“I wish I could call her, but I found her phone sitting on the kitchen counter by the sink. I don’t know if she forgot it, or if she left it on purpose.”
Anna closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples with her index fingers. “Why would she leave her phone behind on purpose?”
Carlisle took back the conversational reins. “Because, sweetheart, she knows we can track her using the GPS on her phone—that’s why the bitch left it behind.”
Tuesday Night
ABANDONING HER KEYS in the front door of the library, Anna flipped on the lights and then sprinted for the security panel on the far wall. Her index finger connected with its target with an entire split-second to spare. Triumphantly, she planted her arms akimbo and turned to Charlie.
His response: the high arch of one disdainful eyebrow. “Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to sneak into the library where you are, in fact, authorized to be at any time, and stealthily disable the security system, which you, in fact, programmed yourself.” He gave her an exaggerated slow clap. “Dangerous business breaking into the Tangleheart library after hours.”
Putting too much spin on her wrist, she waved a dismissive hand and banged it on the wall in the process. It stung a little—so did Charlie’s sarcasm. “Do you want to know what Simone was doing in the vertical file or don’t you? Go ahead and make fun, but I could lose my job over this.”
“Mrs. Marlowe must’ve changed. Last I knew, she was as addicted to the pleasure of your company as to that nip of brandy she thinks no one knows about. Does she still bring you brownies on Saturdays and call you dear heart?”
Nursing her wrist, she said. “I suppose you think protecting the privacy of a library patron is less important than doctor-patient privilege.”
He shrugged. “You say so.”
“This is serious stuff. Maybe Mrs. Marlowe wouldn’t fire me if she found out, but I’m violating a professional code of ethics. If I didn’t think Bobby and Simone might be”—her tight throat changed her voice into a thread—“in real trouble, I’d never allow you in here. I’d never misuse my position as librarian to snoop into Simone’s business or any other patron’s.”
“I’m sorry.”
He sounded sincere, but after that slow clap…
“No. Really. I know how hard this must be for you.” He tapped his finger to his nose. “Hey, remember the time we went to see The Sixth Sense, and there was no one manning the ticket booth?”
Surely he wasn’t still holding a grudge over ten dollars. She blew out an exasperated breath. “My stars. Do you have some sort of point?”
“I wanted to just go inside and watch the movie, but oh no, you insisted on chasing down the manager and paying. You always did have an overdeveloped conscience. I never thought I would say this, but I miss that about you.”
“You were mad at the time.”
“Well, yeah. It cost me ten bucks, but when you don’t see someone for a long time, it’s the little things that sneak up on you and make you realize…” He looked over her shoulder. “I’m rambling, and we really should get on with it. I honestly don’t want to cause any trouble for you with Mrs. Marlowe, and the sooner we find Simone and Bobby, the sooner we can get this mess cleared up.”
This mess was largely, if not entirely, due to Charlie involving child protective services as part of the hospital evaluation. Of course the fact that he had been looking out for Bobby mitigated Anna’s disapproval. That and the worry that Bobby might need a doctor once they found him were the only reasons she was willing to let Charlie in on whatever information she found in the files.
She twisted a strand of her hair around her finger and sighed. This undercover operation at the library was most likely a wild goose chase. There was probably no connection whatsoever between Simone’s trip to the library on Sunday and her disappearance from the hospital on Tuesday.
Only Anna couldn’t forget how agitated Simone had seemed after looking through the file, or the way she’d rushed out of the library without so much as a wave good-bye. Top that off with the fact that she desperately wanted to find Simone and Bobby, but was at a loss as to how to proceed, and there you had it—sneaking into the library and snooping through the files suddenly seemed like a completely reasonable course of action. She had to start somewhere, didn’t she? “Grab my keys and close the door, then. The vertical file is back here.”
Charlie did as she asked and followed her into the file area. “What’s a vertical file again? I didn’t catch that.”
“Sorry, that’s librarian talk. I suppose a lot of libraries don’t have them anymore. But Mrs. Marlowe is—”