? Good,” the man continued without even looking around the table. “Let’s get all this fidgety stuff right out of the way. Anyone move for the agenda to be passed?”

  Someone did, a young woman Shelby had never seen, at least not in her store. Hands rose around the table as everyone agreed. The same with the minutes. Then, as the chairperson was checking the agenda, Felicity put up her hand and cleared her throat. All eyes turned to her.

  “I’d like to make mention of and welcome our guest today.” She pointed, unnecessarily, to her right. “Shelby Cox is her Aunt Edie’s business partner at Bayside Books and, as such, is filling in for her on the board.”

  She started clapping, and the others joined in for a few brief but unenthusiastic moments.

  Shelby felt her face flame up and was glad when the attention shifted back to the chair. “Uh, yes. Welcome, Miss Cox. I’m Andrew Truelove, chairperson. I guess we’ll go aroun
d the table. Everyone, say your name, please.”

  Even though there were only six names, Shelby knew she’d never remember them all. She was good with faces, bad with names. That might be part of the reason she had trouble making friends, she suddenly realized. Everyone wanted to be considered important enough to have their name remembered. Her musings were cut short as Duncan Caine, the man sitting to Felicity’s left, interrupted the chairperson.

  “I’d like to cut right to the chase. This is our first meeting since the tragic demise of Loreena. I’d first like us to take a moment of silence in her memory.” He bowed his head, displaying a large shiny bald spot unsuccessfully covered by strands of limp, light-brown hair. He looked visibly shaken and had even removed his glasses to wipe his eyes.

  Everyone followed his lead, and Shelby took advantage of the time to take a closer look around the table. Felicity hadn’t closed her eyes either, but the others looked respectful, even a bit distressed. Shelby wondered what she’d been hoping to see and managed to close her eyes just in time to open then again.

  The rest of the meeting seemed to drag on. There wasn’t much on the agenda of interest to Shelby, although she supposed she should be keener to know the ins and outs of her hometown. And there didn’t seem to be anything that directly concerned Bayside Books, either. When they came to a report on the volunteers, a woman whom Shelby recognized from the castle, though she didn’t know her name, read a statement from Chrissie Halstead, who’d sent her regrets.

  “So, in summary, everything seems to be going quite nicely at Blye Castle.” Then she turned to Shelby. “Ms. Cox, would you have anything to add to that?”

  Shelby was momentarily thrown off guard. She hadn’t planned to say anything other than hello and hadn’t thought to ask Edie if there was anything she’d wanted brought up. Shelby certainly didn’t feel she knew enough about the volunteers and the running of the castle to chime in on that. But all eyes were on her, so she felt she had to oblige.

  “As I said earlier to Felicity, I feel that everything’s going really well at the bookstore and the castle in general. The volunteers seem well trained and keep everything in order, and the grounds are so well cared for, it’s really a pleasure to go over each day.” Might as well put in a plug for Matthew while she was at it. By the look on the volunteer’s face, she seemed to have said the right thing. That was a relief.

  “Thank you for that, Miss Cox,” Truelove said, his voice and face emotionless.

  It made Shelby want to shake things up a bit. “I’d also like to add that, although I barely knew Loreena Swan, it was such a tragedy, losing her like that. My condolences to you all.”

  Felicity sniffed, and Shelby hoped she wouldn’t burst into tears. Truelove nodded while clearing his throat. “I hope the police resolve it soon.”

  Caine’s head shot up from the paper he’d been so interested in just a few seconds before. “I think they already have their man, which means we will need to look for a new caretaker soon.”

  “That’s not true,” Shelby answered, seeing as all the others looked like they’d been thunderstruck. “Matthew Kessler was questioned, just as we all were. He hasn’t been charged or anything.”

  “As yet.”

  “Nor will he be,” Shelby continued a bit more forcefully, “because he’s innocent.”

  “Oh, now you’re an expert in police investigations?” Caine threw back.

  That stung. Shelby hadn’t expected the question nor the caustic tone of voice. Before she could think of anything to say, Felicity came to her rescue.

  “That’s very rude of you, Duncan. Shelby is our guest, and she and Edie have done us the honor of opening their bookstore in our castle. As you know, that brings us much-needed funds, besides being a wonderful addition for the tourists.” She sat straight up and turned her glare at Caine.

  He opened his mouth, then quickly closed it. To Shelby, it looked like he might have been kicked under the table. Interesting.

  Truelove quickly took back control of the meeting, and when no one raised any further business, he adjourned them.

  Felicity took hold of Shelby’s arm as they stood. “We usually go next door to Jody’s Tea Room for something to drink after the meeting. We used to have it here, but no one wanted to be in charge of making tea and coffee and cleaning up, and we couldn’t ask our executive director to do something so menial. Won’t you join us?”

  Shelby glanced at Duncan, and Felicity noticed. “Oh, don’t let him get to you. He’s been really out of sorts these past couple of weeks. Besides, he doesn’t often go out with us after.”

