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A Librarian At The Races Part 5

Capone led Holly and Darzin to a beautifully appointed room high above the race track where only the wealthiest and most influential patrons were allowed — except, of course, for the people they paid to serve them and clean up after them. It never seemed to occur to wealthy and influential people that their “grunt workers” had the same furnishings and view (and, in the kitchen, the same food and drink) as the employers, and got paid, besides. And the wealthy and influential thought THEY were the clever ones.

At any rate, Capone led the investigators into the room, where one man was surrounded by sycophants.

“That man there,” said Moriarty Capone. “He calls himself Buck Bronco, and he fancies himself the king of criminals.”

“Does he, indeed?” said Darzin, in a very policemany voice.

Bronco turned to the interlopers. “Who’s this?” he asked. “I don’t recall inviting you or them to my private box.”

“These,” Capone announced, “are High Head Librarian of Council City Holly Jahangiri and her partner, District Police Investigator (Meadow of Flowers Province) Pel Darzin. You’re pinched, mate.”

The sycophants stepped unobtrusively away from Bronco and gently oozed out the door.

“Did you stitch me up?” said Bronco. “What about that nephew of yours?”

“I didn’t stitch you up,” said Capone. “I told you the farmer would go for help. You can’t abuse pratties and not expect the farmer to notice.”

“City boy,” Holly muttered in an aside to Darzin.

“Who cares about pratties?” said Bronco with a most unattractive snort.

“You’ll find out,” said Darzin, laying the heavy hand of the law on Bronco’s shoulder.

Bronco shrugged off the hand and drew a knife.

He dropped the knife more quickly than he had drawn it when Holly bonged him over the head with a serving tray.

The court case was short and, for the wronged farmer, sweet. Because Moriarty Capone was deeply sorry for his part in the scheme, and because his nephew testified on his behalf and had very good manners, he was let off with ten years servitude on the wronged farmer’s pratty ranch. He changed his name to Everdene BoPeep and lived a blameless life evermore.

Buck Bronco was defiantly unapologetic. He threatened the judge, tried to bribe the jury, and gave each prosecution witness the dirtiest looks ever seen in a decent court. He was sentenced to life in the worm trenches, and only got off that easily because the judge’s favorite aunt had known Bronco’s mother when they were girls.

Holly and Darzin returned to their vacation, and enjoyed it all the more for having righted a wrong and having made the world a better place.

For those who don’t know, years and years ago, I wrote a novel (currently out of print) set on Llannonn, a planet where courtesy is literally the law. When I went on a blog book tour for the novel, I ran a contest for naming a character in a short story set in the same world. Fellow writer Holly Jahangiri (the real one) was such a determined contestant, I named a character after her, too. That character commandeered the story, and I’ve been writing about her ever since.
I write a Holly story on the Sundays of Story A Day May.
Holly Jahangiri (the fictional one) becomes, is, and retires as a Librarian at a library for living books. It seems that somebody on Llannonn read Fahrenheit 451 and decided a library of people who recite books they’ve memorized was a great idea. Typically for Llannonn, they officialized it. Becoming a living book is now a respectable career, provided you can get a gig in a library.

MY PROMPT FOR TODAY: Holly Jahangiri

MA

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