Fins & Fatalities, page 24
"And dogs," KK added.
Their giggles filled the room. KK's mind drifted to Tim's rare moment of vulnerability in the back room. That side of him would find someone special when he was ready.
Nikki's gasp scattered her thoughts. "Oh! Justin saved my life yesterday! I can’t believe I didn’t tell you."
"What?" Three voices merged together.
"We were at the beach, planning our honeymoon-iversary. These kids were playing baseball nearby. Suddenly, Justin shoved me. I nearly burst into tears until I realized that the ball would've hit my head. I surely would’ve died!"
"Concussion at worst, honey." Reese bit back a smile. "But glad you're okay."
"Still. I’d have been in the hospital for weeks," Nikki protested.
"Pah. Nothing a malasada couldn't fix." Pamela waved dismissively.
"They do have healing powers," Reese agreed, displaying her cross-stitch of two perfect pastries nestled on a silver tray.
"Danke. Finally, someone understands," Pamela clapped with delight. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.”
While they debated flavors, KK tied off her thread. Her finished piece bloomed with life. An emerald meadow dotted with violet and rose wildflowers emerged with spring trees against the cyan sky. A fox wound through tall grass while a hedgehog trotted past, a deer watching from the forest edge.
"Beautiful," Nikki breathed.
"Thanks." Pride warmed KK's smile. "Hardest pattern yet."
She rose from her chair and hung it behind the bar, admiring the effect until her phone's cheerful alarm broke the spell.
"Mind locking up, Nikki?" She silenced the alert. "Dinner with my parents."
"Go." Nikki waved her off. "Give 'em a hug for me."
Chapter Thirty-Three
The mouthwatering aroma of chicken and huli huli sauce wrapped around them in the dining room while Katarina cooked, cheerfully ignoring Joseph's culinary commentary.
"How are you holding up?" Tony's voice softened.
"Better than I have been." KK drew in a cleansing breath, mentally expelling the darkness of recent weeks.
"Good. That's good." Chicken sizzled in the silence until KK caught his distant expression.
"What's that serious look for?"
His half-smile held hesitation. "Can I ask you something?" The unusual uncertainty in his tone drew her full attention.
"Of course."
He leaned closer after checking that her parents remained absorbed in their playful debate about caramelizing chicken. "When Peggi was in the water, you hesitated. Why?"
KK’s head dropped. "Derek said something about ‘fish.' Then it clicked for me. He wasn’t talking about fish, but that Peggi was The Fish."
Tony's eyes lit with understanding. "Like MJ's mother said. He didn't want to work for him—well, her—anymore."
KK worried her lower lip, weighing whether to voice the darker truth. If she couldn't trust Tony... "So I pulled the net away on purpose," she admitted. "I was so angry at everything she'd done. She's a horrible person." Her eyes found his. "Then I realized letting her drown or allowing her to get hurt would make me just as bad."
Sympathy emanated from his gaze. "I understand. You’ve got a big heart, KK. Don't fault yourself for that moment of humanity."
His hand landed on her shoulder, thumb tracing her collarbone. The gentle touch unleashed everything she'd held back. She pressed her hands to her face, fighting the tightness in her throat as memories overcame her.
"I was terrified of being too late." The words tumbled out. "For her, for Jasper. When I saw that knife..." Her voice broke. Instead of finishing, she leaned into his chest, arms circling his waist while his fingers stroked her hair.
"It's over now," he murmured.
She breathed in his cologne, wondering how she'd missed its ability to center her. Why had it taken a near tragedy to understand her feelings? Why couldn't she voice the words pressing against her heart?
As she lifted her head, insight filled their silence. Her hands stayed locked at his waist, unwilling to break contact as his palms warmed her shoulders.
"Thanks. I—"
"Dinner's ready!" Katarina called.
They pulled apart, though not quite quickly enough to miss Joseph's knowing eyebrow raise as he caught them, eyes dancing with amusement.
With crisis and chaos finally behind them, dinner felt lighter than KK could remember in months. They groaned through Joseph's jokes and advice while she recounted the show's drama, savoring every detail.
