Hush-Hush

by Elizabeth Spann Craig

  I pushed the sliding door on my modest closet to inspect my options for supper. There was a veritable sea of browns, blacks, and grays. Actually, considering my budget, I suppose it was more of a creek, not a sea. I frowned. It did look like I was going on a business dinner, and Luna was right—I didn’t really have ‘fun’ jewelry. I swore I had a black skirt, though. I pushed through the hanging clothes, looking to see if there was a straggling skirt that had somehow gotten pushed behind a pair of pants. I finally found it—it had fallen on the floor and was sitting sadly behind a pair of heels that I also never wore. I pulled the skirt out and looked at it doubtfully. It was longer and more shapeless than I remembered and had probably been part of a suit at one time. I figured it was probably the best I could do and took it away for ironing. Then I paired it with a light-blue top that had also gotten buried in the closet and decided it would have to work.

  When I saw Connor outside the restaurant, I was glad I’d taken the time to make the extra effort. He was wearing a white golf shirt and khakis that showed off his tan and set off his blond curls. He grinned when he saw me and opened the door to the restaurant saying, “Madame?” as if Quittin’ Time was a classy establishment.

  We sat down and ordered beers and then appetizers. That bit of business concluded, Connor asked, “So, Ann. When we last left off, we were setting off for different colleges. Catch me up on how things have been since then.”

  I hesitated. There honestly wasn’t a lot of happy, first-date stuff to relate from those years, particularly if this was a first date. My college boyfriend had been killed by a drunk driver when he was on his way over to see me. My aunt, who’d raised me, had passed away a few years ago. Plus, I’d just had a colleague murdered in my workplace. This was all going to take some major editing.

  “Oh, you know,” I said lightly. “Got my degree, then I was able to pick up a master’s degree at Whitby College.”

  “Library science?”

  “That’s right,” I said.

  He nodded. “Like I said, I can totally see you over at the library. You always loved books so much. But that’s not the only thing that makes you fit well over there. You were incredibly organized when we were in school and I bet that helps you out at work. I remember you lived by that cat planner.”

  Connor’s eyes were twinkling and I grinned at him. “I’d totally forgotten about the cat planner. I had a different one every year.” There were always fetching-looking cats and kittens on the front, never aloof cats, and always prettily posed in front of mountains or on the beach or other unlikely places.

  “Anytime a teacher even mentioned an assignment or a project, you’d immediately pencil it in there. Even before she’d given us all the information or the grading rubric or anything.” He took a sip of his drink and leaned back in his chair. “I used to think that made you so incredibly OCD.”

  “I remember,” I said. “So . . . the fact you remember my cat planner makes me think it made a big impression on you.”

  He gave me a wry look. “I did the same thing all through med school.”

  “Used a cat planner?” I asked in a teasing voice.

  “Well, a planner, anyway. Otherwise, I’d realize at the last minute that everything was due on the same day and I’d have to prioritize what to complete.” He shook his head ruefully. “Then I remembered your cat planner and I changed my ways. It made a huge difference. Do you have a cat now?”

  I wondered if he thought of me as something of a crazy cat lady. I had the feeling I could tell Connor I had twelve cats and he wouldn’t be very surprised. “I have one cat,” I said with a smile. “His name is Fitz, short for Fitzgerald. We went in a literary direction with the name, considering, well, he’s sort of mine and sort of the library’s. But I bring him home from work every night.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “So he’s at the library during the day?”

  “Oh, yeah. He loves it. You’ve never seen a more social cat than Fitz. He’s polite about it, too—if a patron isn’t a fan of cats, he’ll make sure to keep moving until there’s someone reaching out for him for a cuddle. He’s also really helped with library publicity.”

  Connor grinned at me. “So he’s a social media influencer?”

  I chuckled. “I’d love it if I could teach him how to manage his own accounts. He’s smart enough that I almost feel he could. The grunt work falls on Luna and me, I’m afraid. But anytime we put out a tweet or an Instagram post or something on Facebook with Fitz’s face on it, the post gets more shares and likes than we’d ever seen before. The programs we’ve hosted have gotten very popular.”

  Connor said, “Wow, that’s great. Somehow I just had a hard time picturing a cat in the library, considering my uncle.”

  “Your uncle?” I suddenly had the feeling I knew what Connor was going to say next. In fact, there was some long-ago dusty memory that was trying to scratch its way to the surface.

  “Wilson. I’m sorry, I thought I mentioned that before. He’s the director over there, I think.”

  Chapter Eight

  “He sure is,” I said with a laugh. “I’d totally forgotten he was your uncle. I’ve been working with him for what seems like forever now.”

  Connor’s eyes were curious. “What’s it like working with him? I’ve always liked Wilson, but he’s always had such a regimented life. I wondered if he brought that same military-style regiment to the library.”

  “He likes things orderly, but I do too, so it works out fine for me. He cares a lot about the library and making sure to get the word out about all the things we’re doing over there.” This always managed to end up giving me a lot of extra work, but I decided not to mention that fact. “But what about you? How did you end up on the medical school track? I remember you were always great at science classes.”

