“Look, Marcy, I appreciate what you’re trying to do. It’s really very considerate. But—”
“But what? You have a better lead to follow?” Marcy asked pointedly. “Or any other leads or ideas? Any clues at all?” Harper pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. “Exactly. My idea may be a little out there, but it’s better than no idea.”
“You’re right,” Harper relented and offered Marcy a grateful smile. “Are you busy this weekend? If the bookstore’s open, maybe we could go then.”
“Yeah.” Marcy nodded. “You should get used to making the trek up to Sundham anyway, since you’re going to college there pretty soon.”
“If I go to college,” Harper reminded her.
“Oh, crap, here she comes,” Marcy said.
She jumped off the chair, grabbed the stack of books that Harper had checked in, then dashed from the desk to put them away. All this happened within the few seconds it took for Edie to open the front door and come inside.
“Hello, girls,” Edie said brightly as she strode inside.
Edie was the kind of woman who somehow managed to be beautiful and dowdy at the same time. She was tall and thin, with blond hair, high cheekbones, and full lips, and considering she was over forty, she’d aged astonishingly well.
But she hid under long flowing skirts, overly drapey tops, and layers of beaded jewelry. Her eyes were a lovely blue, but they were barely visible behind her thick calico glasses.
“Hey, Edie,” Marcy said. Since Marcy was so short, the stack of Harry Potter books went up to her chin, and she was nearly tipping over as she turned back to continue speaking to Edie. “Love to chat. Gotta run. Books to put away and all that.”
“And how are you doing this lovely morning?” Edie asked Harper as she walked behind the desk. She dropped her oversized purse on the desk, and it jingled loudly.
“Fine,” Harper lied and wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“Are you feeling okay?” Edie asked, concern filling her voice, and almost absently she touched Harper’s face. “Your skin is cool, so at least you don’t have a fever.”
“I just haven’t been sleeping that well,” Harper said and stepped away from Edie.
She didn’t have a reason to move, except that she didn’t want to be that near Edie’s scrutinizing gaze, so Harper turned away to straighten some forms sitting on the desk.
“Troubles at home?” Edie asked.
“Nope, just good old-fashioned insomnia.”
“You know what will fix that right up?” Edie asked. “Tea. I know it sounds cliché, but it really works! I’d never been much for it, but when we went to England, they had it with every meal. Now Gary drinks it every night. He can’t sleep without it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Harper said.
“You really should.” Edie leaned back against the desk and crossed her arms loosely in front of her. “There are just so many different things you can learn from other cultures. Gary and I came back from our honeymoon so much healthier and wiser than we were before.” Edie launched into a lengthy list of new facts she had picked up on her travels.
Marcy peered out from behind a bookcase at Harper, as if to say, I told you so. But Harper already knew she was right. She just couldn’t fault Edie for her somewhat incessant prattling. She’d found such intense happiness, and she wanted to hang on to it for as long as possible. Harper couldn’t blame her for that.
“That is true,” Harper said when Edie paused to take a breath, trying to cut off her train of thought. She turned to face her and smiled as brightly as she could. “Hey, Edie, my dad forgot his lunch again, and I was wondering if I could leave a bit early for my break so I could bring it down to him.”
“Of course you can,” Edie said. “But I have no idea what he’ll do when you go away to college. Then again, I have no idea what we’ll do, either.”
Harper didn’t say anything to that. She hurried into the office to get her dad’s sack lunch out of the minifridge before Edie could regale her with more tales of her magical time spent abroad.
When Harper went outside to get into her car, she glanced across the street at Pearl’s Diner. Since the sirens had moved back to town in July, she’d gotten used to spotting Penn, Lexi, and Thea hanging out in the booth by the window, drinking milkshakes. Penn had this awful way of staring at passersby the way a lion stares at a gazelle.
Today the booth was empty, and there was some relief in that. Even though they had come to some type of understanding, Harper didn’t like talking to the sirens or seeing them in any capacity. They were evil, and they made her skin crawl.