The Bookseller (2 page)

“You Americans.” Max shook his head. “How you came to rule the world, I have no idea.”

“We have big guns,” Hugo said. “And we don't surrender every time the Germans invade.”

“
Touché
,” Max guffawed, then pointed again to Hugo's feet. “
Alors
, if you decide to go, bring me a pair of those cowboy boots, and next time I'll give you an even better deal. Size forty-one,
s'il vous plait
.”

“
Bien
.” Hugo looked at his watch. “I'll go rob a bank, make a phone call, and hopefully be back in less than an hour.”

“You are welcome to pay me another time. To consider those books a gift, Monsieur Hugo, for now anyway. If I change my mind, I know where to find you.”

“No, you might disappear to some beach somewhere, and I don't like owing people money. I'll be right back.”

They shook hands and for the second time Hugo saw something in Max's eyes. But the old man looked quickly away, up at the clouds. “I think it will snow soon,” Max said, his voice flat.

Hugo glanced at the sky, gray and heavy, and started back the way he'd come, books in hand. Thirty yards later he looked back at Max. The old man was shuffling along the quai toward his neighbor and, as he crossed the street, Max glanced over his shoulder as if someone might be following him, or watching.

The wind tugged at Hugo's hat, seeming to rise around him and shift direction, placing its cold hands on his back, propelling him along the quai. He walked slowly at first, then his footsteps quickened and he shivered as a chill settled around his neck, cold fingers spreading down his spine. He approached a middle-aged couple dressed in identical blue ski jackets, the man holding a camera and looking hopefully around him. On any other day Hugo would have stopped, offered to take the photo, but he strode past without catching their eye. Their need to capture a moment in time for their kids or grandkids was no match for the disquiet that crowded in on Hugo, the cold wind at his back, the leaden sky above, and a rising fear that he should have pressed Max harder, made sure that everything really was all right.

 

 

An hour later, Hugo stood on the curb of the Quai Saint-Michel, roughly a quarter-mile from Max's stall. He waited for a break in the traffic before hurrying across the street, heading in the direction of his friend. He kept his head down against the breeze but looked up every so often, trying to catch a glimpse of the old man, but soon the cold wind blinded him with his own tears.

Max was fine, he told himself. An angry man at a nearby stall and a pair of dropped glasses, and maybe Hugo's own need to find action where none lay. He'd known Max several years, they'd shared meals and more than a few cups of coffee, swapping stories about Paris and Texas, finding common ground in their love of books and their slightly jaded view of the world. Hugo still felt a tug of urgency, but logic had slowed his walk and reminded him he was in Paris, a place to stroll, not stride.

To his right, an engine sputtered as a tourist boat cast off from the far bank. Hugo watched as the
bateau-mouche
chugged slowly into the middle of the river, its passengers huddled together on the open deck, blobs of color on a bleak winter's day. France had endured a drought since the summer, particularly to the south of Paris, and the little water that escaped the thirsty wine regions left the tourist barges sitting low in the river, almost too low for those on board to see over the embankment and take in the majesty of the Grand Palais and the Musee d'Orsay. As the boat passed by, he saw a little boy on the deck clinging to his father for warmth. Hugo bunched his hands deeper in his pockets. He'd find some coffee after paying Max.

He walked on beside the river, eyes watering when the breeze whipped into him as he made his way toward Pont Neuf. His path was blocked momentarily as two old ladies, bundled against the chill, held onto each other's arms and kissed hello. Their red noses bobbed from side to side, but their little bodies were too cold or too stiff to complete the second
bisou
, so they abandoned it with nods and waddled away, arm-in-arm.

As he approached Max's stall, Hugo felt a sense of relief. The old man was folding his camping chair and stowing it beside one of the metal boxes. He looked over at Hugo. “I assumed you'd run off.
Alors
, I meant to ask before, when you mentioned her. What is happening with Christine?”

“Well, I'm not sure really,” Hugo said, glancing over Max's shoulder. The bouquiniste across the bridge had packed up her stall and gone. “Chrissy's in Texas, I'm here, and that was pretty much the end of it. I just called, though, and left a message about going over to see her, to talk about things.”

“That's something,” Max said.

