Buried in Secrets (Carly Moore #4) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,56

look was the phone book, especially since Marco had made it sound like Selena had lived in Drum for ages. I could have stopped by the tavern to look through their phone book, but the library seemed like a better option. Fewer questions to answer.

Carnita was at her desk when I walked in, and all three computers were occupied.

“Carly, what a lovely surprise.”

“I just need to borrow your phone book.”

She laughed. “As often as you borrow it, you should see about getting one of your own. They don’t have one at Hank’s or the tavern?”

So much for not having to answer questions. “We do at both places, but it just seemed handier to stop here.” I smiled at her. “I figured I could also check on the books you ordered. Two birds with one stone.”

“They haven’t arrived yet, but I’m expecting them any day.”

“That’s fine,” I said. “Say, I meant to tell you the other day, I’m thinking of giving the kids a reading challenge. I’m going to give them prizes based on the number of books they read from the library.”

I could hear Marco in my head, telling me that I needed to stop spending money on the kids and save it for my escape. But it wasn’t that easy. I couldn’t turn my back on those kids.

Which meant I just needed to make sure I didn’t have to run.

“Oh, such a good idea! I used to have a summer reading program, years ago, but now my budget is too tight. Thank goodness for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. I try to sign up every new baby I hear about to get their free book every month. But that doesn’t mean the parents read to them.”

“You’re doing the best you can,” I assured her. “And I’m picking up on the other end. Teamwork.”

She smiled. “Teamwork.” Then she reached under the desk and pulled out the phone book. “And here you go.”

I took the phone book to the round table in the center of the book section and flipped the pages until I found the Martins. There were six of them, and while Selena’s name wasn’t in the book, S.G. Martin was, with an address on Parson’s Street—the street behind the Methodist church.

I wrote the address in my notebook, then took the phone book back to Carnita.

“That didn’t take long. Find what you were lookin’ for?” she asked as she took it from me.

“I did. Thanks.” It was obvious she was fishing for information, and while I would love to ask her if she knew Selena, I couldn’t forget what Marco had told me. I needed to keep this quiet.

I headed outside and paused for a moment. My car was parked on the street, but it was such a nice day and Selena’s house was only a few blocks away…I decided to walk instead.

The house was a cute light blue and white ranch style house with an older sedan in the driveway. The landscape beds were bursting with flowers, giving the home a cozy, inviting feeling.

I walked up to the front door and knocked, hoping the car in the driveway meant Selena was home.

A youthful-looking older woman with reddish-brown hair opened the door.

“Hi,” I said, giving her a smile. “I’m Carly Moore. I know Pam from working at Max’s Tavern, and I was wondering if I could talk to you about Ashlynn.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Oh. I’ve heard of you. You’re the one who found poor Seth Chalmers.”

My chest tightened. This was the third time today someone had said that to me.

“Yes,” I finally said. “I did.”

“And you were with him when he died.”

A lump filled my throat. “Yes.”

She took a step backward. “Please, come in.”

I walked through the door and took in her warm and cozy living room. The furniture was older, but it looked well-worn and loved.

“Would you like a glass of tea?” she asked as she shut the door. “It’s warming up out there.”

I nearly laughed at her idea of warming up. It had to be in the low eighties at the most. I was used to it being in the nineties in Dallas. “That would be lovely. Thank you.”

She gestured for me to sit on the sofa as she walked into the kitchen. “I’ve been meaning to contact you,” she said from the other room. “So you saved me the effort.”

“About Seth?” I asked in surprise.

“Yes,” she called out, and I heard the clink of ice cubes against glass. “And other things.” A half minute later