The Librarian's Last Chapter (A River Valley Mystery, Book 3)

by Cynthia Hickey

  “It’s all right.” The fair started tomorrow night. Things could very well be over soon. Either the killer would get me or I’d get them. Either way, there would be no more sleepless nights or watching my rearview mirror every time I drove somewhere.

  Soon, the women gathered up their supplies and left. Mom and I cleaned up the store and headed out, her to fix Leroy his supper, and me to the school to oversee the setting up of the fair exhibits.

  I sent Duane a text when I’d arrived at the football field and he met me in the parking lot. “The skeleton of the tunnel is set up from the side of the snack bar all the way to the side entrance of the library. It will take the students a good ten to fifteen minutes to walk through it. Less if they run.” He grinned and put an arm around my shoulder. “Leroy did a great job building it. We’ve hung the black lights inside and are now covering it with the black plastic sheeting. You had a good idea, sweetheart. That’s all the kids have been talking about all day.”

  I stopped and stared at the winding tunnel. It strongly resembled a giant anaconda. As long as it didn’t swallow anyone whole, we’d all be okay.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The football field was full of folks eager to spend their hard-earned cash on some harvest fun. Little ones, dressed in Halloween finery, giggled and tossed rings at bowls of gold fish. Several girls walked in a circle to music hoping to win a cake. The line outside the haunted tunnel was fifty or more deep with students. I spotted a couple of adults in the mix. I rubbed my hands together. The school and library would make a bundle of money.

  I hadn’t seen any member of my family since arriving but trusted they were all in their spots. Except, Lindsey. I’d allowed her some fun time with friends. She was going to be the first to enter the tunnel, and hopefully report back on how wonderful it was.

  After waving to Cheryl who took tickets at the gate, I made my way to the library. Mom had outdone herself with fall decorations. Pumpkins and gold and orange flowers covered every available surface. Parents with children of all ages browsed the tables and book stands. A grin spread across my face erasing the tension of the past few weeks. I’d done it. I’d fulfilled the wish of a woman I barely knew and delivered a book fair the school wouldn’t forget.

  I followed the screams to the exit of the tunnel and waited for Lindsey. She appeared, arms around her friend. They were both pale faced but smiling.

  “That was a blast, Mom. So much fun. And so scary!” She shuddered. “The maniacs from all the slash and gore movies are in there. I swear the one acts just like Michael Meyers, and the zombies!”

  “I’m glad you had fun. Can you let everyone you know how much fun it is?” With the tunnel taking five tickets, it was the most expensive attraction we had.

  “I’m sure they already know. Have you seen the line?” She gave me a quick hug and dashed outside.

  Curiosity rose, but I squelched it. I didn’t do scary things. Well, unless you counted facing down the barrel of a gun as I had twice, but that wasn’t by my choosing. I wandered the football field. Several of the teachers complimented me on a job well done and said they hoped I’d head up the fair again next year. I wasn’t sure about that, but smiled and waved anyway enjoying my moment of fame that didn’t involve almost getting myself killed.

  Officer Bradford emerged from the crowd and made a beeline in my direction. I thought about trying to lose him in the crowd and decided against it. If a policeman followed me around, it would be harder for a killer to get close. “Enjoying yourself, Officer?”

  “I’m not here for recreation.”

  “I guess not. You’re here to watch me. Well, I’m working, so keep up.” I marched toward the climbing wall run by a couple of football players who didn’t want to participate in the tunnel.

  “Coach isn’t here, Mrs. Coach,” one of them said. “He’s pretending to be Freddy Krueger. You should see his makeup. It’s awesome.”

  I shuddered. I didn’t last through the first ten minutes of that movie and no desire to recreate the experience. The boys seemed to have all the safety measures in place for the kids climbing the wall so I moved back to the entrance of the tunnel. I pictured all the anxious grins fading to terrified expressions as they moved through. From the screams pouring out the entrance, the tunnel was a place of nightmares. I peeked inside.

  A shuffling zombie gnashed its teeth at a teenage girl. She screamed and dashed away, disappearing around a dark corner. Maybe I should venture inside. After all, I was an adult and it was only for a bit of fun, right?

