Read or Alive

by Nora Page

  Bernice Abernathy had been there visiting her grandson and friends and had praised Cleo for tracking down her swiped Poirot. She was going to sell it, but through an honest dealer this time, Henry Lafayette. Bernice intended to give her grateful grandson the gift of paid-off nursing-school loans. Her missing map pages had been found among the stolen items. Henry was going to rebind her treasured atlases at no cost. They’d be better than ever, he promised.

  Mary-Rose clicked her tongue as Cleo ticked off all the people who’d been affected. “Awful and unnecessary. That con man Hunter Fox hurt a lot of people and books.” She frowned. “So did the killer. Did you ever find out his real name, Gabby?”

  “Johnathon Prince,” Gabby said. “We think that’s his real name, at least. He went by a lot of aliases, not only the Buddy Boone persona. He’d put them on as it suited him, like the clothes and accent and even a fake pregnancy belly pillow, which gave me the creeps. He liked being unrecognizable, in person and online. I think it made him feel invisible and powerful. He could take what he wanted. ‘Collecting,’ he called it.”

  Henry shifted in his polished loafers. “The society members are like family. We all know each other. Maybe we should have noticed who we didn’t know as well. But like you said, so much interaction happens online now, where it’s hard to know who’s real. I looked back and realized ‘Buddy Boone’ had been on some of the book restoration forums I chat on. That’s probably where he learned of my books and decided he wanted to steal them.”

  Cleo shivered, and Dot fluttered off to serve up more free ice cream. She’d gotten big tubs, sugar cones, and sprinkles, all of which she was giving away for free.

  Gabby leaned toward Cleo and whispered, “This is tacky of me to ask, but is Miss Dot going to sell that book? The pricey one?”

  Cleo nodded. She’d expected to feel sadder about the sale of Dot’s Gone With the Wind. So had Dot. “Dot loves that book, of course, but she realized it’s the memories she treasures most, us reading Gone when we were young and the thrill of discovering that precious signed copy in the estate-sale box. The online fund raiser was set to be restarted and the podcaster had broadcast Dot’s innocence, but Dot asked everyone to donate to their favorite charities instead. She feels like the book should be the one to help her, that she found it for a reason and that it came back for one too. It will go to a good home. Henry is going to make sure of that.”

  Henry nodded. “I have a buyer who will treasure it,” he said. He squeezed Cleo’s hand. “You’ll appreciate that the buyer promises not to lock it up in a cold safe. She’s going to loan it to her library for their special collection so that more people can enjoy it.”

  Cleo loved that idea, and so did Dot. Cleo’s own special collection was intact again too. The signed copy of Into the Waves was in a glass cabinet—locked but prominently displayed in the main library. Leanna had even made arrow signs, like a treasure hunt, pointing the way to it.

  Gabby rocked back on her heels. “Buddy—Johnathon Prince—kept going on about how that’s all he cared about. Books. Caring for them. Wanting them. Collecting almost seemed like an addiction. He had to have them.”

  “Bibliomania,” Cleo said under her breath.

  “It’s not uncommon,” Henry said, and then qualified. “What I mean is, there’s a draw—a tug—to books. Thank goodness murder and stealing aren’t usually involved. I don’t think he came here intending to kill, do you, Gabby?”

  Gabby shook her head. “No. Definitely not. He only planned to rob you, Henry, and leave you with a passable forgery, which he considered generous and polite. Hunter Fox had the unfortunate good fortune of spotting the swap. Then Hunter made the fatal mistake of getting greedy.”

  “I was right at the shop and didn’t see,” Henry said. He explained to the rest. “I gather it was the night I hosted the social? Everyone was at the shop, milling around, looking at books.” Henry flushed. “I was too busy chatting and showing off.”

  “No,” Cleo soothed. “You were only highlighting your wonderful books.”

  “Buddy prepared the forgeries beforehand,” Gabby said. “Meticulous copies he based on library books and online resources. You didn’t use those books every day, right Henry? Buddy was counting on that. If and when you did notice the trouble, he’d be long gone.”

  Henry shook his head. “I might have noticed, eventually. The two forgeries were very well done, but not perfect. It’s not like I open and check every book regularly. The covers looked fine.”

  Cleo said, “I have books I don’t look at for years. I’ll admit, I have some—several, more than several—I haven’t gotten around to reading. I find it comforting just knowing they’re there, on my shelves.”

  The rest of them nodded. They understood.

  Henry groaned. “I may have helped him rob me, posting my restorations and photos of my inventory online.” He smiled. “But then, the great libraries are going digital now, and I think it’s the most wonderful thing. We can see into marvelous ancient texts without leaving home.”

