This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

Author:Heather Gudenkauf [Heather Gudenkauf]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Park Row Books
Published: 2020-03-02T16:32:33+00:00

EVE KNOX

Friday, December 22, 1995

11:00 a.m.

Eve searched each one of Nola’s usual haunts. First she checked the library, Nola’s second home. She moved past a blue Schwinn bicycle propped against the side of the building. Odd, she thought. You didn’t see very many bikes out in the middle of winter. Eve stepped into the library vestibule and peered through the glass doors hoping she’d spy Nola right off since she had a feeling that Nola wouldn’t be so easily extracted from her spot among the shelves today.

Eve pushed through the doors in resignation. Walking into the Grotto Public Library was a bit strange, like walking uninvited into someone’s home. The building, the former residence of a wealthy Grotto family, was donated to the city for the express purpose of housing books. Each room held a different section of the Dewey Decimal System. Books on philosophy and religion in the master bedroom. Applied and natural sciences in the dining room. Social sciences and languages in the family room and so on.

Eve breathed in the dry, dusty smell of old paper. Nola wasn’t the only one who liked to read. Eve read, just not the thick, boring reference books that Nola was obsessed with. Eve preferred romances and sweeping historical sagas.

The space that was once a parlor now held the circulation desk where patrons checked out their books. Standing behind the desk was Rita, the librarian. She glanced up from the pile of books in front of her. “I haven’t seen Nola today,” she said, smiling apologetically at Eve. Rita was used to Eve coming in and hunting for her sister. “I may have missed her though. It’s been kind of busy today.”

“I’ll go take a quick look,” Eve said.

The library’s former dining room alone was larger than the entire first floor of the Knox home and still it was crammed with books. Dimly lit with rows of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, it was difficult to see if anyone else was in the room with her. A perfect hiding place for Nola.

Eve walked down the length of the room, her footfalls muffled by the worn, frayed carpet. She glanced down the narrow stacks. Usually Nola could be found sitting cross-legged, her back pressed up against the shelves that held books about anatomy and physiology, with a heavy science text on her lap. Nola, Eve would say in exasperation and Nola would take her time reading to the end of the page before looking up. Mom says it’s time to come home now, Eve would grouch.

Nola would get to her feet and carefully, lovingly, replace the book in its rightful spot on the shelf. Eve’s irritation never lasted very long. It was hard to get too mad at Nola when she lost track of time at the library. It meant that she wasn’t antagonizing anyone else for the time being. But today there was no sign of Nola.

Eve turned to leave when at the far end of the room something caught her eye before it quickly disappeared behind a shelf.

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