Huh. Maybe that’s not what my smile said?
I give up and settle for answering the question. “I might have found what I needed. It was a good start. Ready to go, Jay?”
“I’m going to stay for a bit. I want to see what they have in their archives about old Sam.”
Suuuuuure. More like he needs to get his flirt on beforethe pressure builds and pops his eyeballs out of his head. It must be so challenging for him to have to contain all that charm without regular target practice.
I’m beginning to see why he has to lock himself in a cottage to get his books done.
“See you at work,” I say as I head for the stairs. I’m letting the librarian know she’s got open access.
Back at the main house, I slip on a cardigan, pull my hair into a low ponytail, and consider going home to switch out my shoes for more professional loafers—or for a different outfit altogether. I decide not to on the grounds that if I run into Jay again today, he’ll infer I dressed differently for him this morning. And that’s because like an idiot, I did.
I work through lunch, only rewarding myself with a small break to call Francie and catch her up on my library adventures. “So now I have a list of names,” I conclude. “We’re getting somewhere.”
“Uh-huh, that’s nice, but tell me about Jay.”
“Nothing to tell.” I keep my eye on the door. Not going to get busted talking about him a second time. “He met me at the library. He found the pageant article. He’s not useless.” I feel a pang of guilt for saying it that way, as if there were any question that he might be. But Francie will turn the tiniest nothing into something, and I don’t want her running away with this.
“So the beautiful rich man went to the library with you this morning because he loves old newspapers and not because he thinks his grandfather’s hire is super hot?”
“He probably does think I’m super-hot, but that’s not why he came to the library with me. He’s curious about these letters too.”
“There is absolutely more to this,” she says. “You’re telling me there’s nothing going on between you two?”
“I learned my lesson with Hayes. I won’t date anyone work-adjacent. The end.”
“But you would date Jay if he wasn’t connected to the museum?”
There’s that word again. “Moot point. He’s more intertwined with it than the ivy on Harvard.”
She snort-laughs. “I’ll let it drop for now. But I want in on the detective work.”
“If you’d be up for checking engagement and marriage announcements in theGlobearchives, that would be great.”
“Absolutely.”
I text her the pictures of the articles but tell her not to jump in until I can rule out some of the possibilities with obituary searches. Dead people are easy to find online, so I’ll start there.
It’s appropriate, because the closer we get to Smitten Kitten’s identity, the more I’m dying to find out who she is.
Chapter Thirty
Phoebe
HavingJay gone helping his dad for the next few days should give me some breathing room. A chance to get my head right. Put things back into perspective. Yes, he has layers I didn’t expect, but there is no circumstance in which I could date him that wouldn’t destroy any remaining shred of credibility I might have with Catherine.
As it turns out, Jay is notgonegone. His texts keep coming in. A picture of a boat with only the wordboatto explain. A text telling me Natalie Betts is off our list, with a link to her obituary stating she was a retired nurse. A screenshot from the comment trail of one of his videos where someone says he’s so boring it put the viewer’s dog to sleep, then a screenshot of his resume where he’s listed “pet hypnotist” as one of his special skills.
When my heart revs each time I see his name on my screen, I remind myselfborders, borders, borders. I enforce them by only texting back when I can eliminate one of our candidates. We can drop Joyce Kowalski Mills who is described as a “lifelong resident of Serendipity Springs.” I find two otherobituaries that might belong to my candidates, but because their maiden names are common, I can’t be completely sure. Neither husband mentioned in their obituaries matches or conflicts with what I know about Dear Heart.
Still, we started with eleven possibilities, and we’re down to eight. It’s progress.
I’ve also made progress on the hiring front. Michaela Berg, Dr. Smithson, and Professor Martinez meet with the archivist candidates on Thursday. I give each one a tour of the estate before their panel interview so I can get a better feel for everything from their demeanor to how proactive each of them is and surprise myself by elevating my second choice to first. When I talk it over with the hiring committee after the interviews, they’ve reached the same conclusion.
We repeat the process on Friday. This time, Dr. Smithson favors a different candidate, but he defers to me and Professor Martinez, and we have a majority again by the end of the day. I can start checking their references on Monday, and after the board vote on Tuesday, I’ll be able to extend them job offers.
I’m getting in my car to go home when Jay’s car pulls in beside me. He stops and rolls down the passenger window to smile at me.
