Read Online School's Out for Murder (Schooled in Murder Book 2) by Tracy D. Comstock - Free Book Online Page B

"Are you alright?"
    "Oh," Susanna let loose a high, nervous-sounding laugh. It was obvious her nerves were stretched to the breaking point. "It's all this business with the mayor being murdered. I just can't believe we've had two murders in our beautiful town in the same year. What's becoming of our world, Emily?"
    Susanna started to wander through the still-bustling carnival crowd, so Emily fell into step beside her. "I don't know, Susanna. It's frightening to contemplate such violence existing in our safe little world. Did you know the mayor well?" Emily tried not to wince at the little white lie, but she decided she might as well feel the woman out while she had the chance.
    "Actually, we went to school together." The librarian scuffed the toe of her sandal lightly against the ground, not meeting Emily's eyes.
    "Oh, really? What was she like back then?" Emily tried to keep her question casual, but she was taken aback by the sharp glance that Susanna threw her way. Her eyes had turned absolutely glacial, and she gave a disdainful sniff.
    "I have to say, Janice was always a force to be reckoned with. What she wanted, she got, no matter what the cost." Besides the anger, bordering on hatred, which Emily saw in Susanna's face, she noticed a lingering trace of sadness. Could the librarian still be carrying a torch for Larry McBain? That would certainly put an interesting spin on things.
    "I take it you two weren't friends?" Emily tried to lighten the tone of the conversation.
    This time Susanna let out a harsh laugh, and the lines of her face went hard. "Hardly. But come to think of it, I'm not sure Janice ever had a true friend. You have to be a friend to have one. She was better at making enemies."
    Emily wanted to prod her a little more, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tad headed their way. Susanna glanced up and saw him, too, and Emily watched as she worked to compose her face back into its normal, placid lines. "Tad, I'm glad to run into you. I've placed the new Richard Castle novel back for you, also."
    "Thank you, Susanna," Tad replied, smiling down at her. When Susanna didn't answer, he frowned over her head at Emily, clearly wondering what he had walked up on. Before either one of them could say a word to the silent librarian, however, she suddenly turned and headed in the opposite direction.
    "See you both later," she called hurriedly over her shoulder, and then she was gone, swallowed up by the boisterous crowd.
    "Was it something I said?" Tad asked, only half-joking.
    Emily turned back in the direction of her booth, heaving a bone-weary sigh. "Tad, sometimes I wonder if we ever truly know the people around us. It seems like everyone has a secret to hide." To her surprise, her voice had gone thick with tears.
    "Hey, hey," Tad said softly, stopping to pull her into the circle of his arms. "Rough day?"
    "You could say that," Emily murmured into his broad chest, inhaling the musky, yet fresh smell that was so uniquely Tad. "But we have something fun planned for tonight," she told him, looking up into his concerned eyes.
    "Oh, do we?" Tad questioned, tucking his arm securely around her as they continued on toward the English department's booth. His eyebrows waggled suggestively. "A quiet night in, perhaps?" he asked, his voice husky.
    "'Fraid not," Emily laughed, giving him a light nudge in the ribs with her elbow. "After our lunch with Amelia, we decided she could definitely use some more fun in her life. We suggested a girls' night out, but she wanted us to do a couples' night instead. She's anxious to introduce us to her boyfriend."
    "Amelia has a boyfriend?" Tad asked, sounding as surprised as Emily and Gabby had been. "You'd think that information might have been circulating in the gossip mill, especially since you said she's been accused of having an affair with Larry."
    "Well, hopefully, we can all have a nice evening and help Amelia put some of this unpleasantness behind her. We're doing a barbeque at