The Book Waitress (Book 1, The Book Waitress Series) (3 page)

“And you’re on the job already? Wow. That’s what I call dedication.”

“Here we are, sir.” She opened the door and ushered him inside. “Newspapers
are organized by name, alphabetically, then by year, month, and day. They
cannot be signed out, and I believe they must remain in
this room.”

“Please, call me Derek. You’ll be seeing me here a lot from now on doing research, so it’s only right.”

“Okay, Derek. Please keep all food and drink out of the vicinity of the reference materials.”

“Yes, ma’am or…
?
”
He stood there, waiting. For what, she didn’t know.

“Or what?”

“Or maybe you could tell me your name so I don’t offend you by using
that
old lady term
again
.”

“Ah, well,
uh,
my name is Camille.
It just so happens
the term ma’am
, originally used in the 1660’s, is really a sign of respect when addressing a lady who is married. So it makes sense not to use that term for me since I
’m
not married.
If you need anything further,
I’ll be
at the circulation desk. Good luck with your research.”
She stepped toward the door.

“
I learn something new every
day, Camille.
Thank you. It’s important work
I’m doing here
, you know
.”

“
I’m sure it is. I’
m just gonna head out now. New
’
round
here. Gotta learn the ropes.” She backed out of the room and closed the door, hurrying back to her desk where she touched her hands to her cheeks. A full-on flush had erupted on her face and neck. She could tell just by
looking at her reflection in her computer screen.

Oh, my gosh!
Why did he have to talk to her so much?
And why did he have to look so darn cute?
His pants
and shirt
didn’t need to be
form-fitting
for her to
guess
ho
w toned he was underneath. H
is
hair, short and smoothed back, just begged to be mussed with. And then, there were his eyes.
C
rystal, blue-green
pools
had locked onto hers earlier. Now, she wanted to drown in those mystical orbs. His pale complexion and lithe body reminded her of
fae
kings from faerie books she’d read a long time ago. She
would love to
be his queen, no questions asked.

Shaking herself free from her entanglement with fantasy land, she picked up some materials that needed to be shelved and tried her best not to succumb to the distraction known as Derek. He was just being nice. He couldn’t help being adorable. And he certainly wasn’t making a play for her. Men didn’t do that with her.
They
didn’t do anything
except exploit her awkwardness.

Best to stay away and do your job, C
ammy. Nothing good will come of
encouraging a friendship with this man
.

***

It’s important work I’m doing here?
Really, dude?
That’s what you say to the
most
beautiful librarian
you’ve ever seen
? Smooth, Derek.
Way to sound like an arrogant
ass
.
He
was
doing important work, but when it came to
talking to
wome
n, his tongue always
seemed to tie
up in knots and he wound up saying something stupid
, like
he did just
now
.
He could blame his Hippie
foster parents
for not cultivating his social skills
, but he loved them too much.
Nope, this was all
on
him.
Her honey-blonde curls
had escaped their twist
and
knocked him fo
r a loop as she ran to her desk. A
nd his brain
had
turned to m
ush when their eyes
met
for the briefest of
moment
s
. Never before had he seen a color so intense
and intriguing
as her golden amber.
To top things off, she slayed him when she walked over to the newspaper room. Her hourglass figure swished seductively side to side as though
her hips were accentuating a silent internal rhythm.

Rather than dwelling on his social ineptitude
any longer
, he decided to do what he came
here for—
research the mysterious disappearance of a child from the island.
He was convinced
there was a link between the current vanishing and others that
had
been reported in years past. All he
needed was proof and some good
leads
and he could blow this case wide open. Starting with the local paper, he planned to
prove
that there could be a
n extremist
satanic c
ult at work here
.

The last
child vanished a few weeks ago. Police on the island told him the leads had gone cold, just like
it had
for
all
the other children who’
d gone missing. When he asked if the FBI had been called in, they clammed up and abruptly ended the interview. Suspicious behavior like that put him on the alert. He may not know how to maneuver in the world of women, but
being an investigative reporter,
he knew all about asking the tough questions and getting answers. A
n award
sitting on his mantle at home proved that.
He
put
the She
lter Island police department on
his list of people
of interest
, but knew he would have to tread carefully around them and anyone else that he might suspect of being involved
.
Too many questions would make people skittish and run. Or even worse, they’d turn on him.

Getting comfortable in his chair,
he began the
tedious task of siftin
g through endless newspaper articles
,
beginning with the very first disappearance thirty-six years ago.
Somewhere within
these pages
,
the answer
waited to be found.
He readied himself for a
very
long
session
.

***

A light rapping
sound
stirred Derek from his intense scrutiny of the Shelter Island News for June 6, 1982. He
looked
through
the glass window
cutout
in the door and
bade
Camille
to come
in.

