Word to the Wise

by Jenn McKinlay

  Karen picked up the phone and nodded. “Go. I’ll call. The safety of our residents has to be our number-one priority.”

  “Thanks,” Lindsey said.

  She and Sully dashed out into the rain. Sully had snagged a spare umbrella from the bucket by the front door. It was an extra-large one and kept them mostly dry from the waist up, but the wind whipped the rain sideways, soaking their legs and shoes.

  “What’s the plan?” Sully shouted over the wind and rain.

  “Back door,” Lindsey said. “I can type in the code to get us in. If Ava is there, I don’t want her to know we’re coming.”

  “Got it,” Sully said. He took her hand, stepped off the sidewalk and cut across the side yard of the police station, through the dead grass, to a service road that led behind the buildings on Main Street. They followed it until they reached the narrow patch of trees that opened up into the parking lot of the library.

  They had to turn the umbrella sideways and walk in single file to get through the trees. When they arrived at the parking lot, Lindsey noticed that it was empty save for a few cars she recognized as belonging to her staff.

  Per library protocol, when there was a power outage, the library would close. She knew that her staff would have waited until whoever was in charge—it had been Ms. Cole in Lindsey’s absence—declared that the library needed to close for safety concerns. Then they would make certain every patron was out of the building, and they would lock up until the power came back on or they were excused for the day.

  She clenched her fingers into fists, fervently hoping that that’s what had happened. She supposed the phone line could have gone out, but she doubted it.

  They dashed across the parking lot and into the recessed area of the staff entrance. Sully closed the umbrella while Lindsey lifted the cover of the keypad and tapped in the security code. She heard the lock disengage, and she went to open the door. Sully muscled her out of the way, however, and opened the door slowly, quietly slipping into the library.

  Lindsey followed, noting that Sully was now holding the umbrella like a weapon. The lights were out, with only grainy diffused light coming from the windows as the storm raged on. Her wet skirt clung to her legs and felt cold as the air seeped into the fabric, chilling her skin. She felt her teeth chatter, and she didn’t know whether it was because of fear or cold, but she clamped her jaw together so as not to make any noise.

  They reached the end of the short hallway, and Sully paused. He reached back and pushed Lindsey against the wall. She waited while he cautiously peered around the corner. She strained to hear anything. The punchy sound of the small receipt printers, a squeaky wheel from a book truck, the clunky metal ka-chunk of a footstool being stepped on, Beth’s infectious laughter, the sound of Ms. Cole shushing someone, the swish of the doors opening and closing. There was nothing. Not a sound. It felt as if the life had been sucked right out of the library. It was terrifying.

  If it hadn’t been for the cars in the parking lot, she would have believed her staff had left the building, and she would have been relieved. But she recognized the cars as belonging to her staff. The power outage had lasted long enough that they should have left the building by now, but they obviously hadn’t, and why weren’t they answering the phone?

  “Where should we check first?” Sully asked.

  “The break room,” Lindsey said. “If they’re here, I would imagine they’re waiting in there.”

  He nodded. They crept through the main library, sticking to the shadows. It felt as if every corner hosted a possibility of danger, and Lindsey kept glancing over her shoulder, half expecting something or someone to jump out at her.

  But nothing happened, and she felt her tension ease just a bit. They moved through the workroom and toward the break room. The library remained silent except for the slosh and squish of their rain-soaked shoes. There were no sounds of voices talking, which Lindsey found alarming, because her staff members were not known for their quiet demeanors. Even the lemon had a pretty loud shusher when she was irritated.

  As they approached the break room, Lindsey grabbed Sully’s arm and held him back. She leaned close and whispered, “Something’s wrong. It’s too quiet.”

  He nodded, and she knew he had been thinking the same thing. It was then that she heard the click. A lock? A door shutting? She wasn’t sure. Sully pulled her into the shadows, and they waited for another sound so that they could determine where it was coming from, but there was nothing.

  And then Lindsey felt the press of something hard against the back of her skull. She gasped, and Sully whipped his head around. His eyes went wide and Lindsey knew. It was Ava, and she was right behind Lindsey.