"We should've been there." Katarina's face fell. "Those tickets were booked so long ago..."
"Oh yes, such a flimsy excuse, being in another state." KK's eyes rolled playfully. "Surely you could've popped down from Alaska between glacier tours."
"Speaking of Alaska..." Tony prompted.
"Wonderful." Katarina's expression turned dreamy. "The scenery, the quaint shops, and the weather—albeit really cold—it truly is an incredible place to visit. I want to go back. Maybe even retire there in a few years.”
"Let's not get carried away," Joseph cautioned, puckering a kiss toward his wife.
KK shook her head. "Still can't believe you chased a mythical pirate for your anniversary. Captain Hōōke's pure legend."
"Maybe." Joseph gestured with his fork. “Agree to disagree. Besides, even if it is just a legend, it’s a heck of a fun one to seek out.”
"We missed the midnight fishing trip," Katarina sighed. "We'll just have to return for the next one."
Joseph's knowing smile appeared. "You just want more Murderous Mango Mayhem."
"What now?" KK blinked.
"Did fruit commit homicide?" Tony's eyes sparkled. “And did mayhem ensue?”
"Unfortunately, no. It’s just ice cream." Katarina's sigh carried pure longing. "Perfect ice cream."
Joseph stage-whispered, "She's off her rocker. Homicidal Hazelnut is clearly superior."
"Go visit for the ice cream alone," Katarina insisted. "So many flavors left to try."
"Where was this?" Tony asked.
"Shelter Mountain," they chorused.
"Hmm." Tony's fingers brushed hers beneath the table as he caught her eye. "I could use a vacation. You?"
KK's smile held all the joy of new beginnings. The familiar scent of home cooking mixed with Tony's cologne—the rightness of this moment settled into her bones. "Eventually."
Their hands met beneath the tablecloth. "Right now, this is exactly where I want to be."
Peyton Stone Books: Secret-Keeping Animal Companions
Discover more Peyton Stone cozy thrillers on Amazon—free from gore, sex, foul language, and disappointment
Animal Companion: A Telepathic Cat named Jade
Antiques To Die For – Book 1
Friends To Die For – Book 2
Lovers To Die For – Book 3
Animal Companion: A Kleptomaniac Capuchin Monkey named Ali
Monkey Business & Murder – Book 1
Mischief, Murder, & Monkey Mayhem – Book 2
Poisonous Pies & A Monkey's Demise – Book 3
Animal Companion: An African Grey Parrot named Simon
AND THEN There Were Feathers – Book 1
AND THEN There Were Bodies – Book 2
Animal Companion: A Bottlenose Dolphin named Jasper
Whistling Death – Book 1
Fins & Fatalities – Book 2
Animal Companion: An Angora Ferret named Flick
Sipping Wine & Fishing For Bodies – Book 1
Underwater Secrets & Fishing For Bones – Book 2
Animal Companion: A Kune Kune Runt Pig named Potts
NOW SERVING: Truffles & Poison – Book 1
Sneak Peek - AND THEN There Were Feathers
Chapter One
Luci pushed open the door to the library, locking it behind her again as she stepped inside. She groaned as the stale humid air greeted her. The A/C had stalled again. It was early in the morning, so it was still mildly cool; by midday, however, the entire library would be roasting. Releasing an irritated puff of air, she walked over to the thermostat. As she’d expected, the loose control panel had tilted forward. Frowning, Lucy pushed it back into place, pressed the button, and the whir of the air conditioner filled the silence.
How many more headaches were going to happen today? As much as she loved the library, over the past several months there seemed to be more and more issues: bugs, leaky pipes in the basement, issues with the A/C, and drafts. Granted, the library was old, built sometime in the seventies, but its previous owner, her grandmother, had been meticulous about its upkeep. Luci remembered running through the rows of shelves, playing hide and seek with her friends and her little sister, Kris, and spending hours upon hours here when she was younger.
What she didn’t remember was anything about a faulty A/C or broken window sills.
