“Lucy,” she said when she picked up the phone. “Is something the matter? It’s quite early.”
“Everything’s fine. What’s the earliest you can get here?”
“I don’t have a class this morning, so I was planning a walk on the beach and then popping into Josie’s for a leisurely breakfast before work. Do you need me?”
“I think so, yes.” I told her what was on my mind.
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” she said. “Twenty-five with a stop at Josie’s.”
“I’ll have a latte,” I said.
Next I called Connor.
“Checking to see if I’ve changed my mind?” he said when he answered. But his voice was light, the tone joking, so I replied, “Not yet, but I did have a restless night. Bertie’s on her way. If you’ve got the time, I’d like you to join us.”
“I have time,” he said, “my first meeting isn’t until the afternoon.”
“Good. Oh, one thing: Do you have anything lying around that would be suitable for prying up floorboards?”
“I won’t ask why you need such a thing, but I’m sure I can find something.”
Charles and I were pacing in the main room when Bertie came in, followed by Connor, carrying a tire iron.
“Bertie handed me a take-out cup. “Sorry, Connor, I would have gotten you something but Lucy didn’t tell me you were coming.”
“We can share,” I said, and he grinned at me.
We went into Bertie’s office.
“You sure you want me to do this?” Connor gripped the tire iron tightly.
Bertie glanced at me, her face forming a question.
“If I’m wrong,” I said, “I’ll pay for the damage. I’ll probably have to pay for the damage even if I’m right. We know Jeff Applewhite did odd jobs working as an unskilled laborer for contractors, and his last job was with Reynolds Renovations, which isn’t in business anymore. Aunt Ellen told me Reynolds did some work at the library, modernizing the interior, although she didn’t say exactly what or where they’d done this. Mary-Sue told me the work was getting on Helena’s nerves, and that probably pushed her over the edge into firing Mary-Sue. A new floor was laid in the director’s office and the other work was mostly cosmetic, fresh paint job, new windows and such.”
“Do you know for sure Jeff was working here, at the library? I remember Reynolds Renovations. They were a big firm; they did work all over the Outer Banks.” Connor hadn’t dressed for the mayor’s office this morning, but he’d come in jeans and a T-shirt. His hair was still damp from the shower, his chin and cheeks were smooth, and he smelled of good soap and spicy aftershave. I almost wanted to ask Bertie to give us a few minutes alone. My wild plan could wait.
I swallowed and said, “No, I don’t. But he had to have met Helena somewhere, and they didn’t seem the sort to move in the same social circles. Yes, he was a library user and a reader, but the library director doesn’t usually have much, if anything, to do with casual patrons.”
“Which I regret,” Bertie said, “but go on.”
“Tina told me Helena met her Prince Charming when he was working at the library. I know this library didn’t have any male employees back then, so I assumed that by working, she meant working on a research project or something, but now I think Jeff was working in here. Meaning in this office. For Reynolds Renovations.”
Connor and Bertie glanced around the room.
“Jeff Applewhite stole a multimillion-dollar diamond. He couldn’t carry it around with him. Even though the necklace hadn’t been reported missing, his lifestyle made him the sort that could get stopped by the police at any time. He might have kept it in his truck or in his room, but Rachel said he was a drifter. It’s possible he didn’t consider his room to be safe from prying eyes and vehicles can always be stolen. The night he planned to leave Nags Head he came to the Lighthouse Library where he was confronted and killed by Lucinda. Lucinda believed he was here to get Helena. Which might have been the case, but was he also here to get the necklace he’d earlier hidden under the floorboards? He could have hidden it anyplace in the library where they were doing work, but Helena’s office would have been the most logical if he wanted to retrieve it quickly and easily on the night he came to get her.”
“Only one way to find out.” Connor thrust the end of the tire iron under a board and yanked. The boards screamed in protest.
Ripping up a floor turns out to be a heck of a lot of work. First Bertie, Connor, and I carried out Bertie’s desk, the computer, chairs, and her potted plants, then we took the drawers out of the filling cabinet and dumped them and the cabinet into the hallway, before Connor got to work wrenching up the boards. Bertie found a hammer and used one end to loosen the nails, and I carried the boards away and stacked them in the hallway out of the way.
“What on earth is going on here?” Ronald said.
I wiped sweat and dust out of my eyes and explained.
“Let me at it,” he said. “Connor, you need a hand. Be right back.” He soon was, carrying an axe.
“You just happened to have that in your car?” I said.
“Nan and I went to a Christmas tree farm to cut down our own tree. I never got around to putting this thing away. Let me at it.”
“I declare,” Charlene said when she arrived. “Do we have an infestation of giant mice?”
“An infestation of treasure-hunting librarians,” I said. “You take over from Bertie. She could
