Page 41 of Witch and Tell

“Unacceptable,” came a voice from the rear. Wanda.

I screwed my eyes shut and opened them again. She was still there. I was not up for this.

“Clearly and completely.” The gathering parted to make way for her. “Wilfred does not need a suspected killer running its library. The materials in the children’s room are bad enough, but we will not have our residents exposed to a murderous witch with—”

“A what?” I said.

“Just because someone’s been called in once or twice doesn’t mean—” Desmond started.

Once or twice? “It was a mistake,” I said. “They know it. They released me, see?”

Wanda folded her arms over her chest. “Police don’t arrest people for nothing. You could be back in lock-up by dinner.”

Roz cleared the way to my side. “Everyone, go back to whatever you were doing. Josie needs to get to work.”

“I’ll see you at the trustees’ meeting tonight,” Wanda said. “We’ll put this to rest once and for all.”

My head hurt. I hadn’t prepared a thing for the trustees’ meeting. I’d have to rely on the trustees’ common sense to deal with Wanda. I let Roz lead me to the circulation desk, where I fell into my chair. My instinct was to hide upstairs, but I wouldn’t let this situation get me down—or at least, I wouldn’t show it.

“Sam arrested you, did he?” Roz’s voice was concerned and soft. Also borderline nosy. “That couldn’t have been easy.”

I raised my eyes to hers. “None of it was easy, and the sooner it’s cleared up, the better.”

She read my tone and retreated to the conservatory to work on her manuscript.

My next move was clear. I didn’t even hesitate. I had a hunch I knew who the body in the burn circle was. Once I confirmed it, I’d simply need to find out who killed him, and why. All with a rival witch breathing down my back.

I’d hoped to have a moment alone at the circulation desk, but it wasn’t to be—at least, not until Roz took over at noon. Instead, Circulation was crowded with patrons, many of them brand new to the library and clutch ing random books they’d grabbed from the shelves simply to have the opportunity for face time with someone recently arrested for murder.Me.

A book on budgie raising twittered under the arm of a pimple-faced boy who stared baldly at me.Building and Detailing Model Aircraftwhispered “choose me” in my ear.

“Raising budgies, are you?” I asked.

“Uh-huh,” the boy replied, unable to tear his gaze from my face. What did he think he’d see? Hatchet scars?

“The library has a great collection of books on other hobbies, too, like”—I raised my eyes, as if searching my brain—“building model airplanes.”

The boy’s attention snapped from pondering murder to what I’d just said. “No kidding?”

“Upstairs, at the end of the hall on your right.” I pointed to the book under his arm. “You can leave that here.”

He dropped the book on my desk—it landed with happy chirping—and scampered out. One down, and, judging from the line that had formed, several dozen to go. I groaned silently.

“Stay to the right, please,” I said. “Let people come in if they want to browse New Releases.”

Half the crowd moved to the right to get a private audience with me, however brief, and half dispersed to pretend to scan new releases.

After an hour of fielding questions about books patrons didn’t actually want to read, questions they’d made up simply to look me over, I’d had enough. I stood. “Thank you, everyone, for coming in today. My guess is some of you might not be here to use the library, but instead want to see me. You heard I was arrested last night.”

Silence greeted me, but I’d definitely captured their attention.

“Let me give you the story firsthand. After that, I have work to do, and I’d like people who are simply curious to go home. Do we have an agreement?”

Slowly, heads nodded through the crowd. A few people dropped their randomly fetched books on nearby shelves.

“Last night, late, Sam Wilfred arrested me for the murder of Ian Penclosa. He said someone had seen me going into the woods, and later an anonymous caller reported a burnt body near where I was spotted.”

Oohs andaahs spread through Circulation and into the atrium. A few people nudged ahead for a better position.