Ink and Shadows(Secret, Book, & Scone Society #4)(33)

McCabe lowered his arm and nodded solemnly.

“How is she?” Nora asked.

“I walked here to buy one of those ready-made sandwiches to eat at my desk.” He gestured at her reusable tote bags. “If you want to swing by after you’re done shopping, we can talk.”

Nora glanced at the display of pumpkins and potted chrysanthemums in front of the store. People streamed through the automatic doors, waving at friends or pausing to say a quick hello. It was a normal day for everyone in Miracle Springs. Everyone except for Celeste Leopold.

“I could get a sandwich too and shop later. If that works.”

She saw a hint of a smile on McCabe’s face. “That works.”

The sandwiches weren’t good. McCabe didn’t draw attention to the wilted lettuce or soggy tomatoes on his Italian sub. He just dumped them in the trash can. The two pieces of stringy bacon from Nora’s turkey, bacon, and cheese croissant ended up there as well.

“The best part of this meal is the chips,” she said, though she didn’t finish hers because the sandwich had ruined her appetite. Besides, she was ready for an update on Celeste. Sitting back in her chair, Nora waited for McCabe to fill her in.

But the sheriff had his own agenda. “I read the article indirectly targeting Miracle Books, Soothe, and Red Bird Gifts. I’ve heard about the vandalized sign and the items placed on the angel statue. Tell me about the pumpkin you found.”

Nora felt a twinge of irritation. She hadn’t wanted news of the devil pumpkin to be widely known. Hester must have said something to Andrews, and Andrews had passed the information on to McCabe.

“It’s no big deal. Someone put a pumpkin with devil horns and a mean face in my planter. I painted over the face, added a book quote, and used the pumpkin as a conversation piece. It turned out to be good for business.”

If McCabe admired her lemonade-out-of-lemons attitude, he didn’t show it. “Do you think they’re done? The person or people leaving these devils?”

Nora spread her hands. “Celeste’s daughter is dead. If people keep harassing her after they hear that Bren’s gone, then there’s no telling when they’ll stop. Speaking of Celeste, how is she?”

McCabe opened the file on his desk. “Deputy Fuentes caught me up on everything that happened while I was away, but it’s not the same as hearing it directly from those who were involved. Can you help me see things from your perspective? I’d like you to start at the beginning. From the first time you met the Leopold women.”

Since Nora would do anything to help the sheriff discover what happened to Bren, and to Bren’s house, she immediately started talking.

It took longer than expected to relay every detail, and she ate the rest of her chips and drank all of her iced tea as she talked. When her story was done, she felt totally spent.

“I may need your help,” McCabe said after jotting down a note. “We can’t make heads or tails of that book page left under your welcome mat. I’ve reached out to a number of professors and librarians to see if any of them recognize that language, but I don’t know when they’ll respond. If they respond at all. Since it’s a Sunday, most won’t see my email until tomorrow, but I want to understand how this document fits in. Do you know someone who could identify it? An expert on antique books?”

Roberta Rabinowitz, Nora thought. If anyone can identify that book page, it’s her.

“I could give you a couple of names,” she said.

McCabe passed her a piece of notebook paper, and she wrote down Roberta’s name and her position at Columbia. She also added the name of a special collections librarian at the Library of Congress.

“If these two people can’t identify that book page, no one can,” Nora said. Before McCabe could speak again, she asked, “Do you think that’s why Bren’s house was torn apart? Was someone looking for that page?”

“Without knowing what it is, that’s hard to say.”

Remembering Bren’s gutted teddy bear, Nora squeezed her napkin into a tight ball. “What about the man with the tattoos on his arm?”

“We’ve placed calls to the area hotels and campsites. None of the managers knows of a guest with those markings.” McCabe gave a little shake of his head. “It would be easy enough to hide those tattoos from view. Also, this man could be long gone. The festival drew over a thousand people to town. Some stayed around here, but others took off before the concert got underway.”

“And Celeste? Was she able to talk last night?”

McCabe looked aggrieved. “No. When Andrews saw the state she was in, he called her caseworker and let her take charge of Celeste. I’ll stop by her place later. I have to question her, though I’ll try very hard to not upset her.”

Nora wished that Celeste could take all the time she needed to hide from the world, but the world would never allow it. Not only had her daughter died suddenly, but someone had also destroyed her daughter’s belongings. Celeste was the only person who could shed any light on these acts, and McCabe had to find out what she knew. He didn’t want to cause her distress, but the truth was paramount to Grant McCabe. He valued truth above all things.

Getting to her feet, Nora said, “Please let her caseworker know that I’m available. If she needs someone to sit with Celeste, or read to her, or do errands, she should call me. I want Celeste to know that she isn’t alone.”