It was a cold Saturday afternoon in Santa Barbara. A freak weather system had come up and started covering the town with snow. The weather was supposed to take a turn for the worse that night, giving Santa Barbara another three or four inches of snow to top the two or three already on the ground.
Gus carefully pulled the Blueberry into a parking spot at the public library. "I don't know why you insist on coming with me everywhere."
"Are you kidding?" Shawn asked from the passenger seat. "After that incident at the bank? I don't wanna lose you."
"Then how about you pay for the overdue video?"
"It's not my fault you lost it under a pile of newspapers."
"The newspapers you put on the table."
"At least they were off the floor."
"Two weeks after I told you to pick them up."
"Fine. I'll stop cleaning if this is how you're gonna act."
The two pulled their coats around themselves as they exited the car. The wind started blowing harder, almost pushing the two men into the library's doors.
It was pretty dead inside. Gus walked up to the desk, hoping a worker would sense he was there and come take his money so he could go back to the warmth of his apartment.
"Dude," Shawn said. "It's really quiet in here."
"It's a library, Shawn."
"I'm aware of that. But this is like..." Shawn paused, looking around. "Death quiet. Is anybody else here?"
"There has to be. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to get in. And I'm pretty sure I saw a few other cars in the parking lot." Gus craned his neck, trying to see in the backroom for a sign of a worker. "Hello?" he called in his somewhat-loud-but-still-considered-an-inside-voice voice.
"Come on, dude. Let's leave. We can come back tomorrow."
"Tomorrow's Sunday, Shawn."
"And?"
"And the library's closed on Sundays."
Shawn turned to Gus. "Really?" Gus just gave Shawn a look. "Well, I still say we should go. What's two more days really gonna do?"
"Add fifty cents to my fee, Shawn. Besides, somebody's probably waiting for this."
"Dude, who else besides you would be waiting for a documentary on tree frogs?"
Gus cast one more look around the circulation desk. It did seem strangely dark. "Okay," he said. "Let's go.
Shawn and Gus walked back to the front doors of the library. The doors, however, didn't budge.
"See?" he said, turning to Gus. "This is why I don't go to the library."
"Why would they lock the doors?" Gus asked. "Couldn't they see our car in the parking lot?"
Shawn looked out the glass of the door. All he could see was the swirling snow. "I doubt it."
"Oh my God. We're locked in the library. What are we gonna do? We're gonna be stuck here for two days."
"You're overreacting." Shawn said. He pulled his phone out and hit speed-dial.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Suze. I just wanted to make sure you had enough food and stuff, since the weather's turned for the worse."
"Uh, yeah, I think so."
"Good. And the power's still on?"
"Sure…"
"Good, good."
"Shawn, where are you?"
"Funny story. Gus and I are locked in the library."
"What?"
There was some noise on Susie's end of the line.
"Suze?" No answer. "Suze? You there?"
"Shawn."
Shawn and Gus turned around. Susie was standing behind them, phone in hand. Shawn looked at the phone in his hand and hung up. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I was getting some research done for a paper."
"How'd you get here?" Gus asked.
"Bus. Now, what are you two doing here?"
"We came to return a video."
"The one about tree frogs?"
"Yeah, I—wait. How'd you know about that?"
"I saw it under the pile of newspapers on the table."
"And you didn't tell me when I was looking for it?"
"I didn't know you were looking for it."
"I specifically asked you, 'Have you seen the tree frog video?'."
"And was I paying attention to you when you asked?"
Gus gave Susie the same look he'd given Shawn earlier. Susie looked past Shawn and Gus at the doors. "So, we're really locked in?"
"Looks that way." Shawn said.
"Well, that's unfortunate. Have you called the police or the fire department?"
"Not yet." Shawn took his phone back out and hit another speed-dial number.
"Hello?" There was a strange echo.
"Jules?"
"Hey, Shawn." The same echo was noticeable.
Shawn started to walk back into the library. Gus and Susie followed behind. "I just wanted to make sure things were okay down at the station in this crazy storm."
"Oh, I'm not at the station. I'm at the-"
"Library?" Shawn asked, rounding a corner. Juliet turned around.
"Shawn?" she asked. "Susie? Gus? What are you guys doing here?"
"We're locked in." Gus said.
"What are you doing here?" Shawn asked.
"I was looking for a book."
"Libraries are wonderful for that."
"Yeah." Juliet paused. "So, wait. We're really locked in here?"
"My guess is they closed early because of the bad weather." Gus said.
"How bad is it out there?"
"Can't see three feet outside the door." Susie said.
"I'll call Lassiter." Juliet said. "Maybe he can come get us out."
Shawn dialed a number on his phone. "Who are you calling?" Susie asked.
"My dad. Knowing him, he probably knows someone who works here who can come get us out."
Gus and Susie watched as Juliet and Shawn went off in different directions to make calls. Juliet came back a minute later. "Lassiter's not at his desk."
"Try his cell." Gus suggested.
Juliet dialed, pacing around slightly.
A few seconds later, Lassiter came out of the darkness, holding his phone.
"Lassiter?" Juliet asked.
Lassiter jumped slightly. "O'Hara, what are you doing here? You're calling me."
"So where are you going?"
"It's proper for all cell phone use to be contained to the lobby."
"Always the law-abider." Susie said.
"What are you doing here?" Gus asked.
Lassiter adjusted his tie. "I was just looking over some past newspaper articles."
"Ones focusing on you?" Susie asked.
"What, you don't have those scrap booked at your house?" Shawn asked.
"How long have you been listening in?" Gus asked.
"The whole time."
"Does your dad know anyone who can help?"
"Of course. He knows like, five. He's gonna call around."
"What's going on?" Lassiter asked.
"We're locked in." Juliet said.
"What? How the hell did that happen?" Lassiter asked. "If they were going to close the library early, shouldn't they have made some sort of announcement?"
"Carlton, we all know how absorbed you get when you're reading the newspaper." Juliet said.
"Especially if the article's about you." Susie mumbled.
"And I suppose you heard the announcement and you just chose to stay here?"
"I don't know if they made an announcement or not. I had my headphones in. Helps me concentrate."
At that moment, Shawn's phone rang. "Hello?" he answered. "Okay….. Awesome. Thanks, Dad." Shawn hung up. "Good news or bad news?" he asked.
"Does it matter?" Lassiter asked.
"Indeed it does. But now is not the time for me to share why. Good news, my dad got a hold of someone who can come get us out."
"And the bad?" Susie asked.
"It's gonna be a while for the dude to get here."
"How long of a while?" Gus asked.
"Two to three hours."
"Why?" Lassiter asked.
"Because ninjas stole the guy's car. Why do you think, Lassie?" Susie said.
"You are-"
Susie held her hand up to Lassiter and turned her head to Shawn. "I'm going upstairs to work on my paper. Let me know when we're free."
Shawn watched as Susie made her way upstairs. Then he turned to Gus. "This place has an upstairs?"