Go talk to the librarian
From Create Your Own Story
Scene 2b) Librarian/ garden scene
Lights up. Cue music. Enter LIBRARIAN. She is a local Canadian, aged 28. Very light-hearted, bubbly, and easily excitable. She carries several mystery books close to her. She dances and (poorly) sings to the music. While she is dancing, EMILY enters, watching from a distance. Eventually, she notices EMILY and, startled as well as slightly embarrassed, she addresses her.
Librarian: Oh! Hello there! [Begins to collect the books]
Emily: Hi. Are you the librarian here?
Librarian: Yes! I, ehm, was just comparing the weight of these books, by, ehm, swinging them about….in my arms…and vocalizing the, ehm...yes...is there something I can help you with?
Emily: I was hoping to use the library database to look through some newspaper articles. Specifically personal ads that may have been published after January 1942.
Librarian: What a range! You’ll be posted up in front of the monitor for ages before you find anything that may be helpful. Is there anything I may help you with? Perhaps a clue that may narrow down your search?
Emily: My uncle recently passed away and…
Librarian: [With growing excitement and less to Emily] You suspect foul play? Checking to see if the papers may lead you to a suspect? Have you been to the scene of the crime? We can dust for fingerprints! I have my own Junior Detective Kit! Finally! I’ll show them...too jumpy to be a detective. HA! I laugh in the face of danger.
She laughs and knocks over a book which causes her to shriek with fear.
Librarian: [Composing herself] Ehm...well, you were saying?
Emily: Yes, my uncle passed and while I was cleaning out his cabin, I found…
Librarian: [cutting her off] A gun!
Emily: No a…
Librarian: [Again interrupting] A secret underground tunnel!
Emily: [A lit more impatient] No, I found…
Librarian: [Again as before] A severed human head with its lips sewn shut!
Emily: A bracelet.
Librarian: Oh, ehm. Yes, of course. May I see it?
Emily shows her the bracelet.
Librarian: I’ve seen one of these before! Down at the World War 2 exhibit at the museum. If I remember correctly, it’s a charm used for identification. I don’t know what the markings mean, but if I were to use my deductive reasoning I’d say that they indicate that on January 10th, 1942, this Barnes fellow, was given this bracelet to commemorate his 301,598th jump from an Air Force plane in the Western hemisphere. Obviously, this JMJ stands for “Jump Master Jewelry”.
Emily: [Placating her] Could be. I just want to find out for sure….
Librarian: If it’s jump masters you’re looking for I’d suggest heading to the nursing home up the road a ways. There’s a colonel there who was a part of the air force around that time. My grandmother said he was quite the ladies man. Grandma always blushes whenever he’s brought up in conversation. I’ve never met him, but my grandmother’s friends always said he bares a striking resemblance to my father. Apparently they have the exact same nose! And the same dirty blonde hair which is funny because both my grandmother and grandfather have very dark brown hair.
Emily: [Connecting the dots, but hesitant to reveal the conclusion] Oh my…
Librarian: I know! Genetics is such a dumbfounding subject. Recessive traits and such.
Emily: ...
Librarian: Well, I must be off. The nursing home is about 3 miles up the road on the left. It’s a big stone building with a pleasantly rusted sign out front with the name “Shady Oaks” on it.
Emily: Thank you.
Librarian: My pleasure! And if you’d like to check your facts, you can head down to the museum. A friend of mine works there and she knows just about everything there is to know about the local military involvement in World War 2.
Emily: Thanks again! Good bye!
Librarian: Buh-bye now!
What should Emily do?
