[Where were you during the party?]
You want me to tell you everything I did from 3:30 to 5? Geez, I hope you’re ready to be here for a while.
During the Holiday Party, I was on the circulation desk while Anya staffed the children’s area. Tricia tried to argue that we didn’t need anyone back there, since most of the patrons would be in the program, and that she could really use Anya’s help with keeping track of anything, but I learned my lesson last year. It’s usually best to keep someone back there, otherwise the teens get a bit rowdy. I can’t see the Teen Space from the circulation desk, and they like Anya better anyway. But I think they had mostly cleared out by 4:30 at the latest, because there was a basketball game at the high school that night.
[Did you go anywhere during the program?]
Well, yeah. I ran to the restroom once, when it was pretty dead. Probably around 4, maybe 4:15. Only people in the library with me were Georgia and some guy from town hall, but he was gone when I came back out. I checked in on Tricia in the meeting room then, but she and Leroy seemed fine, so I went back to the desk.
[Georgia?]
She’s one of our regulars. Likes to sit in the Quiet Reading Room most of the day and make a fuss when the newspaper isn’t out on time, or there aren’t any new coupons to clip. I’ve tried to explain to her that we put out what we have, but other patrons don’t always donate the coupons they don’t use.
So anyway, I was at the circ desk until the program let out at five. Most of the families left right around then. I saw a man dressed as Santa Claus enter the library and head towards the meeting room. I figured it was Albert, the guy we usually hire for our Holiday Parties. He didn’t show up on time and Tricia was pissed. Made Leroy dress up in the library’s Santa suit and had him in the program, even though he didn’t want to and it’s above his pay grade, usually.
[What’d you do after that?]
Well, Kelly Warner and her oldest daughter left the meeting room right around that time, and a few minutes later I started to hear shouting. When I went into the meeting room, Albert was in Tricia’s face. I asked what was going on, but Tricia waved it off as nothing. I don’t—as manager, I usually try to step in to handle patron altercations, but Tricia’s been here longer than me and I don’t like leaving the circulation desk unattended for too long, so I went back out. He left a few minutes later.
[Was there anything off about him?]
[Silence]
Now that you mention it… his gloves looked like they had paint on them or something. They were red. Really red.
[What happened then?]
I was answering Lonnie’s questions—Lonnie Evans, he’s another one of our regulars. He came in around the time that the program let out and started hanging around the circ desk, asking his weird reference questions.
[Such as?]
Like—“How hot would a fire have to be to melt a freezer,” and “how long does it take for a corpse to decompose?” It’s weird stuff until you get to know him. He’s pretty harmless, I just think he’s weird. Told me once he was writing a whodunit mystery. Georgia came up to complain again about the coupons, and I told her I was sorry, maybe we’d have some more tomorrow. She left, and I went to go clean up the quiet reading room. She always leaves it a mess after she’s been in there for a while.
[What time was that?]
I don’t know, about 5:15?
[Where was Lonnie while you did this?]
Normally he'd go look at the DVDs or graphic novels, but this time he followed me into the reading room to keep asking questions. They were relatively tame for Lonnie, so I can't say I minded. He even helped clean up a bit.
[How long were you in the reading room? Do you have a sightline to the rest of the library?]
We were in there for a few minutes—no more than five. And I can see the circulation desk pretty well from there, so I kept an eye out to see if anyone walked in last minute, but no one did. I can't see towards the meeting room or the children's area, though.
[What did you do after you finished cleaning?]
It was getting close to closing time, so I went into the staff area to count the money box. It’s mostly for patron payments, when they damage a book or lose one, but we also have a bit of petty cash in there that we use for program supplies, stuff like that. It was mostly gone, since Tricia used it to buy the cookie decorating stuff.
[What happened after that?]
I talked to Leroy briefly. He was getting changed out of the Santa suit and complaining about it the whole time. When I went back out to the circulation desk, he came with me and then headed out onto the floor. He said he was going to block shelves in the teen space. They’re terrible when it comes to putting stuff away neatly. I stayed by the circulation desk for a few more minutes, and I think I answered another one of Lonnie’s questions. Then it was, I don’t know, 5:27? So I gave Lonnie the closing warning and started on my loop.
[Loop?]
Yeah. As the PIC—Person in Charge—I have to do a walk through of the building, check that it’s clear of patrons, make sure the emergency doors are locked properly, stuff like that. I saw Leroy heading towards the bathrooms on my way to the quiet reading room, and then I went to the meeting room, where—
[Voice breaks. There’s silence for a long moment]
[It’s okay, you can take your time.]
Can I have a minute?
[[End recording.]]