There were times when she half regretted not selling to Anson McMillan, the real-estate mogul, when she’d inherited the library and he’d first offered to buy it. That was until she remembered he was sleazy and only interested in the property. That, and she was fairly certain her grandmother would come back as a ghost to haunt her for the rest of her life if she sold the library to someone who would tear it down within a month. Still, it would have meant not having to become a plumber, construction worker, and HVAC specialist just to keep it afloat.
Luci groaned and rubbed her eyes. She needed coffee; she was only ever this crabby when she was uncaffeinated. She trudged along to the office, then jumped when she heard an irritated rustling sound.
‘Hello, hello’ a voice squawked. Then, when there was no response. ‘Morning?’
Luci laughed. “Good morning to you too, Simon.” She walked over to where a cover, decorated with little books, was draped over a cage. She tugged it off to reveal a beautiful African grey parrot in a large bird cage. Simon blinked up at her, waddling along one of the rods in his cage to get closer to her.
‘Morning. Let me out’
Luci smiled. She knew parrots didn’t understand human words exactly—it was more that they associated an action or object that came when they said something. Still, it always felt like Simon knew what he was saying.
The parrot’s wings fluttered impatiently as Luci fumbled with the latch. Simon shot out of the cage like a hyperactive bullet and flew excitedly in circles over her head.
‘Follow follow’
“In a minute,” Luci yawned. “I have to wake up first.”
Irritated at being ignored, Simon flew down and landed on her head. His claws scratched her scalp lightly as he walked to her hairline. The next thing Luci knew, Simon had bent over, and she was looking cross-eyed at an upside-down bird whose beak was pressed against her nose. He really was a beautiful bird: slate-grey feathers (except for the red tail feathers), yellow, intelligent eyes in circles of white feathers, and a coal-grey beak. He’d lived at the library since her grandmother had gotten him ten years ago, and had never been happy anywhere else.
‘Follow follow’
“I know, I know,” Luci said. “Give me a minute. I’ll follow later.”
When Simon realized Luci wasn’t going to play along, he took off, wings fluttering.
‘Follow later’ he called out to her.
“Will do.” Still exhausted, she went past the checkout desk into the break room and fixed herself a strong cup of coffee.
The break room was small, but it served its purpose. It had a small counter with a coffee pot and microwave, a small fridge, and a table and chairs. In the far corner was another door that led to her office. When the coffee was mercifully ready, she walked into the adjoining room. Her office was overflowing with a fraction of her personal collection of books, and the desk was crowded with papers and a new computer. She sat at the desk, brushed a few pages to the ground, and booted up the desktop, greedily sipping her coffee the entire time.
She flicked through her emails, scanning over them and responding to any that needed her attention. After the second cup of coffee, she glanced at her phone. 7:30—an hour until opening. Patrick’s shift started at 9, meaning he would get there sometime between 9:15 and 9:40. Sighing, she picked up her mug, stretched, and walked out of the office, wanting to go through the library to see if there were any other issues.
The library was massive; it was so vast that it was impossible to believe that it was privately owned. The Mitchell Library had been a passion project of Luci’s grandmother, Annabelle Mitchell. The woman had used a portion of her very sizable inheritance to build the library and fill it with as many books as possible. It had thrived and nowadays was considered one of the best libraries in the area.
It was a two-story building with a basement. The first floor housed mostly non-fiction and audiobooks, along with several meeting rooms and study nooks. The second floor wrapped around the interior of the building, giving the main annex of the library a large, open feel, and made it possible to look up at people on the floor above. The second floor had all the fiction and children’s books. The kid’s section also had a small collection of toys and puppets and an area dedicated to storytime. Honestly, Luci loved it all, even when there were issues with the building.
She took another deep swig of coffee. Caffeine really did make everything better.
She began to move across the entryway to begin her morning chores: check the overnight deposit box and check in those books; load up the cart and return all the books Alva hadn’t gotten to last night to their proper location; check the pipes in the basement to make sure they were still okay; and check for and fix any unforeseen problems that might have happened during the night.