  “Don’t move, sailor,” Ava said. “Or I’ll shoot your pretty wife-to-be. After all, I’ve got nothing to lose. Move your hands where I can see them.”

  Sully lifted his hands out away from his body.

  “Drop the umbrella,” she said.

  She pushed the barrel of the gun into the back of Lindsey’s head, making her cringe. Sully dropped the umbrella. Lindsey felt Ava’s hand reach up and grab her by the back of the neck. The barrel of the gun moved so it was right beside Lindsey’s head and trained on Sully.

  “You’re the reason my husband is dead,” Ava hissed in Lindsey’s ear. “It would be only fair for me to shoot him in revenge. Eye for an eye, husband for a husband and all that.”

  The fear rocketing through Lindsey in that moment almost made her ill. She couldn’t let Ava hurt Sully. She’d rather take the bullet herself. She met Sully’s gaze and mouthed the words I love you.

  CHAPTER

  19

  Sully’s eyes went wide, but as if he could read her mind, he dived to his left just as Lindsey used her elbow to drill right into Ava’s midsection. The woman doubled over, and as she went down, the gun went off, its boom ricocheting through the empty library as it made Lindsey’s ears ring.

  Lindsey grabbed Ava’s hand and dug her fingers into the fleshy part just like Emma had taught them, forcing her to drop the gun.

  “Stop!” Ava yelled at Lindsey.

  Sully jumped up and grabbed Ava’s arms, hauling them behind her back. She was still wheezing, but she fought and thrashed, kicking out at him until he managed to hold her wrists together while also standing clear.

  “Where is my staff?” Lindsey stood in front of Ava and stared at her. It took everything she had not to grab the woman by the throat and shake the answer out of her.

  Ava looked up at her with her gray hair mussed and her glasses askew, and she snarled, “They’re dead. I killed them all.”

  Lindsey staggered back a step. She shook her head in denial. Her voice was mostly air when she whispered, “No.”

  Ava laughed, a spine-chilling cackle that made Lindsey’s entire body go cold. Beth, Ann Marie, Ms. Cole, Paula. No, she couldn’t—she wouldn’t—believe it.

  She turned away from Ava and ran. She exploded into the break room, expecting to see carnage. There was none. She whirled out of the room and began to check the library—the study rooms, the story time room, every row, every nook, every cranny. There was no sign of anyone, dead or alive.

  “Lindsey!” Sully called after her. “Wait. You don’t want to find them alone—”

  She ignored him. She loved him with all that she was, but this was her staff. She was responsible. Tears and sobs began to pour out of her as she careened toward the crafternoon room, the last unchecked area. If anything had happened to them, well, she didn’t think she would survive it.

  She pushed open the door to the crafternoon room. A flash of lightning illuminated the room just enough for her to see several shadows sitting in the circle on the floor. In the harsh light her eyes met those of her dearest friend. But it was dark again, and she couldn’t tell, she didn’t know, whether Beth was dead or alive.

  She dropped to the fl
oor and crawled forward. Using her hands to find her, she felt a pair of shoes. When her fingers landed on Beth’s shin, Beth bucked and Lindsey realized she was alive! She traced the side of Beth’s body up to her face. She felt her jaw and then the curling edge of a piece of tape. With shaking fingers, she ripped the tape off.

  “Oh, thank you,” Beth cried. She gulped in air and then said, “It was Sylvia Grady. She’s crazy. She wants to kill you. Lindsey, you have to run. Go. We’ll be all right.”

  “No, it’s all right. Sylvia—rather, Ava—has been caught. She’ll never harm anyone again,” Lindsey said, her voice catching, her relief was so great. She felt for the others and one by one pulled the tape off their mouths.

  There were a few sobs, but mostly, everyone was gasping for breath. Lindsey moved around them, trying to break the tape that bound their feet and hands. Her fingers were weak, and she couldn’t see.

  “I’m going to get some scissors,” she said. “Don’t move.”

  “Really?” Ms. Cole asked. Her tone was dry.

