Overdue

by Elizabeth Spann Craig

  I smiled. “Actually, I made a point of asking Timothy what he hadn’t watched and picking one of those. I thought it would be more fun for him that way.”

  “And Laura is a classic,” said George in an approving tone.

  Timothy beamed. “Can’t wait. I haven’t seen a lot of noir, so this should be fun.”

  George settled his burly frame into a chair and said, “Ann, how are you doing? I read about what happened in The Whitby Times. Were you here working that day?”

  I nodded as I fiddled with the laptop that was going to be streaming the film. “I was.” I remembered the party line that Wilson was having us all say whenever we were asked about the incident. “It was a real tragedy for her family and the library, too. Of course, we’ve doubled down making sure the library is secure in every way.” This meant Harold, our elderly security guard, had been yanked out of retirement to wander around the library every once and a while in uniform.

  George listened to my spiel with a smile and then winked at Timothy who grinned back at him. “That sounds like an official statement if ever I heard one.”

  I laughed and admitted, “It was one. I’m not straying from it, either.”

  “Understood. Now another question, but this one shouldn’t have a party line. How is your dating life going?”

  Ordinarily, this is the kind of question that would make me bristle. But I’d known George and Timothy for a long time and this was a pretty consistent line of questioning and meant with my well-being at heart.

  George continued, “You know I’m only asking because Timothy and I are living vicariously through you.” He glanced at Timothy. “Unless there’s a new girl on the scene I haven’t heard about yet in Timothy’s life.”

  Timothy blushed and shook his head with a shy smile. “Nope. Still just living vicariously through Ann.”

  I said, “As a matter of fact, I have a date of sorts tomorrow.”

  George laughed. “A date ‘of sorts’? What kind of date is that?”

  “It’s a real date, but it’s not one I set up for myself. And it’s with someone who’s only visiting in town for a few weeks,” I said.

  Timothy looked disappointed for me. “Doesn’t sound like this relationship has much of a future.”

  I thought about Kevin’s squeaky voice and his social awkwardness on the phone. “Indeed, it doesn’t.”

  George glanced out the window leading into the library and raised his eyebrows. “Luna’s mom is here.”

  Timothy said, “Good. Mona always makes really good points when we discuss the movies.”

  George grinned. “And she didn’t even bring her knitting along this time! That’s got to be a good sign.”

  I hid a smile. Apparently, the last film hadn’t really been to Mona’s liking. Maybe she knew it wasn’t going to be, and that’s why she’d brought what seemed to be a very large sweater along with her to work on while it went on. From time to time, she’d glanced up at the screen and given the movie a disapproving look.

  I knew Luna was worried about her mom, and money, and generally everything, so it was good to see Mona looking upbeat and cheerful as she entered the room (sans knitting). She no longer had her walker, although I know Luna would have preferred she continued using it, but sported a rather snazzy-looking red cane dotted with white flowers. She also seemed to have taken some real care over her appearance, wearing a green silk top and black slacks with strands of pearls and matching earrings.

  George and Timothy and I greeted her and so did the other film club members as they filed into the room behind her. Mona had a pleased smile on her face. Right now, she was basically the elder statesperson of the club and remembered seeing some of the films in the movie theater when they’d first come out. She could also sometimes provide social context as far as what was going on in the world at the time various movies came out. She was definitely a great fit for the club.

  When everyone had chatted for a while and gotten a container of popcorn, I started the film. One nice thing about this group was no one ever talked or checked their phones while the movie was playing. And this particular film, from 1944, seemed to suck everyone in.

  At the end, I started the discussion by asking everyone what they thought about Laura. Usually, at least a few of the members wouldn’t have enjoyed the film. But I was glad to see everybody seemed to have enjoyed this one and had great points for the discussion.

  George shook his head. “I can’t imagine that guy falling in love with a dead woman. Talk about a relationship destined to go nowhere.” He gave me a wink to indicate it was even worse than my doomed upcoming blind date.

  Timothy said thoughtfully, “Yeah, but he was finding out more about her as he talked to people who knew her. And the more he heard, the more she grew on him. It was sort of an organic process.”

  I asked, “Mona, what did you think?”

  She smiled. “I loved it, but I knew I would because I’d seen it before. I do remember hearing the movie was made during World War II and they mentioned an injury the detective had sustained in a previous case a couple of times. I’m guessing that’s because they had to explain to the audience why he wasn’t in the service.”

  George said, “Makes sense. Good idea to keep the audience on the detective’s side during the film.”

  The discussion wrapped up after another fifteen minutes and then most of the film club members spent the next few minutes catching up with each other. I spotted Luna walking by the room and give me a questioning look. She was clearly trying to look inconspicuous. I gave her a thumbs-up to indicate Mona was having fun.

  A few minutes later, everyone helped me out by folding up the chairs and stacking them. Then they filed out into the library where they’d eventually make for a busy few minutes at the circulation desk because they all were readers, as well as film buffs.

