though.”
“Does she ever come in on her day off?”
Lydia nodded. “Totally! She’s the best. Sometimes, when I’m the only one on, she’ll watch the store for me so I can go and grab lunch or run some errands. On her day off! Can you believe it?”
I could. And that would explain why the money missing from the till wasn’t shift-specific. “She’s a real pal.”
“Absolutely. Do you want me to give her a message for you?”
I smiled at her. Her sweetness was infectious, even if it was soaked in her sadness. “No thanks. I’ll just stop back.”
“Okay. Let me know if you need anything else.” She smiled softly and moved off to help a customer in the front of the store, and I filed this situation away as “mystery solved.” Annika was dripping with expensive jewelry she couldn’t possibly afford on this job, and she routinely volunteered to watch the till for her coworkers, the same till that was regularly short on cash. The problem was, I only had assumptions, and like I had told Tina, that wasn’t enough. I decided to suggest to Tina that she be clearer about the rules to her employees—only one clerk using the till per shift—and install a camera in the front of the store. I was sure that would put an end to the stealing without getting anyone in trouble, which had been her goal from the start.
I stepped out of the store and walked back to the library, feeling good about helping Tina. I’d finish a few hours of paperwork, then ask Mrs. Berns and Sarah Ruth to close so I could return to the Bible Camp.
“I’m back!”
Mrs. Berns peered up at me as I sashayed into the library. She was on all fours, looking under the table on which the banned book display rested. “I thought you were just going for a bagel. Did you get laid between here and there? Or maybe a lobotomy?”
“Hunh?”
Mrs. Berns grunted. “I sent you away because you were Crabby Cathy and now you come back Suzy Sunshine. What happened?”
“I ran into some good advice. What are you doing on the floor?”
“Dropped a pencil under here.”
“Let me help you.” I crouched next to Mrs. Berns and reached my hand underneath the table. I came up with two pencils, a magazine insert, and Nut Goodie, the ferret. “What’s he doing down here?” I asked, dragging out the mangy creature.
“Gives me the creeps. It’s a long, dead rat. I tried sticking it in the trash but it kept reappearing behind the counter, so I gave it a time out down here. Probably that angelic Sarah Ruth is the one that kept digging it out.”
“What’s that crack mean?”
“Just that she can never do anything wrong.”
I looked at Mrs. Berns, who was still sporting her six shooters strapped to her waist. She had also rounded up a pair of Fleet Farm cowboy boots and was wearing a snap-front Western shirt undone to halfway down her droopy chest. This was a woman who could do a lot wrong, and I loved her for it. “Sarah Ruth’s just being on her best behavior because she’s new. She’ll mess up soon enough, I’m sure. Where is she, anyhow?”
Mrs. Berns gestured over her shoulder as she pushed herself off the ground. “In the back room. She rushed there when you left for lunch, and I haven’t seen her since.”
“Thanks.” I strolled into the storage room. We had boxes of books accumulated back here, as well as holiday decorations, stuffed animals we rotated through the kids’ section, a bathroom, and next to it, a tiny office whose door was currently shut. The office had room enough for a desk, two file cabinets, and not much else. It was not unusual for Sarah Ruth to be in there getting a handle on the paperwork, but it was unusual for her to do it with the door closed. The library rule was to keep the door open in case you were needed on the floor.
I grabbed the cool doorknob in my hands and twisted, half expecting to see the office empty. Instead, I found Sarah Ruth on the old, black, circle-dial phone, which she shoved down guiltily
“Does she ever come in on her day off?”
Lydia nodded. “Totally! She’s the best. Sometimes, when I’m the only one on, she’ll watch the store for me so I can go and grab lunch or run some errands. On her day off! Can you believe it?”
I could. And that would explain why the money missing from the till wasn’t shift-specific. “She’s a real pal.”
“Absolutely. Do you want me to give her a message for you?”
I smiled at her. Her sweetness was infectious, even if it was soaked in her sadness. “No thanks. I’ll just stop back.”
“Okay. Let me know if you need anything else.” She smiled softly and moved off to help a customer in the front of the store, and I filed this situation away as “mystery solved.” Annika was dripping with expensive jewelry she couldn’t possibly afford on this job, and she routinely volunteered to watch the till for her coworkers, the same till that was regularly short on cash. The problem was, I only had assumptions, and like I had told Tina, that wasn’t enough. I decided to suggest to Tina that she be clearer about the rules to her employees—only one clerk using the till per shift—and install a camera in the front of the store. I was sure that would put an end to the stealing without getting anyone in trouble, which had been her goal from the start.
I stepped out of the store and walked back to the library, feeling good about helping Tina. I’d finish a few hours of paperwork, then ask Mrs. Berns and Sarah Ruth to close so I could return to the Bible Camp.
“I’m back!”
Mrs. Berns peered up at me as I sashayed into the library. She was on all fours, looking under the table on which the banned book display rested. “I thought you were just going for a bagel. Did you get laid between here and there? Or maybe a lobotomy?”
“Hunh?”
Mrs. Berns grunted. “I sent you away because you were Crabby Cathy and now you come back Suzy Sunshine. What happened?”
“I ran into some good advice. What are you doing on the floor?”
“Dropped a pencil under here.”
“Let me help you.” I crouched next to Mrs. Berns and reached my hand underneath the table. I came up with two pencils, a magazine insert, and Nut Goodie, the ferret. “What’s he doing down here?” I asked, dragging out the mangy creature.
“Gives me the creeps. It’s a long, dead rat. I tried sticking it in the trash but it kept reappearing behind the counter, so I gave it a time out down here. Probably that angelic Sarah Ruth is the one that kept digging it out.”
“What’s that crack mean?”
“Just that she can never do anything wrong.”
I looked at Mrs. Berns, who was still sporting her six shooters strapped to her waist. She had also rounded up a pair of Fleet Farm cowboy boots and was wearing a snap-front Western shirt undone to halfway down her droopy chest. This was a woman who could do a lot wrong, and I loved her for it. “Sarah Ruth’s just being on her best behavior because she’s new. She’ll mess up soon enough, I’m sure. Where is she, anyhow?”
Mrs. Berns gestured over her shoulder as she pushed herself off the ground. “In the back room. She rushed there when you left for lunch, and I haven’t seen her since.”
“Thanks.” I strolled into the storage room. We had boxes of books accumulated back here, as well as holiday decorations, stuffed animals we rotated through the kids’ section, a bathroom, and next to it, a tiny office whose door was currently shut. The office had room enough for a desk, two file cabinets, and not much else. It was not unusual for Sarah Ruth to be in there getting a handle on the paperwork, but it was unusual for her to do it with the door closed. The library rule was to keep the door open in case you were needed on the floor.
I grabbed the cool doorknob in my hands and twisted, half expecting to see the office empty. Instead, I found Sarah Ruth on the old, black, circle-dial phone, which she shoved down guiltily
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