‘Luci come come Luci’
She blinked. She had almost forgotten about Simon. Now that she was awake, she realized his behavior this morning had been a bit strange. Normally when she let him out, he would do an entire circle of both floors of the library. He knew enough not to come and say hi until she had a cup of coffee in her hand. But this morning he hadn’t cared at all. The only other time she had seen him behave like that was the day after her grandmother had died. Despite being a parrot, he had known something was off when it was Luci, not Annabelle, who had come to take care of him that morning.
An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, making it squirm uncomfortably.
“Simon?” she asked. “What’s up?”
‘Bad thing, come come’
Bad thing? The squirming in her stomach intensified and something began crawling up her back. What did that mean?
His voice was faint, as though it were coming from the upper floor. Slowly, hesitantly, Luci walked up the steps, one hand running up the railing. When she reached the top landing, she paused and scanned the area for signs of Simon. It took her a moment, but then she saw it—a flash of grey with red tail feathers swooping intently over a single row in the mystery section.
She walked over hurriedly, wondering if she was going to find a broken window, or that someone had thrown all the books on the ground, or maybe someone had gotten sick yesterday after she left and Alva hadn’t bothered cleaning it up.
But when she rounded the corner and finally got a look between the shelves, she saw it was none of those things.
It was much, much worse.
The woman was staring up at the ceiling with sightless eyes, her body splayed. Her face was caked in make-up in a way that seemed almost intentional, instead of an amateur hand putting on too much. Her platinum-blond hair was in disarray as it fanned out all over the floor. Her dress was old-fashioned, covered in silver spangles, reminiscent of a flapper girl’s. Purple bruises circled the woman’s neck like a choker.
‘Bad bad, Luci look’
Simon had fluttered down to perch on her shoulder, speaking directly in her ear. She barely felt or heard him, too absorbed in the image in front of her. She was frozen, rooted to the spot in shock, her mind unable to process what was in front of her.
Finally, a single thought seemed to get through: That is a dead body. It was enough to shatter her paralysis.
Her cup fell to the ground, shattering and sending coffee everywhere as she screamed.
~~~
Find out what happens next! Continue Reading AND THEN There Were Feathers – on Amazon.
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Peyton Stone, Fins & Fatalities
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Their giggles filled the room. KK's mind drifted to Tim's rare moment of vulnerability in the back room. That side of him would find someone special when he was ready.
Nikki's gasp scattered her thoughts. "Oh! Justin saved my life yesterday! I can’t believe I didn’t tell you."
"What?" Three voices merged together.
"We were at the beach, planning our honeymoon-iversary. These kids were playing baseball nearby. Suddenly, Justin shoved me. I nearly burst into tears until I realized that the ball would've hit my head. I surely would’ve died!"
"Concussion at worst, honey." Reese bit back a smile. "But glad you're okay."
"Still. I’d have been in the hospital for weeks," Nikki protested.
"Pah. Nothing a malasada couldn't fix." Pamela waved dismissively.
"They do have healing powers," Reese agreed, displaying her cross-stitch of two perfect pastries nestled on a silver tray.
"Danke. Finally, someone understands," Pamela clapped with delight. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.”
While they debated flavors, KK tied off her thread. Her finished piece bloomed with life. An emerald meadow dotted with violet and rose wildflowers emerged with spring trees against the cyan sky. A fox wound through tall grass while a hedgehog trotted past, a deer watching from the forest edge.
"Beautiful," Nikki breathed.
"Thanks." Pride warmed KK's smile. "Hardest pattern yet."
She rose from her chair and hung it behind the bar, admiring the effect until her phone's cheerful alarm broke the spell.
"Mind locking up, Nikki?" She silenced the alert. "Dinner with my parents."
"Go." Nikki waved her off. "Give 'em a hug for me."
Chapter Thirty-Three
The mouthwatering aroma of chicken and huli huli sauce wrapped around them in the dining room while Katarina cooked, cheerfully ignoring Joseph's culinary commentary.
"How are you holding up?" Tony's voice softened.
"Better than I have been." KK drew in a cleansing breath, mentally expelling the darkness of recent weeks.
"Good. That's good." Chicken sizzled in the silence until KK caught his distant expression.
"What's that serious look for?"
His half-smile held hesitation. "Can I ask you something?" The unusual uncertainty in his tone drew her full attention.
