Dennis Larsen - With Cruel Intent

“Not so bad,” he thought, as the juices filled his mouth and he swallowed.

Big mistake! He couldn’t get to the toilet fast enough and he’d spewed tobacco and his breakfast all over the bathroom floor. It had taken him until almost noon to get things cleaned up and his disguise completed again minus the tobacco. Instead he settled on an old pair of glasses, also left behind by his father, who used them for reading in his later years. They made his eyes look funny in the mirror, kind of magnified and larger than life but he could manage to see through them well enough to get around. The distance vision was poor so he wouldn’t be able to drive with them on but the near acuity was acceptable so he shouldn’t draw any undue attention to himself, especially in a place where everyone would be reading. Before leaving on the appointed mission he stood in front of the mirror admiring the work he’d done.

“Me own mum wouldn’t recognize me,” he uttered under his breath in a funny little accent, and with cane in hand he had headed for the Valdosta Public Library.

Blanche returned to the main lobby of the library to find a donation sign positioned squarely in the middle of the desk with a canister nearby to accept cash and coins. She chuckled lightly before addressing the items filling her ‘to do’ boxes. Seated at the desk she could see a fair portion of the library but failed to see where the green clad fellow had gone.

“Must be upstairs. Hope he didn’t hurt himself,” she thought, returning her attention to the damaged books she was mending with strapping tape on the counter with the assistance of one of the young men from the school program.

She noted that he was having a very difficult time focusing on the project at hand and made a mental note not to wear this sweater again. Too distracting at work but would possibly work wonders under the right circumstances. Once the few mending jobs were completed she excused the young man with the wandering eyes and made her way around the library, checking on the facility and making sure that all was well. The later afternoon patrons tended to be younger and that was the case today. In the far, back corner of the lower level a group of college students were huddled together working on term papers.

Must have been a group project as each appeared to be throwing his or her own ideas into the ring and a cute young redhead was moderating. Blanche approached the group surrounding one of the longer tables, stood at the shorter end and tried to get their attention to no avail. Placing both hands on the flat surface she leaned forward extending her torso closer to the cluster of youth and drummed her nails on the tabletop until they all looked in her direction and stopped talking.

She quietly whispered in a hushed tone, “I know you’re working on something as a group but we’ll need you to keep it down just a bit more than you are now, okay.”

The students responded with a flurry of responses indicating that they understood and would be quieter. A good looking guy sitting next to the redhead must have paid too much attention to the shapely librarian and as Blanche turned to walk away, the redhead gave him a swift elbow in the ribs and a look of scorn for good measure.

Working her way up to the second floor it appeared to be deserted except for a lone patron wearing a green army jacket seated in front of a computer monitor and a stack of books scattered on the table beside him. Blanche's curiosity was peaked so she wandered through the upper level appearing to be busy with adjusting books on shelves, straightening things up as she went, gradually working her way closer to the unusual stranger.

He seemed intent on what he was reading, both on the screen and the books, as he thumbed through them. The curious librarian eventually found herself directly behind him only separated by a bookshelf with his back to her. She quietly slid a handful of books aside and removed a few others to clear a path so that she could see what he was doing. He wouldn’t be the first that they’d had to reprimand for viewing illicit content with a library computer but that was not the case here. She could see the books stacked near him and each appeared to be crime related, Helter Skelter, The Stranger Beside Me , and other popular true crime novels, each with torn pieces of paper holding place throughout the titles.

The individual was also working with a notepad he held on his lap, periodically making notes then returning the pad, out of the view of others that may be passing by. It did not appear he had any idea that Blanche was behind him as he googled ‘bizarre crime stories’ and ‘shocking crime stories’.

“Must be a lover of non-fiction crime genre,” Blanche thought. “I wonder if he could use some direction.”

She left her hiding place and stepped around the end of the shelving unit to stand directly at the side of the stranger. In her most professional librarian whispered voice she said, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

It became readily apparent that he’d had no idea that the librarian was even on the same floor as himself, let alone right next to him. He bounced in the chair as if it had been electrified, sending his notepad skidding across the floor and the mouse cord being yanked from the back of the computer tower. Blanche reacted with a slight giggle but maintained her librarian demeanor in the process.

“I’m so sorry, I thought you knew I was standing next to you,” she lied.

“Holy hell lady, you about gave me a heart attack. You work here or something?” the disheveled reader reasoned.

“Yeah, I’m in charge around here in the evenings. I saw you were looking up some non-fiction material. Is there anything I can help you find?”

“No, I uh, I think I’ve got what I came for but thanks for the offer.” He couldn’t help but let his eyes wander up and down the frame of the attractive librarian.

Blanche looked directly in his eyes through the thick glasses that made his iris's look like large, green saucers. It was somehow strange that he was looking at her but not engaging her eyes directly, however, she couldn’t help but notice when those over-sized saucers looked her up and down, then came to rest back on her face with an approving smile on his lips.

Her curiosity pushed her to say, “I couldn’t help but notice you having some trouble on the steps outside. Did you get hurt?”

“No, just a little stumble was all, ever since I got injured in the Gulf War I’ve had to put up with a bum leg and bent spine.” He hunched over a bit to make his point.

“Oh, I see, sorry to hear that. Is there anything more we can do to make your experience with us more pleasant or comfortable? We love to support our troops both past and present. Will you please let me know if there is anything we can do for you?” she said, in the most pleasing way possible.

His mind was trying to process a thousand things at once. "She's getting too good a look at me, have got to distract her and make an exit. Do I have everything I need to advance our agenda? Is my disguise still holding up? Can’t see very well but don’t remove the glasses. Don’t remove the glasses! Damn this librarian is hot, reminds me of Virginia May, filthy slut. Nothing like what I expected — no dusty shelves and a tasty treat as a librarian. Focus damn it, focus!"

He tried to get his thoughts sorted and his tongue under control before he said something stupid or telling.

“That’s really nice of you but I think I’m finished and I’ll be on my way shortly.” Is what he said but what he was thinking was, “Hell yes, there is something you can do for me, set yourself up here on this table and let’s have a go.” The wicked thought brought a smile to his face as he let that little fantasy play out in his mind, if only for a moment.