‘I could definitely use some help with alphabetization,’ suggested Effie, supposing that he couldn’t do too much harm there. ‘No matter how many “Please do not reshelve the books” signs I put up, people just jam the books in every which way.’
Especially in the past few days. The shelves were an absoluteshambles – it was as though the library patrons had forgotten their ABCs.
‘Keeps life interesting,’ said Theo, to Effie’s absolute chagrin.Interestingwas right up there withdisorderly, which was something she strived to avoid.
‘How about I sort them by colour instead?’ he added.
Effie almost knocked her coffee over. How could he suggest such a thing? Had he been speaking to Bonnie?
‘There are shelving standards we must adhere to,’ she snapped.
Theo raised his hands in surrender. ‘I should’ve read up on the cardinal sins of shelving.’
Effie folded her arms, narrowing her eyes behind her glasses. She couldn’t figure out whether he was joking, orteasing. And if the latter, what was the intent behind it?
Before Effie could press Theo about it, a man in full pirate regalia stomped through the doors, waving a feather sword in one hand. Effie blinked. Thathadto be the ghost.
‘Quite the outfit,’ said Theo, regarding the pirate as he went off to sit in the corner, muttering at the wall.
‘You can see him?’ she mused. Not the ghost, then. Unless Theo had the rare ability to spot the dearly departed. But he hadn’t commented on the oddly cold spot in The Winged Monkey, or the strange shadow that sometimes followed Effie when she passed between the park and the cemetery on her way to visit Mom.
Theo cocked his head. ‘Why wouldn’t I be able to?’
‘I just thought...’ Realizing how ridiculous she was about to sound, Effie pretended to be busy with a stack of books. ‘That he might be a ghost.’
‘Aghost?’ Theo let out a guffaw so loud that it drew the attention of every patron. ‘A pirate ghost? In a library? Wouldn’t it be more sensible to think that he was just a snappy dresser? Or that he’s a method actor researching books about shipwrecks?’
‘I have my reasons,’ said Effie, feeling extremely self-conscious at the fact that everyone was looking at her. Being perceived was something she did her best to avoid in her daily life. And yet, every time Theo showed up, she was suddenly the centre of attention.
She did indeed have her reasons for suspecting a ghost. Like the fact that this morning, she’d seen a pair of creepy golden eyes flash at her from impossibly high up on one of the reading-room windowsills.
Theo raised an eyebrow. ‘You don’t strike me as the superstitious type. You seem so rational.’
‘Iamrational,’ retorted Effie. After all, she hadn’t said for sure that the library was being haunted. She had a hypothesis, but she was reserving judgement until she had evidence.
She felt her brow furrowing. Theo had already accused Bonnie of being a pyromaniac, and now he assumed that Effie was inclined towards woo-woo. But she couldn’t defend herself withoutrevealingherself. And she was certainly not about to do that in the presence of someone who might only be around for a few weeks.
‘What’s so funny?’ she snapped, seeing Theo trying to stifle a grin.
‘Nothing,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘How about I get to that reshelving. These books aren’t going to colour-coordinate themselves.’
Actually, thought Effie, thinking about the disarray she’d come across the past several mornings, they just might.
Chapter 16
EYE OF NEWT, SCORN OF FRIENDS
Bonnie
Bonnie glanced at her painstakingly waved hair and sighed as it immediately frizzed. Effie haddefinitelyapplied a hex here somewhere. Out of scientific curiosity (and feigned generosity) Bonnie had lent the curler to Hannah, who’d shown up with perfectly styled hair after using it, so it wasn’t the curler itself that was hexed. Perhaps it was the location. She carried the curler into the bathroom, plugging it in and grimacing at the sparks that resulted.
Had that been a magic thing or an electrical wiring thing?
Not wanting to get the blame for anything electricity related, since Effie’s grumbling about the bill was annoying enough, Bonnie unplugged the curler and hurried out to the hallway. Where else?
Effie’s room.
Effie was out at some Friends of the Library meeting, so there was no way she’d catch Bonnie. Besides, it had been a while since Bonnie had snooped through her sister’s things, and it was time for a refresher.