“It's a long plane ride, is what it is.” But with two weeks of vacation to endure, a last-minute dash to Dallas actually seemed plausible. Or only slightly idiotic. “We'll see what happens,” he said. “Anyway, here's the rest of your money.”

“
Merci
.” Max's hand swallowed the roll of bills like that of a practiced pickpocket. “Need a receipt?”

“No, if I need one later, I know where to find you.” Hugo hesitated, then put a hand on his friend's shoulder. “Hey, you'd tell me if something were going on around here?”

“Going on?”

“With your neighbor. And I've never seen you drop anything, Max. A book, money, your glasses. Call it a feeling.”

“
Ach
.” Max turned away and shrugged. “You should have feelings for Christine, not me. Anyway, I'm thinking about retiring. Getting off the street. This job, I live around so many crazies I sometimes feel I might become one.”

“You, retire? Are you serious?”

“Why not?” Max picked up a small bag of key chains and grinned. “Get a nice place in the countryside and write a novel. How about that?”

“Sounds wonderful. But I'm not sure I believe you.”

Max looked past him, along the quai, then met his eyes. “Everyone must know when to quit, Hugo. An old man can't battle the forces of evil alone, you know, not for long anyway.”

“Forces of evil sounds a little dramatic. Are you serious?”

“
Mais oui
.” Max spat and then rubbed his chin. “The cold in winter, the heat in summer, the miserly tourists, the bums that harass me for my hard-earned cash every day.” He looked away. “There are many evil forces, you should know that.”

Hugo shook his head, unsure how serious Max was, and stood there for a moment watching his friend fuss in front of his stall. They both looked up as a seagull squawked low over the parapet, whirling down to the water. Hugo thought about Christine and being impetuous. Maybe he should go.

“It will be snowing within the hour,” Max said, a finger jabbing toward the sky. “I see it and I feel it.”

“Then you should pack up, old friend.” Hugo patted him on the back. “And maybe I'll go pack a suitcase.”

But Max was no longer listening. His eyes were fixed at something over Hugo's shoulder, his old face drawn tight. His hand opened of its own accord and the bag of key chains fell to the sidewalk.

Hugo turned sideways, alert, the back of his neck tingling as though the devil himself were breathing down his neck.

“
Bonjour
, Max.”

The man was tall and broad with an angular, chiseled face and deep-set, dark eyes. He wore a beige raincoat and a fedora much like Hugo's, but his was tilted low over his brow. He seemed to be ignoring Hugo on purpose, an artificial posture that heightened Hugo's image of the man as a comic-book bad guy.

Max licked his lips and stood as tall as he could, a conscious effort at bravery. “Nica, what do you want now?”

Nica stared at the bookseller for a moment, then appeared to notice Hugo, turning his head just slightly to meet Hugo's gaze. For five long seconds neither man looked away. Then Nica smiled and turned his eyes on Max. “Just to talk. Do you have a moment?”

“Say what you have to say,” Max said. “I am busy.”

Nica gestured to the stone steps ten yards from the stall, stairs that led down to the walkway beside the river.

“We should talk in private,” Nica said.

“I can't leave my stall.”

Nica looked at Hugo and smiled again. “Your friend can look after it. This won't take long.”

“I don't think he wants to go anywhere,” Hugo said.

“And I don't think this is any of your business.”

“
Ach
, Hugo, my busybody American. Ç
a va
, it's no problem.” Max nodded to the stairs. “Come on then, let's talk.”

Hugo watched them disappear down the steps, Max's old shoes scuffing loudly on the stone as he descended, and Hugo fought the temptation to spy on them. He forced himself to unfold the old canvas stool and sat on it, a temporary bouquiniste in a cashmere coat and cowboy boots.

He sat for a full minute, his mind busy but his feet numbing as he worried about Max. Using the cold as an excuse, he got up and walked to the stone balustrade, and looked down to the walkway. At first it seemed empty, but then voices rolled out from under the Pont Neuf. He leaned over the parapet and saw them in the shadows of the arch. He listened for a moment, unable to hear the words but recognizing the harsh tone.

He hesitated. Nica had said that this was none of his business and Max had wanted him to butt out, but it wouldn't hurt to wander down there, just to be sure. After almost twenty years in law enforcement, inserting himself into other people's disputes was second nature, sometimes an urge he couldn't resist—especially if the dispute seemed one-sided. Whether that urge was to protect the innocent or catch the guilty didn't much matter anymore.

