Not Quite Dead (A Lowcountry Mystery)

Chapter Twenty-One

There doesn't seem to be any point in hanging around the hospital after Amelia falls asleep. She makes me promise to come back for dinner, and to bring her something that's not hospital food—she and I share an aversion to Jell-O that neither of our grandparents ever understood. I agree before heading out to the parking lot and then taking a right to hike back toward the center of town.

My phone's in my hand, Melanie's number punched in, the moment I'm free of the doors.

"Hello? Gracie? Is everything okay with Amelia and the baby?"

"Yes, at least for now. They've stopped the contractions and don't foresee a repeat."

"Did they find out why it happened?" The edge in her voice makes me smile. Mama Bear Mel.

"They said she somehow ingested some kind of herbs that can induce labor."

"How?"

"We don't know. The stupid doctor was acting like she might have done it on purpose, but obviously that's not the case." Even though things are bad at home, and Jake is not going to make a gold-star father, I have to believe Millie would leave him before harming her child. Have to.

"Okay, well, I guess that's good news. Maybe later we can help her go over everything she ate or drank today and figure out where she got into it. We definitely don't want to go through that again."

"Sure. I told her I'd be back with dinner by six thirty. We could grab takeout from the Wreck and eat with her."

"Sounds good." A squeal in the background shatters my eardrum. Grant is going to steal her attention sooner than later. "I need a favor, Mel."

"Okay..." Her hesitation is warranted, knowing the kind of favors I've asked her for over the years.

At least this one's legal.

"I'm running back to the library to grab my purse and keys—is there any way you could meet me there? I have something to tell you, and it can't wait."

"Sure, I think that can work. Will should be home any time, so I can leave Grant. Fifteen minutes?"

"See you then."



Melanie rushes into the library a mere ten minutes later, red-cheeked and sweaty. I sit on one side of a table made for first-graders, because it's the farthest from the front desk. She sits on the other side, and no doubt the two of us look pretty funny. Like giants.

It's not even that Anne's diaries are a secret, at least they won't be for much longer, but Mrs. LaBadie has done everything in her power to make my life more difficult, and after she creeped me out earlier, I've never wanted less for her to overhear. If it weren't nine hundred degrees outside I would have waited on the steps.

"Hey, sorry. Will was running late." She sucks in more air, pressing her palms against the table. "Man. I've got to get in better shape. What's up?"

"Okay, so you know how Amelia was in the archives earlier today looking for something for me?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, it turns out you might have the answer. I'm looking for genealogical information on the family of Mary Read. The pirate."

"I know who she is, Gracie. She's a relation. My granny's side."

Mel says this as if it's no big deal, as though she's commenting on my dress or the fact that it's still a bazillion degrees outside. My mouth falls open, but in the back of my mind, I'm not sure why it surprises me. It's exactly the kind of information that wouldn't impress her.