The Bookman's Promise (29 page)

On the boat, Koko said, “I wonder what she really knows.”

“She’s clever. She wants you to wonder that. She wants us to come back and she timed her bombshell so we wouldn’t have even a minute to get into it.”

“Right now I don’t need clever. I just wish people would say what they mean.” A moment later she said, “Anyway, you were right, I was wrong.”

“Coulda just as easy been the other way.”

“Thanks, but I don’t think so.”

We were sitting on the enclosed lower deck, out of a wind that had turned the harbor into a basin of choppy water. Koko sat near the glass, staring out at the whitecaps.

“I’ve been an old bear lately. Just want you to know I know that and I’m sorry.”

“You’ve had a lot to think about. I didn’t just lose my house.”

She changed the subject. “What a strange day this is. Goes from rainy to sunny and back to rainy again. God can’t get anything right.”

“He’s got a lot on his mind. It’s got to be tough being God sometimes.”

“What’s that from? I used to know it.”

“
The Green Pastures
. ‘Bein’ God ain’t no bed o‘ roses either.’”

She smiled but it was a sad smile.

“Hey,” I said, leaning over to look at her face. “What can I do?”

“Nothing. Go away. Jesus, I hate self-pity.”

“They’ll build you a new house, Koko.”

“What good is that if I can’t go back and live there?”

“I think you’ll be able to go back.”

“How?”

“We’ll work on it.”

She didn’t look convinced. “It’s not the house anyway, it’s what I lost inside the house.”

“I know it’s tough,” I said, and felt stupid saying it. She confirmed my stupidity with a frigid look. “You don’t know anything,” she said, carving me into a Mount Rushmore of dunces. “What do you know about my life?”

“Nothing. You’re right, I don’t know anything.”

“Take a guess. Wildest guess you can think of.”

“Jeez, Koko, I don’t know.”

“Old-maid librarian is what you’re thinking.”

“I never said that.”

“But if someone asked you, that’s what you’d think. Well, I had a husband once. We had two beautiful children. My son would be just about your age now. I was young and happy and not at all bad-looking. I had a very different life then. My husband was an engineer, I was working on a master’s degree in literature, and I played the violin well enough to try out for our symphony orchestra. We had everything then, the whole world ahead of us, and in one crazy minute a drunk driver took it all away.”

“Oh, Koko…”

“No, don’t say anything.” She turned her face to the glass and spoke to my reflection. “I’m not looking for pity. But don’t tell me you know what I lost, because you don’t know. The only pictures I had of my babies were in that house. I had film of their first steps and tape recordings of their voices. It’s like he killed them all over again.”

What can you say at a moment like that? I left her alone, but I thought of Dante and I felt a shimmering wave of real forty-karat hate. Another reason for us to meet again.

Late that afternoon I got in my rental and drove to a place I had looked up last night in the telephone book. It took me less than an hour to buy a good little gun and fire it on their range till it felt natural in my hand. I bought a snug holster for it, slipped it far back under my coat, and left hot but armed and dangerous, fully dressed for the first time in many days.

That night I got them together for the first time. Koko tried to resist, pleading a headache, but I reserved a table at one of the classiest new restaurants in town and threatened to lay siege to her room until she came out. “Want to drive or walk?” I asked. “It’s an easy walk from here.”

“Let’s walk, then. Looks like that silly old guy, God, blew the clouds away again.”

On the way over, she said, “I’ve had the weirdest feeling. Like I’m being watched.”

I asked for specifics but she had none. “It’s just the jitters. When I went out to the store, there seemed to be a man walking along behind me, on the other side of the street.”

“Did you look at him?”

“At one point I did.”

“But you didn’t recognize him.”

“No, but I’m not sure I’d remember any of those guys anyhow. It was night and I never did get a good look at them.”