  Cleo focused on the positive too. “We can’t deprive all the good booklovers because of a few bad actors,” she said. “If only someone honest had spotted Buddy swiping those books, it might have turned out much differently.”

  “Blackmail,” Mary-Rose intoned.

  Gabby said, “Yep. Hunter Fox thought he was blackmailing some memento-collecting good old boy. But Hunter didn’t just want money from Buddy. He thought they could be partners of sorts. Buddy would do the stealing and forgeries, and Hunter would pass the items off to bookdealers. Hunter told Kitty he was onto something big. She thought he meant a big book, but he pictured an easy life with easy money.”

  “Hunter paid with his life,” Cleo said. “Madame Romanov is lucky she didn’t meet the same fate. She must have realized just in time.”

  “That psychic premonition,” Mary-Rose laughed.

  “Right, or her video cameras,” Cleo said, rolling her eyes. “I hear she’s back in town. Back from ‘vacation’?”

  Gabby confirmed this. “Yep, Madame aka Tina gave a statement. At first, she claimed she contacted Buddy Boone out of the goodness of her heart, wanting him to repent.” Gabby paused for skeptical snorts from her audience.

  “I know,” Gabby said. “We didn’t buy that. We finally threatened her with arrest for withholding evidence, and she confessed that she’d asked for payment in exchange for her video recording. He was supposed to leave it in the alley, at the crime scene. Instead, she saw him—or someone who looked creepily not like him, thinner and dressed differently—breaking into her house. She got out and ran, leaving her dog behind.”

  “Terrible behavior, deserting her pet,” Henry said. “That woman is not to be trusted.”

  Gabby agreed. “I don’t think she’ll be in the psychic business much longer. Word of how she derived her powers is spreading. She has agreed to help our court case, in exchange for us looking the other way about running off with evidence. She has the video of the murder, and she can help with the assault on Kitty too.”

  “The jangles,” Henry murmured.

  “The incense,” Cleo added.

  “She was there,” Gabby confirmed. “Or, rather, hiding nearby when it happened. She and Nina Flores know each other from Madame’s ghost tours. Nina was letting her bunk in a utility room on the second floor—right along that hall where you were waiting for Kitty the night she was shoved, Henry. There was a cot in there and a tape recorder with a remote control that made ghostly sounds. Nina said having a ghost added ‘value.’” Gabby shook her head dubiously.

  Cleo agreed. “I can’t see who goes to a relaxing bed-and-breakfast to be scared by noises.”

  “Right?” Gabby said. “Madame admitted she was watching Buddy the night of the soiree, hiding in that little back staircase that leads downstairs. When he made for that very staircase, aiming to follow Kitty, she panicked and bolted. That’s when she ran into you, Henry. Literally.”

  “I t
hought Buddy was accounted for in the ballroom,” Cleo said, shaking her head.

  Gabby had too. “No one missed him from the party. He was the kind of guy who faded into the background, which suited him perfectly. He sneaked upstairs, grabbed that book from Kitty, and shoved her. He never meant for you to get hurt, Henry.”

  “But why?” Mary-Rose asked. “Why risk revealing himself to steal from Kitty? Was he doing it for Dot?”

  In a way, it seemed noble, Cleo thought. Like Robin Hood. She was feeling conflicted until she noticed Gabby shaking her head.

  “Dot’s book was a bonus. The whole reason he stuck around Catalpa Springs was the video evidence. Madame Romanov had been in contact with him. She left an anonymous note under his door, saying she’d ‘send him a sign’ and they could ‘make a deal.’ She even tried to convince him she was an ally by starting up that online chat group casting suspicion on Dot. She said she understood why he killed Hunter. Hunter swindled her out of her magic books and deserved ‘what he had coming.’”

  Mary-Rose shivered.

  “I had to return those magic books to Madame’s niece,” Cleo said. “Madame refused to see me.” The niece had been delighted to get her hands on the “dangerous” books, and Cleo had been delighted to give them to her.

  Gabby shook her head. “She was scared to talk to you, but toying around with a killer? Foolish and greedy. That greed indirectly led to Kitty’s assault. Remember at the soiree, when Kitty hinted that she had something ‘special,’ ‘just what you’re looking for,’ and going on about making a deal?”

  “I thought she meant Dot’s book,” Cleo said. “Although she was ambiguous.”

  “It was open to interpretation,” Gabby agreed. “Buddy took it as a ‘sign’ from his blackmailer that Kitty had the video. He must have been getting desperate. Kitty was carrying Dot’s book in a clutch. He yanked it away before he pushed her. When he realized it was just the book, he decided he’d return it to Dot. A small penance. He’s been going on and on about what a great guy that makes him, how it redeems him. He said he always left ‘masterful duplicates’ to replace the books he ‘collected’ too, so the victims shouldn’t complain.”

