The Forest

Chapter Five

The police couldn`t prove that she didn`t do it.

That`s what The Bear told her one Wednesday, in the late afternoon. It was a beautiful day, the kind of day Linden didn`t see in a while. White clouds rolled over blue skies like vanilla ice cream on a plate letting sunshine brighten everyone`s mood.

Reporters had more important things to talk about and would mention the case only briefly, as a reminder that something did actually happen. But those who mattered the most, people she met every day didn`t forget. Their curious eyes followed her wherever she went.

Library opened the same day she got the news. Surprisingly, no one came. Not one person walked through her door. They couldn`t risk getting killed by a vicious murderer. Not even for the books. And it was fine with her. She had her peace again.

But when The Bear walked in, he brought darkness with him. Mostly because he made it impossible for the light to reach the inside of the library.

` So, am I going to prison now? ` she asked.

His laugh caused a small earthquake. ` Of course not. At least not yet. We don`t have any proof that you did it. `

They also didn`t have any proof that she was at her desk the whole time. Cameras from surrounding stores couldn`t reach that far.

She sighed. ` And you won`t. `

` Hey, I believe you. `

` Why? ` she raised her eyebrows.

The Bear took a deep breath. `Look, the mayor had many enemies. And I know some things, bad things. `he looked away.

Tilia wondered if the key had something to do with it. She pondered the idea of turning it in for a moment but the realization that he might arrest her for withholding evidence made her decide against it. She felt bad for him.

` What kind of things? ` she asked.

` It doesn`t matter. ` he growled. ` Anyway, I`m just saying that the mayor wasn`t killed by some librarian. ` He chewed that word again, like it was unfathomable to him that someone could actually want to do that job. After a brief goodbye he left and light came back, shining on her face.

Mayor had secrets and that was no secret. But those things The Bear was talking about could have killed him and that was serious. That`s probably what the key was for. To unlock those things mayor didn`t want people to know.

Besides wanting to clear her name, she was also curious to see what was so important that mayor thought about it on his last breath.

She could have closed the library then and there knowing that no one will come, but she wanted to stay. Philip and Maria were working anyway and they won`t be able to meet with her until the evening. She wanted to let them know what happened. Philip probably knew about the cameras already.

Tilia enjoyed reorganizing some books and papers.

She looked through her box of little treasures and read every letter again. She even found a book to bring home with her that night. That library was a crime scene just a couple of days ago and now it was her safe haven again. Sun shined on shelves made from quality, dark wood and her beloved soft chair. And just as she was about to devour a sandwich her mom made her, someone came in. She raised her head to see Ethan carrying a stack of books. Tilia blushed, hiding her food in the drawer. She ran her fingers through her hair a couple of times.

He looked different. His hair was shorter and shoulders wider – he must have been working out. As he approached her, she almost forgot about what happened and she was again that girl who just met him and excitement flew through her veins.

Her love story started playing in her mind, all the moments they would have, all the beautiful things they would share.

But then she remembered that he might hate her and have every right to do so. The butterflies in her stomach turned into little alligators, biting away on her sanity.

` Hey, how can I help? ` she gathered the courage to say.

Ethan placed the books on the counter and smiled. A little scar above his upper lip shriveled and it looked like it was touching his nose.

` Thank you for calling, I would love to have coffee with you some time. ` he said with a huge grin on his face. Tilia blushed. A million responses raced through her mind, and she struggled to find the perfect one. She couldn`t tell if he was there to attack her – but why the hell would he smile? – or to talk to her, or something else.

` Thank you for being so persistent in trying to reach me. ` she said. She was proud of her answer. It made her feel cool.

` Thank you for killing my grandfather, making me super rich. ` he said and her smile immediately faded.

She looked down, checking something that she wrote down earlier. s**t, she should have known that he was here to mess with her. Why would he want to have anything to do with her after anything? Then she looked at the books he brought and recognized that the mayor borrowed them and haven`t returned them before he died. She looked at the titles closely to see if any of them sounded too unusual but all of them were well-known classics and definitely not what she was searching for.

` Thank you for returning those books, I appreciate it. `she said and tried to move them to her desk. As she picked them up, his hands found hers and their eyes met. His skin was warm and rough and it made her heart beat faster.

` I`m sorry, that was thoughtless. ` he said. ` I would love to have that coffee with you. `

She raised her eyebrow at him. ` After a year? ` she asked.