Erin was waiting in the lobby of her hotel. I had prepared her for Koko: that afternoon I had called and told her the story and she had immediately become cautious and considerate. “She sounds very fragile right now. I don’t know her but she may be on the verge of some kind of nervous breakdown. She’s been putting all her energy into this Burton hunt, and when that didn’t seem to pan out she began to unravel. Now even the hunt may be losing its appeal. Don’t ask me where my psych degree is, it’s just one of those hunches like you seem to have all the time. I think we’ll have to be careful with her, and the sooner we get this business finished with that madman in Baltimore, the better.”

I made the introductions. Erin smiled warmly and said, “Hey, Koko, heard a lot about you.” Koko said, “Hi there.” They shook hands and we were off.

The restaurant was on Exchange Street near East Bay. We walked side by side, the wide sidewalk of Broad Street accommodating all of us. They talked about the charm of Charleston and the weather, the small talk of ordinary people who live out their lives without ever being threatened by violence or murder. I watched the people passing on both sides of the street.

The restaurant was noisy and already crowded, but there was a quieter dining room off to one side. We were seated in a far corner out of the din. Koko excused herself and went to the rest room and the waiter delivered us a wine list.

“So,” I said. “What do you think?”

“I like her. And I revise my opinion. I think she’s solid.”

“She thinks she’s being followed.”

Erin dealt with that for a moment. “Maybe she is. Even if she’s not, she’s entitled to some frayed nerves.”

“Question is, do we want to talk openly about this stuff?”

“Absolutely yes would be my vote. We have some decisions to make, and she’s got a right to be part of that.” She smiled as Koko returned. “I have some news to report.”

Part of her news was about Archer, who had called with a counterproposal. “He may be willing to show me the journal. If he does, I’ll try to browse it for content. Maybe I can pin down some things you’re looking for.”

“There must be something about Charlie in it,” Koko said. “Even a mention would help.”

“I’d give a year’s pay to get Archer’s fanny in court and ask him a few tough questions.”

Erin had called Lee and told him everything. “He’s concerned about us, of course. He thinks we should all get on the first plane for

Denver and coordinate our strategy from there. That’s actually not a bad idea.“

“It’s not a great one, either,” Koko said. “It means giving up on Burton.”

“Only for now. It’s not so bad if you think of it that way. This story’s been there for more than a hundred years, it’s not going away.”

“You two could go to Denver,” I suggested. “I could stay and see what the woman at Fort Sumter has for us. Then I’d come along in a few days.”

Erin closed her eyes and made that praying motion with her hands. “What are we going to do with this man, Koko?”

“We could each carry around a two-by-four. When he tries too hard to protect us, we could just whack the hell out of him without warning.”

“You bash him on that thick forehead, I’ll get him from behind.”

“Would you two like me to leave so you can talk freely?”

“Look, sweetie. If we don’t do anything else tonight, let’s dispense with the John Wayne routine. It’s way out of date—John Wayne is dead—and it annoys me like crazy.”

“You aren’t going anywhere without us,” Koko said.

“Because if anything happens to you, I will take this Dante on alone if I have to,” Erin said. “Just think about that. I know he’s strong, but I am not without resources and I will get him.”

Koko shivered and laughed at the same time. “This is quite a girlfriend you’ve got here, Janeway.”

The waiter came and we ordered our dinners. Koko gravitated toward the vegetarian items but we were now officially living dangerously and she chose the blackened grouper. We talked over wine and made some decisions. We would stay three more days in Charleston, giving Erin another crack at Archer and us a shot at whatever the Robinsons might know. Erin would move out of the Mills House and take a room near us in the Heart of Charleston. On Wednesday we would see where we were and go from there.

We walked back in a warm summer night. But in two blocks the air became heavy, the humidity bore down, and in the distance lightning flashed over the sea. We left Erin where we had found her, in the lobby of her hotel, and she hugged us both.

“We’re gonna be fine,” she said.

“Of course we are,” Koko said. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

Erin vanished into the elevator and Koko and I walked up the street together.

“I like her,” she said. “I was determined not to, but she’s a good girl.”

“She likes you too.”

At the motel a message had arrived from Koko’s friend Janet in Baltimore. The fire department had officially classified her house as arson. Janet had talked to the reporter at the morning paper, who was still digging around. Yesterday he had put it in the paper that Koko had apparently gone to Charleston. “So they know we’re here,” I said.

