From what I heard, Randy was finishing up for the day and wanted to make sure the mayor had everything he needed before she left. She knocked on his door but he didn’t answer. Maybe she thought he was taking a nap. For whatever reason…
Part 2
Larksburg Librarian
De Smedt seemed to be in a constant reelection campaign. A lot of folks around town have been upset with the economy and he grabbed a hold of that. People want jobs, they don’t need books, he said. The people who listened to him agreed…
Part 3
Larksburg Librarian
I could tell one of the officers didn’t like the way I was talking about the late mayor. I couldn’t remember if I’d seen him out of uniform somewhere that might help me figure out his angle. I did, however, notice the way he was looking around…
Part 4
Larksburg Librarian
I’m not the only one upset with the mayor. Half the town thinks he’s either taking things too far or not far enough. Then there’s a few regular faces at the mayor’s office. John Yaminsky won’t stop talking about a bear he’s seen snooping around…
Part 5
Larksburg Librarian
The two officers seemed to be satisfied with what I told them, and one of them gave me his card. I asked if I was a suspect. “No ma’am,” he said. They were just looking at the people who had seen him today. I didn’t see him, I wasn’t there…
Part 6
Larksburg Librarian
Finally, I thanked the officers for coming by and told them that I hoped they could find some clues in whatever was left of the scene. I imagined De Smedt at his desk, papers and books scattered, that smirk still on his face, in a pool of his own blood…
Part 7
Larksburg Librarian
Who would poison the mayor? Obviously, anyone at his office that day would have an opportunity, but surely not everyone was a poisoner. I started thinking about the increase in traffic at the library. More and more people were checking out books…
Part 8
Larksburg Librarian
Part 9
Larksburg Librarian
Part 10
Larksburg Librarian
Part 11
Larksburg Librarian
Part 12
Larksburg Librarian
Part 13
Larksburg Librarian
Part 14
Larksburg Librarian
The next account was Hollins. I braced myself for a list of celebrity profiles and healthy diet books. What I found instead was a short history of exactly four titles: How to Make Friends and Influence People, A Comprehensive Introduction to…
Part 15
Larksburg Librarian
Last on the list was John Yaminsky. John had been for a while an outspoken critic of the mayor. John was a farmer and his account history made sense: books on pest control, wildlife conservation laws, and business. Everyone knew that…
Part 16
Larksburg Librarian
I had gotten some ideas about these suspects, but I still had questions. So I decided I had to pay each of them a visit. Since I already spoke to her, I went first back to Randy Hollins around lunch time. We’re all creatures of habit…
Part 17
Larksburg Librarian
I pressed Randy a little but she pushed back. “If you really really want to,” she said, “I’ll show you my computer so you can see. I didn’t have any time to blow my nose, let alone kill anyone.” I thanked her and apologized before leaving her…
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From what I heard, Randy was finishing up for the day and wanted to make sure the mayor had everything he needed before she left. She knocked on his door but he didn’t answer. Maybe she thought he was taking a nap. For whatever reason, she didn’t knock again until she had her jacket and her bag, ready to go. When De Smedt didn’t answer again, she helped herself into his office, and that’s when she found his body.
Police told the news that “they’re looking into every possible lead,” which means they don’t have one. I knew that for sure when they showed up at the library, looking for me. They asked if I was the librarian, I said yes, call me Toni. No one calls me Antonia. They asked if I had any problems with the mayor. Who didn’t? They asked me to tell them about the mayor, from my perspective. I told them I thought he was a divisive pragmatist, an elitist, and a demagogue, someone I wouldn’t trust to borrow a book and give it back. Except maybe a book on retirement.
Part 2
De Smedt seemed to be in a constant reelection campaign. A lot of folks around town have been upset with the economy and he grabbed a hold of that. People want jobs, they don’t need books, he said. The people who listened to him agreed. I told the police that yes, I’ve visited his office quite a few times over the past few months — each time filling out the correct forms, signing on the dotted lines, waiting in the appropriate rooms — and I’ve tried explaining to him that the library can help people. They can learn new skills. They can find new passions. Heck, if I had the budget, I could give them a job. None of that mattered to Mayor De Smedt. It didn’t seem to matter to the police, either.
