Jenn McKinlay - Due Or Die

She quickly called the town hall to see if the mayor was available. She would close the library whether he approved or not, but she thought it wise to get his okay.

“Mayor Henson’s office, this is Judy,” his secretary answered.

“Hi, Judy, it’s Lindsey Norris at the library; is the mayor in?”

“Yes, he’s just debating whether to close the town offices for the day. Horrible storm coming, you know.”

“I do; in fact, I was just calling to ask if I could close the library.”

“Hold one moment,” Judy said.

“Sure,” Lindsey said. No sooner were the words out than Muzak began to play in her ear. It was a slicked-out version of the Beatles’ “Let It Be,” and in her opinion, they should have.

“Hi, Lindsey,” Judy came back on the line. “The mayor says go ahead. Whiteout conditions are predicted, and he says it’s not worth anyone getting stranded in this.”

“Thanks,” Lindsey said. She hung up the phone and went over to the circulation desk. Ann Marie glanced up from the cart of books she was fine sorting.

“We’re going to close early,” Lindsey said. “There’s a nor’easter coming.”

Ann Marie gave her a wide-eyed look. “Oh, no, the last time we got hit with a storm like that, the power went out and I had to keep all of my perishables out in the snow. Never did find my whole fryer chicken until the thaw hit a few weeks later.”

Lindsey blew out a breath. She turned to assess the library. Other than Edmund, there was a mother with two children in the kids’ area, two computer users and a couple of teens looking over the DVD collection.

Lindsey cleared her throat and raised her voice to be heard throughout the room. “Due to the weather, the library will be closing in fifteen minutes. If you need to call for a ride, please come and use the phone. If you’d like to check out materials, please do so in the next few minutes.”

She saw Edmund appear from the stacks carrying several novels. He strode purposefully to the circulation desk, and Lindsey was glad he’d been able to find something.

“I’m so glad you came in today,” she said. “I didn’t realize it was going to be this bad and I’m not sure the mayor’s office would have remembered to call us.”

“I think this storm snuck up on us all,” he said. “No one expected a tropical cyclone and an Arctic cold front to collide, but they have.”

“It can’t be worse than the blizzard of ’78,” Lindsey said. “I was only a year old, but my parents still talk about how ice coated the trees and the snow drifts were higher than the house.”

“Yeah, and people got stranded in their cars for two days,” Edmund said. Then he wiggled his eyebrows and added, “And the baby rate boomed nine months later.”

“I have two cousins who arrived nine months later,” Lindsey said with a laugh.

“You know, this storm is going to put a crimp in our lunch date,” he said.

Lindsey felt her face get warm at the word date , which was ridiculous. He’d invited both Carrie and her. It wasn’t as if he was asking her out.

“That’s all right,” she said. She tried to make her voice sound casual, but it still seemed to come out a bit higher than normal. “I don’t think Carrie will be able to make it for a while.”

He handed his books and card to Ann Marie for checkout and gave Lindsey an understanding nod. “I heard about what happened with her husband. Is she okay?”

“She’s getting through it,” Lindsey said.

“Do the police have any leads?”

“I really don’t know,” she said.

She glanced at Edmund. He reminded her so much of her former fiancé, back before he turned into a two-timing jackass. Edmund was smart and charming, and she felt an immediate kinship with him, probably because she had spent her entire life around academic types and he definitely had the Ivy League stamp upon him.

A thought occurred to her and she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ask. “Listen, do you know Marjorie Bilson?”

Edmund took his books back from Ann Marie and began to wrap his scarf about his neck again. Lindsey thought she saw his jaw tighten, but when he spoke, his voice was neutral. “She seems quite taken with my uncle.”

Lindsey nodded as they walked toward the front doors. Good, then her erratic behavior might not be such a surprise.

“Has she done anything-how can I put this?”

“Crazy?” Edmund offered.

Lindsey bit her lip and nodded.

They paused before the doors, causing the remaining patrons to go around them on their way out into the whirling scene of white.

“I can’t say there’s been anything specific,” he said. “But I do know that she calls and texts him all day long. So far, he hasn’t complained, but I do wonder if he tried to put a stop to it, if she would turn on him.”

“Yikes.”

“I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that,” he said. “Maybe if we do get snowed in with a power outage, she won’t be able to charge her phone and she’ll have to stop calling.”

“So, she’ll chill?” Lindsey offered, unable to resist the pun.

Edmund broke into a wide grin and said, “In a word.”

They stood smiling at one another and then Lindsey said, “Well, I’d better help close up. Thanks again for coming in. Your timing was excellent.”

“No problem,” he said. The doors whooshed open behind him, but he ignored them as he said, “I’ve noticed you usually ride a bike to work, do you need a ride home today? I’d be happy to wait.”

“She has a ride home,” a voice said from behind him.

Lindsey glanced over Edmund’s shoulder to see Sully standing there in his thick navy coat, looking as bland as the blankets of snow beginning to cover the cars in the parking lot.

BRIAR CREEK

PUBLIC LIBRARY

Edmund spun and glanced at Sully. “Oh, well, very good, then.”

Sully held out his right hand. “Mike Sullivan.”

Edmund clasped his hand briefly. “Edmund Sint.”

Neither of them smiled, and Lindsey got the distinct feeling they were measuring one another like two dogs trying to decide if the bone was worth the fight. Utterly ridiculous.

“Are you about ready?” Sully asked her.

“Almost, I just need to get my things and set the alarm,” she said.

“No, problem I’ll wait,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said.

Edmund glanced between them and then gave her a small smile. “Be safe in the storm and we’ll have to reschedule our lunch date for when the roads are clear.”

“Sounds good,” she said. She could feel Sully watching her, and she knew her face had just flamed hot.

Edmund gave her a mischievous grin and left the building, whistling into the snow.

“I’ll meet you out back,” Sully said. He turned and followed Edmund out.

Lindsey stood there staring for a second, wondering whether she should be flattered or offended. Finally, she decided that she was relieved that when she had seen Sully again, she hadn’t keeled over with embarrassment. She supposed she could thank Edmund for that. He had provided a nice buffer.

“Hey, boss, you coming?” Ann Marie called from the workroom.

Lindsey shook her head and went to gather her things.

Ann Marie met her at the back door with a knowing smile.

“So, it looks like you have two admirers,” she said.

“No, no.” Lindsey shook her head. “Sully is just a friend and Edmund is very nice, but I don’t know that he’s interested in me as anything more than a librarian.”

Ann Marie rolled her eyes. “Oh, puleeze, I saw their faces. They both looked like Cupid came down and shot them in the butt.”

“I’m so not talking about this,” Lindsey said. “And don’t say anything to Beth or she’ll start matchmaking and you know how that goes.”