We had to assume they had known for almost two days.

In the morning the rain finally came, a steamy downpour that billowed across Meeting Street and left the world slick-looking and empty. I talked to Erin soon after daybreak and she was moved over to our motel by nine o’clock. She circumvented the afternoon check-in by paying for the extra day and was settled into a room near Koko’s with two hours to spare before her meeting with Archer. She had called Lee again and had received instructions to walk out if Archer was abusive or difficult. “Neither of us thinks anybody’s going to go near what Lee’s offering.”

At ten o’clock Erin and Koko sat playing cards at a table in Koko’s room while the rain drummed against the window. I was watching the TV in a stupefied state with the sound turned down. A preacher with larceny in his eyes and lust in his heart was on Channel Five, and on Channel Two I got some kind of political discourse, with the eyes of the senator just like the eyes of the preacher. I could tell from their faces the attitude and vacuous nature of what was being said, and none of it tempted me to turn up the volume. This country is doomed, I thought, not for the first time, and I closed my eyes and sank into boredom.

At ten-thirty I got up and moved to the door. “I’m going out for a little while.”

Erin was immediately suspicious. “Where to?”

“There’s a movie I want to see.
Debbie Does the Old Duffers
.”

“I heard that doesn’t have much of a plot. Where are you really going?”

“To the store for some male needs.”

They looked at each other and tried not to laugh.

“Hey, I don’t ask about your female needs.”

“Just don’t try anything foolish, like ditching us and going after people on your own.”

“I’ll bet he’s going to buy a gun,” Koko said. “He couldn’t bring the one we had on the airplane, so he’s going to buy another one.”

“Is that where you’re going?”

“Jesus, lighten up. You can’t get a gun on Sunday. I need some razor blades.”

“I only ask because as your lawyer I’m the one who’s got to worry if there are laws here against carrying concealed weapons. Just in case I need to defend you or bail you out.”

“It’s Sunday, Mama,” I said again. “You guys play cards and I’ll be back in a while.”

I walked up Meeting Street in the rain, looking at people on both sides of the street. The gun felt snug against my back.

John Wayne’s ass. These women had no clue.

Erin had left to meet Archer when I got back and Koko was gazing at the same stupid TV fare with the volume off. “So what caliber razor blades did you get?”

“Big enough to fit a size thirty-two razor.”

“Even on Sunday.”

“Rexall’s always open.”

She smiled foxily. “I saw that man again. Same one who followed me up the street.”

“Where?”

“Out on the street. I had to go to the store for some female needs.”

“You’re becoming a real wit, Koko. So tell me about him.”

“Nothing to tell. He was just going into a store up the street when I saw him.”

“I guess it’s possible he’s just some guy who lives around here.”

“What else is possible?”

“Maybe he’s the mayor of Charleston, scouting for people to welcome to his fair city.”

Her face was pensive. “I don’t know how Erin will feel about this. Me, I’m glad you got those razor blades.”

She roused herself from the bed. “I’m going to the library. I don’t expect to find anything, but I’ve got to do something or go mad in this room.”

“Library’s closed today. It’s Sunday.”

“We could go to a movie.”

“I’m for that. Point out this dude if you see him on the street again.”

I had already made up my mind that Erin’s date with Archer was the last thing she would do solo. I wasn’t leaving Koko alone anymore, either. I left a note under Erin’s door telling her to stay put and we drove out to a suburban mall theater. Three hours later we came out frustrated: the film had been like the weather, lousy. “At least it got us through the afternoon,” Koko said. “Just one more day of this. I’ll kill that woman at Fort Sumter if she plays around with us.”

Erin was there when we got to the motel.

“I hope your lunch was charming,” I said.

“Lunch was fine. I waited two hours and ate alone. Archer never showed up.”

In the morning we learned why.

The story was on the front page of the second section in the
News and Courier
. The headline said author beaten, hospitalized. Hal Archer, a Pulitzer prize-winning historian now living on Sullivan’s Island, had been brutally attacked and was in fair condition at Roper Hospital. Police had no motive and the victim had refused to talk to the press.