  Connor said, “You were, too, though. Remember when we were lab partners for A.P. Biology?”

  “We had a great teacher for that class and I really enjoyed it. But I never in a million years thought about continuing with science in college.”

  The waitress brought our spinach and artichoke dip, so we paused for a minute while she set it on the table. Then Connor said, “Mrs. Bowman was a great teacher and she really sparked my interest in science. That’s really how it all started. I decided on a biology major and then worked my tail off making sure I had good grades. But like you, I was there on a scholarship and I needed to keep my grades high anyway. Then I just decided to keep on going, took my MCAT, and went off to medical school.”

  “What was med school like?” I asked.

  Connor gave me a wry look. “Hard. And I thought college was hard.”

  “But you obviously made it through with flying colors,” I said lightly.

  “I realized I didn’t have to have a lot of sleep,” he said, grinning at me. “Once I figured that out, I had a lot more time to study.”

  Connor went on to briefly tell me about his medical residency and the kinds of things he did in emergency medicine. But he came right back to me and the library.

  “Now I know who to go to for book recommendations,” he said, looking pleased.

  I laughed. “Don’t tell me you have a ton of time to read, considering all the shifts you’re working.”

  “I don’t, but I squeeze it in. I read on my phone, since I have it with me all the time. Right now I’m reading Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. Have you read it?”

  I nodded. The nonfiction book was by a surgeon and focused on end-of-life care. “Great book. In fact, I was thinking I needed to re-read it. I’d think, as an emergency room doctor, it would be an especially eye-opening read for you.”

  We talked about books for a while and then, after our entrees arrived, caught each other up on classmates we’d known from high school before moving on to talking about future plans: trips we’d like to take and where we’d like to go with our careers. I was pleasantly surprised because I’d worried we’d just be taking a trip down memory lane. After trading ne
ws about old friends, I wasn’t sure if we’d have enough in common to really continue the conversation. Instead, we found a lot of common interests and things to talk about. I totally avoided talk of Ellie’s murder, thinking that wasn’t the kind of thing to be bringing up over dinner with an old friend.

  After the meal, we were walking out of the restaurant and Connor laughed. “Speak of the devil,” he said in a low voice.

  I followed his gaze and saw Wilson there with Mona. Mona was grinning broadly in a way that indicated Luna had filled her in on my date tonight. Wilson, however, looked completely bemused as if trying to figure out why on earth I was standing there with his nephew.

  Connor gave Wilson a hug, which Wilson returned rather stiffly. Then Wilson said to Connor and me in a slightly accusatory voice, “I didn’t realize the two of you knew each other.”

  Connor smiled at me and said lightly, “Oh, we’re old friends. We went to high school together.”

  Wilson was apparently too surprised to remember social niceties until Mona cleared her throat. He quickly said, “Connor, this is Mona. Mona, my nephew Connor. He recently moved back to Whitby.”

  “Good to meet you,” said Mona, beaming at him. She gave me a wink, and, to my irritation, I felt a bit of a blush. I felt, somehow, like I was back in high school again and my date was meeting my great-aunt.

  “Well, we’ll let you get your table. Good to see you, Wilson. Mona, so nice to meet you.”

  Connor looked behind us to make sure Wilson and Mona were safely out of earshot and then looked at me with big eyes. “Are they dating?”

  I nodded, grinning. “It’s a fairly recent development but they seem to be getting along really well and have more in common than I’d have guessed.”

  “More in common? Does Wilson even have any interests outside of the library?”

  I chuckled. “Well, he likes reading. Mona likes reading, too. And apparently, he has an interest in film that’s been recently revived. He presided over our last film club meeting at the library and headed the discussion. Mona likes movies, too.”

  Connor gave a low whistle. “I’m amazed. It’s got to be really good for him to get out of the house and do things. My mom was always a little worried about him—too tied up with his work, you know. He had a couple of relationships in the past, I know, but they just didn’t go anywhere. I’m glad he’s found someone to go out with.”

  We got to our cars and I gave him a polite smile and held out my hand to him. Connor gently took my hand and pulled me forward into a hug and kissed me lightly on the cheek. “Good seeing you, Ann. Is it okay if I give you a call and set something up again?”

  Apparently, this was a date and Luna had been right. “I’d like that, thanks.”

  We texted our contact info to each other and then Connor waved and drove off in his convertible as I headed for my old reliable Subaru.

  As I hopped in my car, I saw Grayson walking out of the newspaper office, looking surprised. He quickly gave me a smile and a wave, which I returned. But I could have sworn I felt his eyes on me as I drove off.

  As I was getting ready for work early the next morning, I thought about Grayson. Had he been surprised when he’d seen me with Connor? That anyone else could see me as being something other than friend material? Then I pushed my thoughts about Grayson out of my head—I should be focusing on Connor, who was actually interested in me. Was I interested in Connor, though? I think the thing that piqued my curiosity was just to see where it all led me. It was sort of fun being with someone who seemed totally focused on me.

  I heard my phone ping with a text message and frowned since it was just six o’clock. I relaxed when I saw it was Wilson telling me the ‘tech guy’ was coming to help fix the two printers that were on the blink and that he’d be there before the library opened. I texted him back that I was planning on going over there early to fix the bookcase and book situation before hours and I’d be happy to bring the ‘tech guy’ in.

