Ink and Shadows

by Ellery Adams

  “Would you show me?”

  He sneered. “Why would I?”

  “Your world revolves around art. Mine revolves around language. The fact that you two were able to create one—it’s like reading the work of JRR Tolkien or Anthony Burgess.” For good measure, she added, “Those men were geniuses.”

  Beck didn’t point out that Bren had invented the language on her own. He just pushed up the sleeve of his leather coat, baring his forearm. Nora’s gut constricted at the sight of the inked symbols. Wolf Beck was definitely the man who’d been in the park with Bren.

  Nora said. “Bren’s tattoos. What did they mean?”

  “Raven. Kind of ironic, huh? To be named after a meat-eating bird?” With a chuckle, Beck moved toward the Fiction section, tossing words over his shoulder as he walked. “You got lucky tonight, Book Lady. Forget me, or that luck will change.”

  “Are you going to poison me too?” Nora called after him.

  An eerie laugh echoed through the stacks. “Maybe I already did.”

  As soon as she heard the sleigh bells ring, Nora rushed into the ticket agent’s office to wash her hands. She hadn’t touched Beck. She hadn’t handled his envelope or the money inside. But his presence had left a taint in the air, so Nora thrust her hands under the stream of hot water, scrubbing and scrubbing until her skin turned red.

  Hearing the creak of a floorboard, she glanced over at the pass-through window. No one was there.

  Where’s McCabe?

  “Grant?” she called, shutting off the water and reaching for a towel.

  She heard the floorboards groan and swung around to find Beck darkening the doorway. His face was taut. His eyes blazed. He held a square-shaped folded cloth in his right hand. He was a predator preparing to strike.

  Suddenly, his expression changed. His eyes widened, and he grunted in surprise.

  There were now two men in the doorway. McCabe had crept up behind Beck on cat feet. He was so close that when he said “drop it” his breath stirred strands of Beck’s hair.

  When Beck didn’t comply, McCabe removed his taser from his utility belt and pressed it against Beck’s lower back. “Drop it now, or I’ll fry you like an egg.”

  The piece of cloth fell to the floor.

  McCabe cuffed and Mirandized Beck while Fuentes bagged the cloth. He tossed the bag on the counter and approached Nora.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “You did great,” he said with a reassuring smile. “Sorry about the scare. When we saw Beck heading for the front door, we were already on the move. Andrews and Wiggins were going to block his exit, and the sheriff and I planned to come at him from behind. But then Beck shook the bells to make you think he’d left and took a flask out of his pocket. He soaked that cloth with whatever was in his flask. Perkins told us what was happening, so we fell back just far enough to catch him before he went at you.”

  Nora’s gaze landed on the evidence bag. “Poison is no longer a woman’s weapon.”

  “Nope,” Fuentes agreed. “Most convicted poisoners are men, and in the majority of those cases, the victims were women. But you’re nobody’s victim, Ms. Pennington. Because of you, that scumbag will never hurt another lady.”

  “Are you sure?” Nora asked.

  “We’ve got work to do, yeah, but the charges will stick. You’ll see. You can rest easy now. Go home and pour yourself a drink. You did good tonight.”

  After giving her a pat on the arm, Fuentes collected the evidence bag and left the ticket agent’s office.

  Go home and pour yourself a drink.

  Fuentes’s words rolled around in Nora’s head as she walked out to the readers’ circle. She stood in front of a chair, unsure of what to do next. She felt like she’d stepped outside of herself. Only part of her was really there. The rest was as insubstantial as mist.

  And then, just as he’d done in Celeste’s bedroom, McCabe came over and slid his arm around Nora’s waist. He coaxed her into a chair and pulled a second chair close to hers.

  “I owe you an apology,” he said as he sat down. “I never meant for you to feel unsafe tonight, but when I heard that Beck was saturating a rag, I knew he meant to knock you out. Catching him in the act would add weight to our case. It was my call to put you in such a vulnerable position, and it was made in a split-second. I hope it was the right one. If it had been someone else, I might not have taken the chance. But I know you. You’re made of tough stuff.”