“I’m going to see him,” Erin said.

“We’ll all go.”

“I don’t think that’s wise.”

“Maybe not but we’re going with you anyway. We’ll try not to get in your way.”

Roper Hospital was on Calhoun Street near the Ashley River. Erin inquired about Archer at the desk and was given his room number. His condition had been upgraded to good. Koko and I sat in the lobby, where we could watch the flow of people coming and going, and Erin went up in the elevator alone.

We had only been there a few minutes when Dean Treadwell appeared. “Here we go,” I said softly. I got up, motioned Koko to come with me, and we followed him across the lobby to the elevators. We stood waiting in a small crowd, and when an elevator arrived we all got in the same car. Up we went, picking up doctors and nurses until we were all packed tightly together. Dean stared at the floor. The door opened and he got out. We were a few steps behind him as he moved down the hall. I didn’t know till that moment what I would do, but suddenly the sound of Erin’s voice moved me to his side.

“Hey, Dean.”

He stopped and looked at me but I didn’t seem to register. “How’d you know me?”

“I’m a psychic. I looked at your face and you looked like a Dean.”

“That’s interesting,” he said, but the flat tone of voice said it really wasn’t. “‘Scuse me now, I’ve got to go see somebody.”

I put a hand on his arm. “Uh-uh.”

His eyes opened wider.

“He’s got company,” I said. “One visitor at a time.”

He coughed that raspy smoker’s cough I had first heard on the telephone. “Who the hell are you?” he said, coughing into his fist. “You don’t look like any doctor.”

“That’s misleading. I took my Ph.D. in mayhem and hell-raising.”

“So you’re a wise guy.” His eyes narrowed. “Haven’t I seen you before?” He looked at Koko, searching for help.

“This is Ma Barker,” I said. “Ma, this is Dean Treadwell.”

“Hi, Dean,” Koko said with a perfect edge of joyous malice. That was too good to have been intentional, but I winked at her.

Dean patted his shirt pocket for a smoke, then seemed to remember he was in a hospital. “You talk like crazy people,” he said.

“I am a little crazy, Dean. I really get crazy when things don’t go my way. Right now, for instance, I’d like you to go quietly downstairs with us. When my friend comes down, we can all walk quietly up the street till we find a nice, quiet coffee shop. Then we can sit down and have us a quiet talk. I like things quiet. You got any problem with any of that?”

“I don’t guess so,” he said. “I don’t know what the hell you want with me.”

“That’s what we’ll find out, Dean,” I said, and we all went downstairs and waited quietly.

Erin came down almost on our heels. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Dean, he owns that bookstore in Baltimore. Dean, this is Lizzie Borden.”

“Lizzie Borden my ass. Who the hell do you think you’re fooling?”

“Nobody, but let’s leave it at that. And watch your language, there are ladies here.”

“I know who you are. I don’t know these two but I know you. I’ve been trying to remember your voice and it just came to me.”

“Come on, let’s walk up the street.”

He started to balk. I stepped on his foot and frosted him with a look. He said, “I don’t have to go anywhere with you,” but I pinched his arm hard enough to hurt and he went. We found a drugstore on Rutledge Avenue and I ordered coffees except for Koko, who had some awful-looking carrot juice concoction.

“It’s good your memory’s working, Dean,” I said. “I need to ask you some things.”

Again we had to go through a certain dance but I expected that. The conversation went like this.

“Tell me about Archer.”

“Archer who?”

“You know Archer who.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“He’s the schmuck you were going to see in the hospital, so knock off the stupid routine.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“How are your kidneys, Dean?”

“What does that mean?”

“You look like a guy who needs to go to the bathroom. C’mon, I’ll go with you.”

“If you think I’m going in any back room with you, you’re nuts.”

“Then tell me about Archer, and remember I haven’t got all day.”

“Archer’s a customer.”

“I see. Do you always travel all around the country with your customers?”

“If they pay my freight I do.”

