Overdue

by Elizabeth Spann Craig

  Since he’d moved in down the street, I’d always enjoyed my conversations with him. He was a reader and I saw him regularly in the library, although not as regularly as I’d have liked. He usually had kind eyes and a twinkling smile, but I saw neither of those right now.

  “Something wrong?” I asked, frowning in concern at him.

  Something was definitely wrong. His eyes were red and his nose was, too.

  He said, “I just spoke with the police chief thirty minutes ago.”

  My frown deepened. I knew Grayson had been dating my friend, but had he perhaps also been seeing Carmen? He certainly looked upset. “About Carmen King?”

  He nodded and took a deep breath. “You probably didn’t know. There was no reason for you to know and we didn’t have the same last name.”

  They were married? Divorced?

  “She’s my sister. Was my sister,” he said, in a grating voice.

  I blinked at him, likely looking like a complete dolt. He and Carmen hadn’t looked a thing alike, aside from both being good-looking. For a second, I was worried I’d said something aloud and I put a hand across my lips to keep any other inane utterances from finding their way out.

  Apparently I hadn’t spoken though because Grayson said, “You didn’t know. Like I said, there was no reason for you to—we didn’t look anything alike. Carmen looked more like Mom and I favored Dad.”

  Finally able to find my voice, I said, “I’m so sorry. You’re right—I had no idea.” I paused for a second and said, “But neither of you are from Whitby, is that right?” I was trying to figure out how two siblings ended up in the same small town with neither one of them being from around here.

  He nodded, gaze a little absent. “That’s right. I followed Carmen down here. I was in between jobs and hunting for another, and Carmen let me know about an opening on the paper here. I came down to find out more and ended up staying.” He gave a heavy sigh. “Burton gave me the scoop on what happened this morning and my first instinct was to go right over to the library and see the scene for myself. But Burton very gently reminded me that it was a crime scene and that everything was blocked off.”

  I said, “Yes, they’ve closed the library for the rest of the day while they investigate.”

  Grayson said, “This hasn’t become real to me yet so I’m trying to find out more. Burton said you were the one who found Carmen.”

  I took a deep breath. “I was. And I’m so sorry, again, that you’re going through this. I had no idea that Carmen was your sister. Even though she spent a good deal of time at the library, we never talked about personal things.”

  He gave a crooked smile. “That was Carmen, always business-minded.”

  I said, “Wilson, our director, asked me if I could give Carmen a hand bringing books out of the basement for the Friends of the Library book sale. There were quite a few books down there and the library was quiet at the time. When I got to the door leading to the basement, it was open and the light was on, so I figured that Carmen was already downstairs. When she didn’t answer me and I got a little closer, I found her.”

  Grayson asked quietly, “She was already dead?”

  I quickly answered, “She was. And I’m not a medical expert, but for what it’s worth, it must have been quick. There was no time for her to have suffered. Wilson asked me to help right after he’d spoken to Carmen and I stopped what I was doing to go directly there. What’s amazing is that there was time for anyone to have . . . well, to have done what they’d done,” I finished awkwardly.

  Grayson nodded. “Thank you for that. I was worried somehow she’d been lying at the bottom of the basement stairs for a while and had been hurting.” His voice cracked at the end.

  We stood quietly for a few seconds, Grayson trying to regain control of his emotions and me trying to figure out what I could possibly say. Finally, I realized that I hadn’t even invited him in, I’d been so shocked at finding out that Carmen and he were sister and brother.

  “Please, can you come inside?” I asked. “Sit down for a few minutes?”

  He hesitated and then nodded. “Thanks.”

  I leaned over to pick up Fitz, but Grayson beat me to it. “Hey, little guy,” he said gently as he moved the carrier inside. As soon as Grayson set down the carrier, he opened the latch and Fitz bounded out, bumping lovingly against him. Grayson stroked the cat and said, “Animals are amazing. I can actually feel my stress level decreasing as I’m petting him.”

