Софи Келли - A Case Of Cat And Mouse

“I’m still looking for other options,” he said. “I’ll keep you in the loop.”

Harry stopped by before lunch with a couple of prices for security cameras. I looked at the numbers and shook my head.

“I know,” he said. “That has to be out of the library’s budget. How do you feel about a jerry-rigged temporary solution, just until we catch whoever keeps putting stuff in the gazebo?”

“Jerry-rigged suggests it’s not going to cost a lot of money,” I said. “I like the sound of that.”

Harry squeezed the brim of his Twins baseball cap. “Probably just the price of a few rolls of duct tape, I’m thinking.”

I smiled. “I like that a lot. What do you have in mind?”

“You remember when Mariah was doing that project for school and she put together that drone?”

I nodded.

Harry’s daughter had done more than just put together a drone. She’d figured out how to attach a camera and fly the drone. She’d also recorded footage that gave a potential murder suspect an alibi. What she hadn’t done was tell her father or anyone else what she was up to.

“Well, it turns out Uncle Larry was giving her a little help.”

Harry’s younger brother, Larry, was an electrician who liked to tinker with anything electronic. It struck me that maybe he’d be able to come up with a way to keep our computer monitors working.

“I hope you don’t mind that I talked to him about what’s been happening down here,” Harry said. “He thinks he might be able to rig some kind of camera along the roofline at the back of the building. It won’t cost you a cent. Larry has a workshop full of junk and after what happened with Mariah, he figures he kinda owes me.” He grinned. “Might as well take advantage of it.”

“Yes,” I said. “If Larry can come up with some way we can catch the culprit, why not?”

“I’ll give him a call,” Harry said.

It was about quarter after twelve when Levi Ericson came in. Mary had taken the early lunch break. I was putting books on our holds shelves.

“Could I talk to you about something?” he asked. His expression was serious and I hoped he wasn’t going to tell me he was quitting.

“Of course,” I said. “We can go up to my office. I just need to get Abigail.”

“Here is fine,” he said. He cleared his throat. “Did you know World Mental Health Day is in October?”

I shook my head. “No, I didn’t.”

“I was wondering, could we do something here at the library? Maybe on the day or during the week? Some kind of display, or maybe a talk or . . . something?”

“Yes,” I said. “We could do all of it.”

A smile lit up his face. “Really?”

“Really.” I was happy not to be losing Levi and his suggestion was a good one.

“I, um, I kind of have some ideas for what we could do,” he said, swiping his hair back out of his eyes with his long fingers. “I have this friend who has anxiety. She looks like she has her life together but it’s not how she feels inside. I think a lot of people feel that way and they’re scared to let anyone know.”

“Put your ideas on paper,” I said. “You don’t have to do anything fancy. I’m not asking you to write an essay. Just organize your thoughts. Then you and I will sit down and come up with a plan.”

“I can do that this weekend,” he said. He couldn’t seem to stop smiling.

I smiled back at him. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

He started for the door and then turned around. “Thank you, Kathleen. Really, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I said.

Levi all but bounced out of the door. I loved his enthusiasm and how much he obviously cared about his friend. “She looks like she has her life together but it’s not how she feels inside.” I realized that the way he had described his friend sounded a lot like the way Russell had talked about Stacey just last night: “I know it seems like Stacey has it all together, but lying like this just makes her anxiety worse.”

Stacey had anxiety? How was she managing it? I knew that not everyone with anxiety used medication. I also knew people were sometimes desperate enough for help that they bought drugs illegally. Marcus had said that no one involved with the show had a prescription for the drug found in Kassie’s system. Was I jumping to conclusions thinking Stacey could be the source of the lorazepam?

At one o’clock I took my lunch break and headed to the community center to give Eugenie my research into making butter. It would have been easier to e-mail everything, but she liked to check the information while I was with her and it really wasn’t that big of a hassle.

I stopped to say hi to Maggie and let her know I might be late for tai chi. Roma wanted to check Hercules’s leg one more time. She was squeezing us in at the end of the day and I was going to pick him up as soon as I left the community center. I was lucky Mayville Heights was the kind of place where my cat could spend the afternoon at the library and no one would think that was strange.

Stacey was just crossing the parking lot when I came out the back door. She waved and changed course to intercept me. “I’m glad I saw you,” she said. “I wanted to thank you for encouraging Russell to talk to the police.”

“You’re welcome,” I said. “I was just a little moral support. Russell already knew what he needed to do.”

Stacey fingered the strap of her brown leather cross-body bag. “I don’t like lying, especially to the police. I was getting so anxious I started having panic attacks.”

“I’m claustrophobic,” I said. “I know a little about how panic feels.”

“Usually I can manage my anxiety with meditation and exercise but, being on the show, it’s been a lot harder.” I noticed that her nails were very short and the cuticles on both hands looked ragged.

I smiled. “I think you may be doing better than you realize. I didn’t notice anything.”

Stacey ducked her head for a moment. Her fingers were still fidgeting with the strap of her bag. “That’s because I’m pretty good at fooling people, and, to be honest, I’ve been taking something—not all the time. Just when I need it.”

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked. “I know we’re not friends but I sometimes think librarians are like bartenders—you’d be surprised the things people tell us.”

That made her smile. “I appreciate the offer but now that I’m not on the show most of the pressure is gone. I’m glad I did it, but I don’t think I’d do something like that again.” She shook her head. “I got so anxious I swiped a few pills from a friend who has a prescription for antianxiety medication. Dumb, right?”

“Not dumb,” I said, choosing my words with care, “but maybe not the best way to handle things.”

“Russell said the same thing, and I am going to see my doctor when I get home.” Her gaze slipped away from my face for a moment. “Last night I gave him the ones I had left and he got rid of them. I wasn’t really keeping track of how many I took and I know that isn’t good.”

“I’m glad you’re not self-medicating anymore and I’m glad you have Russell.” I touched her arm for a moment. “Russell has my number. Please use it if you want to talk or just get a cup of coffee. Or tea.”

Stacey nodded. “I will.”

We said good-bye. She headed for the door and I made my way across the lot.

I got in the truck and dropped my bag on the seat. I propped my elbow on the armrest and leaned my head on my hand. There was a good chance Stacey was the source of the medication in Kassie’s system. By her own admission she hadn’t kept track of those pills she’d taken from her friend. It would have been easy for someone to borrow one or two. But if I told Marcus what I had just figured out, Stacey would know I’d betrayed her confidence. I couldn’t do that. There had to be some other way for him to get the information. I just needed to figure it out.