All the Little Liars (2 page)

A few years before, it would have taken me eight minutes, tops. Growth equals traffic. Lawrenceton, once a shady small town, had been annexed into the urban sprawl of Atlanta.

There'd been a fender bender on my usual route, and I was delayed for several minutes. By the time I turned in to the employee parking lot behind the library, I was almost late. I hurried to the staff door, wishing I'd worn gloves and a scarf when the cold hit me. I had my keys in my hand, because this door was always kept locked.

I stepped right into the large room that had been added onto the library a few years before. It encompassed a small kitchen, a break area, and the book-mending area. On the other side of the hall lay the glass window through which I could see the desk intended for the secretary of the library director, and beyond that the door to Sam Clerrick's office. Right now the outer office was empty and bare, and the door to the director's office was firmly shut.

I put my purse into my little locker before I stepped out into the hall, heading for the door leading into the main floor of the library. Two women were between me and the door, and they were deep in conversation. Janie Spellman, the computer librarian (as I thought of her), was chatting with Annette Russell, the new children's librarian. Since I'd been substituting in the children's section for some months while the position had been advertised, I'd been delighted when Annette had been hired.

Annette and Janie were both in their early twenties, and they'd become friends quickly. Janie was vivacious and had a quick smile and vivid coloring, while Annette had a more relaxed personality. Her hair was in short dreadlocks with touches of platinum. She looked like a dandelion. I liked it.

They both said “Hey, Roe!” with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

Janie said, “Roe, I read the paper this morning. Is it true?” She looked almost hurt, which I found odd. She'd made a big play for Robin, but now she seemed to feel that I should have confided in her.

“That I got married? Yes, it's true. Robin and I got married.”

“That's why you took a long weekend off?”

“Uh-huh. We had a little honeymoon.” I smiled at them brightly, and Annette smiled back. Janie looked less … beneficent.

“So are you Mrs. Crusoe now?” she asked, as if she meant to be a bit insulting.

“No, I'm sticking with Teagarden,” I said. I could not figure what Janie's beef was. She had known, even when she flirted with Robin, that he and I were dating.

“And you got married at the church?” Janie said, her voice even sharper.

I finally thought I understood. Janie wanted to know why she hadn't been invited.

“We did,” I said agreeably. “Just family and one attendant apiece. My second wedding, you know.” Plus, we'd been determined to get it done quickly and as low-key as possible.

I wasn't sure Annette did know that I'd been married before, and Janie had clearly forgotten. They both nodded, looking a little abashed. “That makes sense,” Annette said.

“Anything new and wonderful happening?” I asked, to change the subject. I wasn't especially interested in whether Annette thought my private arrangements made sense or not. Perhaps I was being overly touchy.

“New, anyway,” Janie said, looking excited again. “Sam's interviewing some women who've applied for the secretary job today.”

“Wonderful.” I meant that from the bottom of my heart. “He feels so much better when he's got a filter between him and the public.”

“Well, the downside is, one of them is Lizanne Sewell.”

I'd been on my way out to the main floor of the library. I stopped and turned back to face Janie. “What's wrong with Lizanne?” I said. I hoped my eyes weren't actually shooting sparks.

“She's not the brightest tool in the shed,” Janie said, as if that were well known and should be obvious to me. There was a moment of silence.

“I didn't know Lizanne was applying for this job,” I told Janie. “But she's a longtime friend of mine. Sam could hardly do better. She could handle his schedule very easily.”

I left through the door into the library, so I wouldn't be obliged to wrestle Janie to the ground and deal out some hurt.

*   *   *

Perry Allison was working the checkout desk, and though he was busy with a patron, he gave me a nod in greeting. Perry's mother, Sally, was a friend of mine, though she was at least fifteen years older than me, and Perry was becoming a friend, though he was younger. He'd had a hard life, and it was going to get harder. Sally was ill.

