The Case of the Poisonous Petals in Las Vegas: A Cozy Tiffany Black Mystery by A.R. Winters

Author:A.R. Winters [Winters, A.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-07T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The noticeboards were in the library’s airy lobby. There were two long, wide pinboards on either side of the entrance, and they were filled with local announcements.

“Here’s Wally’s one,” Rosie said. She began to read it, “Impressive, expressive, and beautiful. Come discover the fascinating flora and fauna of the desert with local expert Wally Hawthorne, on a botanical tour. Day trips available, or try our overnight wilderness retreat to view the rare Moonglow Agave and camp under the stars! Special superbloom tours occasionally available. Group bookings welcome.”

“I wouldn’t go on that if I were you.” An elderly gentleman was frowning at the poster as Rosie read from it. “Someone died. Poisoning, I heard.”

“It was an allergic reaction,” I said. “It could have been bad luck.”

The man shook his head. “I don’t think so. No, you stay away from that tour if you’re sensible.”

The man shuffled away.

“Wally should rebrand,” Rosie said.

“Maybe he should change his name to Goofy.” Rosie and I both snickered, but then I felt bad. Our client was a nice guy, and it was a shame what had happened.

“I don’t see it,” I said. “If there was a poster of Lucien here, it’s gone now. Let’s go ask.”

The librarian we approached was a fastidious-looking man with a twitching nose and thick glasses. He was about as tall as Stone but about as thin as a drinking straw and just as flimsy. He folded himself over to peer at us suspiciously as we approached.

“Yes?”

“Hi! We were wondering if you could help us! We’re looking for this man.” I showed the librarian a photo on my phone. “He had a poster up a few weeks ago, I was wondering if you could give us a bit of information about it and about him? Who he is, and so forth?”

The librarian—Clark, according to his name tag—was frowning and rapidly shaking his head.

“I’m not at liberty to divulge the personal information of any of our members.”

“Right,” I said, “I understand that. But we’re not looking for personal information. We just want to know who he is. He had a poster up; it’s not a secret.”

“Is the poster still up?” Clark asked, eyebrows arched.

“No…”

“Then there you have it. He no longer wishes to be found or identified. I would be derelict in my responsibilities if I were to just hand over such information. Especially to someone like you.”

“Someone like me?”

He turned his head to encompass Rosie as well. “Both of you. I saw the way you sauntered in here. If you can’t respect a library, then you should keep yourselves elsewhere.”

“We respect libraries! We love libraries!”

“Keep your voice down.”

I was tempted to strangle the horrible man. Rosie must have spotted something because she gently tugged my elbow. She was probably right to get me away. You can’t reason with an unreasonable person. I’d probably get us kicked out.

Rosie was leading me over to a table where an older woman was sitting smiling at us. She looked familiar.

“Don’t worry about Clark,” said the old lady.

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