For The Love of Books by Donna Robinson

Author:Donna Robinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2013-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

Twelve

“I’m checking this book out, Callie.” Vern Snyder laid a slim volume on the checkout desk and slapped his library card on top of it.

It was eleven o’clock on Friday morning, and Callie hadn’t seen Lane since Tuesday night at the meeting. But she’d seen plenty of Vern.

She picked up his card. “Seems like you’re spending a lot of time at the library, even though you want the building to be demolished.” She glanced at the title of his book—How to Become a Millionaire in Twelve Weeks.

“Yeah, well, you know.” Vern shrugged. “It’s a place to hang out. Once the library closes, I aim to spend my time at the Trailblazer Café.”

She ran the book under the scanner. “Has the town council met to discuss the protests about tearing down the library?”

“Nah, we don’t need to do that. This building will be gone in two months.”

“Aggie Collingsworth still thinks we can keep the library open. She’s circulating a petition for a revote.”

“A petition?” Vern’s bushy eyebrows met between his eyes. “That woman don’t know when to stop. How does she know what’s good for this town? Well, she don’t. That’s why we have a town council.” He picked up the book. “This library has got to go, Callie. It’s for the good of Fort Lob. Remember that.”

Callie sighed as he left. Why were they bothering to petition?

The door opened to admit Cheyenne, dressed in her US Postal uniform, a mailbag slung over her shoulder. “Here’s the mail for the library.” She placed a letter, several magazines, and a newspaper on the checkout desk.

Callie smiled. “You’re delivering the mail today, Cheyenne?”

“Yeah, Bernie’s sick. But I like doing delivery. Gets me out of the building. It gets so hot in there without air-conditioning.” She tapped the newspaper. “You should read today’s article by Herbert Dreyfuss.”

Callie picked up The Scout. “What’s the subject?”

“The danger of power in city halls.” Cheyenne smirked. “It was awfully quiet over at the Trailblazer Café—you know all those men who meet there for breakfast every morning? Most of them are on the council, and I don’t think they appreciated Mr. Dreyfuss’s opinion.”

Callie found the column on page eight beside the familiar picture of Dreyfuss—a handsome man in his sixties with graying temples. She spread the paper on the desk. The article was called “City Hall and the Dangers of a Political Machine.” Silently she read the first few sentences. “But Cheyenne, this is about New York City and the history of Tammany Hall.”

Cheyenne leaned over and pointed to a paragraph near the bottom of the page. “Read this—out loud.”

Callie focused on the words. “ ‘The political machine that wields power doesn’t have to be in a big city. Sometimes small towns have a group with great influence over their citizens. A town council often runs the town, making decisions without any input from the populace. In effect, it’s the old problem of taxation without representation.’ ” She looked up. “Wow, he put his finger on Fort Lob’s problem.”

“Isn’t that an amazing coincidence?” Cheyenne hefted her mailbag over her shoulder.

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