“Mmm.” Tabitha didn’t sound convinced. And for good reason, because I wasn’t sure myself that Warren’s barely stifled fury wouldn’t creep into my dreams that night. Eddie would help, though. Cat purrs did wonders to soothe the soul, and it had always seemed to me that Eddie purrs had a level of comfort beyond any normal cat’s capacity.

Tabitha and I agreed that we needed to learn more about Mr. Jorgenson and by common consent agreed to develop a plan later. We talked about this and that—I learned about her and Hal’s grandchildren, she learned about my housing arrangements and clucked at my naked ring finger—and I rolled into my bed so tired that Eddie barely had time to get his purr going before I was sound asleep.

The next morning was indeed chilly. My little space heater ran enough to keep my teeth from chattering, but it wasn’t what you’d call warm. I texted Rafe emojis of a Popsicle, a snowman, a house, and a question mark. His return text, a photo taken last winter of Eddie jumping over a snowbank, made me laugh but didn’t actually answer my question.

Since the temperature was supposed to inch up over sixty, I opted for my light coat and thin gloves for the walk to work, but thanks to a brisk wind, found that I couldn’t walk fast enough to keep from shivering.

When I got to the library, I went straight to the break room and fumbled through the coffee-making procedure. I waited until the coffee drizzled into the pot, then wrapped my hands around my Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services mug and huddled around its warmth until I stopped shivering.

Mug in hand, I wandered down the still-empty hall—because it was half an hour before anyone else would arrive—and got to work on e-mail and budget spreadsheets. After I’d cleaned out my inbox and grown frustrated with the numbers, I pushed back from my desk. Because if I had another cup of coffee, maybe everything would start to make sense. And if it didn’t, at least I’d have another cup of coffee in me, and how could that be bad?

Smiling, because half a plan is far better than no plan at all, I picked up my mug and sallied forth.

“Here she is,” Holly said.

I slowed as I entered the room, because it was so full with library staff it was going to take a carefully planned route to get to the coffeepot. “‘Here she is’?” I repeated, sliding between Josh and Gareth. “That sounds ominous.”

“Minnie, there’s something we need to talk about,” Donna said.

“And that sounded serious.” When my mug had been refilled, I turned and took stock of the room. “Holly, why are you here? You’re not scheduled to work today.” Neither was Shilah, our newest part-time clerk. “What’s up?”