I hesitated. Did I owe more loyalty to the board, or to Graydon? But shouldn’t being loyal to one mean being loyal to the other? Then again, with all those questions that Trent and the others had asked, not once had they said to keep it confidential. Then again . . . I sighed.

“Before the meeting,” I said, “some of the board members asked my opinion. About you. About your job performance.”

At that particular moment, Graydon was drinking coffee, so I couldn’t read his expression. When he lowered the mug, he looked completely unfazed. “That’s completely understandable,” he said. “They’re working on my one-year performance review.”

“You’re okay with them asking me questions about you?”

He smiled. “I asked them to do that. I’m doing my own, too. It’s called a 360-degree review, so stop frowning. It’s fine.”

Maybe. But he hadn’t heard how pointed the questions seemed. Still, if he wasn’t going to worry, I wasn’t. “Okay. Thanks.”

“Good. Anything else?”

I knew full well I’d skipped over the worst of it, what had happened to two of the library’s own, so I took a deep breath and told him about Ryan Anderson’s disappearance, and the murder of Pug Mattock.

Graydon fingered his coffee mug’s handle. “That’s odd about Ryan, but hard news about Pug. I met him last summer, here in the library. He and his wife came in together to take a photography workshop. They seemed like one of those couples who fit together just right.”

I’d thought the same thing myself, many times. “She’s having a rough time,” I said, remembering her tears at the funeral home. “They’d been married more than thirty years.”

“You said there was a visitation already?” Graydon asked. “I would have gone if I’d been in town.”

“Sylvia said they’ll have a memorial service this summer. When I hear the date, I’ll let you know.”

Graydon nodded. “Thanks, I’d appreciate that. Even though I barely knew the man, I’d like to tell her that I found him memorable. In a good way, of course,” he said, smiling.

“Of course,” I said. “She’d like that, I’m sure. You can never have too much support. Just like you can never have too many friends.”

“Time for me to face my e-mail.” Graydon stood and toasted me with his coffee mug. “See you in a few hours. Send up food if I don’t come out at lunch.”