Murder at the Lakeside Library

by Holly Danvers

  Rain breathed deeply, trying to take in this information and halt the screaming thoughts that suddenly cursed through her mind. She had come to the Northwoods to escape reality and relax, not to have people traipsing through her house and her life. Although she loved to read, and had a deep appreciation for the library, sharing anything about her personal life right now was the very thing she’d come here to avoid. She swallowed hard and rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. The last thing she wanted right now was company. And here Julia was basically telling her she’d have patrons hanging out on the deck daily. People to constantly entertain. She could feel the tension rising in her shoulders. Was it too late to back out of the driveway and head back to Milwaukee?

  Julia interrupted her thoughts by adding, “Like I said, Marge mentioned she was going to stop by with a few new books she ordered. Your mother put her in charge of ordering them after the fundraiser we held last summer. Now that I think of it, I guess she put Marge in charge of buying the books because she didn’t think she was going to make it up here. Marge has become the library’s treasurer, and I’ve helped your mother do most of the cataloging. I guess, I’m now the official reference librarian.” Julia’s brows came together in a frown. “It’s the perfect little library,” Julia was pleading now. Practically begging. “It’ll be good for you,” she encouraged, extending a hand to touch Rain’s arm gently. “It’s good for you to be around people right now. You know, isolating yourself is never helpful.” Julia must’ve sensed Rain’s discomfort because she added, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to push.”

  Why was it everyone seemed to think they had the perfect solution to my grief?

  Rain wasn’t happy with her mother, not one bit, for not sharing this information with her ahead of time. Although, her mother knew her well, and had probably realized that if she’d told her ahead of time that she’d have the added responsibility of the library, Rain probably wouldn’t have made the trip. She desperately wanted to decline, but guilt pulled her in the opposite direction.

  “What do I have to do to get the library ready? I mean, what time does it usually open in the morning?” Rain asked with trepidation. “And what hours of operation is typical—like all day?”

  “I’m sure we can work through all of this. Everything is negotiable and up for discussion. Marge was planning on coming this evening to discuss the hours. And a few Laker volunteers were going to join us afterward, to see how they can be of service. That’s why I’m so surprised your mother isn’t here. She sent out reminders a while ago saying we’d have a quick meeting to set it all up,” Julia said eagerly. “I’ll go change out of my swimsuit and run to the store for a few snacks. Maybe a bottle of wine? We must have food if we’re going to have a meeting. Don’t worry, I’ll help,” Julia added with new excitement to her words. “I’ll help you with absolutely everything!”

  Rain watched as Julia plopped back into the water before she even had a chance to decline.

  Chapter Two

  Rain began to spin a discussion with her mother in her mind. She wished she could just make a call to voice her frustrations because she certainly didn’t remember her mother mentioning opening the library as one of the “deals” they’d made before her coming up north. Luckily for her, Willow was deep in an African rainforest accessing water sources for undeveloped villages, somewhere completely void of cellphone connection. Otherwise she’d be subject to the tongue lashing of her daughter across long-distance phone lines.

  Rain wrestled with this as she made her way back toward the SUV. She decided to bring in only the cooler, which was filled to the brim with everything left in her old refrigerator, and an overnight bag she’d packed with a few days’ worth of clothes and toiletries, in case she hadn’t been in the mood to unpack all her worldly possessions upon arrival. Now she was grateful she’d gone and done that. Maybe she could make a quick escape in the morning and find another place of solitude. But she knew that wasn’t really an option—where on earth would she go?

  Rain heaved the heavy red Coleman by the handles, wishing now that she’d purchased the one with the wheels, before dropping it beside the back door and wiping the sweat from her brow. She slipped the key into the lock, swung the door wide, and stepped inside.

