Read Online Jacob's Ladder by Jackie Lynn - Free Book Online Page B

asked in a concerned tone. “You know, most adults do not get enough sleep. An average woman needs at least eight hours a night. And an above-average woman, which I believe includes the likes of both you and me”—she pointed first at herself, then at Rose—“needs nine.” She reached up and squeezed the younger woman on the arm. “Do you get nine hours of sleep, dear?”
    Rose shook her head. “I know, it sounds crazy.” She placed her elbows on the table and then dropped her chin in her hands.
    â€œHow did he know I had the bracelet? Why would he take it for only a minute? Who is he and why has he shown up now?” She sat slumped in her chair.
    â€œDrink your tea, Rose. It has chamomile in it. It will help soothe your nerves.”
    Rose took her cup of tea and drank a few sips. Then she returned the cup to the saucer and picked up the bracelet to examine it again. She slid her legs under the table, disturbing the dog. He yelped and moved closer to the older woman’s feet.
    â€œSorry, Mr. Perkins,” Rose said to the dog when she realized that she had kicked him.
    â€œCall him Lester Earl,” Ms. Lou Ellen said. “He never liked formalities.” Then she reached down and petted the dog on the head. “Except from his wife. He liked it when I called him ‘mister.’” She winked at Rose.
    The younger woman continued. “I just know that when I returned to the library table and reached in my pocket, the bracelet was not there. And then after I ran around searching for it and got back and felt for it again, it was there.” Rose was still sorting through the events that had occurred only a short time earlier.
    â€œWell, what were you doing before you realized that it was missing?” Ms. Lou Ellen asked. “Go over it all again with me.”
    â€œI got a couple of books from the reference section and then I found a table in the back, a table where I was sure no one could see me. When I first sat down, I started reading.”
    Rose considered her activity at the library. She suddenly recalled some of the facts that she had learned. “Did you know that there were people living here in the Mississippi valley at the same time Solomon was the king of Israel? Or that there was a place in northeastern Louisiana called Poverty Point, where sometime around the year 1500 B.C. it was probably the biggest and most prosperous place in North America?” Rose paused.
    Ms. Lou Ellen nodded. “The place with the bird mound,” she replied.
    Rose seemed surprised.
    â€œThat would be from my last husband, the history professor.”
    The dog whined from beneath the table.
    â€œOh Lester, he was long after you.” And she petted the dog again. “Anyway, I’m sorry for interrupting. Continue, dear.”
    â€œOkay, so I was reading from the books I had taken,” she said, then became sidetracked again. “We did some pretty horrible things to the Indians when we got here.”
    Ms. Lou Ellen nodded knowingly.
    â€œAnyway, I heard the librarian talking to a man, and for some reason I was intrigued by his voice, so I started listening to their conversation.” She paused.
    The older woman raised her eyebrows, “Eavesdropping,” she said in a whisper. She placed her index finger to her lips.
    â€œYes, I was eavesdropping,” Rose confessed. “I got up to see the Indian guy and I watched him walk away. I recognized him from before, when I had seen him at the sheriff’s office.”
    â€œThe tall, dark stranger,” Ms. Lou Ellen inserted.
    â€œRight. Then the librarian, who is quite an unlikable person, by the way—”
    â€œMiss Stokely,” Ms. Lou Ellen said, interrupting. “She’s still mad because the love of her life left her at the altar.” She took a sip of her tea and then whispered, “He left town with her sister.” She leaned in toward Rose.