Миранда Джеймс - Twelve Angry Librarians

“That’s fine,” I said. “In the meantime, if there’s anything I can do to help you both, please let me know.”

“Will do.” Marisue ended the call.

Poor Randi , I thought, breaking an arm while attending a library conference. Rotten luck . She wouldn’t feel much like talking for the rest of the day, I was sure. Hopefully Marisue would be able to answer Kanesha’s questions sufficiently in the meantime.

I wondered if Randi’s accident would keep Marisue from coming to the after-reception party in Lisa’s suite tonight. I supposed it depended on how much assistance Randi needed. Probably the main thing she needed at the moment was rest and quiet. I’d never broken a limb, and thankfully neither had either of my children or my late wife. I didn’t have any experience with looking after anyone with a broken arm.

A glance at my watch confirmed that I had time to take a nap myself before I needed to head back to the Farrington House. I decided that, since I wanted to take Diesel with me, I would take a pass on the reception at five thirty and instead have an early dinner at home before the party in Lisa’s suite.

“Come on, Diesel,” I said. “Let’s go upstairs and rest, okay?” He looked at me and chirped. He liked taking naps with me. We headed up to my bedroom and got comfortable. I drifted off not long after.

I must have been more tired than I realized. When I woke and checked the clock, I was surprised to see I had slept for nearly two hours. I had never been one of those people who was totally with it and ready to go at the moment of awakening. It took me several minutes before I was ready to sit up and get out of bed. Diesel woke up when I did, but he sat up and stretched. Then he began grooming himself.

My brain continued to feel foggy until I had bathed my face in cold water and put my clothes back on. I had a little over an hour before I needed to leave for the party at the hotel. Time enough for dinner, at least.

Diesel padded down the stairs along with me. The kitchen was dark, and that was unusual. Stewart must have turned out the lights before he either went upstairs or left the house. I couldn’t remember offhand what his and Haskell’s plans were for this evening. I figured Haskell might still be on duty, thanks to the double homicide investigation.

I was hungry, but I didn’t feel like taking one of Azalea’s casseroles from the freezer and heating it up. Instead I decided on a couple of ham sandwiches, along with the last of the potato salad Stewart made a couple of days ago. That bottle of diet soda I’d looked at earlier provided my beverage for the meal. No dessert tonight, since I would no doubt find things to nibble on at the party. Not to mention, my conscience reminded me, that sinful dessert I’d had at lunchtime.

After my exciting dinner I went up to brush my teeth and freshen up, then came down to get Diesel ready for the ride to the hotel. He would have to remain in his halter with the leash attached the whole time. He might find that frustrating, because I usually didn’t have to keep him leashed. On this occasion, however, with a number of strangers around, I needed to be sure he remained close to me.

Nearly twenty minutes later we walked into the Farrington House from the rear entrance and made our way to the lobby. Diesel had been in the hotel before, several times in the past. The owners were animal lovers, and they welcomed guests with family pets—other than reptiles or exotics, that is. Diesel no doubt remembered the place and so far showed no signs of fear, though he was walking close by my legs.

Before we went up to Lisa’s suite, I wanted to try talking with Marisue. I pulled my phone out and texted her to see if she had time to chat.

She responded almost immediately and invited me to her room.

I led Diesel to the elevator, empty at the moment, and punched the button for Marisue’s floor. We soon arrived at her door, and she answered my knock so quickly she must have been standing right on the other side.

“Come in,” she said. “I heard something a few minutes ago that might help solve the murders.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

Marisue urged me in again when I stood there for a moment, trying to process what she had told me. “Come on, Charlie,” she said. “I don’t want to have this conversation with you standing out in the hall, for Pete’s sake.”

“Oh, right.” I moved forward, and Diesel trotted in ahead of me while Marisue shut the door behind us.

“Make yourself comfortable.” Marisue waved a hand in the direction of the two small armchairs her room offered. I chose the one on the right. Diesel sat at my feet and watched Marisue as she sat in the other chair. She stretched out a hand to the cat, and he rubbed his head against it. “You are so handsome, but I bet you know that.”

When Diesel meowed in response, Marisue laughed, and I could see her visibly relax a little. She had seemed tense when she opened the door, but now she looked less so. Diesel often had that effect.

“Now, what is this you’ve heard that could solve the case?” I asked, trying not to sound impatient.

Marisue shifted her focus from Diesel to me and sat back in her chair. “I was down on the meeting room level until about ten minutes ago. You’ll be happy to know I was talking to your good friend the deputy.” She grinned. “My goodness, that woman can be more than a little terrifying, but I guess she’d have to be in her position.”

“She has to be pretty tough,” I said.

“Anyway, I finished answering her questions, and I headed back to the elevator to return here. When the doors opened, there stood the Bobbsey Twins in the middle of one of their bickering sessions. I almost let the door close to wait for the elevator to come back, but I got on anyway.”

Marisue’s reference to the Bobbsey Twins threw me. I knew all about Bert and Nan and Freddie and Flossie, because I’d read the books when I was a youngster. I knew she wasn’t talking about them, however.

“I don’t know whom you’re talking about,” I said.

Marisue grinned. “Sorry, I forgot you haven’t been coming to these meetings for years like the rest of us. You may have seen them around, two women in their late seventies, maybe early eighties? Nobody knows exactly how old they are. Virginia and Ada Lou. They always come to these meetings together, and most of the time they bicker over the craziest things.”

“Yes, I’ve met them,” I said. “Go on. What were they bickering about when you got in the elevator with them?”

“At first, I couldn’t make much sense of it,” Marisue said. “Their conversations can be incredibly oblique sometimes, you know. But then I realized they were talking about Gavin and something they’d seen or overheard involving him. That’s when I really started paying attention.”

She paused for a moment. “I get tired simply thinking about those two. So they’re talking about Gavin and an argument he was having with someone. Evidently they didn’t hear much of it, and they aren’t completely sure who the other party was, except that they’re sure he was a man.”

“Where and when did this happen?” I asked.

“I think maybe early on Thursday afternoon, when people first started arriving and checking into the hotel,” Marisue said. “They’re staying on a higher floor, I guess, because I had to get out before I could hear much more. They never even noticed when I got on or when I got off.”

“Did you manage to hear anything about the subject of the argument Gavin was having with the unknown man?” This was certainly intriguing, but also annoying, since everything was rather vague. I didn’t envy Kanesha the task of trying to get those two women to talk and then make sense of it all.