“Maybe she got caught up doing something and her phone died,” Beth suggested.
But Deva shook her head. “No, her phone was ringing. It’s not off.”
“Maybe just on silent?” I asked.
“Maybe,” Deva said, but it felt like she was sayingno.
We all climbed out of my car and headed for the big library doors. Normally, I liked this place. It felt soothing, almost like Beth or Carol’s shops. Looking back at my high school years, I’d probably spent too many nights and weekends here, cramming for tests.
And maybe diving into every book I could get my hands on.
But as we walked up, it didn't feel soothing. It felt way too empty. Yeah, this wasn’t a popular hang out, but people did go here. Right now it looked...lifeless.
My nerves were jumping as I climbed up the steps to the library.
When we got to the front door, it was locked and everything inside was dark and quiet. “It’s the middle of the afternoon.” I peered through the window beside the door. “Why is it closed?”
“Anytime Glynda has to close up shop, her sister Glenna comes,” Deva said. “And then there are volunteers. I’ve never seen these doors closed.”
She was right.
“Hang on.” Beth cracked her knuckles, rolled her head, then grabbed the handle. She narrowed her eyes, and a few seconds later, the door clicked. “Ha.”
“Good going,” I praised. We moved carefully into the library, looking for any signs of danger. If it weren’t for being worried about Beth, we would’ve waited on Daniel. But there wasn’t any time to wait if our friend was in trouble.
Creeping forward, we gasped almost as one when we spotted Glynda in her chair, draped back with her head lolling and arms flopped to the sides. My stomach flipped. Glynda wasn’t that much older than us. She wouldn’t have just died in her chair before opening up this morning…
No, she couldn’t be dead. I wouldn’t believe it.
I hurried to her side and pulled her arms in front of her, crossing them to be more comfortable. Then, I pressed my fingers against her neck. I had no idea how to feel for a pulse, but right away I felt a steady thump, thump against my fingertips. “She’s alive.”
“Thank goodness!” Beth said, and I could hear unshed tears in her voice.
“Glynda?” I said. “Glynda!” I repeated a little louder.
She didn’t react. Not even a flicker of her eyelids.
I shook her shoulder, and she started to slump forward until I straightened her back up again, then frowned at the others. “Something about this isn’t right.”
Deva picked up Glynda’s teacup and sniffed, while studying the liquid. “That’s a sleeping brew. Heavily hidden with lavender. It’s an old trick.”
“Why would anyone give her a sleeping brew?”
Deva frowned. “For trouble.”
Darn it. She was right.
Quietly, but hurrying, we continued around the library, searching for Carol. We found a table with yearbooks spread across it, and a bright yellow handbag with a knitted image of a bird on it. We instantly knew that Carol had been working here. And yet, nothing was suspicious. It was just as if she was somewhere in the library, searching for more books.
So, we kept going through the library. Nothing was out of place until we came to the math section. There, a whole shelf of books had been thrown all over the floor, as if there was a struggle. I heard Beth gasp behind me, and heart thumping, I moved through the books. There wasn’t any blood, nor anything else that said Beth was here. Except…
I knelt down. Two books were mixed in with all the math ones, but they looked more specifically placed rather than knocked down in a struggle. They were open, and definitely not math books.
“Yearbooks.” I bent over and looked at them. “Open to our senior class and my parents’ senior class.” I turned and looked at Deva and Beth. “This makes no sense.”
The ladies bent over the book and squinted.
“Do you see any reason it’d be open on this?” I asked.