  Of course, the tech guy was Frank. I wasn’t actually happy about meeting with him at all, considering I’d just heard a bunch of stuff about how he’d perhaps pushed his wife down the stairs and murdered her. But I was interested in finding out where he had been when Ellie was killed, and what his thoughts on Ellie were.

  After packing my lunch and eating a quick breakfast, I headed over to the library with Fitz in tow. I got Fitz settled inside the library and then headed outside to remove the signs I’d put up yesterday.

  It took me a while to get the library shelves back to normal. The whole time I thought about Ellie, feeling pangs of sympathy for her and muttering a quick prayer as I worked. The shelves weren’t too heavy for me to manage without books on them, but they’d have definitely been heavy enough to crush a person fully loaded with volumes. I only hoped she hadn’t known what hit her—and that her death had been a quick and fairly painless one. I wondered if Burton could confirm that.

  After I got the shelves wrangled, I set to putting the books back on. This took a good deal longer than I had thought since the books were wildly out of order on the floor. I was deep into the process when I heard a knock at the doors, which made me jump. I’d almost forgotten Frank was coming over to fix the printers. Despite wanting to talk to him about Ellie, I felt an underlying sense of revulsion. I was going to have to speak to Burton about what I’d heard and let him sort through whether it was something he needed to pursue legally.

  Frank waved at me as he saw me approaching the door. He was a big, red-faced, blustery, balding man. Although I’d been upset to hear he might be abusive, I hadn’t been really shocked. He had the air of a bully about him, and definitely had a short fuse. I’d heard him getting irritated with the computers, copiers, and printers; muttering under his breath, pounding his big palms against the machines. He’d get even redder in the face than he already was.

  “Good morning,” he said in a gruff voice, lugging his backpack in one hand. “Thanks for letting me in. Wilson said two of the printers were on the blink.”

  “As per usual,” I said, trying to sound like my regular self with him. “Appreciate you coming by. Having those fixed will make today go a lot smoother.”

  He walked in, heading toward the computer room, but stopped when he saw the books still mostly on the floor. “Is this where it happened?” he asked in a solemn voice.

  “It is,” I said, rather brusquely. I didn’t like the idea of anyone rubbernecking around the area where Ellie died. “I’m sorting the books out now.”

  Frank nodded, still looking at the area. “Awful. What a terrible thing to happen here. I hear it wasn’t an accident—that she was murdered.”

  “Did you know Ellie?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Not really. You know, just from doing work here. But she wasn’t the kind of person it was easy to get to know, was she? Most of the rest of the staff is friendly and nice to talk to. I mean, Wilson is fine, even if he seems distracted most of the time. Luna is always really outgoing, and you’ll have a conversation with me.”

  I gave him a tight smile.

  “But Ellie always acted like I was the help. I don’t think she was great with the patrons, either. Sometimes she was cheerful and helpful. Other times, she was one step away from snapping at them. But then,” he added with a shrug, “it takes all kinds, doesn’t it?”

  “It does,” I said. I cleared my throat. “Did Wilson mention it to you yesterday, then, when he spoke to you about the printers? About Ellie?”

  “I knew about it before then,” said Frank, dismissively. “I was at home getting ready for work yesterday morning and I had my police scanner on. You hear all kinds of things with a scanner, you know. Usually it’s about car accidents, but that’s helpful too, since then I can avoid the streets that are backed up. When I heard a call coming in from the library, though, I really stopped and listened. Do they know when it happened?”

  I shook my head. “I’m not sure. I know Ellie was locking up night-before-last, so I
guess it happened then. She wasn’t supposed to be opening up the library in the morning.” I tried to keep my expression neutral as I casually said, “I know sometimes your jobs take you around town at all hours. You didn’t happen to see anything going on at the library a couple of nights ago, did you?”

  He looked regretful. “Nope. I didn’t get any calls night-before-last and it wasn’t a late night at work, so I was at home just hanging out and watching TV. Maybe the cops will figure out what happened. That has to have set everybody’s nerves on edge, having something like that happen in the library. This is supposed to be a safe place.”

  I said a little coolly, “I think it is a safe place. I doubt this was some sort of random act.”

  Frank raised his eyebrows, either at my chilly tone or at my words. “You think she was targeted somehow? Like somebody was waiting for an opportunity to get rid of her?”

  I said, “Maybe, although I don’t have any idea why someone would do that.”

  Frank gave me a doubtful look. “Was Ellie easy to work with?”

  I had to force myself not to laugh. Here I was trying to blame Frank for murdering Ellie because I thought she was blackmailing him, and here he was thinking it was me or someone I worked with.

  “I wouldn’t say she was difficult to work with. Ellie was a good librarian and she always got her work done.” She wasn’t great about taking her breaks on time, but that was hardly grounds for murder.

  “What about Wilson? What did he think about her?”

  I glanced at the door as if Wilson were sure to come through any moment, wearing his suit and hearing Frank and me discussing his propensity for murder.