“I’ll keep these with me,” Emily says, holding tight to her stack.
The kids get in the car, and Gentry shuts the trunk.
“Gentry—”
“You should go,” she says. “Thanks for your help, Levi.”
I want to argue, but she gives me a sad, weary look, and I take a step back. “I’m here if you need me.”
She nods with a tight smile and gets in the passenger seat, Sophie behind the wheel.
Emily rolls down her window. “Bye, Levi.”
“Bye, Emily.” I’m not sure she hears me over the rev of the engine, so I wave.
I stay there until they’ve driven out of sight.
***
The library is peaceful. It’s getting late in the day, and there are only one or two kids in the children’s section.
I find Ellery standing in front of a mural of a dragon reading a book. She’s talking to a parent animatedly, her laughter ringing out like chimes. She really is the cheeriest person I’ve ever met.
And she truly loves her job.
I wait until she’s done talking and slide in front of her.
“Levi.” She’s a hugger, and she throws her arms around me in a warm one. “How are you doing?”
The way her voice drops and her hug tightens, I can feel the sympathy down to my toes. “Gentry told you.”
She pulls away and nods, her smile gone. “She did. I was really rooting for you two, and now especially, she could use someone in her corner.”
“What do you mean, now especially?”
She looks away, chewing on her bottom lip. “I guess it’s not a secret… Her dad’s moving in.”
“I know,” I say. “He mentioned that at the wedding.”
Ellery grips my arm and lowers her voice. “No. He’s moving in today. He showed up with a moving truck this morning.”
“Shit.”
Ellery’s eyes widen.
“I mean, that’s great. I’m sure Emily’s thrilled.”
“That’s not what you meant,” Ellery says. “Gentry won’t say anything bad about her father, but he totally abandoned them three years ago and—” She slaps a hand over her mouth. “Forget I said that.”
“I know about that too.” I lean in closer and lower my voice. “I’m actually here to look into him and make sure he’s not up to anything nefarious.”
Her eyes light. “Oooh, good word. Nefarious.” Her eyes drift shut as the syllables of the word roll over her tongue, like she’s tasting something delicious. Her eyes pop open. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. Gentry’s trying to put a good spin on everything, but this doesn’t feel right, and the way she looked…” She pushes her glasses up on her face. “It just doesn’t feel right.”
“I’ll let you know. Thanks, Ellery.”
She lets me into my secret room, and I get to work with a renewed focus and energy. It’s easy enough to find out that Harley Lendew put his house in Wyoming on the market just three days ago. And he’s got it listed for a good hundred grandbelow asking price, which means he’s in a hurry to sell. It’s a modest one-story ranch in an amazing location, so it’ll sell quickly and still bring in nearly five hundred grand. But there’s no way, without doing some truly illegal hacking, to know how much he owes on the house.
Icansee that Harley bought the house six years ago for more than he’s selling it for. He bought it when the market was sky-high in that area. That doesn’t bode well for his making much of a profit, if any, on the sale.