I went behind the counter to the employee computer area, and prepared to send out overdue notices. This was automatic to a certain extent, since the miscreants' names and addresses popped up when the books or other materials had not been checked in. But some people didn't have e-mail addresses, and those people had to be prompted by a phone call or a letter, whichever they requested.

There were few people who didn't have a phone
or
an e-mail address. My task was to notify those people. Naturally, there was a form letter to plug in that would take care of it. All I had to do was actually type the patron's name in. I'd heard Janie laughing about this backwoods method. She was proud that you could apply for your library card over the Internet. Proud.

The library had always been an unofficial community center, with books, magazines, newspapers, and all kinds of reference sources available to everyone. Free! I had always been amazed at how fortunate people were to have a public library, though almost every citizen took it for granted. But now, with a roomful of computers available to everyone, Lawrenceton Library had become even more vital. There was a constant flow of patrons from the moment the doors opened to the time they were locked. The computer have-nots used the public system to check out the help-wanted sites and for-sale sites. They looked up breaking news. They read the classified ads. They took their online courses, like my brother was doing at home this very minute (I hoped). Of course, the haves didn't even need to come into the building any longer. They could check out e-books and audiobooks online.

I appreciated the fact that the library was so relevant to the lives of the people it served. Just because you couldn't afford a computer shouldn't mean you couldn't access all this amazing information, right? And if you were elderly or disabled or just super busy, it only made sense to offer books in the easiest way available.

But I'd always been a printed-word person. I loved holding an actual book. I loved turning the pages. I loved carrying a novel around with me, getting it out of my purse at lunch to read for a few minutes in the break room. I had never been able to fathom what people did with their free moments, if they didn't read. But I'd become increasingly aware that this attitude aged me, made me more like seventy-six than thirty-seven.

And there were also plenty of actual, physical books that needed to be dealt with right that moment. I finished the overdue notices before I arranged the checked-in books on the cart in the order in which they'd be shelved. I popped a stool on the bottom shelf of the rolling cart. Though stools were available throughout the stacks, I found it was quicker to simply take one with me. When you're barely five feet tall on a good day, you have to think ahead.

I steered the cart carefully. The library was busy. Most of the patrons were adults, since school was in session—though in two more days it would be Christmas break. I took my time, and said hello to everyone, because I thought that was part of my job and I enjoyed it.

About halfway through shelving, I felt the sudden necessity to rush to the bathroom. A pregnancy book had told me this was a common occurrence, though I was entering that phase more quickly than I'd estimated.

I didn't have time to make it to the employee bathrooms in the back, so I dove into the closest ladies' bathroom and into a stall. A couple of minutes later, I emerged feeling a lot better. As I approached the sink, I saw Perry's mother staring into the mirror.

“Sally?” I said. I hadn't talked to Perry lately about what the doctors had said after he'd taken her to her long-awaited appointment. Sally had turned fifty-one only a month earlier.

“Roe, I haven't seen you in a year,” Sally said brightly.

While I was standing there, nonplussed, Tiffany Andrews came out of another stall. I didn't know Tiffany very well. She had a daughter named Sienna, I remembered, and she owned and taught dance at one of the local studios. Tiffany was wearing a white sweater and a black skirt, and my first thought was that she looked like a hostess at a nice restaurant.

She gave Sally and me a casual nod and washed her hands. I'd hoped she'd leave, but she began to root around in her handbag for makeup, and then to do repair work to her face.

“Sally, you saw me at the Carriage House about two weeks ago,” I said gently. Robin and I had been celebrating our secret good news. Sally had been sitting across the dining room with Perry and his boyfriend, Keith Winslow, a financial adviser.

“The Carriage House?” Sally said uncertainly.

“The restaurant,” I said, maintaining my smile with some difficulty. Sally was worse, clearly.

“Um-hum,” she said, clearly deciding I was making this up. “Well, see you later.” She looked at me with suspicion.

