Page 40 of Booked for Murder

“I know, right? How’d you like parole?”

“It has its perks. My cat is one of those perks. I also set my own bedtime, eat whatever I want, and beyond the risk of a rogue stack trying to get me, work is usually safe and quiet unless the risk of paper cuts worries you.”

“Not particularly.”

“The certifications can be a bit of a bear, but if you’re smart, can read, and come up with a reason other than you like books as your reason for wanting to become a librarian, the job options are decent.”

“You’re not supposed to tell candidates that part, Janette,” Beatrice complained. “The bookworms will end up wanting to read all day.”

“Acquisitions, Beatrice.”

“Not every librarian gets to work in acquisitions.”

I missed my days working in acquisitions, and I turned my saddest stare onto my fellow librarian. “You could tell Mr. Tawnlen I should be moved to acquisitions again. I got to read books all day, and I ordered a very healthy mix of the ones I liked and that would be useful for our patrons. I was amazing at acquisitions.”

“You pushed your branch’s budget, and you got away with it because you’re insufferable.”

“And?”

“You won’t be able to be as effective investigating if you’re in acquisitions. You need to be able to observe the patrons, especially any patrons who might also be politicians.”

As arguing would be stupid, I shoved another piece of orange chicken into my mouth and sulked over the situation.

Beatrice laughed at me. “You’re invisible to most politicians, Janette, which is perfect for what we need. If we can get Mrs. Hampton to play as our legal advice and convince Miss Jezabella to work as our cleaner, it’s just a matter of bringing the others on board.”

“I do happen to have my JD. I got bored,” Bradley’s mother admitted. “I really dislike becoming bored.”

“You got bored so you got a law degree?” I blurted. “Do you know what normal people do when bored?”

“How would you know? You are not normal by any stretch of the imagination.”

Wow. Bradley’s mother meant business. “Okay, so I use a cane. That’s fine. That’s a little weird, but it’s not on the same scale as getting a legal degree because you’re bored.”

“Says the woman who has five hundred different issues of car magazines under her bed.”

“You counted them? Now that is weird. They add up. I got one subscription, and then I saw a subscription for another one, and then I had twenty subscriptions coming every month for different car magazines, and I had to put them somewhere. That’s not weird. It’s practical. What else was I going to put under the bed? Where else would I put my magazines, for that matter?”

“Bookcases, Janette. They exist. You could have asked for one. You could have asked for two. You even could have asked for three. You didn’t have to hide your magazine collection under your bed like they’re contraband.”

“Why were you under the bed counting my magazines?”

“I didn’t count them while under your bed. I removed them first. I even dusted them before putting them back, lest the son cry I wrecked your room. I was bored.”

“I haven’t read a car magazine in years,” I admitted. “I am guilty of following the races, though.”

“Please don’t. When you read car magazines, my idiot son buys cars.”

Bradley scowled. “Why am I being brought into this?”

“You taught her bad habits and enabled her. You encouraged that magazine habit, and you work an excessive number of hours paying for that damned car of yours. I know how much you spend on gas, oil changes, and tires, and I’ll be nice and not mention the engine trouble you’ve been having.”

“My foot doesn’t like tiny cars with no space, Bradley. If you ever want me to get into a vehicle with you, you need to put that car away, give it some love and cuddles and the best spot in your garage, and drive something sensible with room for my cane, my bag, and my cat.”

“Your cat?” Bradley asked.

“Where I go, she goes, unless it is a dangerous place for my Ajani, in which case, I grudgingly leave her home.”

“Just give up and prepare the house for our new queen, Mom,” Bradley said. “I’m a lot of things, but I’m not stupid, and there’s no way in hell she’s giving up her cat.”