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Once I was alone in ain I sat down atup when there was a knock at my door
Fatima marched in Six foot one, proud, and physically fit, Fatiuard unifors you here?”
She pulled a face and waved a dusty leather-bound book attoo many movies” She sat down on my desk and flipped the book open
Well, look at that
Thehidden in the hole was a makeshift shank “That’s a neay to hide a weapon”
“In Jane Austen,” Fatima huffed “They defiled Mr Darcy for this shit Don’t they know that entleman”
I chuckled “I don’t think they care about how entleman Mr Darcy is”
“See, that there is the proble library books to hide weapons, they should be educating theet”
“I heard they did that” I kne roups and to teach them computer skills, meant to Fatima “I’m sorry”
She sighed heavily “Shit, I kneas coot Anyhoas your date last night?”
“I told you it wasn’t a date” Andrew and I didn’t date
She shook her head in disappointment “You need your head checked So does this idiot you’re hooking up with Nothing sweeter than co day at work”
I looked at the gold wedding band she was subconsciously touching “That’s not what you said last hen you were co to do the laundry, or the week before, when his idea of doing food shopping consisted of buying a year’s supply of beer and Cheetos”
Fati?”
“Pretty much”
“It’s annoying”
“Noted” I laughed
“Okay, so I want to kill Derek as much as I want towith et yourself one and kick that Dr Commitment-Phobe to the curb”
“I told you, I like not being in a relationship”
She grunted at me like she didn’t believe s casual I’d never had a serious relationship in my life I came and went as I pleased I ot to live each day my way
And on the days I got a little “fris-frisky” I had Andrew on speed dial
“I’ot up from the desk with determination “How do you feel about chocolate?” She winked at me
Laughing, I shook ht now I am happy with my casual dose of vanilla”
“That particular slice of vanilla is boring” She huffed and her pager beeped She checked it and all amusement fled her features
“Everything okay?”
“Fight in the yard Gotta go”
“Be careful!” I called after her
“Always am”
The door slammed closed behind her and I felt a wave of uneasiness in o away until she returned to let me know she was okay
As I turned back to ht on the book Fatima had left onsad that the classic had been es and felt even sadder The book was printed in 1940 A vintage copy of Pride and Prejudice would have some value Not a lot, but some Mostly its value was in its history
And someone had destroyed it, completely oblivious to all that
I flicked through the broken pages to the end and was just about to put the book doith a sigh when
Hy—a little thicker than it should With curious fingers I prodded at it A faint line at the bottoaze It looked like the paper that covered the leather there had been cut and opened and then resealed
Why?
I pressed at the thickness
There was so in there
My heart rate started to speed up a little at the ht contain
I looked up at the glass s around
The book and Mr Darcy were already defiled so it wasn’t like I could do much further harm—I picked and picked at the line until eventually I was able to rip the paper back
“What the” I stared down at what had been placed inside the binding of the book Tipping them over onto my lap, I stared at four small envelopes
There was a name and address scrawled on all four
The same name and address
Mr George Beckwith
131 Providence Road
Hartwell, DE 19972
Had an inmate hidden these letters in the book?
And when?
My fingers itched to rip open one of the envelopes
The phone on ton,” I answered
“An in more serious than a deep cut”
“Thanks,” I said and hung up Without thinking about why, I stuffed the four little envelopes into lued the paper back down on the binding of the book and put it aside for Fatima for when she caain I sat down atup when there was a knock at my door