  I was sorry Linus hadn’t made it to film club, but I wasn’t surprised. It was tough for him to do anything different from his usual routine, which he followed very closely. He was also very introverted and although he might enjoy the films, he might not enjoy the camaraderie with the group as much. It was definitely something I wasn’t planning on pushing him on. I was surprised to even have seen him at the Muffins with the Mayor event. Perhaps the draw had been the pastries.

  Mona waited until everyone had left the room and said quietly to me, “Luna told me what happened this morning. I just hate that you had to go through that again. What on earth is going on? Do the police think the crimes are connected, or is Whitby suddenly this really dangerous place?”

  I could see worry etching lines into her face. “No, I don’t think the police think these deaths are random at all and I don’t think you should be worried about your safety. Chief Burton is working hard on it and I know he’s going to find out soon who’s responsible.”

  Mona was still fretting a little. “I feel so bad for Tanya, too, having to find Howard like that. She has always been such an overprotective person; she must hate that she had no way to keep this from happening. I remember one time I was taking a walk. These were in healthier days,” she added wryly. “Anyway, I remembered there was something I wanted to ask the mayor about. Just a minor thing about the town’s garbage collection services. Tanya answered the door and was such a gatekeeper. She told me Howard was busy doing other things and I needed to make an appointment at his office.”

  I made a face. “Ouch. She wouldn’t even let Howard speak for himself?”

  Mona laughed. “Of course, she was right. The mayor wouldn’t get anything done at all if people were dropping by his house and office all day. But it still stung. That’s just an example of how much she looked out for him. I can’t even imagine what she must be going through now. And she seems to be the same way with her mother, too.” She glanced up and spotted Luna peering in the window for just a second before spotting her mom and hurrying away.

  It was so comical that I had to really work hard to keep a smile from pulling at my lips. Mon
a gave me a rueful look and then started chuckling and then we were both laughing. “Speaking of overprotective,” said Mona, “I think Luna needs to chill out a little.”

  I said lightly, “Well, she’s just looking out for you.”

  “As long as she’s not looking out for me too much. There are things I’m interested in doing,” said Mona with a smile.

  I was glad to see she was being so outgoing. I remembered a time when Luna had to work hard to get Mona to even leave her house. I said, “You have some fun plans?”

  “They’d hopefully be fun. I’m wanting to date. Oh, you know, nothing serious. I was just thinking that it would be fun to have a companion to do things with. It doesn’t have to be the romance of the century or anything. But from time to time, it would be nice to head off to the movies or a restaurant with someone. I might even be up for a light stroll and a picnic as long as the walk wasn’t too steep.”

  “Do you have any prospects?” I asked, trying not to be pushy. But she had come to the library looking a lot more dressed-up than I usually saw her. “Or do you already have some dates planned?”

  “I don’t have anything planned, yet,” said Mona. She paused and added quickly, “What do you know about the older gentleman I always see here in the library?”

  “The older gentleman?” I asked. There were quite a few regulars. I was hoping she was talking about one of the other regulars and not Linus. Linus was such an introvert and seemed so dedicated to the memory of his late-wife that I wasn’t sure if he could be drawn-out at all. I hadn’t even been able to convince him to make it to film club. I couldn’t imagine him asking someone out on a date.

  “Yes, the one who’s here in a suit every day. He always seems to follow a particular routine where he starts with the newspapers and then moves on to books.” She flushed. “He’s a nice-looking older man.”

  She was definitely talking about Linus. I didn’t want to raise her hopes, but I definitely didn’t want to discourage her, either. Who knew? Maybe Linus would be receptive to having a friend to do things with. Who was I to stand in the way? I said cautiously, “I think you’re talking about Linus. He’s very nice.” I hesitated. “And he’s very quiet. For years, he never really said anything more than good morning to me.”

  Mona tilted her head to one side. “But he’s more outgoing now?”

  I said, “I wouldn’t call him outgoing, but he is speaking a little more, although he still follows his same schedule every day. He’s a real creature of habit. Luna was actually the one who was able to get him to open up a little.”

  Mona gave a fond smile. “Yes. Yes, she’s good at that. Sometimes she’s a bit pushy, but she loves to talk to people.”

  “Let me know how it goes,” I said, giving her a small hug.

  After I finished cleaning up after film club, I sat back down at the circulation desk and enjoyed the fact that the library had suddenly become very quiet. I took another look at the Ask Fitz questions.

  Dear Fitz,

  I don’t know what to do. Sometimes I can’t control my temper. I did something bad—real bad—to a woman I cared about. Now I’ve panicked and done something bad again. I’m feeling a little crazy and I don’t know what I might do next. Help.

  Signed,

  One Hammer Short of a Toolbox

  Chapter Sixteen

  I stared at the email. It couldn’t be, could it? Was this a confession in the guise of someone seeking help? I read it through again. Maybe all I could think about right now were the murders, but it seemed like the person who wrote the email had done something serious. To me, with the mention of ‘losing my temper,’ it didn’t sound like the person was talking about cheating on a girlfriend.

  And so I called Burton right away. And he arrived right away. We walked into the breakroom to make sure we weren’t overheard.

  He grimly read the email a few times and then sighed and rubbed his face with his large hands.

  I said hesitantly, “I didn’t want to make a mountain out of a molehill, but I figured this was something you’d want to know about.” I clicked on the email’s header to see if I could find out any information on the sender. Then I snorted in disbelief.