“So Archer’s paying you. What’s he paying you for?”

“You’re a bookseller, you know I can’t answer that. That violates all kinds of ethics.”

“Dean’s going ethical on us,” I said to the ladies.

“Would you answer that question?” Dean said.

“No, but I might kick your ass right here in this drugstore if you don’t.”

Erin cleared her throat loudly. I looked in her eyes and said, “Why don’t you ladies meet me back at the hotel. Take the car, I’ll walk.”

Koko said, “Did you ever get one of them two-by-fours, Lizzie?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dean said.

I said, “It means that unless you give us some information, you could be in real trouble. Liz can tell you about it.”

I threw it to her without warning and instantly she began shooting from the hip, part bluff, making it up as she went along. “You’ve been conspiring with a book thief, Dean. We’re not talking about nickels and dimes, this is a work of major historical importance, worth at least way up in five figures. You know what it is. This can bring you serious grief in Maryland, Colorado, or South Carolina. It’s known as grand theft pretty much everywhere, but it does have a bright side: they’ll come feed you three times a day and you won’t have to worry about making a living for a long time.”

“I don’t know what in the hell you’re talking about.”

She made a “too bad” motion with her eyes. “Then I guess we’ve got nothing more to say to each other.”

He fished for his cigarettes but I pointed to a no smoking sign just above his head. “That stuff’ll kill you, Dean. Stinks up your books too. I had a guy bring in Hemingway’s signed limited one time and I couldn’t even buy it. He was a chain-smoker and you could smell his book clear across the room.”

“Yeah, yeah, spare me the fucking lecture. And you.” He nodded at Erin. “Why don’t you try saying what you’ve got to say in plain English?”

“Your friend Archer has a hot book. We have good reason to believe you’re mixed up in it. Is that plain enough for you?”

“I had nothing to do with that.”

“With what? I thought you didn’t know what we were talking about.”

“I had nothing to do with any theft that either did occur or might have occurred.”

“I’ve had enough of this bird,” I said. “Let’s stick a fork in him.”

“Just calm down,” Erin said. “Give the man a chance. If I can’t persuade him to be reasonable, we’ll see him in court.”

“What court?” Dean said.

“That’s a question of jurisdiction, isn’t it? Depends on where a theft occurred and where the hot goods are disposed. Doesn’t matter to me, I’ll go after you wherever I can.”

“Let’s get one thing straight. I never did anything illegal.”

“You don’t get anything straight just by saying it. You can tell it to a judge, but I doubt if your word will meet any rules of evidence. No offense, Dean, I know you mean well.”

They all sat quietly. I commented on the rain, the heat, the touristy things: the houses along Rainbow Row, the fact that we had missed Charleston’s fabled azaleas at the peak of their glory. Erin finished her coffee and Koko drank her carrot stuff.

“We’re leaving,” Erin said. “This was your chance and it’s slipping away.”

“I’m not worried,” Dean said. “Archer says the book is his.”

“Archer lies.”

“Well, I believe him. I was never told anything about any theft.”

“That could be a mitigating factor. If you cooperate.”

“Cooperate in what? You’re no goddamn prosecutor; who the hell are you?”

“This is who I am. I represent the injured party. My recommendation in any proceeding will carry some weight, maybe a lot. Are you going to help us or not?”

“Depends on what you want.”

She took out a notebook and a ballpoint pen. “Answer my questions. Then read what I’ve written and sign it; we’ll get a copy made and you get to keep that.”

He didn’t like it. He shook his head and sat coughing.

“Dean?”

“I’ll tell you right now, you won’t like what I’ve got to say. I’ve got nothing that puts Archer in any kind of bad light.”

“Just tell the truth. That’s all I want.”

“Yeah, right. You’re like everybody else. You can’t get along with him so you want to sandbag him.”

A moment later he said, “You’ve got to understand something. Archer’s special. He’s not like you and me. There’s no use talking if you don’t understand that.”

“I do understand it,” Erin said. “I’ve read his books.”

He looked at her for most of a minute. Then he began to talk.