Part 3
I could tell one of the officers didn’t like the way I was talking about the late mayor. I couldn’t remember if I’d seen him out of uniform somewhere that might help me figure out his angle. I did, however, notice the way he was looking around, like he might catch some disease. The mayor made it a point to tell people that the library is a petri dish of radical ideas, ideas from people outside Larksburg. “Have any of you been published? You think anyone writing any of those books knows anything about our town?” he said once. He talks about conspiracy and takes old political philosophers out of context to serve his agenda. It’s aggravating, but I have noticed that more people are checking out more books by Francis Bacon, Thomas Payne, and the like. Hopefully they’re fact-checking. The way things have been around here lately, I doubt it. People are also checking out books about locksmithing and biographies on assassinated figures.
Part 4
I’m not the only one upset with the mayor. Half the town thinks he’s either taking things too far or not far enough. Then there’s a few regular faces at the mayor’s office. John Yaminsky won’t stop talking about a bear he’s seen snooping around the perimeter of his farm. Geraldine Phillips has been upset over a bad real estate deal and wants the mayor to do something about it. Michelle Fink parlays on behalf of the town council but always leaves frustrated. Every day, Randy Hollins, his latest aide, thanklessly shuffles people in and out of De Smedt’s office and makes sure he has his tea and pomegranate juice. Honestly, I don’t know where he finds the time to govern, but the town is still standing. I guess that’s something.
Part 5
The two officers seemed to be satisfied with what I told them, and one of them gave me his card. I asked if I was a suspect. “No ma’am,” he said. They were just looking at the people who had seen him today. I didn’t see him, I wasn’t there. So they were talking to me because they were “gathering as much information as they could.” Which meant they didn’t know what else to do.
Part 6
Finally, I thanked the officers for coming by and told them that I hoped they could find some clues in whatever was left of the scene. I imagined De Smedt at his desk, papers and books scattered, that smirk still on his face, in a pool of his own blood. Even in death he’d think he had the upper hand. The one officer — the one who seemed comfortable — said there wasn’t much mess, just the vomit. The other officer fired his eyes at his partner. So, he was poisoned.
Part 7
Who would poison the mayor? Obviously, anyone at his office that day would have an opportunity, but surely not everyone was a poisoner. I started thinking about the increase in traffic at the library. More and more people were checking out books. Maybe the killer needed to do a little research? It was worth a shot. I started looking into the library’s records, and realized it would take me forever to go through all of them. That’s when I felt it, the knot in my stomach. Whoever killed the mayor, if they used the library — my library — to help them do it, if I helped them find the book with the information they used, then I aided a murderer.
Part 8
It was after hours at the library and I wasn’t getting anywhere trying to go through the records one at a time. Time. De Smedt’s schedule. That was it. I needed to find out who had meetings with the mayor before he died. I decided to call it a day and head home. When I walked into the apartment, Bev had a cold eggplant parmesan on the table and a scowl on her face. “Long day?” she said. I told her about the police and the mayor and her features shifted gently. “Bobbunks! You must have been anxious!” Bev didn’t like to swear, so she always said wonderful nonsense instead. I told her I was, but I thought I could help. She looked at me like she was carved from amber. “You’re not really going to, are you?”
Part 9
I told her I had to do something. If the killer had used my library, then I had to make it right. “But it isn’t your library, love,” she told me. “It’s municipal. Books were there before you. There are other libraries out there, too, and plenty of them need librarians.” I knew that, of course. But this one was the library I grew up in. I knew every nook for reading books or stealing kisses. I also knew that Bev wanted to get out of Larksburg. She probably thought this was the best opportunity she was going to get to shake me out of it. But nothing was going to change my mind.
Part 10
In the morning I snuck out early to find Randy Hollins, the mayor’s aide. She was just the mayor’s type so I figured I’d find her at the gym. I don’t like gyms. They always look really clean but you know they’re filthy with sweat, stink, and whatever else people secrete under pressure. I could feel eyes on me, the obvious outsider. I spotted Randy on a treadmill. She recognized me and nodded a polite greeting. I walked past the weightlifters and told her frankly, “I need your help.”