  Rain wondered again why Max had found the cabin claustrophobic as she watched the sun stream into the open concept living room from the wall of windows that reached clear to the center beam of the vaulted ceiling. Unlike the original cabin, the newest addition was built with tightly stacked ten-inch round pine logs, and the room glowed like spun gold when the light hit the oiled wood just right. Yes, no doubt the room was darker at night, devoid of lightly painted drywall. But in her opinion, being surrounded by the natural large round logs felt cozy, as if you were living in the very forest itself.

  Instantly, the thought of what Rain’s mother had forgotten to mention (or she’d neglected to hear) slipped away and she was transported to the comfort of her youth. As she stepped deeper into the room, she felt welcomed. Years of memories filled every nook and cranny of this space. Family meals, with everyone gathered around the long wooden table, nights of Pictionary or charades with the extended family, including cousins, aunts and uncles, and friends. Her parents dueling a game of cribbage by the floor-to-ceiling stacked stone fireplace. Rain secretly loved when her parents battled through a game of cribbage as it afforded her time to sink her head into her latest mystery novel. There was no television in the otherwise common living room—another reason why Max had hated coming here. Rain’s parents insisted the cabin be a place to unplug from all technology, and to encourage reading and creativity. Now that she was older, Rain believed they’d been right. Although she did bring her laptop and a hotspot to tap into the internet when needed. Spotty at best would prove better than nothing. Her parents were wise—but completely unplugging was not exactly realistic for her current lifestyle.

  Rain tugged the old worn sheets from the hand-carved wood furniture and tossed them into a ball in the corner. After opening the sliding glass door leading to the outer wraparound deck, she was happy to see the wind picking up across the lake, sending a warm, fresh breeze into the airless room. She decided to leave the screen door open as the humidity was predicted to dissipate as the day grew long. Sparkles from the sun left a glittering path along the water, and she could hear her childlike voice say to her mother, “Mommy, look! Diamonds!” And her mother answering, “Yes, sweetheart, those are the diamonds you always want to seek.” Yet somehow, she’d forgotten. Rain looked down at her left hand and slipped the ring from her finger. She set the white gold band inset with diamonds on a nearby side table and rubbed the indented skin until the ring’s mark became almost invisible.

  Rain retreated to the back of the house and opened the outside door that led to the library via the catwalk. Before exiting, she reached into the metal box attached to the inner door for the library key and held it in her palm. A flicker of adrenaline surged through her; it’d been years since she’d been inside. Suddenly she was transported back to her youth, daring to escape the adults, and hide in the safety of the fortress.

  Rain slipped the key inside the lock. The door opened easily, and she flipped the light switch, causing the deer antler chandelier to shine on the floor-to-ceiling walls of books. An aged wooden ladder was available to help reach the top shelf. The books looked newer now, and there were many more of them than she’d remembered blocking the wide chinking and square logs that her great-grandfather, Lorenzo, had carved with his own two hands.

  This part of the original cabin structure had been Rain’s favorite hangout as a child. She would escape to the old nine-hundred-fifty-square-feet cabin with her sleeping bag and a flashlight and hide away for hours with her head sunk deep into Nancy Drew. Why hadn’t her mother told her about this expansion of the library in any of their recent conversations? Had Rain been so busy and wrapped up in her own life that she’d completely missed something her mother had mentioned? A wash
of shame cursed through her for not maintaining a closer bond with her mother.

  If she were being honest, she’d have to admit the lack of communication was completely her doing—not her mother’s. Their relationship had cooled in the last few years. Ever since the day her mother had seemed to side with Max, a rift had grown between them. Despite numerous apologies, Rain couldn’t seem to let it go, and assurances from her mother that she’d never meant to say anything to intentionally hurt her daughter did little to solve the problem. The mere insinuation that his slipup in their marriage was due to Rain’s obsession with infertility issues had put an emotional wall between mother and daughter, which had only worsened after Max’s death. Shouldn’t a mother always side with her hurting child? To this day, the suggestion still stung. Her mother couldn’t understand why she was grieving Max and still furious at him at the same time. Rain blew out a breath of frustration. Now was not the time to be rolling this over in her mind. She walked back to the cabin door to reach and return the key to its original spot, for fear she might misplace it in her scattered state.