  Beth was the first one to laugh, and then Paula and Ann Marie joined her. It took Lindsey a second in her fuzzy, panicked head to get the joke, and then she did a facepalm and groaned.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. Then she laughed. It was full of relief and gratitude, and she said, “I’ll be right back.”

  She dashed out of the room and hurried back to the main room. Sully was standing there with Ava, and Lindsey almost burst into tears when she said, “I found them. They’re tied up but they’re okay.”

  In the dim light, she saw Sully’s shoulders slump in relief. “Excellent.”

  He was still holding on to Ava and was unable to move, as she would be still for a moment and then try to drop to the ground or wriggle free. He had to stay on his guard to keep her secure.

  “Here, I think we have some zip ties that we use for keeping the computer cords together,” Lindsey said. She opened a cupboard and grabbed a few of the ties and joined Sully.

  “You can’t do this,” Ava said. “I’ll have you arrested.”

  They ignored her, and once Lindsey pulled a tie tight around her wrists, Sully crouched to do the same around her ankles. She tried to kick him in the head, but he was stronger and captured her feet with one hand while Lindsey secured the tie. Ava couldn’t move. Sully grabbed a nearby chair and none too gently pushed her into it.

  “I’m going to free the others,” Lindsey said. “Will you call Emma?”

  “On it.” Sully was already pulling his phone out of his pocket.

  Lindsey opened the main drawer of the circulation desk, where Ms. Cole kept all her supplies, including scissors and a stapler with her name written on pieces of masking tape adhered to their sides. Normally, Lindsey was afraid to touch Ms. Cole’s supplies, but she was operating on the rule of closeness here and figured Ms. Cole wouldn’t mind just this once. She grabbed the scissors and raced back to the crafternoon room.

  While she cut the tape from their wrists, they poured out the story.

  “We had just sent the patrons and the part-time staff home,” Beth said. “We were calling the mayor’s office to see if they had any news on the power outage, when that woman grabbed Ann Marie and told us she would shoot her if we didn’t do exactly as she said.”

  Lindsey glanced at Ann Marie. She looked shaky but otherwise all right. She squeezed her hand, and Ann Marie gave hers a quick squeeze in return.

  “She forced us in here and then used this duct tape to tie us up,” Ms. Cole said with a sniff. “We would have fought her, but she was very clever. She had us tape each other’s hands while she held the gun on Ann Marie. Then she had us sit in a circle and forced her to tape our ankles.”

  “Yeah, it was like a bad team-building exercise,” Paula said. She was the first one freed, and she popped up to her feet and began to stretch.

  “Then she taped our mouths,” Ann Marie said. She stood, too. “She was waiting for you. She wanted revenge. She blames you for forcing her to kill her husband.”

  “He wasn’t her husband,” Lindsey said. She cut through the tape around Ms. Cole’s ankles and helped her up.

  “What do you mean?” Beth asked. Lindsey crouched to release her friend while the others began to walk around.

  “Sylvia Grady isn’t who she appears to be,” Lindsey said. “Her real name is Ava Klausner, and she worked with Sylvia at an insurance company. Supposedly, she took the identity of Aaron Grady’s wife after he murdered the real Sylvia, but I’m not sure I believe that. When Ava discovered Sylvia was dead, she decided to take her place.”

  “That’s mental,” Beth said. Lindsey grabbed her hand and pulled her into a standing position.

  “Agreed,” Lindsey said. “Sully’s got her restrained, and Emma’s on her way. Are you okay? She didn’t harm you, did she?”

  “No, I’m fine,” Beth said. Then her voice wobbled, and she sobbed, “I’m just glad you are. Oh, Lindsey, I can’t lose my best friend.”

  She wrapped Lindsey in a fierce crushing hug, and Lindsey hugged her back. If anything had happened to Beth and the baby, she’d never be able to live with it. Never.

  “It’s okay. We’re all okay,” she said.

  As if awaiting their cue, the lights came on. Lindsey glanced at the faces of her friends and coworkers, and then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, she pulled them into a group hug. It turned into a huddle, where they had their arms around one another’s backs and they were facing one another.

