Snuffed Out - Tim Myers [46]
I dropped the bag off, and made it to Erin’s twenty minutes before closing. No one was there, though. I found a sign on the door that said, gone for the day. whitewatering on the nolichucky.
So much for that. I wondered how much a kayak cost, and more important, if I could afford it on my limited budget. It would be nice to hit the water whenever I felt like it and not have to rely on someone else. Then again, I wouldn’t have the excuse to pop in on Erin anymore either.
I’d have to think about it, then consult my bank balance.
I was in no hurry to get back to River’s Edge, not after being so eager to leave it, so I decided to head over to the library to see what was new in the stacks. I had my share of mysteries on the shelves from Belle, but I also had a passion for biographies, one my late Great-Aunt hadn’t shared with me.
Robyn, my friend and the best research librarian in the state, was busy helping a patron. I waved to her, and she acknowledged me with a bob of her head. I wandered over to the biographies, located near the open study area, and was browsing through the Gs when I heard a familiar voice.
It was Cragg, and from the look of things, he’d gotten himself into a spot of trouble.
I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but it was hard not to, given the volume of the two men’s voices. Cragg was talking with a man nearly twice his size, with thick shoulders and hands that looked like they could crush rocks.
“Stay away from her,” the man said, punctuating his point by jabbing Cragg’s chest. The attorney stood up under the assault, though he did back up a step or two.
“Let her make up her own mind,” Cragg said.
“She did. She wants me.”
Cragg said, “When she tells me that, I’ll believe it. That first tap was free. If you touch me again, I’ll sue you until you’ve lost every last dime to your name.”
“Lawyers. What a bunch of cowards.”
Robyn suddenly appeared, and though she was quite a bit smaller than Cragg, let alone the giant with him, she marched in between them as if she was twenty feet tall.
“I’ve told you both twice to lower your voices. Leave this library, and I mean right now.”
The big man said, “We’re not finished.”
Robyn walked up under his chin and said, “Believe me, you don’t want to push this. Now are you going to go peacefully?”
The big man looked at her a second, then said, “Yeah, I’m going.” He stopped and said to Cragg, “Leave her alone.”
Cragg didn’t comment, and the big man left.
Robyn was still frowning at Cragg. “You know better than that, Gary. Go on.”
He looked at Robyn incredulously. “You can’t be serious.”
“You’d better believe I am. Go home, go somewhere
and cool off, and don’t come back until you can act with some decorum.”
He shook his head and walked out, going right past me in the stacks. Cragg didn’t notice me, and I wasn’t about to call attention to myself. I waited until he was gone, then joined Robyn.
I said, “What was that all about?”
“I’m not one of these modern apologists who believe rowdiness belongs in the stacks. Libraries are meant for reading and contemplation, not debating and fistfights.”
“Wow, I never knew you were so tough,” I said, fighting to hide my smile.
“I can be, when it comes to oafs and barbarians. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“I was wondering if you had any biographies on Genghis Khan. Tyrants have always fascinated me.”
“If you’ve forgotten your alphabet again, sing your ABCs.”
I smiled. “Let me see, how does that go again?”
“Bye, Harrison.”
After she was gone, I picked out a few books and checked them out at the circulation desk. Heading back to River’s Edge, I wondered who the behemoth Cragg had been arguing with was. From the sound of it, a woman was at the heart of their disagreement, and I couldn