A Body in the Attic : Myrtle Clover #16

Chapter Eight

Miles looked alarmed at this pronouncement. "Raid my shelves?"

Myrtle stood and swept over to the wall, studying the volumes of books. "Yes. Well, there's far too much Faulkner here, but we can take a representative tome. Perhaps Absalom, Absalom." She plucked it from the shelf.

Myrtle frowned as she peered at his shelves. "You're rather fond of Thomas Hardy, too. Surprising."

Miles sounded defensive. "What's surprising about it?"

Myrtle ignored the question. "We'll skip Jude, the Obscure and bring Tess of the d'Urbervilles."

Her arms now full of rather heavy books, she thrust them at Miles.

"I'll find some tote bags," he said, a bit coldly.

Myrtle continued selectively pulling out books. She handed over Anna Karenina, Wuthering Heights, Great Expectations, Animal Farm, Slaughterhouse Five, and The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Miles shifted on his feet, looking sadly into the tote bags. "I want these books back in good condition, Myrtle."

She stared at him. "What on earth could possibly happen to them? We're at book club, not a bacchanalian festival."

Miles looked unhappily at her. "I remember a couple of times when book club descended into the realm of bacchanalia."

"Well, it's not going to happen today. There will be no alcohol at a library event, so that will nip all the bad players in the bud. We're going to discuss books. And murder." Myrtle saw her reflection in a mirror on Mile's wall. "Mercy! Miles, you didn't tell me my hair was standing up on end like Einstein's."

Miles tilted his head to one side. "I don't think I really noticed it."

"Okay, well, it clearly needs attention. I need to go home for a few minutes anyway to get the food I'm bringing. Since we're carrying so much stuff, we should drive to the library instead of walking there."

"I'll pick you up in ten minutes," said Miles, looking gloomily down at the bags of his books.

Fifteen minutes later, they were at the library. The front desk unlocked the community room for Myrtle and she strode in. "Let's see. I think we should change the configuration of the tables a little so everyone isn't at the front of the room. Let's have the food table to the left and the drinks table to the right."

Miles looked alarmed. "I thought you said there weren't going to be any drinks."

"Non-alcoholic beverages. Tippy is responsible for bringing them this month, I believe. The chairs are all good. Now, let's scatter the books around. They're the most important part of the meeting, after all. I happened to bring some plate stands from home to put the books on." Myrtle dug in her huge purse and pulled out the wooden plate stands.

Myrtle and Miles set the books up on plate stands on the two tables. Then Myrtle took Elaine's baking out and put it on one of the tables.

Tippy, president of the book club, bustled in with bags of her own. As usual, she was wearing an elegant outfit . . . this time in black and white. Her face was perfectly made-up and she was very organized. The only annoying thing about Tippy in regard to the book club was that she picked ridiculous books when it was her turn to select one.

She smiled at them both. "You're here early. Thanks for setting this up, Myrtle. The library is a great idea."

Myrtle said, "Oh, I thought it was time to go back to our roots, you know. Books." She threw a scornful look at Tippy's selection for the month.