The Librarian's Last Chapter (12 page)

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 granola 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.

“I’ll be sleeping on a
cot in the front room,” Bruce said. “Normally, Officer Bradford gets the
pleasure, but he has plans tonight. Marsha, I can’t post bail until you’ve seen
a judge. You should know that from all the television shows you watch.”

Oh, goodie. I didn’t know
who was worse since they both believed me guilty of something. I turned my back
on him and went back to my bench. I lay down and pulled a thin, scratchy
blanket over me. I shoved the hard pillow on the floor. If I used that, I’d
wake up with lice.

Why was I the only one
who knew Norma Rae was the killer? Why hadn’t anyone else put the pieces
together? Yes, more than one woman wore smooth-soled ballet flats, but the
woman attacked me with a knife. That should turn on some light bulbs over
people’s heads. Except for the important fact that the authorities didn’t
believe me and I didn’t have any witnesses. Since no one was around during our
scuffle, where did Norma Rae find someone to vouch for her?

There had to be something
I could do to convince them. I mulled over the clues. Motive: Norma Rae needed
money in the worst way. Second, I’d witnessed first- hand that she was strong
enough to choke or stab someone. Third, she was just plain mean. What woman
could treat her daughter the way she treated Ingrid? It was almost as if the
woman hated her own daughter. Fourth, the shoes fit. Fifth, the woman knew an
awful lot about the crimes.
As much or more than Mrs. Willis,
in fact.

Mrs. Willis I understood,
with her need for research. She’d probably bribed someone into giving her
information. But my final answer as to Norma Rae being the killer was the look
on Ingrid’s face when I mentioned the shoes. That girl knew for a fact
who
the murderer was and thought to protect her in some
misguided attempt at loyalty.

Oh, no! I bolted to a
sitting position. What if I wasn’t released in the morning? That would set the
wedding back even further. I’d be too old to carry another child and I suddenly
realized I really did want to have a child with Duane. The tears started fresh.

I plopped back onto the
bench, banging my head on the metal surface. Duane might be the most patient
person I knew, but even he could give up on me and find someone else. He
wouldn’t have to try very hard, not with his looks.

I slapped the brick wall.
There was no sense in having a pity party. I had to hold onto the fact that
Bruce had said I’d be released in the morning. Why then, deny me bail? Was he
trying to teach me a lesson about staying out of his investigation? I hadn’t
been looking for clues when he’d cuffed me. Nothing made sense anymore.

A scuffle sounded from
the front room. I sat up and held my breath. When no one came to talk to me or
release me, I laid back down. What time was it? Since I didn’t have my cell
phone or a watch, I could have been locked up for an hour or several. It could
be morning for all I knew. I smiled, hoping it was. Then, I’d go before the
judge and hopefully be released into Duane’s care until they figured out I
really wasn’t a violent person or a menace to society.

Something rattled from
the direction of Bruce’s desk. I moved to the bars. “Hello? Who’s there?”

When Bruce didn’t answer,
I scurried back to a corner of the cell. Had Norma Rae come after me even in
jail? I sat on the floor, knees bent and arms wrapped around them. Unless she
had a gun, I was safe, right? What if she killed Bruce and took his keys. I
thought about waking my cell mate and hiding behind her, but thought better of
it. I didn’t want to be responsible for her getting injured.

“Bruce?” I whispered. My
cell mate snuffled in her sleep. A shuffling noise drew closer. I rolled under
the bench and hugged the wall. Unless someone turned on the light, they
wouldn’t be able to see me. Maybe they’d think the snorer was the only
occupant.

I held my breath as
footsteps paused at the cell then passed. My plan had worked! I grinned and
remained as still as possible. The footsteps returned. My heart stopped when
they paused in front of the cell for a longer period of time.

A curse word drifted
through the darkness. I cringed. I knew that voice. God, help me.

“Marsha,” the hoarse
whispered words sent shiver down my back. “You have to be here. This is the
only cell.”

Key’s jangled and the
cell door squeaked open.