  Shelby thanked her, but she was desperate to escape them all. She’d never liked meetings when she’d been working for the publishing house, and apparently, that hadn’t changed. She wondered how soon Edie would be able to get back to attending. Felicity gave Shelby a quick hug, then straightened a lightweight pink-and-mauve pashmina she’d pulled around her shoulders.

  “If you have any questions about us, anytime, please feel free to get in touch with me.” She left quickly, trying to catch up to the others, before Shelby could ask any more questions.

  Of course, Shelby admitted to herself, she didn’t have any real reason to suspect a board member of the murder. But she also didn’t have any reason not to.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  After a quick supper of cold chicken and a green salad, she checked a map, grabbed her book, and walked over to Trudy’s.

  Shelby was as curious about Trudy’s house as she was about the Bayside Book Babes Plus One, she realized as she climbed the wooden stairs to the two-story clapboard house with the inviting wraparound porch. She paused to admire the already colorful flower gardens, knowing that this was another interest Trudy and Edie had in common. She was about to knock when she heard the laughter from inside. It sounded like this group knew how to have fun. Shelby took a deep breath, shoving aside the jitters she usually felt when meeting new people, and knocked.

  Trudy opened the door almost immediately and ushered her inside. They went into the living room, which opened to the right of the small foyer. It was a burst of color, from the yellow walls to the numerous bouquets of flowers in various spots around the room. And the people occupying most of the chairs seemed to be right in keeping with the setting.

  “Babes,” Trudy said with a smile at the one male in the room, “I’d like you to meet Shelby Cox, Edie’s niece and co-owner of Bayside Books.”

  Shelby smiled and responded with small waves to the six book club members. They sure seemed friendly. She began to relax as Trudy started the introductions.

  “Now, I know you won’t remember all the names tonight. I should have made name tags. Oh well, too late now. But the twins sitting on the love seat are Mimi and her sister, Dolly. I’ll dispense with last names to make it easier for you. To Dolly’s left is Juliette, wearing the awesome fascinator. Patricia was just telling us about her choice of new hair highlights, purple and green. And, last but not least, our Plus One, Leonard.”

  Leonard gave a slight bow of his head, but it was enough to dislodge the flap of dark hair that had been draped across his forehead.

  “We’re so happy to finally meet you,” Mimi said, her white curls not moving despite the bobbing of her head. “Aren’t we, Dolly?” She nudged her sister in the side.

  “Yes, yes we are.”

  Shelby felt overwhelmed by the introductions and hoped not much would be required of her other than listening to the discussion. She’d tried to get the book, the latest by mystery author Louise Penny, read in time but hadn’t been able to finish it. Although she’d normally have read it when it first came out—she was a big fan and always got the latest—she’d been doing less reading since moving to the Bay, she realized. That had to change, and soon.

  She wondered if she should own up right away or try to fake it. Before she could do anything, Trudy indicated a chair for her, between Juliette and Patricia, and Leonard leaped up to fetch her a glass of what
turned out to be fruit punch.

  She’d been so hoping for wine.

  Juliette tapped her on the arm and asked, “How are you liking Alex Bay? Are you having any problems settling in? Where are you living? With your aunt?”

  Shelby had just taken a sip of the punch and nodded, then answered, “It’s a very unique town and I love the bookstores. I’m actually renting a houseboat for now.”

  Patricia leaned across her, saying to anyone who’d listen, “I’ll bet Shelby is as enchanted with the castle as we all are. I’d love to work there.”

  “Why don’t you volunteer, then?” Dolly asked pleasantly.

  “Oh, I’m far too busy. Isn’t that right, Leonard?”

  He nodded. “Far too busy.”

  “But I do admire those who donate their time. Although, I don’t really think I’d want to be there now, what with the murder and all. How do you cope, Shelby? I’d think it would be eerie.”

  Shelby gave it a moment’s thought before answering. “I try not to think about it.” Not true. “The bookstore is a busy place, so it’s not hard to just go in and work, then go home. I guess most of you knew Loreena.”

  “Oh, my, yes we did,” Mimi said, fanning herself with her napkin. “Her family has been in the area for years, even longer than ours. It’s a real blow to such a tightly knit community when someone like that passes, and such a horrid death.” She leaned forward, a small glint in her eyes. “They say it was Joe Cabana’s ghost who caught up with her in the grotto.”

  “Oh, pooh-pooh, Mimi,” scoffed Dolly. “You’re the only one in this room who believes in ghosts, you know.”

  Mimi’s face fell. “No, I don’t know that, Dolly, and neither do you.”

  “Well,” Leonard jumped in, “I’d heard it had to do with smuggling.”

  Shelby’s ears perked up. “Where did you hear that?”

  “Um, I’m not sure. Somewhere in town. Maybe at the barbershop. Or the marina.”

  Juliette shook her head so hard her fascinator looked like it might go flying. “No, that’s nonsense, Leonard. I heard that she died at the hands of her secret lover, in a fit of jealousy.”