i should stop reading crime fiction for a while.

but you know i won’t.

i think that maybe it’s making me paranoid? lemme ‘splain.

weeks ago this guy came in the ‘brary wanting to get a card. he’s probably in his 40s. he was really charming and i liked him but had the thought in the back of my head, “he’s really charming. probably a serial killer. ha ha.” he told me who he was and that he’s related to this mom and daughter pair that come in about once a week.

the mom and daughter (let’s see, the mom is probably in her 70s and the daughter is in her 50s, and i figured they’re both retired cos they come in during the morning time usually) are some of my favorite patrons. they are both so sweet. the sweetest. the daughter gives us money for the fine drawer for poor kids who have fines on their cards and can’t pay. that’s how nice she is. the mom and the daughter have the same first name, and their last names are also similar. obviously i can’t tell you their names, so instead i’ll make up names: Hope Johnson and Hope Johnstone. seriously, their names are that similar.

so he says to me, “do you know Hope Johnson and Hope Johnstone?”

“i do know them. they are very sweet.”

“they are. that’s my mom and sister, the Hopes.”

“well, it’s nice to meet you.”

blah blah blah.

he came in two weeks ago and so i ask him, “hey, how’s the Hopes? i haven’t seen them in a while.”

and he tells me that they went on a cruise. well how cool is that? the sweet Hopes out on a cruise!

so okay, it’s been weeks now and i haven’t seen the Hopes at all. he comes in today and i ask him, “hey, where are the Hopes? did they have a nice cruise?”

and he, not smiling or anything, says, “they’re sleeping.” and that’s it. he doesn’t say anything else. not even thank you or good bye. nothing.

oh my gosh, you guys. they’re dead. i just know it! he’s murdered them! they’re buried in the backyard! they’re “sleeping” in the ground. *gasp* he’s a stone cold killer. and he’s killed the Hopes! the sweet, sweet Hopes! who could kill the Hopes? what kind of monster?!

i know! and i thought about calling them and acting like we had a book on reserve for one of them, but then i mean, what if they were just sleeping? i didn’t want to wake them up.

they’re totally in the backyard, aren’t they?

i should probably read something other than crime fic, huh?

Tags: books, library