  “I don’t feel very tough, but it was the right call.”

  McCabe took her hand. “You’re the strongest, smartest, prettiest woman I’ve ever met. Why else do you think I let you steal my hush puppies whenever we go to Pearl’s?” His smile had the same restorative powers as one of Sheldon’s bear hugs, and Nora began to feel more like herself.

  “Are you ready to lock up and get out of here?” McCabe asked. “I’ve got a perp to process, and you need to go home and watch mindless TV until you fall asleep.”

  “What about my statement?”

  “It can wait until tomorrow. You’ve done enough for today.”

  Nora locked the front door and turned off the rest of the lights. The bookshop felt sleepy and peaceful. Nothing of Beck lingered behind. There wasn’t even a trace of malice.

  Because it doesn’t belong in a bookstore. Bookstores wash away worries. They cocoon people in coziness. They’re a place where friends gather, readers curl up in soft chairs, and books wait to be chosen. Bookstores are where dreams come to roost.

  Outside, Nora inhaled deep gulps of nighttime air. For once, she welcomed its sharpness. It turned her nose and cheeks red and made her shiver, but it also smelled of pine and woodsmoke. The sky was star-filled, and the new moon bathed the mountains in a gentle glow.

  “Should I walk you home?” McCabe asked.

  Nora didn’t reply. Her attention had been caught by the figure of a man moving in the shadows behind McCabe’s car.

  “I could do that, if it’s all right with the lady,” the man said. He waited at a polite distance, his eyes fixed on Nora.

  McCabe glanced at Nora. “You okay?”

  Nora squeezed his hand and said, “I am.”

  The sheriff got in his car and shut the door. Seconds later, the engine roared to life and two beams of light cut through the darkness.

  As McCabe drove off, Nora turned to Jed and smiled. “I’m ready to go home.”

  Chapter 19

  I think hell is something you carry around with you, not somewhere you go.

  —Neil Gaiman

  Nora didn’t invite Jed in. She was happy to see him—to know that he was back and that he’d come to see her—but she needed to be alone. The adrenaline that had kept her dancing on a knife’s edge for the past hour was gone. Her limbs were heavy. Her head hurt and her eyes stung.

  After asking Jed to stop by in the morning, Nora went inside her tiny house, locked the door, and crawled into bed. She pulled the covers over her head and let the tears flow.

  She cried in relief because tonight’s ordeal was over. She cried over the pointlessness of Celeste’s and Bren’s deaths. She cried because the realization that Wolf Beck had meant to kill her was just now sinking in. Even though she knew she was no longer in danger, the aftereffects of her terror left her shaking.

  Thirty minutes later, she was physically and emotionally spent. She showered, hoping to wash away any traces of her interaction with Wolf Beck, put on flannel pajamas, and wrapped Dominique’s blanket around her shoulders.

  In the kitchen, she made herself a snack of tea and toast. The homemade strawberry jam she spread over the buttered toast tasted like summer, and the ginger cinnamon chamomile tea warmed her to the core.

  Curling up on the sofa, she thought of Grant McCabe appearing behind Beck, foiling his plans to cover Nora’s mouth with what she assumed was a chloroform-soaked cloth. She thought of how the sheriff had put an arm around her afterward. And of how he’d done the same thin
g the night Celeste had died. McCabe cared for Nora, and she cared for him. Their friendship had deepened since McCabe’s return from Texas, and Nora was glad of it.

  Then there was Jed. It had been such a balm to see his face tonight. On the way to her place, their steps had been perfectly timed, and Nora couldn’t remember which one of them had reached for the other’s hand first. Their hands just naturally found each other, as if they’d never been apart.

  Jed was home. At last. And tomorrow, they would get together. They would talk. The silence between them would come to an end.

  Nora finished her tea and went back to her bedroom to read.

  Per usual, a stack of books waited on her nightstand. Good books with engaging characters, complex plots, stimulating dialogue, and lyrical description. They all had vibrant covers and clever titles. But none of them could hold Nora’s attention tonight.

  The same was true for the books on her living room shelves, the books lined up on top of her refrigerator, or the row of books on her bedroom windowsill.

