I organized the bookshelves, which went faster once Princess heard Jane jamming out to Ava Max songs.
~~~
“I’m calling to warn you about Jacob Rome.” There were voices in the background, but I couldn’t make out a word. Was he standing outside somewhere? “Have you met Jacob?” “I have,” I grumbled. Jacob Rome came into Sevier Oak while Leo was away. Every business and restaurant in town learned about him, and not in a good way. “I’ll try and put this in a nutshell,” Leo said “it’s been a hectic morning. Jacob might be coming into your store. Gramps fired him this morning and then tried to kick him out of the office building. Things got out of hand. Cops were called. Just when things got settled, Jacob started shouting at someone in a green sedan. He’s in a foul mood. Maybe you should call one of your officer buddies?” Wow, I thought. This was a lot to take in. “First, I wasn’t aware Jacob was working at Voss-of-Books. Second, I can handle difficult customers. And third…” And what? You call me out of the blue only to warn me about a self-absorbed guy? Not, “Hey Garnet, how’s it going? Wanna go out for dinner tonight?” “Garnet?” I pulled myself together. Now wasn’t the time to wonder where we stood as…booksellers? Friends? A couple?
 |
| Princess |
.jfif) |
| Butterscotch |
Now was not the time to have a serious talk about the bookstore. I wanted to bring up the topic without being annoyed or hurting Jane’s feelings. For now, I pushed aside boxes in case Roland came in with a delivery. “I think it’s time to open,” said Jane. Time always seemed to slip away. We made our way to the front. Sure enough, the hanging clock said we were five minutes late.
Jane darted upstairs while I unlocked the door. I smiled when I turned around. I kneeled down and petted the second cat. “Well, good morning, sleepyhead. How many times have I walked by you without seeing ya?” Butterscotch, Princess’s sister, rubbed her head on the pumpkins. If Autumn had a cat, it was Butterscotch. Her long fur had orange and ginger woven into the black. The tortoiseshell spent most of her time in the office sleeping. It was rare when she came to the sales floor. I pet down her back as she weaved between the pumpkins, rubbing her lips on them as she went. “You’re like the only cat who loves pumpkins.” She purred. After a few strokes, Princess trotted up. She batted Butterscotch’s tail, hoping to play, but the tortie only had eyes for pumpkins. I forced myself to get to work. If I didn’t walk away now, I would pet the cats all day. At the sight of Stiffanie, I got a sense of déjà vu from yesterday. A part of me wanted to throw it in my trunk and lock her in my basement. Wow Garnet, I thought, that was too dark. Still, I wondered how long it would take Jane to realize the mannequin was missing. “Not long enough,” I said to myself. Princess jumped on Stiffanie’s body. “She’s not your new bed,” I said. Princess ignored me by sniffing, a sign she was looking for a comfy spot.
Footsteps came in our direction. “I can’t find it,” Jane said. “I’m sure it’s around here somewhere. Maybe Butterscotch was lying on it.” I pointed at the feline, showing she wasn’t in the office. Jane’s expression softened. Butterscotch was now lounging across the pumpkins. There was no way she was comfortable, yet she didn’t move. “I’ve looked everywhere,” my boss said. “Including the office.” “Did you check your car?” “Yes.” Jane raked her hands through her hair and closed her eyes. “What am I going to do? I need to buy tickets before the prices jump.” I glanced around the store. Where did she put it? When we find it, I’d remember it for future reference. Then I spotted Princess’s back half sticking out of Stiffanie’s tote. “Maybe you accidentally put it in the bag?” Jane’s eyes flew wide. She kneeled, peaking around Princess. I cringed, remembering I’d hidden two novels. “Hey. Where did these come from?” she said, holding up the books. I struggled to come up with an answer. Thinking on my feet was not my strong suit today. Jane eyed me. “Are you stashing them?” “You stash books on the floating glass,” I countered. “I was going to buy them yesterday, but I forgot.” I looked around her. “Is your wallet in there?” “No.” As Jane stood, something white fell out from inside a book. Princess’s eyes lit up, and she pounced on it before it landed. Gently, I pushed her aside, wondering what Jacob had tucked away. Was it something important like a car deed? Or editing related? When I unfolded the paper, my eyes landed on the heading’s bold letters. A hard knot formed in my stomach. Jane hovered over my shoulder. “A copy of a death certificate.” Why did Jacob have this? Did he know the deceased? Why hide it in a book? The knot grew heavier when I noticed it came out of Amanda Flower’s latest novel,
Because I could not Stop for Death. (See all three wonderful mysteries based upon the poetry of Emily Dickenson with a search in the right column on her name to find out her "weird" titles that actually came from poetry!)
