Snippet #13346

Emily sighed as she pushed the cart containing the returned books down an eerily abandoned aisle in the silent empty library. She had volunteered to stay late to finish the job, but she hadn’t realized how many returns there were. It was growing late, and her stomach growled angrily, having long since finished with the hastily consumed granola bar she had eaten hours previously. The library after hours was silent as a tomb, and equally as peaceful and eerie. She paused for a moment, leaning against a shelf to pull down her favorite book. Flipping through the worn pages, she found her favorite line. Leaning back against the shelves, she whispered it quietly to herself. The whisper echoed around the empty shelves, a slight whirlpool of sound that brought goosebumps to her arms. She repeated it again, louder this time, listening to her voice bounce back to her.

Replacing the book, she resumed pushing the cart, the stack of returns slowly diminishing. Her mind was wandering and she contemplated what she would have for dinner. Checking her watch, she frowned at the current time displayed. It would be too late to stop at the small Korean place down the street from her tiny studio apartment on her way home. She considered the contents of her refrigerator and cabinets and sighed heavily at the realization that she would probably have to settle for a packet of ramen noodles. Again.

Smiling to herself as she reshelved the final book, Emily allowed herself an exultant “Ta-dah!” before turning to return the cart. Suddenly, she felt strange. The hair on the back of her neck prickled suddenly and goosebumps rose once again on her bare arms. She stopped moving, listening intently to the silence. Biting her lip nervously, she turned in a full circle, searching for the source of her unease. As she turned, she saw him. The sight of the man leaning against the end of the row of shelving in front of her made her jump, a noise of surprise escaping her lips. She blinked as he grinned at her shock.

“Damnit, Bennett, you scared the crap out of me! What are you doing here?” she admonished as she gripped the cart and tried to regain her wits.

Bennett, a balding man in his late forties, gestured to the gleaming badge pinned to his shirt somewhere between his fleshy jowls and obnoxious paunch. “I’m supposed to be here, Miss Emily.” He took a step closer to her, grinning. “You’re supposed to be home… or with your boyfriend…?” The last part was clearly a question, an unsubtle attempt at fishing for information.

Emily didn’t bite. She grabbed the handle of the cart and began pushing it back toward her desk, brushing past him when he didn’t move out of her way. The sound he made in the back of his throat as her shoulder connected with his startled her. “I was actually just about to leave,” she said quietly, feeling his presence behind her as she moved to her desk.

“There’s a story on the news about a madman loose in the city,” he said from immediately behind her.

Emily stiffened her shoulders as she grabbed her purse from her desk drawer. “This is New York,” she said dismissively. “There’s always a madman on the loose.” She reached inside her purse to where her pager was blinking, indicating someone had paged her. She scrolled through her recent pages, vaguely aware of Bennett rambling on about an escaped serial killer in Manhattan. Fourteen pages, all from her father and her uncle Sam. She sighed, picking up the handset of the phone on her desk, dialing her father’s number from memory.

The call was answered on the first ring with a terse “Hello?”

“Hi Dad, I just…”

“Where have you been Emily?” There was a sigh of relief and a rustle as the mouthpiece was covered so he could speak to someone, probably his wife, Emily’s stepmother. “She’s okay.” When he spoke again, his voice was unmuffled. “I’ve been calling and paging you for hours! Where have you been?”

Emily sighed, not understanding her father’s panic. “I’ve been at work, Dad. Finishing up. I’m about to go home.” She frowned, annoyed. “Why? What’s up?”

“A serial killer escaped a prison transport a few hours ago, between your work and home. I was scared to death that he’d gotten you.”

Emily couldn’t help but smile. “No, Dad, I’m fine. No serial killers around here.” She furtively glanced at Bennett who was listening to every word she said. I hope, she thought.

“Take a cab home,” her father cautioned her. “And call me when you get in.” She rolled her eyes at his words. “Sam has been busy chasing this one. He’s killed at least two since he escaped.”

Sam, her uncle, was a homicide detective with NYPD. If Sam had been worried enough to check on her, it must be bad. She bit her lip. “I’ll be fine, Dad. I’ll call you when I get home. Love you!” She hung up before turning and looking at Bennett. “He’s probably long gone,” she said quietly, shouldering her purse.

“All the same, Miss Emily, you should take a cab home.” Bennett looked at her, his unfortunate face worried.

Emily frowned as she mentally calculated the cost. It was tight enough as it was without adding the extra expenditure. “I’ll be fine, Bennett,” she laughed.

“At least let me walk you home…” he offered, wiping his sweaty palms down the legs of his polyester uniform pants.

She shook her head. “You have to work. The library won’t guard itself.” She moved to the door and pushed herself out into the night. She stood for a moment on the steps, staring at one of the granite lions that flanked them, contemplating for a moment the wisdom of walking the sixteen blocks home. Shrugging, she moved down the steps, her hand digging into her purse to wrap around the canister of mace like a talisman. She’d be fine. He was most likely gone.