Up here, everything was as tidy as could be. The staircase opened in the middle of the narrow space. With the slanted roof above, Eli could only walk down the middle. A treadle sewing machine and a table filled one side, while the other was clearly her bedroom, with a white-painted dresser and an old iron bed.

Nettie lay on her stomach atop the covers in the same skirt and blouse she'd worn in the shop the day before. Her dark hair lay in a messy braid, hanging over the edge ...