  What she needed was a book that she knew so well that reading its first lines would take her back in time. That kind of book is a security blanket and a teddy bear and a mother’s goodnight kiss. A book like that is a magic carpet ride to a place where bad memories are forgotten and all dreams are possible.

  Nora crossed the room to her chest of drawers. Standing between a pair of mermaid bookends was a small collection of used books. Nora pulled out a hardback with a forest green cover and carried it to bed.

  As much as she loved maps, she didn’t want to look at elven runes tonight. The symbols would only remind her of Beck, so she turned to the title page. One glance at the font and she began to relax.

  Hello, old friend.

  She knew the familiar words would wash over her like sunlight. No matter how many times she read it, this story never let her down. It would carry her into another world until she was ready to sleep.

  Turning to the first page, Nora sank a little deeper into the bed, her face serene and content, as she whispered, “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”

  * * *

  The next morning, Jed came bearing apple cider donuts and a bouquet of brassy yellow spider mums.

  “Where are yours?” Nora joked when he handed her the donuts.

  “If you eat all twelve, then I’ll eat your flowers.”

  Nora moved the flowers out of his reach. “I’ve seen one plant-related death this week, and I don’t ever want to see another.”

  Jed responded with a horrified look.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t want to start with that. Let’s start with coffee and donuts,” she said, taking his hand and leading him toward the table. “Everything will be easier after caffeine and sugar.”

  While she poured the coffee, Nora heated six donuts in the microwave.

  “They always taste better warm,” she said, plucking a donut off the plate and immediately dropping it again. “And I always burn my fingertips because I can’t wait for them to cool down.”

  Jed smiled at her. “Do I have to get my medical kit out of the truck?”

  “How about a kiss to make it better?”

  Taking her hand, he planted a loud smack on her finger. “Easiest medical emergency I’ve ever responded to. Seriously? You’re going to pick it up again? I can see steam.”

  “I can’t help it!” Nora cried, waving the hot donut in the air. “It smells amazing and I’m hungry. Besides, my left hand is tougher.”

  She bit into the donut and groaned. “Totally worth minor injuries to the fingers and mouth.”

  Jed polished off his first donut in three bites. He drank some coffee and ate his second donut with more control. Nora had already finished hers.

  Seeing that he was grinning at her, Nora said, “Before I devour number three with no regrets, would you tell me how you’re doing? And how your mom’s doing?”

  “She’s much better. I am too.” Jed studied his palms as he spoke. “The whole thing was a nightmare. Mom went downhill so fast, and there was nothing I could do to help. I hated standing around, hoping and waiting. I was useless. That made me angry. And I felt guilty too.” He looked at Nora. “I knew you couldn’t drop everything and leave, but that didn’t stop me from asking. I guess I was desperate to control something. Anything or anyone.”

  “That makes sense.”

  Jed leaned over the table. “The nurses on my mom’s floor wanted to kill me. I pissed off all of them acting like I knew their job better than they did. Instead of showing them respect and supporting their decisions, I questioned and harassed them. I was such a jackass.”

  Nora stayed quiet and waited for Jed to let it all out.

  “I was even worse with the doctors. I accused them of being patronizing snobs or of being too focused on their golf handicaps to give my mom the best care.” Jed glanced at the ceiling. “There aren’t enough gift baskets in the world to make up for how I acted.”

  Nora said, “You could send them a truckload of donuts. They can’t get these on the coast. No apple orchards.”

  Jed tried to smile, but it turned into a grimace. “Mom’s all I’ve got, Nora. She’s my family, and I thought she was going to die. I was so terrified of losing her that I lost it. Things I thought I’d dealt with years ago came bubbling to the surface, making me act in a way that I’m not proud of.”

  Nora reached across the table and squeezed Jed’s hand, inadvertently leaving a deposit of cinnamon sugar on his skin.

  He glanced from the sugar crystals sparkling on Nora’s nails to her lovely face. Because she wore no makeup, the surgical scars near her hairline and the puckered burn scars on her neck were more noticeable. To Jed, the scars added character, as did the laugh lines radiating from the corners of her luminescent eyes.