“You know a Phoebe Harris?” asked Jane. I pondered. Harris was a common southern surname. I knew some Harrises, but no Phoebes. According to the certificate, Phoebe passed away twenty years ago. I was two at the time. Growing up under the roof of a police officer, I’d heard a lot of stories. Yet I recalled nothing. Upon closer inspection, I got my answer. I didn’t have to attend the police academy to know why the State of Tennessee had declared Phoebe Harris dead. There weren’t many explanations why a judge approved one without the cause of death listed. She was a missing person, and after seven years, the family could file their loved one as being so. “Well,” Jane prompted. “Her name doesn’t ring a bell.” We stared at the copy. Phoebe’s birthplace was the same as her last address. Nashville. The more I read, the more questions swirled. I didn’t like this. Not one bit. “Who traded in these books?” Jane asked. Her concerned tone matched how I felt. I refolded the paper and pressed it against my chest. My heart went out to Phoebe and her family. I didn’t want to imagine how they were dealing with not knowing what happened.
“Jacob Rome brought these books in yesterday,” I said. “He wanted a book similar to Strangers on the Train.” A perfect crime novel, including the book I referred to Jacob. I shivered at the thought. My hands reached for my necklace and ran the garnet charm up and down the chain. Jane hummed as if in deep thought. Is there a connection between Phoebe Harris and a supposed hidden gem? How did Jacob fit into this? Belinda’s words came to mind. Stalkers. Was this why people were following Jacob? Had he learned something that might solve Phoebe’s disappearance? A woman who lived in Nashville twenty years ago? I stopped myself from coming up with more theories. Otherwise, like petting the cats, I could think of questions all day. I told Jane about Belinda stopping at my house last night. “Is this the same Belinda who lives on my street? The one with the snake tattoo on her forearm?” asked Jane. I rubbed my wrist book tattoo, sensing Jane didn’t approve of them. “Yeah. She’s known as Snake Lady. Have you met her yet?” Her chocolate-colored eyes narrowed. “Once. I was pulling weeds out of the flower bed when Belinda introduced herself. Or rather lectured me how it’s illegal to kill black snakes, and yes, I’ve checked.” Jane shrugged. “Belinda seemed like she meant well. She told me if I find a snake to come get her. After that, our only encounter is when we’re both driving on our road. Do you believe Belinda has anything to do with that?” She nodded towards the paper in my hand. “I’m not sure.” Jacob Rome. Stalkers. Belinda Anderson. And now a death certificate. I had to walk away and headed towards the counter. “Nothing good comes with carrying death certificates.” Jane spoke like a lawyer.
Princess ran and jumped on the counter before I got there. Unlike us, Princess seemed excited. Her whiskers arched forward, and she was purring. I petted her, feeling a little better. Jane leaned against the counter with a faraway expression. She didn’t like this any more than I did. Thank goodness there were no customers in the store. We needed a few minutes to think this over. I decided lunch today would be at Dessert Bar instead of Kountry Wings. Today was a double fudge cake kind-of-a-day. We jumped when the phone rang. For a moment, I feared Leo was calling again to warn about Jacob. A lot had happened to him in the last twenty-four hours. Around this time yesterday, Jacob had been fired for stealing books, punched Leo, dealt with cops, and all while carrying a missing person’s death certificate before trading the mystery novel here. While Jane answered the phone, I texted Leo to check if his bookstore was missing the titles Jacob had brought. Jane wandered onto the sales floor with the phone pressed to her ear. I put the certificate under the laptop and searched behind the counter for Erin Sterling’s hardcover. Jane had searched here because customers’ orders and holds were moved. At least she left them in their piles. But like Jane’s wallet, the hardcover too was gone. Either she bought it or put it on the sales floor when I went to lunch. While Jane helped the customer on the phone, I did my morning routine. I felt the tip of the paper teasing me. Watching. Something about a missing woman’s death certificate didn’t set right. Phoebe Harris was once a living person, not tucked away in a fictional story as if she never existed. I couldn’t stop stealing glances at it. “I need to show this to Deputy Underwood,” I said as Jane put the phone back. “It doesn’t feel right handing it back to Jacob.” And the police could deal with him as to why he had it. Jane’s face brightened and she smiled. “Great idea..."
