The Murders in the Reed Moore Library

By Ryan M. Welch

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Copyright © 2010 by Ryan M. Williams, writing
as Ryan M. Welch

Cover Photo: ©
Scott Liddell

All Rights Reserved

Publisher's Note

This book is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places and incidents either are products of the
author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.

On top of the hill, right above the green
swath of lawn where C. Dupin liked to nap in the sun and watch the
humans walk past, sprawled the Reed Moore library. Named, of
course, after Reed Moore, the founder of the logging company Moore
Wood, who built the long-house library for the town. The library
sported massive logs that gleamed golden in the sunshine and a
green metal roof. Soaking in the sunshine, the library looked like
it enjoyed the warmth as much as a cat. Dupin stretched out a leg
and took a long lazy lick off the long white fur on the back of his
leg. He rubbed his leg across his face, then repeated the process
on the other side.

There. Ready to go inside, just as soon as
the librarian, Penny Copper caught up and opened the doors.

As she always did on sunny mornings, Penny
had stopped at the fountain to read and eat an apple while Dupin
lounged nearby. Sometimes she forgot all about opening the library
and Dupin had to rub against her legs to remind her.

Today she remembered on her own and Dupin ran
on ahead.

"Slow down!" Penny complained, but
laughed.

Dupin sat down. It wasn't as if he hurried.
She walked towards him up the concrete sidewalk, a typical enough
human although more slender than most, with short blond fur on her
head. The rest of her was so bare that, like many humans, she wore
clothing. In this case a dark blue skirt, white shirt and a blazer
that matched the skirt. As humans went she looked as neat as a cat,
which was saying a great deal. Dupin closed his eyes. He stayed
that way until his whiskers picked up the breeze of her passing and
the faint scent of apple tickled his nose. Then he opened his eyes
and followed along behind.

At the library doors Penny pulled out her
brass key ring and stopped. "Would you look at that!"

Dupin curled around her legs and leaned
against the back of her calves. It was time to get inside where she
kept a can of tuna. Anything else could wait.

Instead Penny actually walked away from him
towards the book drop that crouched beside the doors like a big
green toad. Books stuck out of the drop's mouth and a few had
fallen to the ground.

Dupin sat down. The end of his tail
twitched.

Penny picked up the fallen books and pulled
more out of the mouth of the drop. "If the drop is full, why not
bring them back when we're open?"

Dupin closed his eyes. He knew the answer,
just as he knew all the answers, but if Penny really wanted to know
she'd have to figure it out herself.

Except when he closed his eyes Dupin smelled
something almost as interesting as tuna. He opened his mouth
slightly and breathed in. Yes, nearby. It smelled almost like a
freshly killed field mouse but stronger and greasier. Dupin stood
up and followed the scent. It was coming from the book drop where
Penny was still pulling out books.

Dupin crouched right beside the metal door in
the side. Yes, indeed. Right there, just a small pool of blood had
oozed out from inside the drop. Dupin opened his mouth wider and
breathed in deep. It made his fur stand on end. This wasn't a field
mouse, gopher or bird. It smelled like a person. All sweat and
chemicals with an under-scent of fire and smoke.

He backed away from the drop and a growl
rumbled through his throat.

"Dupin? What's wrong, silly cat?"

Penny bent down to stroke him, tucking the
books she had gathered into one arm, but Dupin flattened his ears
and didn't look away from the blood. Finally she looked at the
metal drop and saw the blood herself. Her hand went to her
mouth.

"Oh!"

She stood up and hurried towards the doors,
the keys jangled on the brass key ring and her shoes made sharp
knocking noises against the flagstones.

Dupin followed right on her heels.

Penny unlocked the door and, as soon as it
opened a few inches, Dupin darted inside. He immediately felt safer
surrounded by the rich smell of the library. He padded quickly
across the lobby to the polished cedar service desk, crouched, and
sprang right up on top. He turned in a circle surveying the library
as Penny followed him inside.

With the hanging lights out shadows draped
the library. To Dupin's left was the children's end of the library
with the short shelves and a large open area at the center where
Penny told stories. On his right the taller adult shelving,
comfortable chairs and, under the wing, the computer lab. At a
cursory glance all looked as it should but Dupin still had the
scent of the blood in his nose and it kept his fur up. He needed
his tuna, and some water, and a good cleaning before he would feel
completely calm.

It didn't look like Penny was getting his
tuna. She put the books down on the counter next to a computer and
picked up the phone instead.

Dupin padded across the counter, hopped over
one computer keyboard, and batted at the coiled black phone cord.
Penny shook her head and pulled the cord away from him!

That wasn't right. It was too late to do
anything about the man — from the smell it had to be a man — in the
book drop. But she could still get Dupin his tuna!

"Police?" Penny pressed a hand to her chest.
"This is Ms. Copper, at the library? There's blood in my book
drop."

Dupin sat down, tail twitching.

"Right. Blood, on the ground from inside.
Like something was bleeding." Penny shook her head. "No, I haven't
opened it. I was taking out books that were stuck in the opening
and Dupin noticed the blood. Yes, my cat. I came inside and called
you."

As if they could do anything about the man
either, it was too late! Dupin stared at Penny. Tuna? Remember
that?

"Yes, thank you. I won't touch it." Penny put
down the phone and looked at Dupin. "What could it be? Do you think
someone poured blood into the drop? Why would they do that?"

