Kelly Sofie - Curiosity Thrilled The Cat

I nodded. “One of the windows is leaking. The end one in the computer room.”

“Did you call Will Redfern?” He shook his head. “If you could find Will, you wouldn’t be here. Would you?”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know you still have a lot to do here, but Will came and went before I could even lay eyes on him, and I can’t leave the window leaking all weekend.”

“No, you can’t. I’ll come take a look at it.” He stood up. “I need to get a few things.”

“I’ll head back,” I said. “I’ll see you there.”

I didn’t even zip up my coat to walk back to the library. Will hadn’t called or shown up. No surprise.

By the time I’d hung up my jacket Oren had arrived. He headed for the computer room, raising one hand in acknowledgment of Larry, on his way back down to the basement electrical panel.

The leak was even slower now, a steady drip, drip, drip . “Looks like the flashing,” Oren said.

“Larry had the same thought,” I said.

Oren nodded. “I’m going to get the ladder and take a look outside.”

I studied the window frame, hoping the problem was nothing more than a bent piece of metal or a missing bit of caulking.

“Kathleen,” Mary called.

I swung around.

“Everett Henderson for you.”

I nodded and pointed toward my office to let her know I’d heard and would take the call there.

I closed the office door and reached across the desk for the phone. “Hello, Everett,” I said.

“Hello, Kathleen. Lita said you needed to talk to me.”

I explained what had been happening with Will and the renovations. I tried very hard to keep my frustration out of what I was saying. “Oren’s outside on a ladder right now,” I said, “trying to find the source of the leak. I’ve left two messages for Will, and I didn’t want to let this go any longer.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Finally Everett spoke. “Kathleen, I apologize. Lita advised me very strongly not to hire Will.” He sighed softly. “I went to school with Will’s father and I let sentiment and nostalgia influence my decision.”

I chose my words carefully. “How Will is handling this job has nothing to do with you, Everett.”

“That’s very kind of you,” he said. “I have to go out of town on business. I’ll be back Monday. I’ll stop by the house Monday evening and we’ll figure out what to do about the rest of the renovations. Will that work for you?”

“Yes, it will,” I said.

“Good. Now, are you sure you’re not hurt? Have you seen a doctor?”

I rubbed the top of my shoulder, wincing as my fingers hit a tender spot. “I’m okay, Everett. Really,” I said. “Roma is pretty good with two-legged patients.”

“Good to know,” Everett said drily.

“And I’m going to the clinic to get checked out later this afternoon. I’m fine.”

“I think you’d say that even if you weren’t. If you need anything—”

“—call Lita,” I finished. “I will.”

“Is Oren handy? I’d like to talk to him, if I could.”

“Hang on,” I said. I stepped out of my office just as Oren walked back into the building.

“It is the flashing,” he called up to me. “I can fix it for you.”

“Good,” I said. “Everett’s on the phone. He’d like to talk to you.”

Oren didn’t seem surprised. “Okay,” he said, swiping his hands on the bottom of his shirt. The phone at the desk was closer.

While Oren talked to Everett, I walked around the staging again. I didn’t like having it stay there all weekend, and it didn’t look like Will or Eddie or anyone else was coming back today.

Oren hung up and joined me. “Everett asked me to fix the window,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said.

“He asked me to take the staging down, too—if Will’s boys don’t get back before the end of the day.” He studied me for a moment. “He said something fell off it and hit you.”

“That roll.” I pointed to the plastic, still leaning against the desk.

“Are you all right?” Oren asked.

I nodded. “Just a sore shoulder.”

“I don’t know where Will’s head is,” he said.

I could guess, but it wasn’t anatomically possible.

“I’ll get started, then,” he said.

I walked over to Mary, sorting a pile of picture books. “Break time,” I said.

“You sure?” she said.

“You’re working extra hours. You’re entitled to a break.” I looked at my watch. “Where’s Jason?”

“Upstairs.”

Mary stood up and I slid into her place. “Tell him to take his break now, too.”

“Sure thing,” she said, heading for the stairs and the staff room.

I kept busy until Mary returned; then I went back to my office to print off a copy of the library renovation budget and the running list I’d been keeping of what was finished and what still had to be completed. The painting had to be finished and the computer area wasn’t ready, not to mention the meeting room. And there were about a dozen other little tasks still undone. If Will would stop messing around we could get back on schedule. Big “if.”

While I waited for the printer I checked my e-mail. There was one message from Lise. Subject: Easton . I clicked on the message.

Gregor Easton was born Douglas Gregory Williams.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Lise

Douglas Gregory Williams. I copied the name on a blue library pad. So Easton had changed his name. Why? Maybe that was why I hadn’t been able to find anything online about his early life. “Curiouser and curiouser” was right. All I had were questions, questions, questions. Who was Gregor Easton, really? Why had he been in the library after hours? Who was he meeting? What happened to him? Not to mention the biggie: How had he died?

Lise was very good at ferreting out information. I was hoping she’d be able to tell me more about Easton/ Williams. And now that Detective Gordon seemed to be less suspicious of me maybe I could find out exactly how Easton—I couldn’t think of the man by any other name—had died.

There was a tap on my open door. I looked up. Oren stood in the doorway.

“I have the leak patched for now,” he said. “When things dry out a bit tomorrow I can do a permanent fix. I’ve checked the other windows and I don’t see any problems, but I left the bucket and the drop cloths down just in case.”

“Thank you for coming to the rescue,” I said.

He shrugged and ducked his head. “I’ll be back at the end of the day to take care of the staging.” He hesitated, then took a couple of steps into the room. “You’ve done a good job here, Kathleen,” he said. “When I was a boy I spent a lot of time in this building, my nose buried in a book—chasing pirates, solving mysteries, going on safari. No video games back then.” He smiled. “It was one of my favorite places. Before you got here everything—the books, the building—was worn out. You’re turning the library back into that kind of place—somewhere special.”

It was the most Oren had ever said to me at one time. I swallowed a couple of times, uncertain how to respond. “Thank you. That, uh, means a lot,” I finally managed.

Oren shifted from one foot to the other. “So, I’ll be back,” he said. He glanced down at my desk as he turned to go and saw the pad with Easton’s real name scrawled across it. He touched the pad with his index finger. “Easton wasn’t a good person.”

He cleared his throat and shook his head. “I better get going,” he said, and he was gone before I could ask him how he’d known that Douglas Gregory Williams and Gregor Easton were the same man.

14

Snake Creeps Down