Page 42 of Unruly
We walk over to a table where the librarian gestures for us to sit down. Then she walks over to a shelf and pulls out several books, walks them over to us, and sets them down on the table with a soft thud.
“Here you go, gentlemen, this will get you started. These are our most popular and most updated works on this particular person. If you have any questions, please let me know.”
She walks away, and Borja flips open the first book. “So, what exactly are we looking for? Because he’s dead.”
“Yes, he’s dead. So, we’re looking for any victims that might stand out, victims he might have had some reason to revisit, their family members, or any surviving victims he may have had. Horrors don’t always have a good sense of how much time has passed. Perhaps the Horror may think that the victims who got away are still alive, or they may be attempting to torment the victim’s family. We should definitely find out who the husband was who killed him in real life. Perhaps there’s a lead there too.” I flip open one of the books. “I think we just want to read through this as quickly as we can, look for things that might stand out, make notes, and see if there are any trails we can find.”
Borja smiles. “Okay, I can do that.” He flips a few pages and leans forward over the book.
“Man, this is gonna take a while, isn’t it?”
“I can’t think of a better way right now. We need something to go on—a name, a location, anything to get us started. Otherwise, I don’t know where to go.”
“I understand.”
The two of us stop speaking and focus on the books in front of us.
I can speed read, and I’m not sure how fast Borja can read, but he seems to be doing a good job, and he’s very focused on the situation.
Some time passes and a shadow appears over my shoulder.
I turn to my left to see a young woman standing beside us. She’s pale and skinny, but her cheeks are flushed vivid pink, giving her a strange appearance.
“Hello,” she says softly. “I have a strange question.”
Borja looks over at her. “Sure, what’s up?”
“You wouldn’t happen to be researching the paranormal or the occult, would you?”
My brow crinkles. “Not exactly. Why do you ask?”
She sits down in the chair across the table from us. “This is probably gonna sound really weird, but I think I have a message for you.”
“A message?” Borja asks. “Do we know you?”
“No.” She smiles, tucking a strand of brunette hair behind her ear. “I get messages from the other side a lot. Too much. My name is Katie.”
“Hello, Katie.” I’m interested now. “You’re getting messages from the other side?”
“Yeah, it’s happened to me since I was a kid. It’s really annoying, especially when I’m at the library. But I’m a student, and Ineedto be at the library.” Her eyes drift up as if someone is speaking to her.
I glance up to see the ceiling of the library covered with benign spirits. “Oh my.”
“You can see them?”
“Yes, but none of them are attempting to speak to me.”
“There’s a lot of spirits here. They love libraries and hang out here, but they aren’t the ones poking me, and I really need to deliver this message so I can get back to work.” She smiles. “If you don’t mind.”
Borja looks at me and half shrugs.
“By all means,” I say. “If you have a message for us, we’re listening.”
“How do you know it’s for us?” Borja asks.
“Oh, the messenger specifically told me to look for a man in a blue bow tie who looks like he should be onstage with Frank Sinatra. That looks like him.”
Borja chuckles, patting me on the shoulder. “That’s definitely him.”