  “I have some work to do so that this doesn’t happen again. I’ve also got to make amends to the people I treated like crap.” Jed took a firmer hold of Nora’s hand. “Starting with the most important person. I’m sorry, Nora. I shouldn’t have asked you to do the impossible, and I shouldn’t have given you the silent treatment afterward. I was a jerk, and I will bring you donuts every day until you forgive me.”

  Nora smiled. “You’re forgiven. And I’m sorry that I couldn’t be there to support you. I’m sorry that you were scared and that your mom was so sick in the first place. I’m thrilled that she’s better, and I’m thrilled that you’re home.” Her smile faded. “When you showed up last night, I was still in shock. You’ll understand when I explain everything, but I wasn’t able to tell you how happy I am that you’re back. I missed you.”

  Jed stood up and pulled Nora to her feet. “I know you have things to tell me, and I definitely want to hear every word, but there’s something I’m dying to say to you right now.”

  Unable to resist the playful gleam in his eyes, Nora said, “Go for it.”

  Jed ran a finger through the dusting of cinnamon sugar on Nora’s plate and then traced Nora’s lips with his sugar-coated fingertip.

  Wrapping his arms around her, Jed murmured, “Gimme some sugar.”

  Nora laughed. At that moment, with Jed holding her and the sunshine streaming in through the windows, Nora felt like she’d regained her balance. Everything was going to be okay. A killer would be brought to justice. Miracle Books would no longer be the target of a smear campaign. And she and Jed would pick up where they’d left off.

  With the sugar crystals on her lips twinkling like stars, Nora closed her eyes and kissed her man.

  * * *

  “When I turned around, Beck was standing in the doorway,” Nora told June, Estella, and Hester later that night. She took a quick sip of water before finishing her story. She’d talked without pausing for the past thirty minutes or more, and her mouth was dry. “He was holding a piece of cloth and he had this look in his eyes that made me feel, well, like he was a wolf and I was a lemming.”

  Per Sheldon’s request, the members of the Secret, Book, and Sc
one Society had gathered at June’s house instead of the bookshop. Sheldon was in the kitchen, preparing a celebratory dinner. He’d told the women to stay in the living room under penalty of death.

  “Good Lord, I would have run out of there like my hair was on fire!” June cried.

  Estella put a hand to her head. “Please don’t use ‘hair’ and ‘fire’ in the same sentence. Mrs. Carver fell asleep under my dryer yesterday, and by the time I noticed, she smelled like something you’d scrape off the bottom of Hester’s oven.”

  “Are you implying that my oven smells like burnt hair?” Hester asked, wrinkling her nose in revulsion. “Um, not only do I always receive an A grade from the health department, but I was also told by the inspector that I have the cleanest nooks and crannies in the county!”

  While Estella tried to hide her mirth behind her wineglass, June shot Hester a cheeky grin and said, “Settle down, Miss English Muffin. If we want to eat before midnight, we need to let Nora finish.”

  “I’d rather listen to your banter, but that was pretty much the end of the story,” said Nora. “The sheriff came up behind Beck, forced him to drop the cloth, and read him his rights. Then Jed showed up and walked me home. And since I already told you about our donut date, you’re now officially caught up.”

  Estella pointed at Hester. “You’re at bat next. Step up to the plate, girlfriend.”

  “If we’re using baseball metaphors, then this is the seventh inning stretch.” Hester jerked her thumb toward the kitchen. “I promised Sheldon that I wouldn’t say a word until we were all at the table together. He said it’s the least I can do after keeping him in the dark about your meeting with Beck.”

  “But you were all in the dark,” Nora protested. “The only person he should be mad at is me.”

  A crash came from the kitchen. It sounded like an avalanche of pots and pans hitting the floor, and the women exchanged nervous glances.

  “See? He’s mad at everyone,” Hester whispered.

  Estella saluted Nora with her glass. “But especially you.”

  June swatted Estella with a pillow, deliberately mussing her hair, which was immaculately arranged in a high chignon.