"Of course."
He leaned closer after checking that her parents remained absorbed in their playful debate about caramelizing chicken. "When Peggi was in the water, you hesitated. Why?"
KK’s head dropped. "Derek said something about ‘fish.' Then it clicked for me. He wasn’t talking about fish, but that Peggi was The Fish."
Tony's eyes lit with understanding. "Like MJ's mother said. He didn't want to work for him—well, her—anymore."
KK worried her lower lip, weighing whether to voice the darker truth. If she couldn't trust Tony... "So I pulled the net away on purpose," she admitted. "I was so angry at everything she'd done. She's a horrible person." Her eyes found his. "Then I realized letting her drown or allowing her to get hurt would make me just as bad."
Sympathy emanated from his gaze. "I understand. You’ve got a big heart, KK. Don't fault yourself for that moment of humanity."
His hand landed on her shoulder, thumb tracing her collarbone. The gentle touch unleashed everything she'd held back. She pressed her hands to her face, fighting the tightness in her throat as memories overcame her.
"I was terrified of being too late." The words tumbled out. "For her, for Jasper. When I saw that knife..." Her voice broke. Instead of finishing, she leaned into his chest, arms circling his waist while his fingers stroked her hair.
"It's over now," he murmured.
She breathed in his cologne, wondering how she'd missed its ability to center her. Why had it taken a near tragedy to understand her feelings? Why couldn't she voice the words pressing against her heart?
As she lifted her head, insight filled their silence. Her hands stayed locked at his waist, unwilling to break contact as his palms warmed her shoulders.
"Thanks. I—"
"Dinner's ready!" Katarina called.
They pulled apart, though not quite quickly enough to miss Joseph's knowing eyebrow raise as he caught them, eyes dancing with amusement.
With crisis and chaos finally behind them, dinner felt lighter than KK could remember in months. They groaned through Joseph's jokes and advice while she recounted the show's drama, savoring every detail.
"We should've been there." Katarina's face fell. "Those tickets were booked so long ago..."
"Oh yes, such a flimsy excuse, being in another state." KK's eyes rolled playfully. "Surely you could've popped down from Alaska between glacier tours."
"Speaking of Alaska..." Tony prompted.
"Wonderful." Katarina's expression turned dreamy. "The scenery, the quaint shops, and the weather—albeit really cold—it truly is an incredible place to visit. I want to go back. Maybe even retire there in a few years.”
"Let's not get carried away," Joseph cautioned, puckering a kiss toward his wife.
KK shook her head. "Still can't believe you chased a mythical pirate for your anniversary. Captain Hōōke's pure legend."
"Maybe." Joseph gestured with his fork. “Agree to disagree. Besides, even if it is just a legend, it’s a heck of a fun one to seek out.”
"We missed the midnight fishing trip," Katarina sighed. "We'll just have to return for the next one."
Joseph's knowing smile appeared. "You just want more Murderous Mango Mayhem."
"What now?" KK blinked.
"Did fruit commit homicide?" Tony's eyes sparkled. “And did mayhem ensue?”
"Unfortunately, no. It’s just ice cream." Katarina's sigh carried pure longing. "Perfect ice cream."
Joseph stage-whispered, "She's off her rocker. Homicidal Hazelnut is clearly superior."
"Go visit for the ice cream alone," Katarina insisted. "So many flavors left to try."
"Where was this?" Tony asked.
"Shelter Mountain," they chorused.
"Hmm." Tony's fingers brushed hers beneath the table as he caught her eye. "I could use a vacation. You?"
KK's smile held all the joy of new beginnings. The familiar scent of home cooking mixed with Tony's cologne—the rightness of this moment settled into her bones. "Eventually."
Their hands met beneath the tablecloth. "Right now, this is exactly where I want to be."
