Death is Long Overdue

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

The next morning I crawled my way into work clutching the largest coffee I could buy at Nellie Jo’s Cup o’ Joe. My eyes felt gritty and my brain filled with sand. I was a girl who needed eight hours of sleep to even pass for human. Glancing up at me as I came behind the circulation desk, Wade, my part-time clerk, tech guru and occasional janitor, turned the front page of the newspaper towards me.

“ You look like crap. Did you see this? Someone killed that jerk, Huey Long. Good riddance, I say. The man was a walking billboard advertising trouble.” Wade was ex-Army and not known for mincing his words. “Every time he came in here and opened his mouth, I wanted to drop kick his little a*s right back out to the curb.”

“ I found the body!” I blurted it out before I could stop myself. So much for my plan of not letting anybody know. Clint would kill me. He promised to keep my name out of the newspaper. I should take out a front page ad in the newspaper and tell everyone. There was a good reason Juliet often accused me of having diarrhea of the mouth. I wasn’t good at keeping secrets. This secret was so big, it was begging to be let out.

“ Say what? How in the heck did you find him? He was killed in his home according to the paper, and I know he wasn’t high on your list of prospective dating partners. What was it you said? I think it was something like ‘I would rather burn my eyeballs out with a hot iron poker than date that evil little man.’ But I guess I misunderstood,” Wade smirked at me.

“ You and my sister, Juliet, ought to form a comedy team. She thinks she’s hilarious, too. For your information, I went there to get our books he refused to bring back or pay for, thank you very much. I found him dead and called the sheriff’s office.” I snatched the paper from him, settled onto a stool and sipped my coffee.

“ Wow! The article said the cause of death appeared to be strangulation, but they aren’t releasing any more details right now. Tell me everything that the newspaper isn’t saying. Remember, we have ways of making you talk. Mwahaha!” Wade threatened while giving his best impression of an evil interrogator. He set down the mail he was sorting and peered at me. “Spill it, Phee!”

“ Not much else to tell. His back door was open, so I went in. I found him strangled and got out of there as fast as I could in case the murderer was still there. I called the sheriff’s office. End of story.” There was no way I would tell anyone what else I saw - Huey Long in his birthday suit.

Clint had threatened me with everything short of death if I blabbed. My mouth would remain shut if I had to put duct tape across it. He would be angry I told Wade as much as I had.

“ You’re lucky you weren’t hurt. What were you thinking going over there by yourself? First, Huey Long was an a*s. Second, no book is worth you getting molested by the troll. If you wanted someone to go c***k some kneecaps and do collections, you should’ve taken me with you.” Wade cracked his knuckles in his best imitation of a mafia hit man.

“ I waited until I knew he’d be out of his house. I just planned on sneaking in, grabbing the books and leaving. I didn’t expect to find him there. Dead or alive. You know he always does karaoke on Thursday nights. I thought I would be perfectly safe. In and out in five minutes. Problem solved. Now, I’m a witness in a murder.” I sipped my coffee and wrapped one of my red curls around my finger attempting to look casual. “Clint Mason is the investigator on the case.”

“ You’re not telling me everything. You always twist your hair when you lie. I know you too well, boss lady.” He rolled out from behind the desk. He grabbed the books off the cart and headed into the stacks to shelve them. “And please stop mooning over Clint and just tell him.”

“ Nothing to tell,” I murmured under my breath. “And I’m not lying!” I said the last bit loud enough for Wade. I heard him laugh as he rolled down the aisle between the shelves.

For the rest of the day, I tried to make myself scarce by dusting and shelving all the books rather than work at the desk. Wade worked at circulation and stayed busy checking people’s books out to them. The murder was the only thing anyone could talk about.

“ Hey there, pretty lady. Did you hear the big news?” Startled, I dropped the DVDs I was shelving.

“ Hi, Cincinnati. Yes, I heard about the murder. It’s all anyone wants to talk about today,” I said resignedly. I knew I’d be dragged into the gossip eventually.

“ Murder? I’m talking about the Reds being named Wilson Defensive Team of the Year. That’s the news I’m talking about!” Charlie “Cincinnati” Cochran was a regular visitor at the Miller’s Cove Library. He came daily to read the paper and talk sports with anyone who would listen. I tried to tell him I didn’t know diddly about baseball. He always continued to describe each play of every game played by his favorite team, the Cincinnati Reds.

