“What? Oh, I parked far from here—got the streets wrong. Hmm, I’ll see you next time, I suppose.”
“Either me or my brother. I’ll let him know a dude from the big city might stop by with some smoketricks.”
Owen smiles. “You do that, Small-Town Joe. See you around.”
It takes him almost ten minutes to find Nate’s car, but since he’s high, his perspective of time might be slightly off.
“Man, I thought you forgot about me,” Nate says once Owen slips into the passenger seat.
“It took a bit longer than expected, but I got it for one hundred.”
“Yeah, you also got high.” Nate laughs. “You can’t stop smiling!”
“What? I’m not smiling.”
“Tell that to your mouth.” Nate starts the car. “If Sheryl catches you—”
“She’d kill me.”
“Yep, so you better not tell her, and neither will I. There’s a barber shop on Main Street called Town Square Cuts. Behind the shop you’ll find a great place to sit and chill. It closes at six, and no one will bother you there.”
“I’m not planning on making getting high a regular thing.”
“Hey, I’m just giving you the lay of the land. Show me what you’ve got.”
Owen pulls out the bag from his pocket and hands it to Nate. There are two small nylon bags inside. Nate hands one back to Owen. “Here.”
“I can’t take it. It’s evidence.”
“Evidence? This ain’t Law and Order. Throw it away later if you want.”
Owen will probably do just that, but he still takes the small bag and slips it into his pocket. He fills Nate in on his conversation with Joe as they drive back to Van Buren, and Nate seems pleased.
“That’s exactly how you do it. You make them like you, then trust you, and then they’ll want to work with you. You did great, buddy. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks.” He feels proud of himself, too.
*
“I’m not sure about that,” Francie says as she’s arranging her big, purple bag to leave. “The library is a place for peace and quiet, not social events.”
“A book club is meant to celebrate reading and encourage more people to read. I’m not talking about putting balloons around. The guests can bring their own snacks.”
“Eating in the library is prohibited, as you should know since you have read the manual—right?”
“Hmm, sure. But we’ll have them sitting only at the front—no harm will come to any defenseless book. Let me make some signs and hang them around town. We’ll choose a book that’s been popular for a while.”
“We will also need to make sure we have enough copies.”
Owen nods and crosses his arms. He hadn’t thought about that. “Can we order more books? Like a temporary loan?”
“A loan by definition is temporary.”
He sighs. “Francie, please. I have a good feeling about this.”
She gives him a stern look through her big glasses. “You’ll do this event during your shift. When I come to work the following day, I don’t want to see any damage or graffiti on the walls.”
“Jesus, it’s not a book club for bikers.”