  Cleo gazed up the aisle to where Dot was joyfully handing out ice cream cones. She could understand anyone taking a liking to Dot. However … “That hardly redeems murder,” Cleo said. “And what about the other books? The books Hunter swindled and Buddy stole? He had those packed up to take with him, didn’t he? That’s not great-guy behavior.”

  Gabby shrugged. “He considered those as payback for the mess Hunter put him in. He didn’t know their owners. They didn’t bring him the world’s best cookies like Dot did.”

  Gabby grinned as one of those cookies suddenly hovered over her shoulder, snagged from a passing platter by Ollie. The two twenty-somethings drifted off into the festivities to enjoy cookies and each other’s company.

  Later, Cleo and Henry strolled through the park. A bluegrass band had set up by the fountain. Kids ran around, giddy with the night, lights, and ice cream.

  Cleo felt their excitement surge through her.

  “We never got to implement our dance moves,” Henry said, smiling at her. He held out a hand.

  “I don’t know bluegrass steps,” Cleo said, eyeing the bouncy dancers warily.

  “I think we’ve reached the age where we can do whatever we like,” Henry replied. He held her close, and they danced cheek to cheek to their own rhythm.

  “What if I asked you never to go chasing after killers again?” Henry said, as their slow waltz took them by the fountain.

  Cleo leaned back and took in his smiling face. “You wouldn’t do that, would you?”

  “No,” he said, grinning. “I’d never want to squelch your natural talents and passions. But can I ask one thing? Next time, will you wait for me to come along with you?”

  Cleo didn’t hesitate. “I will,” she said.

  She thought of the whirlwind week, starting with Mary-Rose warning of heartbreak at the book fair.

  Henry raised her hand. Laughing, Cleo spun in her shiny shoes, feeling like a kid again, like she was flying above the earth. She came to a dizzy stop in Henry’s arms, but her joy kept twirling up to the treetops and beyond. She’d been right, so happily affirmed: books would never break her heart, and neither would Henry Lafayette.

  Recipe

  Mary-Rose’s Famous Swoon Pies

  Cookies

  2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

  1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  1/2 teaspoon table salt

  1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

  1 cup sugar

  1 large egg

  1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  Marshmallow Filling

  6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

  7 ounces marshmallow creme or fluff

  1 cup powdered sugar

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  Pinch of salt

  1 tablespoon milk (more or less as necessary to make the filling a thick but spreadable consistency)

  To make the cookies:

  Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet (12 x 17 inches, or use two smaller cookie sheets) with parchment paper.

  In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

  In a large bowl, using a hand or stand mixer at medium speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg. Beat until well combined. Add vanilla.

  Reduce mixer speed to low and mix in about a third of the milk, followed by a third of the dry ingredients. Continue, alternating between dry and wet ingredients, until well combined.

  Divide the batter approximately in half. You will bake the cookies in two batches. Scoop out batter using a rounded tablespoon or ice cream scoop to make 12 mounds. The cookies will spread, so space them as far apart as possible on the pan. A dozen will just fit on a 12 x 17 inch pan. If you have smaller pans, use two pans or bake in batches.

  Bake for 15 to 17 minutes. The cookies are done when they spring back if gently pressed.

  Remove cookies and cool on a rack. Repeat with the remaining batter. Let the cookies cool completely.

  To make the filling:

  Place all ingredients except the milk in a large bowl and beat until fluffy. If the filling seems too stiff to spread, add a little milk (a tablespoon or less should do).

  To assemble the cookies:

  Flip over half the cookies. Spread the marshmallow filling on the flat side. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge.

  Enjoy!

  Also available by Nora Page

  Bookmobile Mysteries

  Read on Arrival

  Better Off Read

  Author Biography

  Nora Page enjoys rainy weather, the perfect biscuit, and quiet evenings in with her husband and cat. You can often find her in the company of books. This is her third Bookmobile mystery.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real or actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reaction to the recipes contained in this book.

  Copyright © 2020 by Ann Perramond

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Crooked Lane Books, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.

  Crooked Lane Books and its logo are trademarks of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.

  Library of Congr
ess Catalog-in-Publication data available upon request.

  ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-64385-301-7

  ISBN (ePub): 978-1-64385-322-2

  Cover illustration by Jesse Reisch

  Book design by Jennifer Canzone

  Printed in the United States.

  www.crookedlanebooks.com

  Crooked Lane Books

  34 West 27th St., 10th Floor

  New York, NY 10001

  First Edition: May 2020

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