The Case of the Missing Air Conditioner

Yesterday, I made an appointment to use the History Room at the library. When I arrived at 4 p.m. and unlocked the door, the room was sweltering. The air conditioner that is usually installed in the window was gone. This air conditioner ran all the time--summer and winter--to control the temperature in the room and protect the collection, but on a day when the outdoor temperature topped 90 degrees, the air conditioner was missing. Sure, it could have been send out for repair, but what makes it a mystery is that the library director and his assistant had no knowledge of the fact that it wasn't there and no idea of where it might be.