Chapter 12

Preston looked past the librarian and surveyed the rest of the room. There were free-standing bookcases and displays that made it difficult to really see everything at once, and the tables interspersed throughout the library were all at a much lower level than he was used to, catering to a younger, shorter audience. But by the time he trailed behind Ms. Davis into the library, he’d spotted Abby. She sat by herself on a padded bench alongside one of the outer windows facing the playground, a stack of books splayed out beside her. She still wore the sparkly dress he’d seen her in earlier that morning, and the sunlight twinkled on the hem. Her hair needed a good combing through, but her jacket was gone, and to be honest, he didn’t see anything wrong with her outfit. What the hell was this all about, anyway?