  “You all performed above and beyond the call of duty,” Lindsey said. “I will be sure to write up all of this in my report to the mayor.”

  “Him,” Ms. Cole sniffed. “I don’t give a flying fig what he thinks. None of this would have happened if he had stopped that little pervert from harassing you to begin with. He’s been our mayor for too long. I think it’s time someone challenged him this November.”

  She was staring at Lindsey with a fiery light in her eyes, and Lindsey felt her own eyes widen. There was no way, none, that Lindsey would ever consider a position in politics.

  Paula gave Ms. Cole a sidelong glance and said, “You know, you’re right. I’m new to Briar Creek, but even I know we’ve never had a woman mayor. It’s about time.”

  “Yes,” Beth cried. She bounced on her feet and clapped. “Someone with an impeccable code of honor and ethics, a person who loves this town and knows and values its history.”

  Lindsey’s head swiveled in her direction, and then she glanced at Ann Marie. But Ann Marie wasn’t looking at her; she was looking at Ms. Cole, and she said, “How about it, Ms. Cole? I think ‘Mayor Cole’ has a lovely ring to it, don’t you?”

  Ms. Cole tipped her chin up and nodded. “Yes, yes, it does.” She glanced at Lindsey with a wary glance. “What do you think?”

  A million emotions rocketed through Lindsey. Joy that Ms. Cole was asking her opinion, as her doing so was amazing and showed just how far they’d come. Pride at the bravery it would require for Ms. Cole to throw her hat into the ring. And optimism at the thought that a woman might step up and take charge of their town, and the next time a person was harassed, maybe the town would be more concerned about the victim and less about a potential lawsuit from the perpetrator.

  She looked at Ms. Cole and said, “I think you would make a fantastic mayor. You most definitely have my vote.”

  Ms. Cole met her gaze, and a small smile tipped the corner of her mouth.

  “What?” Lindsey asked.

  “You realize if I become mayor, then I’ll be your boss,” Ms. Cole said.

  Lindsey smiled in return. “I can’t think of a better one.”

  Ms. Cole’s eyebrows lifted, and she looked embarrassed by the vote of confidence. “Well then, we should probably get out of here. The chief of police will no doubt want our statements about what happened.”

 
; With that, Ms. Cole swept from the room with all the self-important dignity of a mayoral candidate.

  “Ms. Cole versus Mayor Hensen,” Beth said. “And just when I thought things were going to become less interesting in Briar Creek.”

  “Things are never not interesting in Briar Creek,” Paula said.

  “That’s a fact,” Ann Marie agreed.

  Lindsey watched as the two women followed Ms. Cole out to the main library. She fell into step with Beth and looped her arm through her friend’s.

  “Mayor Cole,” she said. “It does sound good.”

  “Yeah, but she’ll always be Mayor Lemon to me,” Beth said.

  She made a puckered face and Lindsey laughed. It was the first stress-free laugh she’d had in days, and it felt amazing.

  CHAPTER

  20

  Wedding cakes?” Nancy asked. “Our crafternoon food is wedding cakes?”

  “Don’t laugh at me,” Lindsey said. “I have all of these samples, and I don’t know which one to pick. I’m having a cake meltdown.”

  “That is wrong on so many levels,” Violet said. She picked up a fork and tucked into an angel food and strawberry confection that looked so light, Lindsey expected it to float. “Why not let Sully choose?”

  “Cake isn’t really his thing,” Lindsey said. “He said whatever I pick is okay with him. So I’ve narrowed it down to these five cakes and their fillings. We have an angel food cake with strawberry, white chocolate cake with raspberry, almond cake with chocolate, red velvet cake with cream cheese and chocolate cake with mocha cream.”

  “Mocha cream?” Mary came into the room with Josie on her hip and made a beeline for the table with the different cakes on it. Her eyes went wide at the cakes, and she glanced up and asked, “Is this heaven?”

  Beth laughed as she tucked her fork into the almond cake. “No, but it may be the new lunch menu for the crafternooners.”