  I smiled at him. “Fitz is becoming quite the comfort animal. I’ve never seen a cat that’s so good with so many age groups and types of people. Can I get you something to drink? Or to eat?”

  Grayson shook his head. “No, but thanks. My appetite has disappeared, for the time being, anyway.”

  “Maybe a water?” I asked. My great-aunt who raised me was always such a great hostess and I tried to live up to her legacy as much as I could.

  “Actually, that would be great,” he said. He took a seat on one of my cushy sofas, sinking into the surface as Fitz jumped up to join him.

  I came back a few seconds later with a couple of tall glasses of water. He took one and drained half of it in a couple of gulps.

  “Sorry.” He laughed. “I guess I didn’t realize how thirsty I was.” He paused. “Ann, do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  I shook my head. “I’m afraid not. I was an only child. I can’t imagine what you must be going through.”

  Grayson said thoughtfully, “It’s a funny thing with siblings. You can be amazingly different from your sister or your brother, even if you’re genetically very close. Carmen and I could fight like cats and dogs, although we also always had each other’s backs. I feel bad about the fighting now.”

  I thought back to Luna, feeling regret for her own squabble with Carmen. I said, “That’s pretty typical sibling behavior though, from what I’ve always heard. You shouldn’t worry about it.”

  Grayson sighed. “You’re right, although this one was more than just a tiff. It’s one of those things where I felt bad about it later. Most of the time when we argued, it was just because the two of us were so different and had different approaches to things. And Carmen always thought I was overprotective of her and gave me some push-back for that.” There was a faint smile on his lips at the memory.

  “Were you the older brother, then?” I asked.

  He chuckled. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But no, I was the baby brother. But still overprotective. This last argument, though, wasn’t because I was trying to boss her around.” He paused. “Sorry. I don’t really have anybody that I can talk to about this stuff. Carmen and I had older parents and, sadly, they’re both gone. I’d talk to my best friend about it, but my best friend is involved.”

  “I don’t mind,” I said quickly. “At the library, I’ve learned to be a good listener.”

  “I bet you have, considering how much time you spend with the public every day. It’s just that Carmen was dating my best friend,” said Grayson. He made a face. “Carmen’s relationships never went very well.”

  “Unlucky in love?” I asked lightly.

  “More than that. Tyrannical in love. It was always Carmen’s way or the highway. I tried to warn Elliot, but he was too besotted to listen to me. He figured I was just being overprotective. I was, but not overprotective of Carmen, but of Elliot. Carmen wasn’t the best person in the world to have a relationship with,” said Grayson.

  “You said ‘tyrannical.’ Was it that she wanted to spend a lot of time with her boyfriends?” I asked.

  “Completely the opposite, actually. The poor guy would end up mooning around over her and she’d lose interest. That’s when Carmen would find someone else to date,” said Grayson, eyes dark.

  “And she’d end the relationship to pursue another one?” I asked.

  “Not even. She’d cheat on the first guy with the second one.” Grayson’s voice was stiff.

  “So you think that she might have been seeing someone el
se at the same time she was seeing your friend?” I asked.

  “I’m sure of it. I saw the two of them together. Later that day, I stopped by her house and let Carmen have it. She was outside planting flowers around her mailbox and I’m sure the whole neighborhood must have heard me. But I was mad on Elliot’s behalf. He’s just this quiet, gentle guy who never realized what he was getting himself into.”

  I frowned. “Elliot. He wouldn’t be Elliot Parker, would he?”

  Grayson lifted his eyebrows. “You know him?”

  I said, “Not much, but I see him in the library quite a bit. He requests a good number of books and I’m the one who usually puts them in the reserved section with his name on them. He seems like a big reader.”

  Grayson nodded. “He’s a professor over at Whitby College. He’s not exactly the type of guy that I’d have pictured my sister with—he’s quiet and intellectual and isn’t crazy about going out to dinners or events. Usually, she chooses to go out with someone more extroverted. Plus, I sort of felt guilty about the fact I introduced them.”