Peyton Stone Books: Secret-Keeping Animal Companions
Discover more Peyton Stone cozy thrillers on Amazon—free from gore, sex, foul language, and disappointment
Animal Companion: A Telepathic Cat named Jade
Antiques To Die For – Book 1
Friends To Die For – Book 2
Lovers To Die For – Book 3
Animal Companion: A Kleptomaniac Capuchin Monkey named Ali
Monkey Business & Murder – Book 1
Mischief, Murder, & Monkey Mayhem – Book 2
Poisonous Pies & A Monkey's Demise – Book 3
Animal Companion: An African Grey Parrot named Simon
AND THEN There Were Feathers – Book 1
AND THEN There Were Bodies – Book 2
Animal Companion: A Bottlenose Dolphin named Jasper
Whistling Death – Book 1
Fins & Fatalities – Book 2
Animal Companion: An Angora Ferret named Flick
Sipping Wine & Fishing For Bodies – Book 1
Underwater Secrets & Fishing For Bones – Book 2
Animal Companion: A Kune Kune Runt Pig named Potts
NOW SERVING: Truffles & Poison – Book 1
Sneak Peek - AND THEN There Were Feathers
Chapter One
Luci pushed open the door to the library, locking it behind her again as she stepped inside. She groaned as the stale humid air greeted her. The A/C had stalled again. It was early in the morning, so it was still mildly cool; by midday, however, the entire library would be roasting. Releasing an irritated puff of air, she walked over to the thermostat. As she’d expected, the loose control panel had tilted forward. Frowning, Lucy pushed it back into place, pressed the button, and the whir of the air conditioner filled the silence.
How many more headaches were going to happen today? As much as she loved the library, over the past several months there seemed to be more and more issues: bugs, leaky pipes in the basement, issues with the A/C, and drafts. Granted, the library was old, built sometime in the seventies, but its previous owner, her grandmother, had been meticulous about its upkeep. Luci remembered running through the rows of shelves, playing hide and seek with her friends and her little sister, Kris, and spending hours upon hours here when she was younger.
What she didn’t remember was anything about a faulty A/C or broken window sills.
There were times when she half regretted not selling to Anson McMillan, the real-estate mogul, when she’d inherited the library and he’d first offered to buy it. That was until she remembered he was sleazy and only interested in the property. That, and she was fairly certain her grandmother would come back as a ghost to haunt her for the rest of her life if she sold the library to someone who would tear it down within a month. Still, it would have meant not having to become a plumber, construction worker, and HVAC specialist just to keep it afloat.
Luci groaned and rubbed her eyes. She needed coffee; she was only ever this crabby when she was uncaffeinated. She trudged along to the office, then jumped when she heard an irritated rustling sound.
‘Hello, hello’ a voice squawked. Then, when there was no response. ‘Morning?’
Luci laughed. “Good morning to you too, Simon.” She walked over to where a cover, decorated with little books, was draped over a cage. She tugged it off to reveal a beautiful African grey parrot in a large bird cage. Simon blinked up at her, waddling along one of the rods in his cage to get closer to her.
‘Morning. Let me out’
Luci smiled. She knew parrots didn’t understand human words exactly—it was more that they associated an action or object that came when they said something. Still, it always felt like Simon knew what he was saying.
The parrot’s wings fluttered impatiently as Luci fumbled with the latch. Simon shot out of the cage like a hyperactive bullet and flew excitedly in circles over her head.
‘Follow follow’
“In a minute,” Luci yawned. “I have to wake up first.”
Irritated at being ignored, Simon flew down and landed on her head. His claws scratched her scalp lightly as he walked to her hairline. The next thing Luci knew, Simon had bent over, and she was looking cross-eyed at an upside-down bird whose beak was pressed against her nose. He really was a beautiful bird: slate-grey feathers (except for the red tail feathers), yellow, intelligent eyes in circles of white feathers, and a coal-grey beak. He’d lived at the library since her grandmother had gotten him ten years ago, and had never been happy anywhere else.
‘Follow follow’
“I know, I know,” Luci said. “Give me a minute. I’ll follow later.”
When Simon realized Luci wasn’t going to play along, he took off, wings fluttering.
‘Follow later’ he called out to her.
“Will do.” Still exhausted, she went past the checkout desk into the break room and fixed herself a strong cup of coffee.
