Chapter 11
Scarlet carted the box with the puppy and the bag of supplies from the vet into the backroom of her shop. “Guess it’s just you and me for now. I sure hope someone picks you up.”
She’d posted an ad on the local social media page, hoping to snag someone who could take on responsibility for the pup. Everyone wanted puppies or kittens where she was from, but few wanted older animals, so it should be easy to get him to a new home.
Scarlet set the box down on the floor and settled into the chair to sort through a crate of piled-up books. She drew one out and noticed the label on the bin.
“Dog-eared and Discontinued. Not for resale or checkout.” Scarlet muttered to herself as she sorted through the old paperbacks. The musty smell of paper intermingled with the fresh pages of newer books. The crate was a mixture of both. “Why are these all discontinued if there are new books in here?”
She picked up one, a mystery novel, and flipped through the pages. Every page with a corner folded down had either a letter or a word underlined in pencil on it. Scarlet started to notice a pattern.
“I—wish—you—could—come—for—dinner—Monday—at—seven.” Scarlet checked the book’s library insert, but it was missing. She opened another book and discovered a different message. “Your beauty is as vast as the ocean, on the surface and beneath it. I wish I had met you when I was younger.”
All other books contained messages that sounded like they had the same romantic theme.
“What are these? Old-fashioned love notes?”
None of the books had checkout cards in them. There was no way to know who had passed it ton to whom.
A rustling beside her drew Scarlet’s attention away from the books on the desk to the puppy who’d crawled out of his box, tipped it over, and found a book on the floor with a tasty corner.
“No, no. We don’t eat books.” Scarlet picked him up and set him in her lap. “But I guess you’re hungry, yeah?”
She filled the little bowl she’d bought him with the soft food the vet recommended, then placed him back in his box with his food. The puppy sniffed the food and soon had devoured it all.
“What are we going to call you, hmm?” Scarlet collected him and wrapped him in a blanket, then held him in her lap as she looked around at the hundreds of books filled with names. “Something regal and powerful? Or something symbolic?”
She patted his head and drew him close. “How about Athos?”
The puppy snuggled closer to her and soon fell asleep. Scarlet didn’t have the heart to move him, so she leaned back in the chair and casually continued sorting the books with one hand.
“What are we going to do about this place, Athos?” she whispered. “I can’t stay here, and I can’t take you with me.”
To her disappointment, Thea hadn’t called for any help. Scarlet had hoped she would because it would make her feel less replaceable.
Scarlet got a text on her phone. She checked it and saw it was from Everest.
Hey, I hope you don’t mind. I got your number from Lalia. It looks like it’s going to be a bit longer. Would you be willing to meet me at the café tomorrow…again…for lunch?
Scarlet: That works. See you then.
She studied the bin of books, remembering back to school and getting in trouble for folding corners in books. But it was more difficult to catch a note in a book than a paper note passed in class. The teacher would’ve had to pick up on the system to decipher the message. It wasn’t complicated, but it still took time to read.
Scarlet revisited the binder with the solved mysteries, all but one. Clara’s pictures haunted her. She knew she was going to be taken. She’d been taken. And Clara was trying to tell someone who had the books at the time.
Flipping through to the back, she found a stamp for the elementary school in town.
School library, that makes sense.
But why hadn’t Clara just told someone?
Scarlet did a quick search for people named Clara. The list was far too long to justify spending time sifting through all the faces. She needed more information. It was the last mystery her aunt had left unresolved, and part of Scarlet felt like maybe finishing that job would ease her guilt if only just a little.