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I forced a smile. “It only seems right to learn about my new hometown.”
She clapped her hands. “I’m so thrilled. Yes, I can absolutely help you. Right this way.” She shimmied out from behind the counter and started walking toward the stacks on the left side of the library. Her long skirt swished around her ankles as she walked. “You have no idea how happy this makes me. History is so important, but people don’t realize the crucial role it plays in the present.” Her voice faded as she disappeared down an aisle ahead of me.
I caught up with her in the middle of the aisle where she’d already extracted an armful of books from the shelf.
“These are a good start.” She thrust the pile into my arms. “Is it true you’re looking for Ashley Pratt?”
I maintained a neutral expression. “What have you heard?”
“That Steven Pratt asked you for help in exchange for him fixing your antique computer.”
I burst into laughter. “That is surprisingly accurate.”
Hailey squared her broad shoulders. “I’m the librarian. It’s important to get information right.” She cast a furtive gaze around us and lowered her voice. “Is it also true you can see ghosts?”
“Yes,” I whispered. There was no point in lying to Hailey about that part. I’d inadvertently given up that particular secret, and there was no easy way to put the lid back on the coffin.
Her brown eyes sparkled. “My grandpa had the Sight, but he couldn’t see ghosts. Gosh, I was so envious of him. He had access to an entire world most of us can’t see.” Her sigh was laden with regret.
It seemed that Hailey was in the believer camp, along with Jessie Talbot. “Well, you can see them,” I said. “You just don’t recognize them as anything other than human.”
She dropped her voice even lower. “I would beg him to tell me which people were werewolves, but he didn’t like to talk about it. He’d say, “Ignorance is bliss for a reason, Hailey,” and then change the subject.” She smiled. “I work in a library, so you can imagine how the ‘ignorance is bliss’ line landed with me.”
“Is that why you have the wreath on the library door?” I’d noticed it on my way in, but the sight of it only registered now.
Her brown eyes turned solemn. “I don’t know that it’s effective, but the library has never had a bad incident, so the wreath stays. My mother considered it a good luck charm.”
“Has anywhere had a bad incident?”
“I guess it depends on what you think really happened,” she replied vaguely.
The librarian seemed fairly plugged in, so I decided to probe her about Ashley. “Have you heard any rumors about Ashley’s disappearance?”
Her face clouded over. “A couple.”
“Does one involve her hopping on a bus to New York City?”
She nodded. “Another one involves human trafficking.”
That was a new one. “Chief Garcia didn’t mention that theory.”
“You might want to talk to Otto Visconti. He lives in that big house over on Walden Lane.” Hailey dropped her voice. “Some people find him a bit strange, but he donates a truckload of books to the library every year, so we’re big fans.”
“You think he might know something about human trafficking in Fairhaven?”
“Maybe not, but he has the kind of connections who might.”
Connections was an interesting choice of words. I wanted to ask more questions, but a man appeared at the end of the aisle, looking agitated.
“Hailey, I can’t get the checkout machine to work. It won’t scan my card.”
“I’ll be there in two seconds, Ronald.” She smiled at me. “Technology is both a blessing and a curse.”
I didn’t disagree.
I chose a book entitledA Complete History of Fairhaven, curious to see whether it lived up to its name and left the rest on the table. “I’ll check this one out.” It was about two inches thick; there had to be some useful information in it.
Hailey lit up as though she’d closed a sale. “Great choice. I’ll get your new James Patterson, and you’ll be all set. I hope to see more of you, Miss Clay. The library is always thrilled to add a new reader to its roster.”
