be seen crying, especially one like Joan.
“Let’s go over to that table. It’s far more private.” It was in the shadow of two of the tallest stacks, where she could shelter the girl even more. “Sit down, Joan, and tell me what’s going on.”
“Are you sure you have time?” Joan sounded reluctant now that she had Scarlet’s full attention, but she did pull out a chair and drop into the seat.
Scarlet took the chair beside her, caging her in and, at the same time, shielding her body from any onlookers. From her position she could see out the window as well as the door, making certain everyone was safe.
“I have all the time in the world, Joan. Tell me what’s going on.” Scarlet kept her voice low and persuasive. She rarely tried to use her voice to influence the teenagers, other than to have them lower their voices and be respectful of the library and one another, but there was something about the way Joan was barely holding herself together that alarmed her.
Joan shook her head again, as if she would refuse, but Scarlet’s velvet-soft voice had slipped into her mind and already was pushing her to do as she was asked. “I want you to tell my brother none of this was his fault. He’ll blame himself. He always does, but I wanted him to go on the trip with Mom. I did. He shouldn’t miss out because I’m never good enough.”
Scarlet’s stomach knotted. She sent up a silent prayer to the universe. Let me be wrong about her intentions. But she knew she wasn’t. Very gently, she put her hand on Joan’s arm as if she could hold her there. “Tell me where your brother is right now, Joan. Where’s Luke?” Luke was older by a year and, as a rule, he generally was hovering close to Joan, daring anyone to get ugly with her. The siblings were close, and it was rare to see one without the other.
“On another trip with Mom. As usual she said I didn’t meet her requirements and couldn’t go. This one was to Argentina. I’ve always wanted to go there, and she knew it. I did everything she asked of me. I studied, got the grades. I didn’t talk to anyone she told me was beneath us even though it sucked, and everyone hates me because they think I’m like she is.”
Scarlet knew she was in a minefield and she had to be very careful as she negotiated her way through it. “Who is at home with you?” Joan’s father wasn’t in the picture and hadn’t been for so long no one ever spoke of him.
Joan shrugged carelessly. “I’m on my own.”
That was Scarlet’s greatest fear. Two teenage boys came in, both punching at each other, but stopped abruptly when they saw her eyes on them. They skidded to a halt, mouths dropping open when they caught sight of the woman who had walked in just as Scarlet was taking Joan to the private table in the corner. She couldn’t blame them. The woman was looking through the books in the reference area on Egyptian pyramids. That, for some reason, sent a warning chill down her spine. It just happened to be the same reference books that Aleksei had been interested in. No one else had looked at those books in the entire time she’d worked there. What were the chances? A coincidence? She wasn’t buying it.
“How long is your mother going to be gone this time, Joan?” Scarlet asked. She kept the boys in her line of vision and tried to keep the newcomer in sight as well while giving Joan the impression that her entire attention was on her. She had to keep her voice pitched low and tuned to Joan’s exact energy path in order to keep the teenager compelled to answer her.
“Another few days.”
Scarlet continued to look at her. Joan sighed. “Another two weeks. She’s always gone, you know that. She never stays with us.”
“Is Alison there?” Alison was the housekeeper. As far as Scarlet knew, Alison was the one generally looking after Luke and Joan.
“Mom fired her.”
“Why in the world would Brenda fire Alison?” That shocked Scarlet, and few things shocked her. Luke and Joan came into the library almost daily, and sometimes Alison came with them. Never Brenda, their mother. For quite a while she had thought Alison was their mother.
“Luke made a mistake. He can’t love anyone as much as he loves Mom. He was