The Silence Of The Library

Kanesha’s answered chilled me further, though it wasn’t unexpected. “Start looking for evidence of digging on their property.”

“If only there were a way to unmask Eugene in public. That would do it, wouldn’t it?”

“It would certainly get the ball rolling,” Kanesha said. “But I’m not going to go up to Mrs. Cartwright and accuse her of being Eugene in drag. Too risky.”

An idea had occurred to me, but I wasn’t sure whether Kanesha would go for it. It was corny and clichéd, but it had worked in the past. “How about this? We get Eugene, as Mrs. Cartwright, to come to the library tomorrow with Marcella. Maybe I can ask Teresa to call them and say that we want to discuss further the idea of paying Mrs. Cartwright to appear at the library. I could ask them questions, see if Eugene squirms, and if all else fails, I could try to get the wig off.”

Kanesha almost smiled. “Would you really go through with it?”

I nodded.

“You realize you could be laying yourself open to a lawsuit if by some chance you’re wrong. Even if you’re right, Eugene might try to sue you or charge you with assault.”

“I’m willing to take the chance.” My heart thumped harder than usual in my chest, but I would do as I promised.

Kanesha regarded me in silence for a long moment. “Why not? It’s unorthodox, but I don’t have any better options at the moment. Do you think Teresa Farmer will go along?”

“I’m sure she will. I don’t have to tell her everything if you don’t want me to, just that we need to get Eugene, or rather Mrs. Cartwright, and Marcella to the library as soon as possible.”

“If you can get her to do it without telling her completely why, that would be better. That way she can’t give anything away.”

Teresa was shrewd and no doubt would realize that I was hatching some kind of plot, but I thought she would trust me enough to go along without asking any inconvenient questions.

“I’ll call her right now.” I took out my cell phone. She answered almost immediately. After we got the preliminaries out of the way, I said, “I can’t tell you why, but I really need to get Mrs. Cartwright and Marcella to the library tomorrow.” I explained what I wanted her to do. I could tell by her tone that she was burning with curiosity, but she obviously trusted me enough to agree without pressing me for more information. “Call me back as soon as you’ve made the arrangements with them.”

I ended the call and put the phone on the table. “Now all we have to do is wait. Eugene will bite, I’m sure of it.”

THIRTY-NINE

The meeting was set for nine thirty the next morning. After Kanesha left, I kept thinking about my plan, and through the afternoon and the evening, I went over it and over it until my head started pounding.

While I lay in bed, trying to still my brain enough to get to sleep, I realized I had overlooked two of the odd occurrences in this strange affair.

The first was the business with the glaring lights when Teresa and I went to visit Mrs. Cartwright in her home. Now that I knew that Eugene was sitting in for his grandmother, I understood. With all that glare, visitors would have a hard time focusing on details of Mrs. Cartwright’s appearance—like an Adam’s apple or hands that looked too young for a centenarian. At other meetings Eugene had worn a scarf and gloves.

The second incident was the fainting spell Marcella had at Winston Eagleton’s party. The news of Carrie Taylor’s murder caused it, but I wondered whether it was a put-on or whether Marcella really had been shocked by the news. I hoped it was the latter because it would mean that she had no idea her son had committed murder until that very moment.

After an hour of lying in bed wide awake, I decided I might as well finish reading The Mystery at Spellwood Mansion. If I focused on that for a while instead of the murder, I might relax enough to go to sleep.

I finished the book in about forty-five minutes, and then I put it aside and turned off the light. The plot of the book gave me an idea for the meeting with Eugene and Marcella, and at last I drifted off. Diesel had gone to sleep right away, stretched out beside me in bed.

The next morning I arrived at the library a few minutes before nine, and Bronwyn let me and Diesel in. After she extended the usual greetings to the cat, I pulled her aside and told her I needed a favor. “I can’t explain why I need you to do it, but afterwards I can.”

“That’s okay, Charlie.” Bronwyn smiled. “I can contain my curiosity until you’re ready to come clean.”

While I headed into Teresa’s office, Diesel followed Bronwyn as she went to unlock the door for the day. I knew he would stay with her, which was just as well.

“Morning, Teresa.” I stood in the doorway of the director’s office with a nervous smile.

Teresa greeted me, her expression solemn. “This isn’t going to be anything dangerous, is it? I know it has something to do with Mrs. Taylor’s murder, but I don’t want any kind of violence. I almost called you at midnight last night.”