Charlie had been the town’s head groundskeeper for the parks and public greens for years until he retired five years ago. Since then, he followed a daily routine. He hit Nellie Jo’s Cup o’ Joe first thing. Then he would meander his way towards the library before heading towards the senior center for lunch and a game of chess. He was getting up in years. Last winter he had taken a nasty fall on the ice and broken his shoulder. Charlie never married and had no family, so we all tried to keep an eye out for him.

“ That’s awesome. Bet that made your day.” I leaned down to pick up the DVDs I dropped. “The only thing anyone else is talking about is the murder of Huey Long.”

“ That bag of wind. I can’t say I’m sorry. I didn’t like the way he grabbed you the other day. Made me want to kick him right in his behind!” Charlie made a kicking motion and grinned at me. “You can count on old Charlie here to look out for you.”

I patted Charlie on his arm and told him I would talk to him later. For the rest of the afternoon, I hid myself in my office. I attempted to get some paperwork done in my office until time to go home. People were exhausting.

At five o’clock, Wade announced the library was closed. He shut down the computers and locked the door behind the last patron. I saw him wince when he caught his hand between the desk and his chair and felt a twinge of guilt. Wade’s Humvee rolled over an IED outside of Fallujah. He lost both of his legs, but he never complained. Wade was the only one of his team who had survived. He came home from Walter Reed Hospital a year ago and asked me for a job. He didn’t need the money but needed to be busy to keep his demons at bay. I paid him a pittance from my meager budget, but he didn’t care. He said the books in the library allowed him to travel to places “a helluva lot better than that hot a*s sandbox I was in.”

“ I can lock up if you want to head out of here,” I offered.

“ I’ll take you up on that offer. I’ve got a smoking hot date tonight, so I need time to wax my ride.” He attempted a leer.

I shooed him out of the building. I finished turning everything off and headed out the door. As I walked to Velma, I heard someone call my name. Turning, I spotted Carla Karsen tottering on her three-inch heels down the sidewalk towards me. I groaned. I avoided Carla like the plague. As the former head cheerleader at Miller’s Cove High, she had roamed the halls with her pack of friends terrorizing everyone outside of her clique, including me. Although it was years ago, my blood still boiled every time I saw her. As a council member, she spoke out against the library at every town hall meeting. She wanted to tear down the 120-year-old building and replace it with a recreation center and pool. Her plan was to make a “reading room for the few people who still read the old-fashioned way.” I don’t think she had cracked a book since reading Fox in Socks when she was five.

She glared at me as she teetered up. “I think we need to talk before the next town council meeting. My idea will draw more young people and money to the downtown area of Miller’s Cove. People don’t read books anymore, Ophelia. They can find all they need on the internet. You need to realize that my idea is what this town needs. I plan to help the town grow. It will encourage more families to relocate here which means more business for everyone. I’d be happy to have you come and work at the new fitness center. We could always use someone to help clean the pool.”

“ Carla, I’m sure that in your mind you’re convinced that you’re right, but the rest of the town council doesn’t agree. If you ever tried to read a book…” I trailed off before I stuck my foot any further into my mouth. I disliked Carla with a passion. She always made me feel awkward. It didn’t matter I was an educated, professional woman. Whenever Carla came around me, I felt like the same fifteen-year-old girl with bad hair and braces. She hadn’t been an ugly duckling like me, and she used her looks to her advantage every chance she could.

“ Listen, you little witch, you think you are so damn smart. Mark my words, I will get my way. When I do, I will make sure you never find another job in this town.” She poked me in the chest with her pointy, hot pink nails.

“ Hey there, pretty lady. You’re coming to the concert over at the high school tonight, aren’t you?” Cincinnati walked over and stood next to me. Carla huffed and backed away from me.

“ Not tonight, Charlie.” I was grateful for the interruption.

“ I’ll talk to you later,” Carla threatened. She spun on her heels and tottered on down the sidewalk.

“ You looked like you needed rescuing there, Phee. You okay?” Charlie asked.

“ Thanks, Charlie. I’m fine. Just tired and ready to go home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I turned back towards my van and climbed in.

“ You have any more problems with that one,” he said pointing down the sidewalk at Carla’s retreating back, “you let me know. She’s a piece of work. One of these days, she is going to get in the wrong person’s face.”

“ I will. Thanks again. Have a good evening.” I fired up Velma and pointed her towards home, a hot cup of tea, and much needed peace and quiet.