  Although Rain was miffed with her mother for not mentioning that she’d have to open the library to the public, the truth was, having community members stop by would probably prevent her from crawling deeper into her shell and remaining hidden like a hermit. Her mother knew she was an introvert by nature, and if given a choice, she would probably choose to keep her head down, buried in a book, than share time with others. As always, mother seemed to know best. Besides, these were the responsibilities that came along with coming back to the Northwoods. She breathed deep, resolving to change her poor attitude.

  Rain wished she had more time to peruse the shelves of newly stocked books and sink deep into the nearby leather chair. She wanted to sink into someone else’s story, as she longed to disappear from the hauntings of her own. Her eyes caught sight of something else that was new. Burned wooden signs adorned each shelf, marking the various genres: mystery, romance, non-fiction, local authors, etc. She wondered who the artist was who’d created the signs. Had her parents picked up a new hobby since she’d seen them last? Or had someone from town crafted them and donated to the library?

  Something prompted Rain to walk deeper into the room, even though she had a cooler full of food that needed to be unpacked. A nearby shelf on the inside wall held her grandfather Luis’s various volumes of fiction. She’d never read his work back in her youth, and had promised herself that by summer’s end, she’d read them all. Atop the stack, a letter was addressed to Rain in her mother’s handwriting. She opened the envelope to find a small card showing a butterfly resting on a rose. Inside the note read:

  Rain,

  Don’t be upset with me (I can almost sense your hesitation already). Taking on this library will be good for you. You need time with others to heal and, if it’s not with me or your dad, hopefully you will meet someone with whom you can share your heart. You’d be surprised at the people who will cross your path, like earthbound angels sent just for you. Don’t be afraid of vulnerability, Rain. Everyone has a story, and sometimes opening your heart can help heal others, too. You always pushed your father and I away when you were hurting, even as a child. Please don’t isolate yourself this summer, honey. Enjoy your time up north. I’ll call you as soon as I’m able to, but I’m sure you won’t mind a few weeks’ peace without hearing from your meddling mother (Haha!). Until then, take good care.

  Ps. I’m sure Julia and Marjorie will help any way they can … don’t be shy and please ask!

  Much LOVE,

  Mom

  Rain puffed out a breath, sending the hair that had fallen away from her ponytail to wisp in front of her eyes. She brushed it aside with one hand and cracked a smile at her mother’s wise but deceptive plan. She set the card aside and noted the leather-bound logbook and pen attached with a ribbon. The official way patrons checked out books was completely out of date. Had her mother still been keeping records this way? The person borrowing the book merely wrote in their name, the date, and the name of the book being checked out. There was no due date, nor accountability to the system. The library was organized in such a casual fashion, Rain immediately decided she’d have to come up with a more formal plan if she was indeed taking over the responsibility of Library Director. Shouldn’t there be more accountability? Perhaps not a fine or anything that drastic, but if the library was growing, certainly there needed to be rules. Rain smiled. Organizing and order were her strong suits. And her mother knew that.

  The original cabin, which was now the library, did not have a bathroom. To this day, an outhouse still stood on the corner of the property and was in good working condition. Unless the place was packed with people, alcoholic beverages were involved, and all other facilities were otherwise occupied, it was rarely used. However, no one in the family wanted to remove the old relic with the carved moon on the exterior door. There was once, however, a rustic “designated-private-space” located in the far corner of the original cabin if you needed to pee in a pot. Great grandfather had the foresight when he built to know that when it was too cold to venture outdoors and traipse across the lawn to use the outhouse, one did what they had to do. That semiprivate space built with the half-hidden wall, had been transformed into a cozy reading nook within the library and comprised of a seating area plumped with blue-striped pillows embroidered with nautical anchor motifs.

