The Miss Fortune Series: Overdue (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read Online Free PDF

was visible on his neck. I held my fingers to a pulse point.
    The beating was faint.
    No wonder this man was the most quiet grown-up in the library.
    He was dying.

Chapter Four
     
     
    The past couple of days I had fantasized a myriad of ways Carter and I would reunite for the first time since our breakup. A bottle of chardonnay, a platter of fried oysters, and my backyard hammock figured in most of my fantasies.
    A potential crime scene did not.
    “He was found over here, Deputy,” Lucy said, leading Carter to the back of the library where I had found a man named Waddell LaCroix slumped over one of the library desks. The EMTs had since arrived and were transporting him to the hospital.
    The children I had been attempting to calm with a quiet safari had since been sent home with their parents, convinced that the man they found slumped at the desk was just a big sleepyhead . To further cement that impression in their little brains we had even awarded Waddell a wrench from Gertie’s purse as a prize for being the most quiet grown-up in the library. Needless to say, Waddell gave no acceptance speech.
    I made eye contact with Gertie and Ida Belle, then turned away as Carter approached.
    “He was discovered by Gertie and our temporary librarian,” Lucy said. “They noticed a puncture wound on the side of his neck and called the EMTs.”
    “Gertie?” He sighed. “I should have known one of you was involved.”
    “What do you mean, involved? I didn’t try to kill him,” Gertie said.
    “I didn’t say you did.” I could hear him snapping on a pair of latex gloves. “So… this temporary librarian… Who might that be?”
    I could feel several pairs of eyes staring at me.
    “Sandy-Sue Morrow,” Lucy said. “I believe you two know each other.”
    “Hm-hm.” Another sigh. And it didn’t sound like a happy to see you sigh. My heart sunk.
    “You going to turn around any time soon, Fortune?”
    I turned around and gave him a quick smile. His eyes widened as he took in my conservative dress pants and blouse. “You’re the temporary librarian?”
    I nodded. “For a few days, anyway. Until the other replacement is able to take over.”
    “I guess that makes sense. You are a librarian. Right?” His eyebrows shot upward.
    I couldn’t help but think that until a few days ago he thought I really was a librarian. I couldn’t imagine how he was feeling, trying to adjust to the reality of the woman I was—and wasn’t.
    He shifted into deputy mode. “Tell me how you discovered the body.”
    I began by recounting everything that had happened since Lucy opened the library doors and let in the first patrons. I told him that, including Ida Belle and Gertie, there had been five other people waiting for the doors to open. Waddell wasn’t one of them.
    “How can you be so sure?”
    “I notice people.”
    He nodded. The slight grimace on his face told me he knew exactly what I meant. Operatives like me had to be extra aware of their environment. It was wired into our brains, especially since our lives depended on it. His sigh told me he wasn’t happy about it.
    “We can attest to that,” Ida Belle said. “I knew all the people standing outside with us. Waddell wasn’t one of them.”
    I then mentioned the author, CJ Banks, who stopped by my desk to give me a copy of his book, as well as a woman who wanted an author recommendation for her mother.
    “Waddell could have come into the library then and I wouldn’t have seen him because the two people I spoke with would have blocked my view of the entrance,” I said.
    “And that would have been approximately—”
    “Mr. Banks came in at ten-twelve and the woman came in at ten-twenty-one.”
    “The woman was Karen Guilory,” Ida Belle added. “I remember because her mom’s a Sinful Lady and just had surgery, so when I saw Karen it reminded me I need to go check up on her.”
    Carter recorded the information in a small notebook. He looked back at me. “Then