Richard “Ree” Edgarly starts his latest librarian’s job in Napier, loving the city’s Art Deco heritage. When he’s told it houses its own ghost, Ree confesses he’s skeptical about such things. But his colleague Beth insists it’s the ghost of the man whose house formed the earliest part of the library. She explains David was killed by his cousin, and no one believed her grandmother Anna, a witness at the time. Beth believes David is trying to get justice to rest in peace.
When Ree goes to help an elderly patron, he’s sent into the past, where he becomes a ghost of the future in David’s time. He quickly discovers that it’s Anna who haunts the library, and she begs him to save David. But warns him there will still have to be a death that night. Ree vows to save the man he’s come to love, but if he succeeds, will his own life be forfeit.
By the time his first week at the library was over, Ree was confident he knew where all the book sections were located, how to use the computer system, and had even been down into the cellars. But not once had he needed to deal with anything in the least bit supernatural Nothing spooky, out of the ordinary, or by any definition, paranormal.
As he wheeled some books along an aisle, he smiled to see an elderly lady dithering at the crossroads of the junction ahead of him. As if sensing his approach, she turned and offered an anxious smile.
“Oh, hello. Are you a member of staff here?” she asked.
“Yes,” Ree nodded. “Can I help you?”
“Oh, yes. Yes, indeed you can. I feel such a fool saying this, but I’m lost.”
“No worries.” Ree insisted soothingly. “Now, just what section were you looking for?”
“Oh, I just know what I’m looking for is just down one of these passages. Would you mind?” The woman indicated ahead, while slipping an arm firmly around one of Ree’s. “I’d feel so much better with some company. You know, they do say the place is haunted.”
“Yes, well I wouldn’t worry about that kind of gossip...” Ree started, but let the words trail away as the woman led him along a passageway he didn’t recognise. “You know, I don’t think I’ve been shown along here.”
“Yes, yes, dear.” The old lady nodded. “Somewhere along here.”
Ree sighed, assuming the woman’s hearing was as poor as her eyesight, when she gave an exclamation.
“There.” She pointed. “I think I see a door.” She released her hold and dashed on ahead, leaving Ree to chase after her.
“Just a minute, ma ... madam?” Ree looked around, but there was no sign of the woman, and he sighed heavily. “Where the fuck did she slip off to? Hello, is that a door?”
Peering ahead in the dimness of the passageway, Ree reached out and located a handle. As he opened the door, a strong, cool breeze whipped up around him, and he staggered forward before he could look clearly beyond it.
For a moment, Ree felt as if there were cobwebs in his face, and a lingering chill, then he was staring into a cozy room. Three walls were devoted to floor to ceiling bookcases, the fourth had a large fireplace, with an antique wooden mantlepiece surrounding it.
“Well, Beth never showed me this room. Who the fuck sets a fire like this. Or maintains and cleans it?” Ree moved slowly into the centre of the room, turning in a slow circle to take it all in.
There was a solid wooden table with thickly cushioned matching chairs, and two big leather armchairs either side of the fire. A low wooden table sat between them, and Ree could imagine sitting in one of them with a book in one hand, and a whisky in the other.
“How very civilised,” he murmured. “I wonder why Beth didn’t show me this room. Come to think of it, where the fuck did that lady go?” He looked around. Then frowned. There was no sign of the door he’d come through.
Instead of the door, was another floor to ceiling bookcase. Ree moved closer, wondering if there was a hidden switch to reveal the opening he’d come through. He ran his fingers over the spines of the books, then along the wood of the shelving.
Nothing. This is ridiculous. I walked in here. There must be some way of my walking back out.
He was so preoccupied with checking the books and their shelving, that he didn’t immediately realise that he wasn’t alone. It was only the soft sound of a sharply inhaled breath that caused him to turn around.
A vision stood in the doorway on the opposite side of the room. The stranger wore a purple velvet suit, and his shirt looked like cream silk, fastened at the throat with a purple-hued broach. With his shoulder-length auburn hair, and wide, green eyes, he was a dream come to life for Ree.
But before either of them could speak, Ree felt a breeze whip up around him, its force increased, pushing him back, away from the newcomer. The moment his back touched the bookshelves, irresistible suction pulled him backward.
There was a moment’s disorientation, then he was back in the library’s passageway, facing a blank wall, no sign of a door, the stranger, or the lady he’d been assisting. For a moment, Ree ran his hands over the wall, but there was nothing to show that a door had ever been there.
“What the fuck just happened?” Ree looked around.