  Burton leaned in closer and snorted, too. The email appeared to be sent from the library’s own server. The email was sent from inside the library.

  “Do me a favor and don’t respond to this one,” he said in a wry voice.

  “Of course not. Do you think there’s something in it? Could it possibly be the person behind Carmen’s and Howard’s deaths?” I asked.

  He said, “I really don’t know. But it’s a lead and I’m taking it seriously.” He paused. “This signature makes it sound like Blake Thompson could be involved.”

  I was already shaking my head. “I just don’t see it. He’d have to be stupid to implicate himself. And he’s not a stupid guy.”

  “Now I know you went to high school with him and all, Ann. But you have to agree this looks a little suspicious. At least answer me this: has Blake Thompson been in the library lately?”

  I made a face. He’d just been in fixing the copier, of course. He could have easily used an app to set the email to send later, after he’d left the premises. Then I remembered something else.

  “Yes,” I said reluctantly. “He was here recently. And he did mention to me that he was missing some tools.”

  Burton nodded and stood up. “Thanks so much for calling this to my attention, Ann.”

  I watched as he walked out the breakroom door.

  Later at the circulation desk, I struggled to focus, still thinking about Blake and unable to shake my conviction that he had nothing to do with the email that was sent to me. I finally got back into the Ask Fitz emails, glanced through them, and (not finding anything else alarming in the inbox), picked a question to answer.

  Since this was Fitz the cat responding, I figured I would keep things from being too dark. I carefully wrote out Fitz’s advice, along with a photo of Fitz looking sympathetically into the camera. Like the others, I signed it Your Friend, Fitz.

  I read it through a few times, tweaking a few things, and then emailed it over to Wilson to see if it fit his vision for the column, as I had for the previous ones.

  I saw he’d emailed back immediately. “Post it!” was all the email said. So I quickly did.

  Luna came by right as I was hitting send. “How’s it going?” she asked. “Holding up okay?”

  “I’m going to be sleeping well tonight.” I rubbed my eyes.

  “At least you don’t have your date tonight, right?” asked Luna a mischievous glint in her eye.

  “Well, I didn’t want to fall asleep at the table in front of the poor guy,” I said lightly. “Although part of me wants to go ahead and knock it out. Dates have a way of hanging over me.”

  Luna shook her head. “You’re way too keyed up about romance. You should just set out on a mission to enjoy yourself! Have some food, some conversation, maybe a glass of wine. Look at it as a break from the ordinary.”

  I sighed. “Apparently, I’m not that well-adjusted. It’s always pretty stressful for me.” I hesitated. I wanted to talk with someone about the email we’d received and Burton hadn’t told me not to share it with anyone . . . only not to respond to it.

  “Here’s something else that’s stressful,” I said. I pulled up the email and showed it to Luna.

  Her eyes grew wide as she read it. “Oh, wow,” she breathed.

  “I know.”

  Luna said, “Wait. Did you show this to the cops?”

  “I sure did. But I don’t really feel good about it.”

  Luna glanced over the email again. “Because it so obviously points to Blake?”

  “Exactly. I mean, he’s not stupid enough to do something like that. He wouldn’t have signed an email that way, you know? I feel like somebody’s trying to set him up. And the email was sent from the library. I checked.”

  Luna gave a low whistle. “What did Burton say?”


  “He’s checking it out, of course. He has to. I just hope Blake doesn’t get locked up over this. To me, it’s basically a fake confession letter.” I put a hand up to my forehead where it was starting to pound.

  Luna opened a drawer behind the desk and pulled out a couple of aspirin for me. I took them from her as she casually asked, “On a completely separate topic, have you noticed anything different about my mom?”

  I hesitated. I wasn’t sure if Mona would want me to tell Luna that she was setting her cap for Linus. I wasn’t even sure she was setting her cap for him—it just might be she was simply interested in finding out more, since he was so inscrutable. “Different?”

  “Yes. She seems really outgoing today, for one. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad she is. I was so worried about her when she didn’t even want to leave the house. Plus, she’s all gussied up today for some reason. A silk blouse for a day at the library?”

  I said, “Maybe she was excited about going to film club and she was just looking for an excuse to look nice. I know sometimes getting dressed up makes me feel better,” I said.

  This was actually a blatant lie. Whenever I felt under-the-weather or down in the dumps, I felt way better when I put on yoga pants and a baggy tee shirt and curled up with Fitz and a good book on my sofa.

  Luna seemed to sense the lie but wasn’t totally ready to call me out on it. “Really?” She looked at me through narrowed eyes.

  “Sure.” I was eager to move off the subject of Mona’s sudden desire to dress up for a trip to the library. “By the way, your mom seemed so engaged at film club today.”

  “No knitting this time?” asked Luna with a smile tugging at her lips.

  “None at all. And she was able to fill in a little background information for us for the time the movie was made.”

  Luna said, “She’s still getting along well with everyone in the group?” Her voice was doubtful as if she couldn’t really picture her mother hanging out with a teenage film buff and a typewriter repairman, among others.