I risked another question. “Are you here to see Perry?”

Sally looked at me blankly.

“Okay, see you later!” I said, trying not to sound too bright, too cheerful. Tiffany Andrews was looking from me to Sally.

I left the ladies' room to search for Perry. I was relieved to see him returning to the check-out desk. I took a deep breath or two as I went behind the counter to talk to him. “Perry,” I said, trying to be very quiet and very calm.

It was clear that Perry was used to getting shocks now. “What is it?” he said, whipping around to face me, his voice equally low.

“Your mom is in the ladies' room. She's confused,” I said, not knowing any way to make it more palatable.

“Why didn't you bring her out?” he asked.

“She didn't seem to trust me,” I explained. I'd been scared that if I tried to steer Sally into a course of action, she would rebel and cause a scene. I felt like a coward. I was a coward.

Tiffany Andrews emerged from the ladies' room and walked briskly to the staff door. She breezed by the
STAFF ONLY
sign on the door. Maybe she was also being interviewed for the secretary's job? But the next moment, I forgot all about her when I saw how sad Perry looked.

Perry went into the ladies' room while I stopped a twenty-something who'd been about to enter. I asked her nicely if she'd go to the other ladies' room, on the second floor, and she flipped me off. Even ten years earlier, that would never, ever have happened. At least she walked away in the right direction.

It didn't take Perry long to coax Sally out the door.

It was like someone had flipped a switch. Sally seemed perfectly all right.

“Son, I cannot believe you came into the ladies' room,” Sally said, smiling but startled. “What did you think could happen to me in there?”

Vastly relieved, I turned around to go back to the desk while Perry dealt with his mom. But Sally said, “Roe Teagarden! I haven't talked to you since Moses wore diapers!”

“Sally, good to see you. I have to get back to work, but I'll give you a call.” And I cast a smile over my shoulder and sped away.

Yep. A coward.

Forewarned, I intercepted Lizanne when she came in for her interview. To my relief, she was dressed just right, in wool slacks that fit her (which meant, not too tightly) and a blouse that also was not too snug. Sam didn't like women who emphasized their femininity. Tiffany had been on the wrong track with her heavy makeup.

“Roe?” she said when I bore down on her right inside the front door.

“You want this job?” I said in a low voice. I looked up into her gorgeous brown eyes.

She nodded. Lizanne had always been beautiful, and motherhood hadn't changed that, though of course she'd matured … we all had.

“Then dodge into the ladies' room and blot your lipstick,” I said. “And when Sam's asking you questions, just assure him that you can do everything he asks, and that you will only disturb him when there's something really urgent. Be balm on the waters. What he wants is a barricade.”

She nodded. “I can do that.” And it was true that Lizanne had always been the most relaxed person I'd ever known, and quite capable.

I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask my old friend, but her glance at her watch told me she was worried about the time, so I pointed to the staff door. Lizanne was in the process of ending her marriage to a local lawyer and budding politician, Bubba Sewell. The pending divorce had caused a flurry of gossip, almost none of it accurate.

I didn't see Lizanne again, though I ate my salad lunch in the break room in the hope of catching her when she left. I worked for another two hours. Then it was time for me to go to my doctor's appointment, finally. As I gathered my coat and my purse, I texted Robin to tell him I was on my way. I saw I had a text from Phillip.
I nd to tlk to u,
he said. I texted him back,
Great. See you back at the house in an hour, or hour and a half?

MayB, MayB not,
he answered.
Josh coming by after school.

Josh Finstermeyer and his twin sister, Joss, had become instant friends of Phillip's. They lived a short distance from my house. The twins went to the public high school, and they were both bright kids. And as a bonus, since they were sixteen (a few months older than Phillip), they were both able to drive without an adult in the car.

K, see you later, got news,
I said.

He answered with a surprised emoticon.

Pretty typical message exchange with a fifteen-year-old, I thought, and then concentrated on what the doctor might say.