  “You set them up?”

  “Nothing like that. I was just having lunch with Elliot downtown when Carmen came in. She makes quite an impression when she wants to, and she decided she wanted to make the effort with Elliot. I think he was blown away,” said Grayson, making a face.

  “But you regretted it later?” I asked quietly.

  “Exactly. My sister wasn’t exactly the most loyal of girlfriends. I don’t think I realized how much she strayed until I moved down here and saw for myself. I happened to notice she was making out with her handyman.” Grayson’s face reddened at the memory.

  I winced. “That must have been upsetting.”

  “Well, it was upsetting for me, but I don’t think it was upsetting for Carmen. She just rolled her eyes at me and told me to grow up. The guy she was with looked so confused, like he thought I was going to slug him or something. When he realized I was her brother, he still looked alarmed. I was pretty mad at the time.”

  “Where was this happening?” I asked.

  He sighed. “That’s the thing. It was outside the library. So not only was Carmen indiscreet, I wasn’t being discreet either. When I launched into a rant, there were all kinds of people around. Burton actually mentioned the fact that Carmen and I argued when he spoke to me.”

  My eyes opened wide. “That’s pretty quick intel even for a small town.”

  Grayson nodded. “Yeah. I’m just trying to get used to Whitby still.” He took a sip of his water. After a moment he said, “I just can’t seem to take it in. That someone could be angry enough at Carmen to do something like this to her. I mean, I know Carmen was difficult to deal with.” He gave a short laugh. “I found Carmen difficult to deal with. But most of the time, Carmen just did these petty little things. Nothing to make someone want to murder her. It’s crazy to even think about. Can you help me to try to make sense of this?”

  His voice was pleading. I hesitated, feeling awkward. But he was looking at me so beseechingly. “I don’t know, Grayson. Can you think if Carmen gave any clues lately to anything that might be bothering her? Was there anyone in particular she was having issues with? Anything like that?”

  Grayson thought about this. “Carmen’s relationships were always bumpy and most of the time it was Carmen’s fault. She didn’t really talk to me much about them. Although I did notice some tension between Carmen and her best friend recently. Carmen and I were out together and she quickly had us dodge into a shop to avoid her.”

  “Who was her friend?” I asked.

  “Mel Trumbull. She hangs around the library some, so you might know her.” He shook his head. “I have no idea what their tiff was about. But there was definitely something there. Mel has always been a great friend for Carmen—really loyal and kind. I have no idea what happened between them. But if I had to guess, it was something Carmen said or did.” Grayson sighed. “She didn’t mean it, but Carmen could be very abrasive.” He looked over at me. “Did you ever have any issues with her? I’d be surprised if you didn’t.”

  No. I’d never had any issues with Carmen because I always bit my tongue. She would make snide or cutting comments from time to time and I always pretended I didn’t hear them or that they didn’t bother me because I knew that it was important to my director that I got along with Carmen.

  I said to Grayson, “I might have seen a little abrasiveness from her, but I never had any problems with your sister. Plus, she did something really kind for me recently and stood up for me in a meeting with other board members. I appreciated that. Plus, she was a great supporter of the library. We’re really going to miss having her help there.”

  He nodded, looking pleased. “The library was always one of her pet projects. She loved reading and everything that the library represents—freedom of information, access to resources. She was just fortunate she was able to devote as much time and energy as she did to her volunteering and charity work.”

  I had to admit I’d always been a little curious about Carmen’s independence. She wasn’t employed, but never seemed short on funds, either. And she lived in a wonderful area of Whitby in a large, historic home. I just paused, hoping that Grayson would fill in the gaps without my having to ask.

  Fortunately, he did. “We were lucky enough that our grandparents and parents provided for us financially after they passed so that we never really had to worry about finding a financially lucrative job. But Carmen took things a step further when she married an investment banker right out of college. Unfortunately, he soon died in a car accident.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “He must have been very young.”

