Миранда Джеймс - Arsenic And Old Books

“Guess I must have sensed somehow that I needed to stop by.” I smiled to show my appreciation. “I’ll take them all.”

While Jordan was ringing up my purchases, I decided to do a little fishing. “You certainly have a wide range of customers. Right before you came back to say hello, I thought I spotted one of the writers from the paper and one of our political hopefuls chatting together.”

Jordan frowned. “Really? Which ones? I haven’t seen Ray Appleby in a couple of weeks. He usually takes time to talk when he comes in.”

“Not Ray Appleby. A young woman named Kelly Grimes. I thought I saw her talking to Jasper Singletary.”

“I don’t know her. I think I’ve seen her name in the paper, though,” Jordan said. “I went to school with Jasper.” She paused. “In fact, we dated in high school, but he was a little too intense for me. Too driven.”

“Is that so?” I said, realizing how inane a remark it was even as it left my lips.

Jordan didn’t appear to notice. “I heard he had a girlfriend, but I don’t know what her name is. The friend who told me didn’t know, either, only that Jasper was finally involved with someone.” She giggled. “Frankly, we were all starting to think he was gay, because nobody ever saw him with anyone but all those guys who seem to follow him around everywhere.”

“He seems to be working pretty hard to get himself elected,” I said as I handed over my credit card. “If he’s still as driven as he was in high school, then I’d say he probably doesn’t have much time for a personal life.”

“True.” Jordan swiped the card in her machine and then handed it back to me. I signed the receipt, and she bagged up the books. “He was always pretty single-minded. Wouldn’t let anything—or anyone—get in the way of his goals.” She giggled again. “Evidently I wasn’t one of his goals, though back then I sure wanted to be. He’s a hunk and a half.”

“If you say so,” I murmured. Jordan had the reputation of going through men like some women go through shoes, but I didn’t know whether there was any truth to the stories I’d heard. Melba had never said a word against her, and I took that as a sign that the rumors were simply that: rumors.

Jordan frowned suddenly. “Kelly Grimes, you said?”

I nodded.

“I heard that name somewhere recently,” she said slowly. “In the paper, like I said, but I heard someone talking about her not that long ago.” She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. “This is going to bug me until I remember.”

“I know. It’s irritating when you’re trying to dredge something up.” I thought my fishing expedition might reel in a bit of information after all. I hoped she could recall what it was she’d heard.

Diesel meowed loudly to remind me that he was there and in desperate need of attention. Jordan laughed as I scratched the cat’s head.

“I’ve got it,” she said suddenly. “I know where I heard her name.” She glanced around us, perhaps to see whether anyone else was in earshot. Evidently satisfied we couldn’t be overheard, she leaned toward me.

“It was the other day at the Chamber of Commerce breakfast,” she said. “I overheard the mayor’s secretary gossiping about her to one of the other business owners. That Grimes girl is stalking him like a cat in heat looking for a tom .” She shrugged. “That was it. I never did hear who the him is.”

ELEVEN

I could have satisfied her curiosity on that point, I thought. Then I realized I couldn’t be sure.

At first I would have assumed the mayor’s secretary was talking about Beck Long, given that Kelly Grimes told me they were secretly engaged. When I considered what happened at the bakery a little while ago and here in the bookstore only a few minutes ago, however, I had to reexamine the situation.

Jasper Singletary and Kelly Grimes had more than a passing acquaintance with each other. That much was obvious. I recalled Helen Louise’s remark about the CIA and the silliness of what we observed. Perhaps espionage wasn’t so far off the mark after all.

I had only Kelly Grimes’s word for it that she was engaged to Beck Long. Had she insisted on utter secrecy because the whole thing was fabricated? I was beginning to realize that could well be the case. The conversation I overheard between Ms. Grimes and Singletary told me the two had to know each other intimately—and were involved in some kind of plot together.

Moreover, the plot centered around the Rachel Long diaries. Kelly Grimes’s remark about trying to get access had to refer to them. Singletary wanted her to find evidence of something in them, something his grandmother had allegedly told him about.

All too vague, I thought.

“Charlie, did you hear me?” Jordan poked my arm with a light touch.

“Sorry,” I said. “Woolgathering, as usual. Did I hear you about what?”

Jordan shook her head. “Professors are supposed to be the absentminded ones, not librarians. Did you hear what I told you about the mayor’s secretary and what she said?”

“I did.” I nodded. “It’s all very curious, isn’t it? I’d love to know who the man is.”

“Me, too.” Jordan laughed. “Why don’t you ask your friend Miss Melba? She always seems to know everybody’s business.”

“I might just do that,” I said.

“If you find out, let me know. I’m beginning to think it could be this Kelly Grimes. Like I told you, one of my friends says Jasper has a new girlfriend. Could be her.”

“You might be right,” I said. I knew one thing for sure. The next time I saw Ms. Kelly Grimes, I was going to sit her down and grill her for all she was worth. I didn’t like being lied to, and I would tell her so.

“Are you sure I can’t give him just one little T-R-E-A-T?” Jordan pointed to Diesel, now lolling on his back, his head to one side, in his most winsome pose.

I sighed. “Okay. One, and only one. Then we have to get going. I’ve got a big project to work on.”

Jordan grinned as she reached beneath the counter for a bag of Diesel’s favorite treats. The minute he heard the crinkling of the plastic, he was on his feet. He put his front paws on the edge of the counter and watched her closely. She picked one morsel out and gave it to him. He grabbed it and dropped to the floor. A moment later he stood on his hind legs again. Clearly he expected another one.

“No,” I said. “No more.”

Jordan put the bag away and then waved her hands to indicate they were empty. Diesel meowed before he dropped to all fours and turned to sit with his back to us. Jordan and I shared a laugh.

“See you later,” I said as I strolled toward the door. Diesel meowed in a mournful tone as Jordan bade us good-bye.

We walked back to the car. I cranked it to get the air conditioner going before I settled Diesel in the backseat. I decided to go to the college and park rather than go home and walk back. I was eager to resume work on the diaries.

I parked in the small lot between the old antebellum home that housed the archive and the more modern structure that was the actual college library. Diesel and I went in the back way. When we reached the front hallway and the stairs, I saw Melba enter the front door.

“You just getting back, too?” she said. “I had a nice lunch at the faculty club.” She shot me an arch smile. “Want to guess who I ate with?”

There really was no telling, I thought. Melba had friends all over campus. “You have way too many beaus around here for me to single out only one.”

“Can’t help it if I’m popular.” She motioned for Diesel and me to follow her into her office. “Come on in a minute. I have got to tell you about lunch.”