Hugo started down the stairs. At the bottom he heard them again, Max's voice plaintive now. His quickened his step and looked past the men as he heard a low grumble from further under the bridge where a motor launch bobbed in the river behind them. Its propellers churned the gray water into white as an invisible hand throttled it against the current, keeping it close to the bank.

He was barely a dozen paces away when Max raised both hands, his old voice cracking, “Nica,
non
.” But Nica ignored Max's pleas and grabbed the bookseller by his lapels, pulling him close until their noses brushed.

“Hey!” Hugo called out. He tried to control his anger, to keep his voice calm. Better to diffuse than inflame, he told himself. “What's going on?”

Nica released Max and turned. “I told you, this has nothing to do with you. Go away.”

“Fine,” said Hugo. “But if you're all done, I'll walk monsieur back to his stall.” He held the man's dark stare and when he got no reply, added, “I saw some postcards I want to buy.”

The movement was fast and unexpected, a blur that ended with Nica holding the ice pick high, as if he were proud of his flourish. He held the tip between Max's eyes, then pointed it at Hugo. “Go. Take all the postcards you want. They are free today.”

Hugo hesitated. He could take two steps back and pull out his gun but, for as long as he'd carried a weapon, he'd never started a fire fight, and he had no desire to start one now. And if he wasn't quick enough, Max could be hurt, perhaps killed. Even if he did win a shoot-out he'd pay dearly, justified or not: his job was to protect the ambassador and visiting dignitaries, not play Wyatt Earp with riverside hoodlums.

But he looked at his trembling friend and knew that he wouldn't just walk away.

“If this is a question of money,” Hugo began, “I owe monsieur a little and would be happy to—”

“Enough.” Nica spat the words and a sneer crossed his face as he turned his head to look at the boat behind him. Without warning,
he shoved Max against the high stone wall and started toward Hugo, moving like a boxer with his shoulders hunched forward, his steps small and quick, the ice pick circling. Hugo resisted the impulse to back away, instead turning sideways and taking one tiny step back as the man reached him, the point of the pick spiraling toward his chest. Hugo waited a split-second more, then stepped in close, blocking Nica's thrust with his forearm, bringing the palm of his hand up sharply into the soft flesh under his assailant's chin. Nica's head snapped back and his knees buckled, and Hugo swept his legs from under him to make sure he hit the stone walkway hard. Nica rolled on the ground, clutching his throat, the ice pick on the ground between them.

Hugo started forward, reaching for his gun, just as Nica propped himself on one elbow. His other hand flashed out toward Hugo, who stopped in his tracks, his eyes drawn to Nica's sharp features, smug behind the silver pistol in his fist.

“If this had a silencer, you'd be dead,” Nica snarled. Still watching Hugo, Nica climbed to his feet and waved an arm at the boat, which had drifted a hundred feet or more from them. The engine barked and the bow lifted a fraction as it lurched forward, its windows black in the shadow of the bridge. Nica grabbed Max by the scruff of the neck and put the barrel of the gun against his temple, narrowing his eyes at Hugo. “Stay here until I can't see you anymore. You try to leave, he goes in the water.” Like crabs locked together, the two men edged backward toward the boat, sidling at the edge of the walkway. “Until I can't see you,” Nica called out. “And I will watch.”

Hugo looked at the face behind the gun and felt adrenaline course through his body, urging him to act. But he knew better than to challenge an armed man, he'd seen the results of that before, so he just clenched his jaw and nodded, committing Nica's features to memory before looking one more time at the terrified Max, whose eyes implored Hugo for help.

In less than a minute the men were on the launch, leaving Hugo helpless on the walkway, his hands twitching for his gun, or at least his phone. But he couldn't risk consigning the bouquiniste to the slick gray
water, so he did as he'd been told and watched as the boat revved loud and swung away, heading east against the current, passing in the lea of Notre Dame.

He was a statue on the walkway, turned to stone by the figure at the stern of the boat, the sharp-featured man who stood watch over him and also over his victim, the huddled form of the old bouquiniste at his feet. Hugo glared back, his eyes fixed on the boat until it finally rounded the tip of the Ile de la Cité and disappeared from view.