`Why not? ` ` Well, you know what they are saying about me and… `

` Screw them. I never liked this place anyway. ` he said taking the books from her and putting them down. She laughed. ` Fine. ` Tilia said. ` But this time, you call me. `

` I wouldn`t have it any other way. ` Ethan said and turned around to go. He winked at her before he walked out and closed the door behind him.

***

Maria ran into the library bringing colors and warmth with her. Her yellow blouse seemed to be a source of light all on its own. A scent of vanilla followed her, playing around the shelves and heading straight for Tilia who was still beaming from her encounter with Ethan earlier that day.

`Tell me everything. ` Maria said.

Tilia started telling her about what happened, not leaving out any detail. She waved her hands and all but started singing. Maria listened with her eyes opened wide. Tilia was excited and she didn`t care. Her dream love story was coming true.

Before she could say anything back, Philip entered the library. Sun followed him in. He was in his uniform, his hands tucked in his pockets.

` Hey, what`s up? ` he asked. The girls looked at each other and smiled.

` Nothing. ` said Tilia and turned her head away from him, pretending to look at some papers to hide her smile. She didn`t know why she was acting that way. But she didn`t want him to know about Ethan.

` Yeah, nothing. ` said Maria, trying to understand what Tilia was doing. `So, I have some great news. ` she said. ` But I guess that we can do it the other way now. `

` What? ` asked Philip, narrowing his eyes. Tilia still couldn`t look at him.

` Well my boss said I can go and interview Ethan Grimm but… ` she said.

` Great! ` said Tilia, finally looking up. ` When is that happening? `

Maria looked at her, raising her eyebrows but she went along with it. ` Yeah… Um, on Saturday. `

` Awesome. ` said Philip.

` Tili, have you heard about the cameras? ` he asked.

` What? ` asked Maria.

` Yeah… I completely forgot about that. ` she said. ` Well, no camera caught me being here and not there, killing the mayor. ` She remembered that not everything that day seemed perfect. She was still the main suspect. She was still hated.

` That sounds bad. ` said Maria.

` Yeah. But the Bear said he believes me because he knows some things about the mayor that make him think that I didn`t do it but someone else. ` she said.

` Well that was to be expected. Mayor and The Bear were friends once. I`m sure they know many weird things about each other. ` said Philip, shoving his fingers back into his pockets.

` This is just getting better and better. ` said Maria. ` We have to find the lock for that key. `

` It could be dangerous, you know. If we find something really bad, who knows who could come after us. ` said Philip.

` Yeah, but aren`t you curious now? ` asked Tilia.

` Of course, I`m just saying. Be prepared. Mayor had some powerful friends, the kind of friends that would do anything to make sure their secrets stay just that. `

The girls nodded. They could find something of great importance. It could change their lives or the lives of people from the town. It made their situation scarier, but also more intriguing.

Phillip had to go back to work and Maria stayed for a bit longer.

` Why didn`t you tell him about Ethan? ` she asked.

Tilia shrugged. ` I don`t know. ` she said. ` I just had a feeling he wouldn`t like it. `

` Well we could have used the fact that he likes you to snoop around the villa. ` Maria said. She was right. Tilia couldn`t help her childish behavior. Ethan was her dream guy but then Philip showed up. She wasn`t sure what she felt. ` But what if he realized what we were doing and…`

` It`s okay, I get it. ` Maria smiled. ` But you do know you will have to tell Philip at some point. `

` I know… I will. ` she said.

A police car drove by the library and her heart trembled.

***

Maria left and she was alone again. Last rays of sun shined on her. She couldn`t wait to get home and sleep. For the most part of her week she didn`t get much rest as worries kept her awake all night.

All the happiness she felt that day drained her and brought her peace. Things were going back to where they were. Even better, she had a date to hope for. And the gossips about her were bound to blow over at some point. Her life wasn`t completely back to normal yet, but it will be.

She tried not to think about the key, it only made her jittery. Adventures were something Maria liked, mysteries were something Philip liked. She liked to read about both adventures and mysteries. Not be involved with them.

She went through the library, checking if everything is in order. She passed the place where she found mayor`s body and it gave her shivers. The blood stain was barely visible but still there. Even if it was completely gone, Tilia would never forget it.

As she was about to walk away, pain in the back of her head made her stop. The world around her was spinning, getting darker. She was falling and the air let her slide through it until green carpet touched her face.

Tilia closed her eyes and fell asleep.