“
Excuse me
,
I don’t mean to be a bother,
but the library closes in fifteen minutes.
”

“
Oh, you’re no bother at all.” He looked at his watch. “
Wow, time flies sometimes.
Doesn’t it?”
He scrubbed his face with his hands
.

“Yes,
it does. I
f you’re not finished with these newspapers
and plan on coming back tomorrow
,
you
can leave them
with me. Just write your n
ame and phone number
on a slip of paper and I’ll store them in my office.”

“Well, aren’t you great? Not too many librarians have been as nice and accommodating as you. Thanks. I’ll take you up on that offer.” She gave him an odd look and her cheeks turned fiery red. “I mean, you know, your offer of keeping the newspapers for me. Not that you were offering anything else. Because you clearly
are
n’t. I mean
we just met and
you have to have my name and number in case I don’t show up, which I will
come back
, you know. Oh God,” he
groaned, dropping
his forehead to the table,
“
just shoot me now.
Put
me out
of my misery.”

“Um, I’m gonna head back to my desk now. Ten minutes. Closing. The library. Yeah.” He heard her heels
scuffling
across the f
loor. She’d left the door open.

“Man, get your act together!” He admonished himself. “They may not let you back in here tomorrow considering how moronic you’re behaving. Holy hell. It’s a girl. A girl! Get a grip!”

He replaced newspapers he’d gone through already and organized ones he wanted saved into a neat pile, putting his business card on top. With backpack hoisted onto his shoulder, he
carried the bundle to the circulation desk. On his way over, he knew he had to make amends for his idiocy. “Here you go. These are the newspapers I’d like saved for tomorrow. That’s if you’ll let me back in this place. I’m so sorry for the way I behaved back there.”

“Oh, that’s okay.” She waved him off and laughed lightly.
“Usually I’m the one with the awkward comments to go along with the blush.
So
, I should thank you for taking the load off me
this time
.”

“I’ll see you here tomorrow, then?”

“I suppose you will.”

“Okay, well then, good night, Camille.”

“Good night, Derek.”

He hoped his smile put her at ease rather than
creeped
her out even more than she probably was. She’d been kind to wave off his
misstep, but she probably thought him a total loser. Oh, well.
This isn’t Fantasy Island, and I’m not here to find love. I’m here to
expose a satanic c
ult
and hopefully save a child.

Chapter Three

What a day it had been! Camille reflected on the whirlwind that swept her up and had yet to drop her back down to earth. But now that the library had emptied of its patrons, she could stop and take a breath. She flopped into her chair and closed her eyes briefly. It was eight o’clock and she had about another hour of duties before she could go home. Or go back to the house that she would try to make a home.

This time of day at the library
,
she loved. The silence
deafened
, but
brought peace
. Reference materials
needed re-shelving, so she checked them in and placed them on a cart to wheel about the stacks. A loud crash echoed through the empty expanse, and she nearly jumped out of her shoes.
It
had come fr
om an area she
had
been to earlier, and s
he hoped it wasn’t what she suspected.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, she mustered her courage and stalked over to the aisle where the Devil’s Handbook
Volumes were
housed. This time, she couldn’t blame herself for knocking them off the shelving, and she couldn’t blame a stray mouse or rat either. This time, the books laid
purposely
open next to each other from one end of the aisle to the other. She cautiously approached.

“Hello? Hello? Anybody here?” she called out.
Not sure whether she wanted an answer or not, she tip-toed over to the first book. As she picked up each
successive
book to put it away, she noticed
,
that on the opened page in each book,
one letter was
larger than any other
.

“What the hell is going on here?”
she muttered.

Her brain quickly sorted it out.
GET OUT OF HERE!
That’s what the letters spelled.
Her heart fluttered, sending waves of electrical impulses across her back and arms.
She would love to. Nothing would give her more pleasure than to go back to the home and library she loved. But a job’s a job, and she had a duty to go where her superiors plac
ed her.
On a personal level, she’d be damned if she’d let anyone intimidate her. Not anymore.
Public
school had ended years ago. She didn’t have to put
up with this crap anymore.

“Whoever you are, I’m warning you. I’m not easily scared off. This is my territory, so I suggest you treat me with
some
respect.” She felt like an idiot talking
when no one was obviously there
, but she
also
had to consider that what had happened may not have been done by a
n actual
person, but by something otherworldly
.
Oddly enough, her social awkwardness did
n’t
include interactions with things paranormal or supernatural.
For many years, part of her voracious reading included all things fiction and non-fiction
within
the paranormal and supernatural
genres
.
She believed in ghosts and spirits
, both
kind and malevolent. It appeared that a demonic spirit had welcomed her earlier and asserted itself just now.