what if you were to catch me in her shop? What if I just happened to be in that little room that was full of all those books?” I studied Tom’s face.
He was biting back a smile, I just knew it. Did that mean that he was seriously thinking about it?
I continued, “You would have to come in there and tell me to get out. It would be the right thing to do.”
Tom looked at me and said, “Maybe.”
His eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just said. I was getting him to do that a lot lately.
He shook his head. “No way. I can’t let you do that. Don’t even mention it again.”
I shrugged. “Okay, but I don’t know how the Organization will give you permission to look in her shop if you have no cause. If all you have is my word then that probably won’t mean much. I doubt they will ever let you go in there.”
“I know what you’re trying and it won’t work,” he said.
Chapter 12
The next morning, I headed in to work. Grandma Imelda had a few errands, so I wanted to get to the café as quickly as possible and make sure another book hadn’t appeared. I was still trying to find a way to prove to Tom that the books were really inside that building. Of course if I were to sneak inside again the police would probably take me to jail this time. I wondered if there was a way to get inside while Meredith was actually in the building. Sure I could just walk in the front door, but I didn’t want her to know I was there. If I could sneak in while she was there, then it technically wouldn’t be as if I’d done anything illegal.
As I walked down the sidewalk, I watched the building across the street. I’d almost made it to the café when someone said, “Whoa, darlin’, watch where you’re going.”
I stopped and realized I’d almost run into Henry. He described himself as the town drunk, but lately I hadn’t seen him take a sip of anything other than coffee or water. Henry’s clothing was even clean today. His tan pants had been ironed and his blue shirt didn’t have a single stain. He’d even combed his thinning gray hair.
“I’m sorry, Henry. I guess I was a little distracted.”
He chuckled. “You’re lucky I wasn’t a pole or you would have lost a couple teeth and met with the pavement. Are you looking for Mr. Rory?”
“Um, no, why do you ask?”
Henry gestured toward the building across the street. “I just saw the young man earlier. He was over there with that new woman in town.” Henry acted as if he didn’t like to gossip, but I knew that he did. “She isn’t very friendly, is she?”
“No, I suppose she’s not,” I said. Why had Rory been over there so early? “Was anyone else with him other than the shop owner?”
Henry nervously glanced over at the building as if he was afraid Meredith might be watching us. “No, it was just the two of them.
“Well, thanks for telling me, Henry. I guess I’d better get to work.” I pointed toward the café.
“Don’t you want to know what they were doing?” He stared at me.
“I assumed they were just talking.”
He waved his hands. “No, it was much more than that.”
I was almost afraid to hear what he had to say. “What were they doing?”
“They were moving books.”
I froze. For a moment I didn’t know what to say. “Books? What kind of books?”
“They just looked like books,” he said.
Of course he wouldn’t know what kind. He couldn’t see the covers from all the way over there on the sidewalk.
“Where did they move them to?” I asked.
“From that building right there into Rory’s truck.”
So that was why he had been there so early. Rory had to know what was going on and he was purposely keeping this from me. I wanted to know what Meredith was up to and Rory owed me an explanation. Of course nothing had happened to me other than the book appearing in my café. But it seemed that she had put the book in my café on purpose so that I would get in trouble. Did she want me to get