Part 11
Randy got off the treadmill and started curling some 15-pound weights. I thought about apologizing and leaving her alone, but I needed to know who was in the mayor’s office. I told her about the police showing up at the library and my whole train of thought that led me to her. “Maybe I shouldn’t tell you,” she said, “but I know the mayor wouldn’t want me to tell you so I’ll tell you.” Wait, what? I think she smiled when she noticed me trying to suss out what she just said. “The mayor had three appointments that day. John Yaminsky, then Geraldine Phillips, and then Michelle Fink.” Bingo.
Part 12
I rushed to the library. At my desk, I pulled out a notebook and wrote down my list of suspects. John Yaminsky, general store owner with grievances over De Smedt’s inaction with the local wildlife. Geraldine Phillips, aspiring real-estate mogul and self-appointed community spokesperson. Michelle Fink, council president and the one person in government who seems to care about the library. I looked at the list for a minute before I added Randy Hollins, mayor’s aide who apparently didn’t like him very much. Four suspects. Time to check their reading habits.
Part 13
Alphabetically, Fink was first, so that’s where I started. She didn’t have anything checked out at the moment. She had in her history books Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave by Sojourner Truth, I Know why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Everyday Woodworking by Rex Krueger, and some music biographies. Nothing about poison, unfortunately. Then I looked closer at the list of musicians she was reading about: Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Sonny Clark, Michael Jackson. All drug overdoses. And though her account was up-to-date, Ms. Fink had several late fees paid for the books that ended in drug overdoses. Maybe Fink got inspired.
Part 14
The next account was Hollins. I braced myself for a list of celebrity profiles and healthy diet books. What I found instead was a short history of exactly four titles: How to Make Friends and Influence People, A Comprehensive Introduction to Political Science, One Foot in the Door and One on the Ladder, and How to Advance. Clearly, Ms. Hollins wanted to make something of herself. Did she think Mayor De Smedt was an obstacle to remove?
Moving on down, my finger stopped at Phillips. Geraldine was always snooping around the mayor’s office. She wanted to know everything that was happening in the town, one way or another. And everyone knows Geraldine, too. Her book history showed Real Estate for Dummies checked out a few times. I remember she tried flipping a couple houses with her husband’s money but they went into foreclosure. It looked like she gave up on that and took up gardening with Your Garden and You: A Careful Cultivation. I know that one: it’s just a bunch of new age jargon and references to other books. But Geraldine wasn’t known to be much of a green thumb. I had to admit the timing was suspicious. What if Geraldine found a way to grow her own poison?
Part 15
Last on the list was John Yaminsky. John had been for a while an outspoken critic of the mayor. John was a farmer and his account history made sense: books on pest control, wildlife conservation laws, and business. Everyone knew that the Yaminsky farm did well financially, but the rumor was they were cursed. A couple years ago John Jr. died, and recently Mrs. Yaminsky was diagnosed with some horrible disease. I wasn’t sure what John’s motive was, but as a farmer I was sure he had access to chemicals that could have poisoned the mayor. Perhaps De Smedt was just another pest.
Part 16
I had gotten some ideas about these suspects, but I still had questions. So I decided I had to pay each of them a visit. Since I already spoke to her, I went first back to Randy Hollins around lunch time. We’re all creatures of habit, so I thought I’d check the deli near the mayor’s office. Sure enough, she was at a high-top eating what looked like a chicken salad wrap. She pretended not to see me. I sat down next to her. “What do you want,” she asked. I told her I had some more questions for her. She didn’t like that. “If you don’t mind, I already talked to the cops.” Her breath — it was tuna. I asked her what she was doing when the mayor died. “I was doing my usual clerical stuff. The mayor had tracking software on my computer and the cops already checked it. I was busy the whole time.”
Part 17
I pressed Randy a little but she pushed back. “If you really really want to,” she said, “I’ll show you my computer so you can see. I didn’t have any time to blow my nose, let alone kill anyone.” I thanked her and apologized before leaving her to her smelly fish sandwich. I didn’t think she did it. She and her career would have had more to gain with the mayor alive. I made my way to the deli door when she snuck up on me, “Toni, I think you should know that some crazy people found out there might be a connection between the library and the mayor’s murder.” That’s when I saw a flier taped to the window: STOP THE CORRUPTED LIBRARY LEECHING OUR TOWN AND ENDANGERING OUR LIVES – CITIZENS FOR SAFE MEDIA.
