She hung her head. “I wasn’t thinking about what would happen if it worked. Can we return Hook to his book before the two weeks are up?”
“There are ways to return characters early,” Jack answered, hesitation in his voice.
Stella gazed past him to the shipwrecked man, who stood looking around the foyer, apparently on high alert for a rogue pirate. Arnie had mentioned that sending characters back before the two weeks were over was an unpleasant choice. What did that mean? “What ways?”
Jack shook his head. “Nothing we need to discuss now. We have bigger issues.”
She made a mental note to ask again later. “And that’s Robinson Crusoe?”
“At least he’s accommodating,” Jack said.
Stella remembered the pull to grabRobinson Crusoefrom the shelf. Had something inside her known they’d need his help?
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a good thing you didn’t invite any other troublemakers.”
“Did you know the book club invited Darcy to go into town and have coffee with them? He was outside on the back steps.”
Jack’s skin paled for a moment. “I’ve been too busy trying to find Hook. Darcy wouldn’t have gone. He doesn’t like crowds, but he knows better anyway. Wealldo. Well, the good ones of us.”
Stella nodded. “Arnie told me everything. About the magic, the warnings about what happens if we lose characters, and about you.”
Jack touched her shoulder and then stepped aside as Vicki approached. Under his breath, he said, “We’ll discuss that later.”
Vicki returned with a wad of wet paper towels. She pressed them against Stella’s neck, and Stella thanked her.
“Should we tell Arnie?” Vicki asked.
“No!” Jack and Stella said together, surprising Vicki.
“We’ve got this under control,” Jack said.
“We do?” Vicki asked. “You don’t even know where the crazy pirate is.”
Stella stood and wiped the cold, wet paper towels over her face before tossing them into the trash can. “We’ll find him,” she said, sounding more confident than she felt. “Vicki, you stay here at the desk in case anyone needs you. Jack, Mr. Crusoe, and I will split up and search the library. He has to be here somewhere, right?”
Vicki looked relieved to stay in relative safety behind the circulation desk.
Was Hook still in the library? What if he slipped out when they weren’t looking? What would happen to Peter Pan’s world if Captain Hook never existed? Stella realized Arnie had been right not to tell her the truth sooner. She was too irresponsible to handle it. Look what havoc she had already caused.
Stella walked away from the circulation desk with Jack and Mr. Crusoe. “What’s the plan?”
A line creased between Jack’s dark brows. “I don’t think we should split up. Hook isn’t the most reputable character. He’s not the cartoon version you’re imagining.”
Stella narrowed her gaze. “How do you know what I’m imagining?”
“Because I’d bet you’re thinking about Disney’s Captain Hook.”
“How do you evenknowabout that version of Captain Hook?” Stella asked.
“Arnie and I have often discussed various iterations of characters,” he said. “This isnotthat older, wig-wearing guy looking for a crocodile.”
“So he’s not a vain, evil coward with a childish temper who periodically cries out in terror?” Jack shook his head. “What about Barrie’s blue-eyed man with a handsome countenance and elegant diction, who wasn’t actually murderous?”
Jack shook his head again.
“Whose heinous versionisHook then?” Stella made a shooing motion with her hand. “This will go a whole lot faster if we split up. I’ll shout if I see him, and then you two can come and help if needed.”
Jack’s voice was flat when he echoed, “If needed.” He slipped a knife sheathed in a narrow holster out of his pocket and removed the knife from its case. “Take this.”