  A feeling of regret swept over Rain as she realized she’d missed so many changes by not coming north through her adult years. Why hadn’t her parents shared these changes? Did they think she didn’t care since she’d neglected visiting for far too long? She glanced at the nearby clock on the wall to see if she could phone her father to chat with him about it, but then realized he was on a plane heading to Japan for his business trip. Or maybe he’d already arrived. In any event, Rain wasn’t aware of the time difference and decided she’d try and chat with him later. As usual, they were always trying to catch each other on the fly.

  Thoughts of the cooler still sitting by the entrance door and the stifling heat, prompted Rain back to her duties. Reluctantly, she flicked off the light and closed the library door, wishing she had more time to linger. She promised herself, after getting a few things unpacked, that she’d hurry back and spend the evening scrutinizing the shelves. And maybe even haul a sleeping bag in there like she had when she was a child.

  Rain retreated over the catwalk back to the newer cabin and stopped at the nearby half-bath. While there, she pulled out a worn bath towel from the bottom drawer beneath the sink that she knew her mother kept hidden for cleaning purposes. She brought the towel over to where the cooler lay just outside the door and lifted half of it onto the towel. It was an old trick Max had taught her for when he wasn’t around to lift heavy furniture. “Lift smarter not harder,” she could almost hear him say. She grabbed hold of the two corners of the towel and pulled until the heavy cooler easily glided across the polished four-inch-wide-plank wood floor. She smiled with gratitude as she slid it with ease toward the stainless French door refrigerator. She popped the lid and emptied the last of her Milwaukee groceries, relieved to note a half bottle of creamer for tomorrow morning’s coffee. It would take a while to get used to the fact that the nearest grocery store still closed at five PM sharp. In some ways, spending time up north was like traveling back in time. Rain wiped her hands on her cutoff jean shorts and then closed the lid with a thud. Despite the long drive and mere snacks along way she wasn’t even remotely hungry. She’d lost quite a few pounds since Max’s death, so much so, that friends had asked with concern if she was sick. She hoped the summer in Lofty Pines, with less stress, would help her regain her appetite.

  Rain walked back to her SUV and plucked the overnight bag from the trunk and then locked it. Her original plan for a hot shower and her PJ’s would have to be abandoned for the next few hours. Had Julia mentioned a time when people would arrive? If so, it had completely slipped from Rain’s fragmented mind.

 
While in the bedroom, with clothes strewn across the queen-sized bed, Rain heard her name being called and hurried back toward the screen door, where she noticed Julia with an armful of paper bags.

  “I didn’t even have to run to town. After he finished cutting the grass, Nick ran the errand for me. He needed to go to town for gas anyway, so he grabbed a few extra items for us while I was in the shower. Isn’t that great?” Julia said animatedly as she eagerly brushed past and set the bags atop the white quartz kitchen island.

  Rain was running her hand over the smooth finish of the countertop wondering when it, too, had been replaced when she heard Julia say, “You haven’t showered yet?” Her eyes traveled from Rain’s head to her feet and ended with a frown.

  Immediately Rain looked down at her rumpled travel clothing with a coffee stain from breakfast still evident on her tank top. She aimlessly brushed the stain with her hand. “Ah, no. I …” she stuttered as she was surprised by Julia’s innocent yet transparent words. Then quickly remembered Julia’s ability to be blunt and tell it like it is. She knew Julia hadn’t meant it out of a spirit of mean heartedness. But, did she really look that bad? I mean, the coffee stain, yeah … but …? Her mind was so unfocused she hadn’t even checked the mirror when she’d stopped inside the bathroom. “Do I have time? To shower and change?”

  “Sure, I just thought you might want to freshen up, relax, and get on Laker time.” Julia recovered quickly, clearly now embarrassed by her candid remark. “I mean, Marge will be here in less than an hour, but like I promised, Rain, I’ll handle everything,” she added breathlessly. “Do you want me to set up in the library or out on the deck?” Julia pulled a wine bottle out of the paper bag with one hand and then held it out like an academy award with a wide smile pasted across her sunburned face.