  Grayson shook his head with a wry smile. “Not as young as Carmen, no. She was his second wife. But again, she was left well-provided for. She was happy to leave New York and come down to Whitby.”

  “Why Whitby?” I asked. Then I shook my head. “Sorry. Just curious. We have such a small town that I’m always interested when folks find their way here.”

  Grayson said, “No worries. It was kind of an odd choice for someone like Carmen. We were actually familiar with the area because we’d come here to see our grandparents when we were kids every summer. It was the kind of place that represented peace and quiet and happy times to us. I guess that’s what attracted Carmen. Then, when I was looking for a change of pace, it attracted me, too. Plus, I was able to stay at Carmen’s house while I was looking for a place of my own. It just made everything easy.”

  I nodded and said hesitantly, “I get it. That’s immediately what I felt when I moved here when I was a kid. It felt like a real community . . . and safe. Very peaceful.”

  Grayson took a final sip of his water and walked it into my kitchen to put the glass in my dishwasher. He leaned over to give Fitz a final rub. “Thanks for the water and for talking to me about all this. I feel a little better. You know how the cops are—they can only tell you so much.”

  I nodded and said, “Again, I’m really sorry about everything. Feel free to come by and talk anytime.”

  He walked out and I locked the door behind him, leaning against it. Carmen had been a complicated person with apparently a lot of complex relationships. I didn’t envy Chief Edison at all as he tried to figure out what had happened to her.

  Fitz, sensing my tension, hopped on the sofa and rolled on his back, turning his head to look coyly at me. I chuckled and sat on the sofa next to him. He was the first cat I’d ever seen who didn’t mind a tummy rub. Most cats seemed to be inviting a tummy rub, but as soon as you tried one, they attacked your hand. Fitz loved tummy rubs. And, as Grayson had mentioned, my tension dropped away as I rubbed him.

  I glanced across the room at the book I was supposed to be reading. One of my film club regulars, Timothy, really wanted me to read his favorite book. Every time film club met, he asked me excitedly if I’d read it and each time I had to admit defeat. I hated doing that because Timothy was such a cool kid—he was high school
age and wanted to share his favorite book with me. Now I was determined to make some progress . . . except the book was James Joyce’s Ulysses. At close to seven hundred pages, I’d barely made a dent in it. And it wasn’t what I’d call a comfort read, not after the day that I’d had so far.

  So I pulled September back out of my work backpack. Fitz and I curled up with each other and I spent the rest of the day reading.

  Chapter Five

  The next morning, Wilson called me early.

  “The police are allowing us to open to the public,” he said, relief evident in his voice. “They must have gotten everything they needed yesterday. Although the basement will still be sealed off, of course.”

  “That’s good,” I said. “I’ll pack Fitz up and we’ll be right there.”

  “Yes, be sure to have Fitz back there. You’ll work on the advice column when you get in, then?”

  Wilson was clearly totally enamored with his idea. It made me smile.

  “I’ll be sure to make it a priority,” I promised. I knew what this assignment was going to mean—me doing plenty of research to ensure “Fitz” gave appropriate advice and included good references and resources for people who needed further help.

  Fitz walked right into his carrier again and we headed back to the library. Sure enough, the police tape had been removed and the police cars were gone. I unlocked the back door and stepped inside, carefully letting Fitz out. He purred and bumped against me and then went prancing off into the stacks.

  I walked around, turning on lights and straightening chairs. Because we’d left so abruptly, there were also books and magazines to shelve.

  I heard the door open and turned around to see Luna coming in. She was looking much more like her unflappable, laid-back self. Although instead of her usual brightly-mismatched clothing she was looking more subdued today, wearing an ensemble of all-black, including a pair of black, high-topped shoes that added a bit of spunk to an unusually-grim outfit.