The break room was small, but it served its purpose. It had a small counter with a coffee pot and microwave, a small fridge, and a table and chairs. In the far corner was another door that led to her office. When the coffee was mercifully ready, she walked into the adjoining room. Her office was overflowing with a fraction of her personal collection of books, and the desk was crowded with papers and a new computer. She sat at the desk, brushed a few pages to the ground, and booted up the desktop, greedily sipping her coffee the entire time.
She flicked through her emails, scanning over them and responding to any that needed her attention. After the second cup of coffee, she glanced at her phone. 7:30—an hour until opening. Patrick’s shift started at 9, meaning he would get there sometime between 9:15 and 9:40. Sighing, she picked up her mug, stretched, and walked out of the office, wanting to go through the library to see if there were any other issues.
The library was massive; it was so vast that it was impossible to believe that it was privately owned. The Mitchell Library had been a passion project of Luci’s grandmother, Annabelle Mitchell. The woman had used a portion of her very sizable inheritance to build the library and fill it with as many books as possible. It had thrived and nowadays was considered one of the best libraries in the area.
It was a two-story building with a basement. The first floor housed mostly non-fiction and audiobooks, along with several meeting rooms and study nooks. The second floor wrapped around the interior of the building, giving the main annex of the library a large, open feel, and made it possible to look up at people on the floor above. The second floor had all the fiction and children’s books. The kid’s section also had a small collection of toys and puppets and an area dedicated to storytime. Honestly, Luci loved it all, even when there were issues with the building.
She took another deep swig of coffee. Caffeine really did make everything better.
She began to move across the entryway to begin her morning chores: check the overnight deposit box and check in those books; load up the cart and return all the books Alva hadn’t gotten to last night to their proper location; check the pipes in the basement to make sure they were still okay; and check for and fix any unforeseen problems that might have happened during the night.
‘Luci come come Luci’
She blinked. She had almost forgotten about Simon. Now that she was awake, she realized his behavior this morning had been a bit strange. Normally when she let him out, he would do an entire circle of both floors of the library. He knew enough not to come and say hi until she had a cup of coffee in her hand. But this morning he hadn’t cared at all. The only other time she had seen him behave like that was the day after her grandmother had died. Despite being a parrot, he had known something was off when it was Luci, not Annabelle, who had come to take care of him that morning.
An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, making it squirm uncomfortably.
“Simon?” she asked. “What’s up?”
‘Bad thing, come come’
Bad thing? The squirming in her stomach intensified and something began crawling up her back. What did that mean?
His voice was faint, as though it were coming from the upper floor. Slowly, hesitantly, Luci walked up the steps, one hand running up the railing. When she reached the top landing, she paused and scanned the area for signs of Simon. It took her a moment, but then she saw it—a flash of grey with red tail feathers swooping intently over a single row in the mystery section.
She walked over hurriedly, wondering if she was going to find a broken window, or that someone had thrown all the books on the ground, or maybe someone had gotten sick yesterday after she left and Alva hadn’t bothered cleaning it up.
But when she rounded the corner and finally got a look between the shelves, she saw it was none of those things.
It was much, much worse.
The woman was staring up at the ceiling with sightless eyes, her body splayed. Her face was caked in make-up in a way that seemed almost intentional, instead of an amateur hand putting on too much. Her platinum-blond hair was in disarray as it fanned out all over the floor. Her dress was old-fashioned, covered in silver spangles, reminiscent of a flapper girl’s. Purple bruises circled the woman’s neck like a choker.
‘Bad bad, Luci look’
Simon had fluttered down to perch on her shoulder, speaking directly in her ear. She barely felt or heard him, too absorbed in the image in front of her. She was frozen, rooted to the spot in shock, her mind unable to process what was in front of her.
Finally, a single thought seemed to get through: That is a dead body. It was enough to shatter her paralysis.
Her cup fell to the ground, shattering and sending coffee everywhere as she screamed.
~~~
Find out what happens next! Continue Reading AND THEN There Were Feathers – on Amazon.
Visit PeytonStone.com for first-of-its-kind immersive mystery boxes. Experience the story.
Peyton Stone, Fins & Fatalities
