Summer Reading is Killing Me

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR

I bought two coffees to go and headed to the library. I had called Wade when I left the park to tell him about the canceled celebration. He wanted to hear about the crime, but some things should be shared in person. I walked in and saw Juliet sitting on the circulation desk.

“ Have you lost your ever lovin’ mind?” I exclaimed. Juliet jumped down and gave me a guilty look. “Wade has clearly lost his mind letting you sit your derriere on the desk. Good golly, Juls, were you raised in a barn?”

“ As a matter of fact...” Juliet gave me a cheeky grin. “Sorry, Phee. Nobody was in here. Everybody’s milling around by the park to see what the police learned about the murder.”

“ Either there or at Nellie Jo’s grabbing a cup of coffee with a side of gossip,” Wade said as I handed him the cup I bought for him.

“ I didn’t realize you were here, or I would have brought you one, Juliet,” I apologized.

“ That’s okay. I’m here to find out the real deal about what happened in the park. That and to check out the hot guy behind the desk pushing subversive books on the innocent townsfolk of Miller’s Cove. He tried to make me read The Scarlet Letter . The nerve! So what’s the skinny, Minnie, with the murder?” Juliet leaned forward and fixed me with her best detective interrogation glare. After our pitiful attempt at crime detection last year almost got me killed, Juliet immersed herself in the world of crime – fact and fiction. She read as many mystery novels as she could and watched cheesy, 1970s cop shows during her free time. I had created a monster. A yoga-loving, granola-eating, Nancy Drew wannabe monster.

“What makes you think I know anything?” I grabbed the Miller’s Cove Courier and pretended to read the headlines. “I see they are planning to build a new subdivision down by the lake. It’s called Shady Retreat.”

“Aargh! Spill it!” Juliet screeched as she snatched the paper out of my hands.

“I’m guessing it was one of the summer renters here for the artist’s retreat. She was young, blonde and pretty,” I lowered my voice and glanced around to make sure the library was empty, “Don’t breathe a word, but somebody stabbed her in the chest with a paintbrush.”

“ Jiminy Christmas! That’s a horrible way to kill someone!” Juliet exclaimed. She clapped her hand over her mouth when she realized how loud she was.

“ Shush! No one is supposed to know that little detail,” I admonished her. I briefly considered showing them the pictures I took on my phone, but I decided to hold off for now.

“ The cops kept a piece of evidence back from the press so they can identify the perp. Smart.” Juliet narrowed her eyes. She tried for wise cop but came across more like a crazed Pomeranian.

“ You’ve been watching way too many police shows from the seventies,” Wade chuckled. “I can’t imagine Clint saying perp when he discusses a case with Sheriff Dawes, but I could be wrong. For all I know, they might sit around with their feet on the desk and eat doughnuts all day.”

“ I’ve been wracking my brain to figure out how you kill somebody with a paintbrush. Wouldn’t the handle break?” I recalled the crime scene and the wound in the girl’s chest. Something about it seemed odd. Like someone staged it.

“Wait a minute. Paintbrush?” Wade made a motion like he was painting the side of a barn.

“An artist’s paintbrush, silly, not a paintbrush for painting walls. That would be too bizarre. There was an unfinished canvas and easel on the ground next to her. I guess we’ll wait until they release more details about the crime to find out who she was and who killed her,” I said.

“ We should investigate and solve the crime ourselves. Clint’s out of town. The sheriff is short-staffed since the new deputy isn’t here yet. We could help,” Juliet said. Wade and I both turned and gave her open-mouthed stares. “What? Don’t stare at me like I’ve gone bat guano crazy. We found clues last time. Phee used to be the only one with investigator knowledge. Now that I’ve read every Agatha Christie novel in the library, I’ll be a real asset. Besides,” Juliet rummaged in her purse and pulled something out, “I made us both the coolest crime fighting accessory ever.”

I shook my head as I saw what Julie pulled out of her purse. She held two hot pink masks she had obviously sewn herself. A bedazzled ‘L’ was on the forehead of one and a ‘Y’ on the other. “Okay, ‘L’ I get. Super Librarian. But, Juls, I’m dying to know. What the heck does the ‘Y’ stand for?”

“ Super Yogi!” She exclaimed.

“ Lord love a duck, but I believe you’ve gone mad,” I laughed.