  The young man taking tickets waved me in. I took a deep breath, waved at Officer Bradford, and then dashed inside to stay as close to one side of the tunnel as I could get. As far away from the zombie’s reach as possible. When I rounded the corner, Freddy Krueger wrapped his taloned hands around my shoulders. I shrieked and beat him off. “Stop it, Duane! You’ll give me a heart attack.”

  “Don’t fall asleep, my beauty,” he whispered. “Enjoy the tour.”

  “Very funny.” I was already regretting my impulsive decision.

  I stopped and watched as a lab-coated football player operated on a girl with her intestines spilling out. How did anyone find this entertaining? I grimaced and moved on. The next section was almost pitch dark. Filmy things hung from the ceiling and tickled my face like cobwebs. Ugh. I slapped them away.

  A scream close to my left caused me to whirl, bringing me face-to-face with Michael Meyers. He raised his knife. I dashed down the tunnel and came into a small room full of coffins.

  A vampire sat up and gave me the corny line about wanting to suck my blood. I shook my head and continued on past three witches stirring something in a cauldron. Before I took another step one of them rushed me, her pointed nails clawing the air. I backed up and fell through the plastic sheeting that made up the tunnel sides.

  Call me a scaredy-cat but I was happy to be out of the tunnel of horror. I was in a small room with a table and four chairs. A small gas-powered refrigerator sat at one end of the tiny room. I opened it and pulled out a bottle of water. I didn’t see a door. I’d have to go back into the fun in order to leave. After downing half the bottle, I pushed back into the tunnel.

  A sharp rap to the back of my head sent me to my knees. A person wearing all black with a faceless mask grasped my ankles. I kicked and freed myself. Before I could struggle to my feet, the person jumped on my back, wrapping their legs around me. Black ballet flats pressed into my abdomen. I knew those shoes.

  “Norma Rae, get off me!” I rammed my head back, connecting with something solid. I hoped I’d managed to break her nose. I turned, my back against a plaster mummy. “Officer Bradford is expecting me at any minute. You should turn yourself in.”

  She shook her head and pulled a knife out of a hidden pocket before advancing on me again. I skirted to the side. “You’re such an idiot, Marsha. This is all part of the fun. Run back to your bodyguard.”

  “I will.” I whirled and sprinted away. My breath came in gasps. Was she part of the act or had the knife been real? I had no way of knowing. If it was part of her character, someone needed to tell her that she wasn’t actually allowed to touch any of the people visiting the tunnel. Imagine the lawsuit if someone were to get hurt.

  I brushed off the knees of my jeans and rushed through the rest of the tour. Outside, I gulped in a lungful of fresh air.

  “Everything all right?” Officer Bradford appeared at my side. “You look like you’ve been in a fight.”

  “Depends on what you call a fight.” I straightened. “Don’t you have anything better to do than follow me around? Like make sure the students are behaving?”

  “I was told to watch you.”

  “By Bruce?”

  He nodded. “It seems he thinks someone needs to keep an eye on you. Probably to keep you from causing trouble.”

  I shook my head. The poor misguided fool. Since he was a rookie, I decided to let him suffer his delusions about who was the guilty party. “I’m
headed back to the library.” Knowing he’d follow, I headed off.

  “You have blood on your arm,” he said.

  I glanced down and rubbed my arm on the leg of my jeans. Maybe I had busted Norma Rae’s lip or something. She shouldn’t have scared me so bad with her poor attempt at a joke. “Just Halloween makeup.” I continued toward the library and shoved my way through a crowd.

  Empty spots on the bookshelves raised my spirits. At this rate, there would be very little to send back to the distributor. I collapsed in a chair, my heart racing like a dog after a rabbit. If I’d busted anything on Norma Rae, she was bound to make a stink about it, regardless that she was the one to start the scuffle.

  I leaned my elbow on the table and propped my chin in my hand. Mom bustled from person to person pointing them toward books they might be interested in. Once she caught sight of me, she sat in a chair next to me.

  “You look worn out.”