Dupin meowed and stood up. Time to worry
about the tuna, and no, the blood hadn't been poured into the drop.
Beneath the blood he had smelled the salty, sour smell of a man and
a whiff of decay. Someone put a dead man in the book drop as if he
was an overdue book. It was too late to do anything about him. The
police could handle getting him out. Dupin turned in a circle and
looked back at Penny. Tuna!

Penny reached out and scratched his head with
one hand. Dupin forced down the purr. Not scratches! Tuna!

"We should look around," Penny announced.
"Make sure nothing else looks out of place."

No, not a good idea. Penny walked away from
the counter into the back work area, which took her closer to the
tuna. Okay, maybe a good idea. Dupin jumped down to the floor and
walked quickly after her. He caught up, walked through her legs and
headed towards the door to the staff room.

Dupin walked around the workstations at the
center of the work area, past the rows of Coroplast boxes full of
books along the back wall, into the staff room. Home away from
home. Not much of a room with an old green couch marked with his
claws, and a wobbly table and two scratched dark wood chairs. Dupin
went to the cupboard where Penny kept the tuna and rubbed against
the door. He arched his back and looked back at her.

Penny put her hands on the door frame and
leaned into the room. Then she pulled back and walked away, her
footsteps muffled by the short carpet.

He couldn't believe it. She left. Without
getting the tuna. Dupin stood still in shock. She actually walked
away without getting his tuna out. Looking around the library could
wait, he couldn't!

Humans! If they didn't have thumbs they'd be
no use at all!

Dupin ran after Penny.

He caught up when she flicked on the light in
her office. He rubbed against her legs and twitched his tail to
catch her attention. Instead she ignored him, looking around the
office as if the glass-topped computer desk, or the pictures of Mt.
Rainier from her climbs, held some secret. Everything looked as
neat as ever, but more importantly, it smelled fine. Dupin circled
her legs again.

She sighed and walked away from the office,
out of the work area altogether. Dupin was trying to decide what to
do about it when Penny screamed! He crouched down and flattened his
ears.

Why had she screamed? She was standing just
out of the work area, behind the circulation desk. She had her
hands pressed to her face now. Dupin rose slightly and opened his
mouth. He breathed deep and picked up a faint sticky scent of
decay, but mingled with it a floral smell. That wasn't the smell of
the man in the book drop.

Dupin padded up beside Penny. There, in the
wood book drop beneath the counter he saw dark red curls, the top
of some woman's head. Another dead person in a book drop? What was
going on? He smelled salt and looked up to see tears falling from
Penny's eyes. She sniffed and wiped her hand against her eyes. She
took a deep breath and turned and headed back towards her office,
nearly stepping on Dupin. Not that he'd be so slow as to let that
happen.

He heard Penny in her office picking up the
phone again. More calls to the police. Dupin walked closer to the
drop and breathed deep. He didn't smell any blood. The woman didn't
die the same way as the man in the outside book drop. Dead people
in book drops, that wasn't right. His fur rose up and he growled
deep in his throat. Not right at all. Who hid their kills in a book
drop? There had to be better places. Whoever did this put the
bodies there for a reason. They wanted the bodies found. Why?

Penny sounded upset, almost yelling into the
phone. Dupin walked closer to the drop but he couldn't see inside.
Just the dark red curls sticking up out of the drop. In the office
he heard Penny put down the phone. He went over to the drop and
rose up, putting his front paws against the wood. He opened his
mouth and breathed in deep.

Death smells, he knew those from killing mice
and birds. Stronger from the much larger human. It made him
sneeze.

"Dupin!"

He tried to turn but he had been so focused
that Penny was right behind him. She grabbed him before he could
twist away and lifted him up into the air. Human thumbs! He didn't
fight. He just went limp. She marched across the work area, turned
right and then held him just with one hand. She opened the metal
door in the back corner and set him outside on the concrete
ramp!

Dupin shook himself and started to turn and
dart back inside but at that moment Penny pulled the door closed.
Dupin stared at the gray metal in shock.

She put him out! Without his tuna?!

Dupin reached out one paw and drew his claws
along the metal. He waited a second, then did it again. Nothing.
Twice more and no response. Annoyed Dupin sat down in front of the
door and used both paws, alternating. Scratch, scratch, scratch,
scratch!

Penny didn't come!

Dupin gave out a frustrated yowl and swiped
at the door again. She actually put him out without his tuna
because of dead bodies? Clearly she didn't have her priorities in
order. Which meant she was going to need his help to put things
right. Dupin gave the door a final swipe.

First things, first. How was he going to get
back inside?

#

Sirens screeched through the morning air.
Dupin flattened his ears and looked towards the road. Police. He
bounded off the concrete path into the dark space beneath the
rhododendron bushes. Dried leaves crunched beneath his feet. He
padded quickly away from the back door, slipping from one bush to
the next. He caught a whiff of squirrel but didn't stop. Out on the
street the police sirens rang out again and again.

Dupin reached the corner of the building and
broke into a trot as the police cars pulled into the parking lot.
Uniformed bodies poured out of the cars. Vans pulled behind the
cars and more people got out. So many people! He picked up the pace
and made it to the front doors before any of the police or other
humans even got close to the building. Dupin crouched beneath the
bench along the left side of the walkway, near the black metal bike
racks. It smelled of burnt tobacco beneath the bench and one stale
bag of chips.