“What happened?” I studied Gus who stood on the steps in front of me. No one would have guessed we were sisters. She was petite, her long, straight blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, which, I assume, she thought made her look more sheriff-like. Even in the un-flattering sheriff’s uniform, you could tell she had an almost perfect hourglass figure. I was tall with thick wavy red hair, my figure more rounded—voluptuous, as some described me. The only thing we had in common was our amber colored eyes—same as our mom’s.

“I was on my way to open the bookstore when I noticed the lights on in the library.” I glanced down the street toward the municipal parking lot.

Now that the spring warm-up was here, I was trying to work in some extra exercise by parking in the lot two blocks away instead of on the street near the bookstore.

“Was that unusual?” Gus asked.

“Yep.” I looked over my shoulder at the front door of the library. “It sure was. Lavinia never opens the library before eight. Plus the front door was cracked open, and she never leaves it open.”

Gus started up the steps toward the library. “Did you touch anything?”

I stood up, wincing at the pain in my left leg—a reminder of the near fatal accident over a year ago that was one of the catalysts for my move back to Mystic Notch. The accident had left me with a slight limp, a bunch of scars and a few odd side effects I didn’t like to dwell on.

“Nope, other than Lavinia. I didn’t know if she was alive and needed aid,” I said as I followed Gus into the library.

Gus stopped just inside the door and looked around. The coppery smell of blood tinged the air, making me lose interest in my coffee.

“It doesn’t seem like anything is out of place … no sign of struggle,” she said.

“Nope, I think she just fell down the stairs.” I started toward the back. “You know she was getting on in years and not that steady on her feet.”

We turned the corner and my stomach clenched at the sight of Lavinia at the bottom of the steps.

“That’s her cane?” Gus pointed to the purple metal cane, which was still lying as I’d found it.

“Yep. Looks like she lost her balance, dropped the cane, and fell.”

Gus descended the stairs, her eyes carefully taking in every detail. She knelt beside Lavinia, studying her head. “She’s pretty banged up.”

“I know. These stairs are hard stone. I guess they can do a number on you.” I winced as I looked at the bloody edges of the steps.

“So, you think this was an accident?”

“Sure. I mean, what else could have happened?”