  “I had a scuffle with Norma Rae in the tunnel. I think I might have bloodied her lip.”

  “Why?”

  “She jumped on my back. I honestly thought she was going to kill me until she laughed and said it was part of her act.”

  “Was she strong?”

  “Yes.” I hadn’t thought of it until then, but Norma Rae had definitely possessed the strength to choke Mrs. Grimes and she owned the right type of shoes to have left the shoe print outside our store. I needed to head back into the tunnel and find her. But not without an escort.

  I eyed Officer Bradford from where he stood by the door. I preferred Bruce. “Can you distract the rookie while I find Bruce?”

  Mom nodded. “I’ll approach him and faint or something.”

  “Nothing drastic, just keep him from following me for a minute. The man’s like a leech.” I pushed to my feet and waited while Mom moved to his side and slipped her arm through his. No one could ever resist her charms when she needed something. Within minutes, she had the poor man moving one of the heavy book crates to the other side of the room. I slipped out the door into the empty school hallway.

  Amazing how creepy the halls were without a horde of students rushing through them. With only every other ceiling light illuminated, the hall was cast in shadows and quieter than a tomb. As quietly as possible, not sure who I thought I’d disturb, I made my way down the hall and to the exit door. A sign informed me that an alarm would signal between seven fifteen a.m. and two fifteen p.m. Since it was neither of those times, I should be safe. I pushed the bar and stepped back outside.

  That particular door led to a breezeway outside the fence surrounding the football field. So much for a short cut. I increased my pace and headed for the rock wall where hopefully someone could climb up and scout for Bruce.

  Sure enough, one of the boys was more than happy to show off his skills. He scampered up like a squirrel and informed me that Bruce was by the cakewalk. “Thanks!” I turned and made my way over. Only two cakes were left. A red velvet with cream cheese frosting and a pan of brownies. I shrugged. I’d been told only store-bought items could be given away and the brownies were clearly made by hand.

  “Bruce!” I waved him over.

  He glowered and marched toward me. “Where have you been?”

  “In the library, why? Don’t worry. Your little guard dog has barely left my side.”

  “He isn’t with you now, nor was he with you in the tunnel, was he?”

  I opened and closed my mouth like a fish on the shore. “Did I do something wrong?”

  He unclipped his handcuffs. “You’re under arrest Marsha Steele for assault.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  I shoved my hands in my pockets in a futile attempt to avoid Bruce’s handcuffs. “Who did I assault?” I scanned the crowd for Duane. He made a beeline toward us, still wearing his costume and shoving screaming kids out of his way.

  “Norma Rae Jennings. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.” Bruce stepped closer. “Don’t make me add resisting arrest to your charge.”

  “Hold on.” Freddy, I mean Duane, stepped between me and Bruce. “What’s going on?”

  Bruce motioned for Duane to step to the side with him. I had half a mind to run while I had the chance. While Bruce spoke too low for me to hear, Duane nodded. He turned, sadness cloaking his eyes.

  “It’s best you go with him, sweetie.” He leaned over and kissed me, giving me a taste of his oily makeup. “I’ll be by after we clean all this up.”

  I nodded and blinked back tears. I held my hands out for Bruce to cuff. “I’m not the guilty party here, and you know it. Norma Rae is the killer.” I knew it as if she’d confessed to me herself. I hoped Mom would remember to grab my purse from under the library counter and let Bruce lead me through the gawking crowd to his squad car.

  “You have no evidence against Mrs. Jennings,” he said, opening the car door. “Watch your head. “But she has plenty against you, a bloody lip for starters and a witness that saw the two of you fighting.”

  “Did that same witness see her launch herself on my back with a knife in her hand? No? I didn’t think so.” I sat back and let him close the door. Norma Rae, having failed to kill me in the tunnel, thought having me arrested would protect her identity.

  How wrong she was. Duane would bail me out and I’d be after the woman like a duck on a June bug. Arrested! I slammed back against the hard seat. I’d have a criminal record now. Maybe I would write that mystery novel. I had enough material to go on.

