found something, while another part of her regretted not being there just in case he had. She was sure she’d never forget the look he’d had in his eyes at that pool. She hoped to never see it again. Sitting down across from him, she crossed her legs, swinging her leg casually back and forth. He leisurely turned the pages of the book, one after the other. That’s a book about divination. Interesting choice.
“Well?” She tossed up her hands.
“I didn’t find anything. You would’ve probably seen it if it was in here. Hey, did you know that many witches prefer calibrating pendulums?”
“No, and I’m not convinced that you even know what that is.” He smirked, then flipped to the next page. “And as far as me finding anything in here, I don’t know about that.” She shrugged. “Benjamin was in my shop about three weeks before he died. I tried to remember everywhere he went in here. Everything he said and did after this whole thing started.” Aries closed the book and placed it on the table, clearly interested in what she had to say. “I did not think anything of it until after I found out he passed away. Usually, Benjamin only came in for business matters. Like, to discuss a construction crew working nearby, or the water needing to be cut off for an hour for a repair. Things like that.
“He often would buy books, like I told you, when he came and we’d have conversations about everything from the weather to any new Japanese history books I may have. When I saw him that final time though, he never told me why he was there.”
“Maybe he was in a hurry, or just stopping by.”
“Yeah, that’s possible, but that wasn’t like him. Again though, I didn’t think much of that and it was really busy in here that day. I remember he went to the restroom. He was also somewhere over there, by the religious books.” She pointed to one of the aisles. “Close to where you snagged that one from. I bet if he planted a letter in here somewhere, it happened that day. Let me see here.”
She pulled out her phone where she’d taken scans of her prior notes. “Okay, so, Datsuzoku (脱俗) is the Japanese aesthetic principle that means ‘free from habit or formula.’ My bookstore, if we’re to be completely honest, is not like many other bookstores. Some, including you, find it a little weird.” The bastard nodded in agreement. “In some ways, people think of Datsuzoku as a garden. A library or bookstore has been often referred to as a garden of books, a garden for bibliophiles.”
“Okay, so this may be a match.” Aries seemed fairly convinced of the possibility now, and got to his feet. “Let’s start searching.”
“Look in the men’s bathroom, Aries. I will look over in the divination books section.”
“He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t put a letter in a book like that.”
“Why not? It makes sense. This is a bookstore and that’s one of my most popular sections.”
“Because the book could get sold before I found it.”
“What was I thinking? You’re right. Okay, so let’s… oh, wait! You’re on to something!” She glanced at the books behind the register up at the counter. “Aries, I have some display books. They are never for sale. I keep them there for mere decoration. I believe Benjamin asked me about one of them and looked through it, but I can’t remember which one.” She raced over to the register, zigzagging between the customers. “Excuse me… pardon me… I’m so sorry, ma’am…” She began to grab books off the back shelf behind the counter, moving the vases of flowers out of the way and bringing the texts to her chest for inspection.
“Um, excuse me, Ms. Lauren, but I need some assistance since you’re here. Can you jump in and help me, please? That forty-eight-hour fifty percent off sale you’ve been running is what caused this.” Oh, shit. I forgot I had advertised that on our Facebook page. “Do you see this line?” The girl looked frazzled. Without a second to spare, Lauren quickly opened her register and got to work.
“I can take who’s next in line.” She didn’t miss Aries standing in the distance, a smirk on his face as he watched her roll up her sleeves and get busy. Both ladies were now ringing up customers, tossing mint tins and bookmarks in bags, and wishing them all a great evening.