Elijah Griggs (egriggs) wrote in casefile, @ 2018-04-16 23:20:00 |
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After the conversation with Megan, Elijah had incentive to revisit his bookshelves. He had already taken a few of the double copies he had of several of his books and placed them in a small box. He was weird about his library, but he had always imagined that someday he would have a big house with big rooms that he could line with books. His future involved Megan, he hoped, and he assumed she would feel at home with a library that was all her own. It had a been a few minutes since their contact on the network, but Eli was antsy for her to call. So much so that he called her instead. He shouldered the phone as he knelt next to the shelves and read each of the titles to himself as the line rang. The Three Musketeers? It was a classic, but the library already had a copy. No sense in doubles. Except for his own. He was even fortunate enough to have a few signed copies of select novels. “Hey, you,” he said, when the other line picked up. “You on your way?” There was a bit of an extra spring in Megan's step as she gathered her things after finishing up at work. As she was walking out of the library, she slung her bag over her shoulder and was reaching in to dig around for her phone when it started ringing. Retrieving it from her bag, she glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Eli. With a smile, Megan tapped the green button and brought the phone up to her ear, reaching up with the other hand to brush a stray lock of hair out of her face. "Hi Eli," she answered. At his question, her smile broadened to a big grin. "I am, in fact. I just left the library and was just about to call you. You seem awfully eager to start that game of yours." “I’ve got a thing for games, Megs,” he offered as he pulled out another volume and added it to the pile. “I like to play, but I also like to win.” "Who says you're going to win?" she asked, stopping at a corner and waiting for the road to be clear before crossing. "However, it sounds like everyone wins this game of yours." Eli laughed. “We’re both definitely going to win. I assume it’s an easy game to play. Do the size of the books matter or are you mostly interested in quantity?” "Well, I guess that going by your rules, it would be more about quantity. After all, it's not the size that matters, right?" “Some of them are really small,” he replied. “I just wanted to make sure they were fine for donation. I guess I could combine a few to count as one book. It feels a little like cheating.” "Well, maybe for the small books you have to trade one of your own pieces of clothing along with the book. It would only be fair." “Fair is fair,” he said, laughing again. “Are you going to give me an accurate count on how much you’re wearing or are you going to force me to give away everything for a peek at your bra?” "If you can be a little patient, you'll be able to see for yourself," Megan teased. "But I think our game might be a little short." “What, are you going to rip your clothes off the moment you walk in? Where’s the mystery? The intrigue? I thought you were going to do a strip tease.” He tossed another few books into the box and then stopped to look through the pile. Most of them were assigned from school. There were a few kids’ books that he figured he didn’t really need. He dropped down to the next shelf and continued to thumb his way along the spines. “Or am I the one doing the strip tease? I can’t remember what we agreed on.” "I would never tear my clothes off!" Megan feigned maidenly shock, then giggled. "I'm just not wearing all that much." Eli groaned quietly. “You’re killing me, Megs. Killing me.” It hadn’t been that long since their last excursion, but their playful banter had made him eager to start their game. “How close are you?” Megan grinned. "Need I remind you that this was your idea? You're killing yourself, I'm just helping." She paused again at a corner, though she had to wait a little longer this time. "Only a few blocks away now…" “Hey, you’ve got a hand in this. You’re not innocent with all your comments. And now, apparently, you’re not wearing much,” he replied. Eli paused his hand over a book that he’d left on the shelf for almost as long as he’d had it. Nathan had gotten it for him before he left the last time. A consolation prize or something for having been the shittiest dad of the year. Well, besides Ian’s dad. They probably shared the title with ease. He’d kept the stupid thing out of sentimental value, but Nate had been in town for over ten years now with no sign of leaving. It was probably time to get rid of it. “What’s your feeling on Star Wars novels?” he asked after a minute of staring at the cover. "I'll have you know, I've been not wearing much all day," Megan countered. The street was clear now, so she crossed quickly, then slowed down a bit because it was hard to move fast for long in heels. "Star Wars novels? I think those would actually be a hit, there are some younger boys who seem to love all things Star Wars, especially with the newer movies. You have some?" “You’re clearly relying on the stereotype of ‘hot librarian’,” he offered breezily. “But yeah. I have an anthology of short stories. Something about the galactic empire. Nate gave it to me before he left last time. I’m not sure why I’ve kept it so long, to be honest.” "Hey, there are some expectations in this line of work, I just do my best to meet them." She looked down at the dress she was wearing, which was actually more on the modest end of the spectrum, honestly. But it did have a bit of a tricky zipper up the back. Maybe she should get Eli to help with that. "Well, maybe it's time to let go of it?" “Are you saying that because you want to aid in my catharsis or because you want more books for the donation pile?” he teased. "It's mostly for your catharsis, but also partly for the game." “Touché,” he said. “In it goes. I never read it, but hopefully the kids at the library will like it. You’ll have to let me know.” He tossed the book beside him into the pile, but it toppled off of the edge of the box and landed on the floor with a loud CRACK! Jumping, he turned to find it to put it back into the donation pile. As he reached for it, he noticed something wedged between the pages. Pulling on the corner, he dragged out an old Polaroid picture. Blinking in confusion, he guided himself off of his knees and into the kitchen where the lights were better. He held the photo up for better inspection and nearly dropped the phone. “What the fuck!” he shouted. “Oh, jesus!” He was holding a topless photo of Cora March. She was unmistakable. And worse, it was clearly taken through what looked like her bedroom window. “Megs,” he started, “I hate to do this, but I have to cancel. Something just came up.” Megan jumped a little when she heard the loud noise through the phone. "You ok?" she asked. And then he started shouting, and she pulled the phone back from her ear, startled. Stopping where she was, she put the phone back to her ear. "What do you mean you have to cancel? What happened? Are you ok?" “I have to go. I’m sorry. I love you, I’ll explain later, but I can’t do this right now. I’ll call you.” Eli quickly hung up the phone without another word and stared at the picture for another moment before he flipped it over. Looking around, he tried to think of the best place to put it. The last thing he needed was someone else finding it. And then he was going to find out why he had the photo in the first place. |