Written in Stone (A Books by the Bay Mystery)

more to it or you wouldn’t have brought Natalie’s name up again.”
    “There is!” Laurel jumped in. “Apparently, Natalie had been put under once before—when she was giving birth to Talley.”
    Millay turned to her. “And what happened?”
    Rawlings gave Laurel the go-ahead. “This is more your field than mine. Whenever the women around the station start swapping labor stories, I high-tail it out of the room as fast as my legs will carry me.”
    “Men are such wimps.” Laurel snorted with mock disgust. “Natalie had an umbilical cord prolapse, which means the cord was being delivered before the baby. That’s no good because the baby’s oxygen and blood supplies can be cut off. The hospital staff had to move quickly, so they gave Natalie general anesthesia and her doc delivered the baby by C-section. Talley turned out just fine, but Natalie nearly died.”
    “If she had an adverse reaction to general anesthesia once, why would anyone in their right mind put her under a second time?” Olivia was astounded.
    Rawlings shook his head. “I’m not sure, but it would appear that the hospital didn’t have a record of the complication that arose during Talley’s delivery. I’ll have to speak with someone on the hospital staff.”
    The stage where Talley had performed yesterday came into view and Olivia’s pace involuntarily slowed. The midday sun was bleaching the patch of grass where Willis fell with a yellow white light. Without the forest’s shade, the air felt thick and cloying.
    Rawlings touched her on the elbow. “Steady now,” he whispered so that only she could hear.
    Talley is amazingly brave,
Olivia thought as they joined the rest of the spectators gathered around the semicircular stage.
    “I’m going to poke my head in the tent,” Millay said and strode off.
    Harris followed her with his eyes. “She’s really taking this personally,” he said. “I’ve seen her angry before, but this is different.”
    At the mention of anger, Olivia silently wondered if the person or people who’d covered the Locklears’ cars with racial slurs were here at the powwow. Were they in the crowd, waiting for Talley to begin her dance? Would they attend the evening’s celebration of the Lumbees’ victory at the Battle of Hayes Pond if only to inflame their rage?
    Her musings were disturbed by the eruption of multiple drumbeats. Lumbee men of all ages formed a perimeter around the base of the stage, thumping out an infectious rhythm in perfect unison. A few seconds later, dozens of women clad in multicolored dresses burst onto the stage and the crowd released a raucous cheer.
    Olivia was just lifting her gaze to search for Talley among the women when Millay elbowed her way through the crowd and grabbed Rawlings by the arm.
    “Someone’s after Talley!” she shouted, frantically waving a piece of paper in front of the chief’s face. “Look, another time metaphor! It was in her purse!”
    Rawlings took the paper and quickly read it. He then passed the small sheet to Olivia. She held it out for both Harris and Laurel to see.
    Olivia scanned the typewritten lines and then read them a second time, trying to absorb the poem’s meaning over the noise of the drums and the spontaneous hoots and hollers coming from the audience.
    Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
    Old Time is still a-flying;
    And this same flower that smiles today,
    Tomorrow will be dying.
    “The language sounds old fashioned.” Laurel had to raise her voice to be heard over the drums.
    Harris reached for his phone, but Rawlings waved for him to stop. “I know this poem. It’s by Robert Herrick and is called ‘To The Virgins, To Make Much of Time.’” He turned to Millay. “And I think you’re right. I believe this is meant to be a threat. Or worse. A promise of suffering. Today, the flower, who’s got to be Talley, is smiling. But tomorrow? She could be dead. Isn’t that what this poem is meant to convey to whoever finds it?”
    “Oh no!” Laurel squeaked.
    Rawlings ignored her and locked a steely gaze on Millay. “I want you, Laurel, and Harris to go back to the tent and wait for Talley there. Olivia and I will watch the crowd. If someone makes a move, Haviland can react faster than we can.”
    Millay touched the poodle’s head. “Don’t let anything happen to her, Captain. I don’t care if you sink your pearly whites halfway through some guy’s calf. Just don’t let go if you get hold of the bastard. Got