Audrey's Promise by Sheehey Susan

Author:Sheehey, Susan [Sheehey, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Contemporary
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc
Published: 2013-07-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

The smell of old libraries should be made into a home fragrance scent. Maybe there wasn’t a large enough market for it, but Ethan would be the first to buy ten cases.

As he approached the stacks, he couldn’t help wondering if it was the volumes of old books on the shelves that emitted the lovely smell, or the building itself. Places like this were jackpots for media gold, but people had to be willing to sift through dirt to get it. And Ethan was more than willing.

An older woman, short white hair holding her spectacle lanyard in place, peered up from the cart of books she perused behind the reference desk and stopped. Her thin and fragile frame looked as if she’d blow over at the first sneeze. The deep wrinkles proved she may have been as old as the building itself, and might know the stories he itched to uncover.

“Good morning,” Ethan drawled, his buttering smile in place.

“Good morning,” she replied, still considering him. “Can I help you find something?”

“I hope so.” Ethan placed his satchel on the counter and held out his hand. “I’m Ethan.”

“Margaret Simon.” She shook Ethan’s hand, and he felt every bone and vein in her freezing grip.

“Not many libraries would be open the day after Thanksgiving. I was told you have an internet connection I can use.”

“Yes, the two computers there have access.” She pointed to the far wall where two large box screens sat, the archaic grayish-brown color of early Apples and Hewlett Packards, with cords thicker than hoses. “Or you can plug in your own computer to the open ports.”

“Excellent. Thank you.”

Only after he realized he didn’t have an Ethernet cable did he force himself to try the massive paperweight already in place. The mouse was like a clunky butter dish with a gray button in the center. But thankfully, the internet window wasn’t much different than what he expected. Just insanely slow.

A few minutes later, he hadn’t found any Mackineer newspaper articles. He couldn’t even find the Mackineer local paper’s website. Surely they had a local paper. Every town had one.

The squeak of the shelving cart rolled behind Ethan and he heard the librarian’s “tsk” behind him.

“If you’re looking for newspaper articles from around here,” her brittle voice said, “you have to do it the old-fashioned way.”

He swung around on the rolly-chair. “What do you mean?”

“You young’uns.” She shook her head. “By opening a book. Archived newspaper articles are held in those cabinets there.” She motioned to the back wall and waited for him to follow. “They are sorted by year. What timeframe are you looking for?”

“Um, about ten years ago.”

He almost bumped into her when she stopped and looked at him, her piercing stare waiting for something.

“What’s the purpose of your research?”

“I’m a writer.”

Better to keep things as general as possible. Ethan learned a long time ago not to give too much detail when he researched a story, otherwise people wouldn’t be willing to help him if they learned the truth.

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