“I’d like to welcome you all to Nevermore Books. We have quite a treat for you tonight: the acclaimed author of the well-known Percy Bannon series. I am proud to present for the first time in Shady Hollow…Bradley Marvel!”
There was an eruption of applause and a few wolf whistles, and then the extremely dapper grey wolf came out from the back room and approached the podium.
Lenore flew out of the way and took a place at the back of the crowd where she could watch the event.
“Thanks so much, Lee Anne,” the wolf said smoothly. “It’s such an honor to be here tonight. I’m just going to read a little bit from my new book Hard Pass, and then I’ll take a few questions before signing. As I’m sure you all know, this is the ninth book in the Percy Bannon series.” A cheer went up from a group of squirrels in the front.
Vera struggled not to roll her eyes. How had she ever thought that this pompous ass was handsome? He couldn’t even get Lenore’s name right. She hoped that the raven hadn’t noticed (though Vera was certain that she had).
As the wolf began to read in a rather affected tone, Vera tuned him out and looked around at the crowd instead. She was surprised to spot Professor Heidegger at the back of the room. His mere presence was startling enough, but Vera was even more shocked to observe that he was accompanied by a squirrel who was pulling a red wagon that was absolutely filled with books. Vera narrowed her eyes when she saw that all of the books in the wagon were Bradley Marvel titles. “Too accessible, huh,” Vera murmured.
The professor must be a superfan of the author! He’d hired the squirrel to pull the wagon. It appeared to be quite heavy, and Heidegger was known for his intellect, not his muscle. Vera smiled to herself. Ambrosius Heidegger was a bit of a know-it-all, and he spoke only of highbrow subjects. It amused the fox to think that the owl shared this interest with so many others in town.
After what seemed like an incredibly long time to Vera, but was really only about twenty minutes, Marvel concluded his recitation. There was a round of applause from the audience, and then the author began to take questions. Vera tuned out again and thought about Dot. She knew that there was something very strange about her situation and her refusal to believe Edward was Edward, but she still needed more facts about the Springfield family.
When the questions had dwindled down to a very persistent chipmunk wanting to know where Bradley Marvel purchased his fedora, Lenore flew up to the podium to end the Q and A section of the evening. She assured her customers that books were available for sale at the front desk, and that Bradley Marvel would be signing every single one. There was a rush to the signing table, since many of the attendees had already purchased their books. Folks jostled and mumbled, as everyone wanted to be the first in line to meet their idol. However, Vera noticed that Professor Heidegger had chosen a different tactic—he and his wagon were waiting patiently at the end of the queue.
Things progressed smoothly. Lenore was selling books at the front desk at a steady clip. The atmosphere in the bookshop was almost like a holiday. Vera would be surprised if any of the other businesses in town had any customers tonight. It truly seemed as if every resident of Shady Hollow were present at the reading this evening.
“It would great if Lenore could host more events like this, then she wouldn’t have to work so hard,” Vera said to Barry Greenfield, who was standing nearby, clutching his first edition of Weaver’s Luck. Then, Vera’s eye caught sight of a commotion at the front of the store. A deer had entered Nevermore Books and stood at the edge of the crowd as if searching for someone, casting her head around in a distraught manner not at like the cheerful mood of the other customers. Vera frowned, trying to remember the doe’s name. Cassie? Cassia! That was it. Cassia Brocket.
“Something’s wrong,” Vera murmured to Barry.
“Definitely,” he replied. Both were lifelong reporters, and they could sense the change in the air.
As Vera watched with concern, the deer spotted Orville chatting with some neighbors, and she headed right for him. Police bears did tend to stand out in a crowd.
Vera made her way through the throng just in time to hear the deer say in a low, urgent tone, “You’ve got to come right away, Officer! I’ve found a dead body in the woods!”
Chapter 10
There was a collective gasp from the creatures who were near enough to overhear Cassia Brocket’s announcement. Orville did not want to make a scene, so he shushed the deer and drew her into a corner to ask some questions.
A short while later, led by Orville, a small group of creatures left the bookstore as quietly as possible, though whispers were already starting among the gathered attendees. Vera sent Lenore an apologetic glance—how vexing to have the biggest event of the year end like this! But Vera also wanted to get to the crime scene as fast as she could, and she was grateful that Orville didn’t tell her to skedaddle. In the past, she’d often argued with him over the rights of the press versus the protocols of police investigation, and they still didn’t see eye to eye on it.
But now, Orville seemed wholly focused on discovering exactly what Ms. Brocket had found, and if it was indeed linked to Dotty Springfield’s accusation of murder.
“Are folks still looking for treasure out here?” Orville asked. “I thought that nonsense was forgotten
