Goody Two Shoes (Invertary 2)

Lake sighed before reaching for his cell phone. “Get to the community centre. Caroline got a package you need to see, and she’s made national news.”

Everyone looked a

t Caroline. There was silence. The men were stony-faced. Archie’s cheeks were red and he looked like he could hit someone. All the women’s faces, except Betty’s, were hugely sympathetic. Helen had tears in her eyes.

“Let me see that box. I can help.” Betty tried to elbow past Lake. He grabbed a handful of tartan dress at the back of her neck to stop her. “I watch CSI. I know what I’m doing.”

Lake stepped in front of her, his arms folded.

“Kirsty,” Lake said. “You and Helen sort out tea for everyone. Take Betty with you. Everyone waits in the blue room. Nobody talks about this until they’ve spoken with us. Got it?”

Kirsty nodded, and with Helen’s help, she manhandled a grumpy Betty out of the room.

“Archie,” Lake continued, “close up the centre. Get everyone except the domino boys out of here.”

Archie nodded and bustled out of the room. Caroline was left with Lake, Officer Donaldson, a pile of offensive articles and a box with a heart in it. They stared at each other.

“Everything will be okay,” she told them. “I’ll sort this out.”

The window to the library opened.

“Got a woman on the line,” James said. “She’s from the BBC and wants you to come on her programme. She says you’ll get a makeover and they’ll give you free clothes. Sounds like a good deal to me.”

Lake reached over and slid the window shut. James stared through it for a moment before he disappeared.

“Now about this box…” Officer Donaldson said.

Caroline sat in her chair and tried to focus on his words. She needed to get the chaos under control. She’d learned the hard way as a child that when people lost control, terrible things happened. Her parents had lost control of their car. Caroline couldn’t lose control of her life. She straightened her back. No. She needed to get on top of this situation. And fast.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

As soon as Josh got Lake’s message, he dropped his sandwich on the bar at The Scottie Dog and ran for the door—with Mitch hard on his heels. They sped up the high street to the community centre, attracting curious glances as they went.

Josh’s mouth thinned when he saw the notice pinned to the door: Temporarily closed. We’ll let you know when we open up again. Don’t worry about library fines in the meantime, we’re postponing them.

He pushed past the notice and into the library. He spotted his mum and Kirsty sipping cups of tea with the domino boys, and an irate Betty stomping around at the back of the blue room. Ignoring them, he pushed open the door to the office.

Caroline stood behind her desk, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. She looked calm, in control and perfectly fine. If it weren’t for the slight hint of panic in her eyes and the tick on the edge of her jaw, he wouldn’t have worried. Josh went straight to her, holding her close, and relaxing slightly now that he had her in his arms.

“You okay?”

She nodded against his chest before pulling back to look up at him. “I tried to call, but I forgot your number.”

“It’s programmed into your phone, baby. Give it to me and I’ll show you.”

“It’s in a drawer in the kitchen.”

Josh stared at her for a beat. “It’s called a mobile phone, Caroline. The idea is that it’s mobile. It goes where you go.”

“I know that.” She stepped away from him. “I didn’t think I needed it with me at the community centre.”

“Well, now you know you do.”

She frowned at him, folding her arms tight against her chest. Josh left her to sulk. He turned to the men in the room. “What’s going on?”

The cop cocked his head towards the box. Josh leaned across the desk to peer in. There was thunder in his ears. “Who sent it?” His voice was tight.

“We don’t know yet.”