He Use To Be A Son Of Anarchy

Chapter Thirteen: Interview with a Murderer

It was a Friday when I finally went back to work. As expected, Miss Wayforth wasn't very pleased about my disappearing act. But after I told her about my dad she cooled off a little. She did however take away my lunch breaks. This didn't bother me at all. Since my dad died I couldn't bring myself to eat anyway.

So when she announced that she was going out for lunch I was more than happy to spend some time away from her sour face. I was miserable and I had so many regrets. I spoke to Rosa the night before and she told me not to worry about a thing. She would plan my father's cremation. She knew I wasn't going to cope. But that was Rosa for you; she knew me better than anyone.

I was not going to attend my dad's memorial service. Rosa knew that too. I never had been any good with goodbyes and neither was my dad.

Some people would have called me cruel and insensitive for this. But that's the one thing about me that I was actually proud of; I never really gave a fuck what anyone thought of me. Honestly, do you think a girl who leaves everything behind to move to a shitty little town and chases after a story that she thinks she's going to get from a crook really cares about the opinions of others? I don't think so.

I stacked two books on dam building on top of each other and headed off to the shelves to put them back in place. I stood there for a while in a sort of daze. Would my mother be at the memorial service? Suddenly I felt myself no longer caring about it. I lost my dad. He was my only real parent. My mother is nothing more now than a stranger that just happened to carry me for nine months and spent the next few years after my birth blaming me for her shitty life.

Helen Tanner was nothing of me. And that wouldn't change.

"Val?" a low whisper from the front came.

I headed back to the information desk and saw Jax trying to peek into the office from where he stood.

"I'm here," I said from behind him.

He turned around. His overalls were covered in car grease and oil and he strongly smelled of both substances too.

"I thought you were in the back. Listen..." but he couldn't continue. Right then Deputy Sheriff May walked into the library.

He nodded to Jax in a polite manner of greeting and turned to me. "Sorry to interrupt," he began, "But I'm looking for Abby. Is she here?" He took off his hat and eyed me expectantly.

It took me a minute to realise who he was referring to because as far as I knew no Abby worked here. But then I realised who he was referring to. Miss Wayforth's first name was Abby? Hardly suits her. I expected Medusa or something. Maybe even Lucy (short for Lucifer of course).

I blinked myself back into reality.

"She's out. Didn't say where she was going."

He looked disappointed. "Oh."

His shoulders dropped along with his head. He seemed genuinely disappointed. This was something I didn't understand. Why would anyone actually look forward to speaking to her?

"I could give her a message?" I suggested.

"I'd rather talk to her in person," he said sadly. He was fiddling with his hat. I finally worked up the courage to ask the woman out and now she's not even here."

Both Jax and I stifled a laugh. Harold turned around mumbling to himself, put his hat back on his head and went out the door.

"Wow," I said when he was out of earshot.

Jax shook his head. He was smiling. Something I had never seen him do before.

"You were saying something?" I prompted.