  I shook my hands, trying to loosen the cuffs that bit into my wrists. As Bruce pulled away from the curb, my gaze locked with Ingrid’s. She clamped her lips together and dashed toward the library. Hopefully, she’d let Mom and Lindsey know where I’d gone if Duane hadn’t already done so.

  A tear escaped and traveled down my cheek to rest in the curve of my lip. I licked the salty wetness away and sniffed.

  “Are you crying back there? Seriously, Marsha. Try to see the big picture here, would you?” Bruce shook his head and increased the car’s speed.

  No way would I give him the satisfaction of conversation. This was the last straw at breaking the camel’s back of what tenuous friendship we had. I stared out the window at the night.

  All too soon we pulled in back of the station and Bruce opened the back door. With a hand on my elbow, he escorted me inside where I was fingerprinted, the cuffs taken off, and then locked into a cell. At least I wasn’t strip-searched. That would have been my final mortification.

  A woman sat on a metal bench across from me, her hair hanging in her face. She peered through the dim room at me and smiled. “Company.”

  I shuddered and turned away.

  “Don’t be like that. Did you have too much to drink tonight? I did. I’ll be out by morning.” She moved to sit beside me. The rank odor of beer and body sweat almost overpowered me and it took all the will power I had not to shrink away.

  “No, I’m here on assault charges.”

  “A little bitty thing like you? Who did you attack? A child?” The woman shook her head. “Sometimes the police aren’t the brightest things, are they?” She leaned her head against the wall and started snoring.

  I moved to the opposite bench and closed my eyes in prayer. I knew God had the situation under control. All I needed to do was trust Him. Hadn’t Paul been arrested and counted it all good? I could do the same. At least I wasn’t facing persecution.

  “Where is my daughter?” Mom’s voice rang through the building. “I demand you release her at once, Bruce Barnett. If your mother was alive—”

  “She’s not getting out until morning, Gertie. It’s for her own good.”

  “Her own good my fanny.” The slapping of approaching footprints headed my way. Mom gripped the bars and pressed her face between them. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” I rushed to greet her. “He’s not allowing you to bail me out?” Tears clogged my throat. I couldn’t stay locked up all night.

  “No. The cad.” Mom handed me a gra
nola bar and a bottle of water. “It’s all I could sneak in. Some police officer. He didn’t even check my purse.”

  “Did you grab my purse from the library?”

  Her face fell. “It was already gone. I hope Lindsey took it, or Duane, and not some thief.” She eyed the woman snoring in the corner. “Is she dangerous?”

  I shook my head. “Just drunk. Mom, Norma Rae is the killer. I know it. She tried to stab me in the tunnel. We need evidence.”

  “I’ll find it. I won’t sleep tonight until you’re free.”

  After Mom left, I ate the bar and drank half of the water. A big mistake. I squirmed and eyed the toilet in the corner. I’d have to be desperate.

  “Marsha?” Duane stood on the other side of the bars with Lindsey.

  I cried and ran to him, taking his hands in mine. “Get me out of here.”

  “We tried. Bruce won’t budge.” He slipped his face as far through the bars as he could and kissed me.

  “He’s so mean!” Lindsey crossed her arms and glared. “He said you attacked someone. He doesn’t know you very well, does he?”

  That’s my girl. Forever her mother’s supporter. “No, he obviously doesn’t. Did you get my purse?”

  “No, was I supposed to?”

  Great. Add someone stealing my purse, with my Taser, to the growing list of things gone wrong with the day. At least I hadn’t taken my gun. Then, Bruce could have arrested me for having a weapon at school. I gasped. “I can’t get more charges by having my Taser in the purse, can I? What if a student has it now? Oh, he’s going to lock me up forever.” I covered my face and slid to the floor.

  “Bruce doesn’t have your purse,” Duane said. “It’s probably in the lost and found. I’ll check when we leave here.”

  “Thank you. You two should go now. It’s getting late. Bruce said I could get out in the morning. Who’s guarding the jail?”

  “I am.” Bruce joined us. “And yes, visiting hours are over.”

  After another kiss, Duane and Lindsey left, my daughter giving me a tearful wave on her way.