Libraries and Labradors (A Magic Library Mystery Book 3) by Hillary Avis

Author:Hillary Avis [Avis, Hillary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hilyard Press
Published: 2020-10-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Allison left Michelle bewildered on the porch and ran to her car, returning with the small brown book in her hands. She held it up so Michelle could see. “I grabbed this out of the last box while Leroy was loading up the others.”

Michelle reached for it, but Allison shook her head, holding the book out of her reach. “First, promise me you’ll give me more time in the library. Please.”

“What good is more time?” Michelle said heavily.

“Elaine still thinks they need the pen to make new books out of the paper, right? That means we have time to get the boxes back from Leroy.” Desperation burned across her scalp as she clutched the book to her chest. “We can’t stop now—we’re so close. You have to at least try and get all the stuff back from the sheriff’s department, Michelle.”

“It’s a waste of time. What you should be worrying about it what they’re going to do to your mind. All our minds. Yours, mine, Taylor’s. Emily’s.”

Her daughter’s name hit her like a ton of bricks, knocking the air out of her. Michelle nodded. “That’s right. Your clever little manipulations to get Zack’s memories into the books? All you did was make Emily vulnerable. I told you not to mess with the library, but you couldn’t keep your selfishness in check.”

“Selfishness? I did it for your son! To find out who killed him!”

“Shhh,” Michelle cautioned, looking up and down the empty street. Something in her expression changed, and she gave a deep sigh and dragged open the screen door. “Come on in. Let’s see if that book is anything to write home about. If it is, we’ll keep trying. If it’s not—well, we’ll do as much damage control as we can.”

Allison entered the house warily and followed her to the living room, where Michelle clicked on a lamp next to the sofa. Light filtered through the stained-glass shade, casting long, colorful shadows across the room. She motioned for Allison to join her, but Allison hesitated.

“If you put it on the coffee table, we can both see.”

It was an uneasy truce, but Allison took the seat next to her and opened the book. She didn’t know what she’d expected to find inside, but it wasn’t this. Rather than printed text, the book was crowded with elegant handwriting. The first page had a date printed at the top—almost exactly five years ago.

“It’s a diary!” Michelle gasped. She snatched the book from the table and held it close, squinting to read it. She looked up at Allison, her eyes wide. “This is Elaine’s. It has to be. This must be how she remembered what happened while she was a guardian, even after Myra ripped out her pages. She kept a record. Look! ‘Sweet Leroy’?” Michelle made a face.

Allison leaned closer so she could see over Michelle’s shoulder, and Michelle spread the book wide so they could be both see the first entry better.

Sweet Leroy gave me the key and strict instructions: no guests, no telling anyone, no taking books out of the library.

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