Page 121 of The Librarians

“So you know she looked up the will?” Hagerty sounds surprised.

A bubble of optimism bursts inside Sophie’s skull. She’s doing okay, isn’t she, striking Hagerty as completely candid? “Ms. Obermann was nothing if not forthcoming. Too much so, if you ask me—toward the end I was backing away from her. But she didn’t deserve to die. She was happy to be in Austin, happy for a new start. She should’ve had the chance to enjoy her new life.”

As she utters her formulaic and practiced words, an unexpected wave of sadness buffets her. For Jeannette Obermann, the wellspring of stress andagitation in Sophie’s life ever since she pulled Sophie aside on Game Night. She hopes that wherever the woman is, she saw what happened to her killers a few nights ago and derived a measure of satisfaction.

All her wistfulness evaporates the next second as Detective Hagerty says, “Ms. Claremont, it is always a mistake, a huge mistake, to lie to the police.”

Fuck, she’s done nothing but lie today.

Pain drills into her head, her heart, her stomach. Is he going to tell her that he knows about Elise and throw the book at her for child abduction? She didn’t even tell Elise that she was going to talk to the police again today. Elise will expect her to be home when she comes back from school, she will expect them to have dinner together and—

“But yes, I think I see why you were not more forthcoming,” continues Hagerty, his eyes tired and defeated. “Please still consider this a solemn warning to cooperate with the law in the future. You are fortunate that the woman you knew as Ayesha Khan has confessed to the killing of Jeannette Obermann—or at least pointed the finger at her dead partner. If the entrapment hadn’t worked the other night, you’d be in a world of trouble now.”

But she isn’t. And he won’t look any deeper into this. And she and Elise will remain a family.

Sophie’s head rings again, this time because it has been brushed by the wings of an angel.

She starts to bawl right in front of Detective Hagerty.

Sophie manages to pull herself together enough after a couple of minutes to shake hands with the detectives and thank them for their understanding. Then she ducks into the nearest restroom and bawls for another quarter hour.

She doesn’t remember crying like this since Elise was two. She also doesn’t remember ever crying from so much relief and happiness.

She texts Jonathan and Astrid and joins them for a stroll on the boardwalk along Town Lake, the chill of the November day dispelled by the sun shining high in the sky. But after she reaches home, sitting alone in an empty house, she feels unsettled again.

At four thirty, Elise bursts through the door. “We’ve got a huge package. What did you order, Mom?”

Without waiting for an answer, she hauls a large box to their dining table and cuts it open. “Omigod, these are the other two games by Monte Unlimited! You know, the designer behindTrails to Table. Did you buy these, Mom? Did we win the lottery?

“Oh wait, there’s a gift message. It’s from Conrad—is that Miss Hazel’s boyfriend? He says he’s a huge fan of Monte Unlimited and loves to share their games. Did you tell him that I’m a die-hard stan? This is so lit, Mom. Mom—”

Elise finally glances at Sophie, still stuck to the couch. She abandons her new favorite games and comes over. “Mom, you okay? You look kind of peaky.”

Sophie leaps up and hugs her so hard she might have bruised a couple of Elise’s ribs. “Oh, Elise. We’re going to be okay now. We’re finally going to be okay.”

Elise pulls back. “What’s the matter, Mom?”

Sophie cups her face. “I have to tell you something, sweetie. I mean, I have to tell you a lot of things. I was hoping to wait a little longer, but it’s past time that you’re prepared for certain eventualities. You’re smart, you’re mature—”

Elise takes hold of Sophie’s elbows. “Mom, calm down.”

What? But Sophie is perfectly cool and collected. She is—

Her fingers are shaking against Elise’s soft cheeks.

Elise shrugs off her backpack and tosses it onto the couch. It lands with a solidwhump. She goes into the kitchen and puts a cup of water into the microwave.

Sophie slowly sinks back down to the couch. She stares at her still trembling fingers—she had no idea she was so worked up.

Elise returns from the kitchen with a cup of chamomile tea, sets the mug on the coffee table, and sits down next to Sophie. “Mom, I have something to tell you.”

Sophie is instantly on high alert. “What? Did something happen at school?”

“No, school is fine—Ana Maria is going to run for class president next year and I’ll handle her campaign, but that’s not what I need to talk to you about.”

“What is it, then?”

Elise, the straightest of straight shooters, hesitates, then clears her throat awkwardly. “Were you—were you going to tell me about Jo-Ann?”