Whenever I need a real break from reality, I know that I can go to a cat cozy mystery and it will allow me then to have a good night's sleep! This second book is clearly a character-driven novel that will keep you so busy, there is no way you can foresee what will happen!
Take for instance a man named Jacob... He's has so many negative characteristics that even readers can't stand the guy! LOL The thing is, he's not the villain--or rather, he's so obnoxious, cruel, plus a thief, he gets murdered. What that means, however, is that there are soooo many who could have wanted him dead, that there is no way to be sure whodunit! I picked my choice out early and stuck throughout the book while following the potential bad guys... I got it right, LOL... Believe me, there are quite a few who either have a bad temper or just want to be left alone, even though they got involved with, or rather, Jacob had forced himself into their world...
But let's go back to learn about the two main characters. Jane has just inherited a community store selling second-hand books. She hired a local from the community, Garnet, who happens to be related to most of the immediately past sheriffs of the town. So she has an "in" to at least a couple of officers who knew her when she was small and coming in to visit often... Good thing too, because the sheriff who replaced her relatives is not really qualified for the job and is upset that Garnet was the one who solved the last murder that occurred in town, while he was new to the job... So you'll see him scurrying around, seemingly, butting in to everything, while a long-time officer and Garnet share information in order to actually solve the crime...Of course, her Dad and Grandfather also come into the story, as well as her Grandmother who is just as involved as everyone else... But, quickly, another relative comes into the story at the very last... My guess is that he will be a welcome addition to future books in this series!
The basic plot is fairly simple, a cold-case disappearance or possible murder happened many years ago... People are involved in writing that story, hoping to publish, but also, some interesting personal papers are found in several books that soon get lost in a book swap activity that the second-hand bookstore uses to keep content available... Garnet is the first to discover a death certificate! But don't get excited because not every death certificate actually means that somebody is dead--do you know when that can happen?!
There are many interesting characters developed by the writer, which even include a female mannequin which, mostly, gets knocked over and her arms or body falls apart, only to reappear in a different outfit... Which gets me to the fun part of the story... Jane, the owner and boss, is always losing things and/or buying more books than can easily be shelved... In the meantime, Garnet just may have OCD which means she prefers everything in its place, including every book, which is kind of hard to do when books are moving and being bought constantly... Obviously Garnet has a secret problem with her boss--so when Jane brings in boxes of, for instance, seasonal decorations, Garnet sneaks them out into her car and stores them in her basement! Yes, this is a quite messy book shop... Which leads me to close with one character's suggestion--change the name of the store! Even to "Messy Bookshop" would be better than the present one...LOL Which I refuse to even look up to type because I can never remember the exact words... And what reader really even knows how books are put together--i.e., what is the word used? If you don't know, comment below and help the author make a wise choice to change her lovely new shop's name! LOL
Garnet is our amateur detective for the cozy, but with her connection to the police, she might have quite a bit of knowledge of police procedural methods as well. In any event, she also has some romantic issues, which, in this case, has little to do with the relationship between her and her boyfriend... Guess who is causing the problems?
Let's face it, a bookstore with cats! Ahhh, "Books, Cats, Life is Sweet..." Enjoy Book High and Low in the Lovely Messy Bookshop Mysteries!
GABixlerReviews
Sleep wouldn’t come, and it was a shame that I couldn’t blame it on a book. A good story...
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Whew, Jammin' with Jane is exhausting...now a little nap~
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