She couldn’t see the lush green lawn she’d crossed earlier. Down in this chilly cave, it was easy to forget it was a sunny day in June. Place felt like a dungeon.
Inhaling, she caught the parchment scent of old books stored in adjacent rooms. At least the O’Neill Public Library’s basement didn’t stink like the jail beneath the nearby county courthouse.
The modest library and the much grander courthouse must’ve been designed by the same genius. Two gracious brick structures with large, well-lit rooms above ground, and claustrophobic chambers below.
When she’d reserved this low-rent space, she hadn’t realized it would be a twin to the local lockup. She’d been pleased by the irony. She was questioning the part-time deputy sheriff in a setting that mirrored the disgusting jail where he’d in
