More clouds had rolled in while I was in the bookstore and the somber atmosphere in the library echoed the weather outside. Lavinia’s assistant, Myrtle, who, I supposed, was the new head librarian, sat mournful and lonely behind the big rounded desk.

I found myself thinking that if Myrtle did get the head librarian position, then she had benefitted from Lavinia’s death. Standing in the doorway, I studied the short, bespectacled octogenarian. She must have weighed all of eighty pounds and I doubted she had enough strength to push Lavinia, never mind smash her on the head with the embosser. She was too short. And anyway, who would kill someone over a librarian job?

I walked into the library, nodding at Myrtle as I passed by. I’d changed into my wrinkle-free black dress and it swirled just above my knees while my heels made clickity-clack noises on the marble floor as I walked toward the back. I noticed the flag was at half-mast and Pierce’s bust was draped with a black band. Apparently, they were taking Lavinia’s death hard here.

I turned the corner to the back steps and a chill ran up my spine as I remembered finding Lavinia crumpled at the bottom of them. I hesitated a second, picturing the scene.

“Go on down,” a voice whispered, startling me and almost sent me falling down the stairs. It was Lavinia swirling beside me. Why hadn’t I just sent her over to look for the bronzes and saved myself a trip? She nodded pointedly at the stairs and I started down.

Stepping gingerly down the stone stairs, I turned right at the landing and walked into the main library area, my footsteps growing silent as the hard stone floor changed to carpeting.

The bottom floor of the library was like a maze. Tightly packed rows of ten-foot high bookshelves were laid out with barely three feet of aisle space between them.  There were various sections and rooms off the main room that one could wander into. It seemed always to be void of other humans and entombed in silence—the massive amount of books and carpeted flooring absorbed most of the noise. I’d gotten lost down there more than once.

“Where are they?” I whispered to Lavinia. My question was met with silence.

I looked beside me, then turned to look behind me, scanning for any sign of a ghost. Nothing … not a faint swirl of mist … not even a drop of condensation. Figures she’d disappear when I needed her most.

I decided to do the search methodically, row by row. The most likely place to display the bronzes was at the end of the rows or in one of the many alcoves, so moving along the perimeter would be my best choice.

I turned left, then walked to the end of the row where I was met with another row of books.