Cannoli Cafe Mystery Series Boxed Set

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A few days prior to the murder

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Denise Donnelly scanned in a few returned books. “Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. These are over two weeks late!” Sarah, her assistant in the children’s room, cringed at Mrs. Donnelly’s remark. She knew that patron was in trouble.

“Sarah, would you put these away please?”

“Yes, Mrs. Donnelly.” Sarah promptly retrieved the books from Mrs. Donnelly’s desk and proceeded to find the appropriate shelves in the room. She noticed all three books had a number in the 500s pertaining to its respective Dewey Decimal classification. Someone either had a science report or really loves lemurs, but I suspect it’s the former, she thought to herself. The 500 shelves were not far from the front desk, but far enough for her to catch her breath for a few minutes. After all, Mrs. Donnelly wasn’t the easiest woman to work for.

As she located the correct shelves for each book, she heard the friction of someone’s shoes against the carpet and instantly knew it was the library director, Frank Tanner. He had a funny habit of dragging his feet, but he only seemed to do it when he was entering the children’s room. Sarah raised an eyebrow at the thought and half-smiled at the revelation.

“Denise, you wanted to see me?” he asked. Sarah realized it would probably be best to stay out of sight for a few minutes. He was the big boss around there and sometimes sparks flew between Mrs. Donnelly and the director.

“Yes, Frank. First of all, congratulations on your retirement. I’m looking forward to attending your dinner on Tuesday night.” She stood up from her desk so that their faces were opposite from one another.

“Thank you, Denise. I can’t believe it, but I guess all good things have to come to an end. It’s time to give someone else a crack at my job now.”

Denise’s eyes widened. “Yes, about that, Frank…”

Before she could finish, he cut her off. His voice went to a low volume, but Sarah could still just about hear him. “Thank you for your application. The thing is, the board of directors is expecting me to recommend the applicant I think would be best for the job. While you have the most experience of all the applicants, I believe your talents and skills are best suited for the children’s room.”

“I don’t agree with you, Frank. Some people may feel I’m too regimented, but I believe that it is my discipline and conscientiousness that helps us win the educational awards for our programs. I could apply my skills to the entire library when you’re gone.” Sarah moved one of the large volumes from the shelf so she could just about see a sliver of the front desk. Mrs. Donnelly’s face was beet red.

“I’m really sorry, Denise, but I have another candidate in mind.” Frank started to rub his shoes against the carpet despite the fact that he wasn’t actually walking; he was just standing in place.

“I find it very upsetting that you’re the reason I can’t get promoted. After all I’ve done for you and this library.” She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. “So are you basically telling me that if the board of directors reviewed the current applications as they are, I would most likely be the candidate based on my experience and awards?”

“Probably, because that’s how it looks on paper. But I transformed this job to be more than the rigor of maintaining and improving the library in terms of books and programs.” Frank paused. “Honestly, there’s someone else who may not have the same experience as you, but they have more of the demeanor for the role. After all, we need more donations if we want to keep improving and expanding. In effect, the director role now calls for someone with a politician-type personality or perhaps it needs someone who’s good at inspiring fundraising. That way, we can keep your library expertise where it belongs and use the director role as a means to fund the library better. Don’t you see, Denise? It’s for the greater good of the library.” When he finished his statement, he rubbed his feet against the carpet as he started to back away.

“I wish you could have given me a chance. Maybe I could do fundraising.”

Frank shook his head. “Let’s be realistic, Denise. When we wanted to get a new pet for the children’s room, you couldn’t help get us more than ten bucks.” Frank’s words stung Denise quite visibly. She started to dig her nails into her arms as she listened to him, arms folded. Sarah held her breath as she continued to watch their interaction.

“Okay, Frank, it’s clear your mind is made up. Congratulations, again, and enjoy your retirement. I’ll see you on Tuesday,” said Denise, as she walked away from him and started approaching some of the shelves on the other side of the desk.

She stopped walking, however, when Frank said, “Denise, I will announce the new director at the end of my dinner on Tuesday.”

Denise didn’t respond but instead altered her course and started approaching the section Sarah was in. Sarah realized she’d better disappear so she quietly tiptoed to the restroom in the corner. She washed her hands and then came out, meeting Mrs. Donnelly face-to-face.

“Where exactly have you been the last ten minutes, Sarah?”

Sarah didn’t like to lie, but she felt it was in her best interest to pretend she didn’t hear the conversation that had just transpired. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Donnelly. I wasn’t feeling well and was in the bathroom. Do you need me for anything?”

“I just wanted to share some good news with you. After all, you’ve been a great assistant to me. I will keep you in mind when I become the director.” Mrs. Donnelly raised her head a bit, looking quite proud.

Sarah’s jaw dropped. Mrs. Donnelly’s confident face was then replaced with anger, but Sarah recovered quickly and said, “Oh my, that’s wonderful! I thought I put a book away incorrectly or something when you approached me. This is great news, it just took me by surprise!”

Mrs. Donnelly’s face softened and she said, “I’m confiding in you, Sarah. They won’t be announcing it for a few days now. But I will definitely be the director upon Frank’s retirement. Please don’t tell anyone else.”