Дэвид Балдаччи - The Collectors

When Caleb brought the tome out to him, he said, “Well, enjoy.”

Seagraves glanced at Caleb and smiled. Oh, I will, Mr. Shaw, I will.

By prior arrangement Caleb met Reuben, and the pair went to DeHaven’s house after Caleb got off work. They searched for two hours. While they found receipts and bills of sale for all his other books in his desk, they discovered nothing supporting the slain librarian’s ownership of the Psalm Book.

Caleb next went down to the vault. He needed to check the Psalm Book for the Library’s secret coding: That would prove whether Jonathan had stolen it. And yet Caleb made no move to enter the vault. If the code was there? He couldn’t face that prospect. So Caleb did what came naturally when he was under pressure: He ran for it. The book would keep, he told himself.

“I just don’t understand this,” Caleb said to Reuben. “Jonathan was an honest man.”

Reuben shrugged. “Yeah, but like you said, people can really get into this collecting stuff. And a book like that one might make him do something on the shady side. And that would explain why he kept it a secret.”

Caleb replied, “But it would eventually have come out. He had to die sometime.”

“But he didn’t expect to die that suddenly, obviously. Maybe he had plans for it but never got a chance to carry them out.”

“But how do I auction off a book that he has no ownership documentation for?”

“Caleb, I know he was your friend and all, but it seems to me that the truth has to come out at some point,” Reuben said quietly.

“There’ll be a scandal.”

“I don’t see how you get around it. Just make sure you don’t get swept up in it.”

“I guess you’re right, Reuben. And thanks for your help. Are you staying here?”

Reuben looked at his watch. “It’s a little early yet. I think I’ll leave with you and then sneak back later. I was at least able to get some sleep this afternoon.”

The two men left. Three hours later, a bit before eleven o’clock, Reuben reentered the house through the back door. He made a snack in the kitchen and went upstairs. In addition to Cornelius Behan’s “love room” the attic also allowed for a fine view of Good Fellow Street through another half-moon window. Reuben alternated watching Behan’s place through the telescope and the house opposite with a pair of binoculars he’d brought.

When a car pulled up to Behan’s house around one o’clock in the morning, Reuben watched closely as Behan, a young woman dressed in a full-length black leather coat and a couple of Behan’s bodyguards got out of a dark green Cadillac SUV. They all went into the house. The missus must be away, Reuben thought as he took up position at the window overlooking Behan’s house.

He didn’t have long to wait. The lights in the bedroom came on, and in walked the defense contractor and his lady for the evening.

Behan sat in a chair, clapped his hands, and the young lady immediately went into action. Button by button she undid the leather coat. When she opened it, and even though he knew what was coming, Reuben still gasped as he stared at the scene through the telescope: thigh-high fishnets, bullet bra and what seemed to be a mere slip of panties. He let out a long, satisfied sigh.

An instant later Reuben noticed a flash of red from the window overlooking the street. He glanced up. Thinking it was a brake light from a passing car, he shrugged and looked back through the telescope. The young lady had dropped her bra to the floor and was now sitting in a chair and taking her time sliding the stockings down her long legs as her surgically enhanced bosom spilled over her flat stomach.

Never go for paper when you can get plastic, Reuben thought with another long, contented sigh. He glanced again toward the other window, where he could now see a bright red glow. That couldn’t be a car. He crossed to the window and gaped at the house directly across the street. The damn place is on fire. He listened intently. Were those sirens he was hearing? Had someone already called it in?

He didn’t get a chance to answer that question. The blow hit him from behind, and he toppled to the floor. Roger Seagraves stepped around him and toward the window overlooking Behan’s house, where, even without the advantage of the telescope, he could see that the lady had finished undressing and, with a wicked smile, was now slowly kneeling down in front of a doubtless very happy Cornelius Behan.

That wouldn’t last.

When Reuben awoke, he at first had no idea where he was. He slowly sat up and the room came into focus. He was still in the attic. He rose on shaky legs and then remembered what had happened. He grabbed an old piece of board for a weapon as his gaze swept the attic. Yet there was no one there. He was completely alone. But someone sure as hell had hit his skull hard enough to knock him out.

The noise from the street reached him. He looked out the window. Fire trucks were lined up out front putting out the flames from the house across the street. Reuben also noted several police cars coming and going.

Rubbing the back of his head, he glanced over at Behan’s place. All the lights were on. When he saw police entering the house, Reuben got a sick feeling in his gut. He stumbled across the room and looked through the telescope. The light in the bedroom was still on, although the space was bustling with far different activity now.

Cornelius Behan was lying facedown on the floor, still fully dressed. His hair was far redder now thanks to the gaping hole in the back of his head. The young woman was sitting up against the bed. Reuben could see the crimson patches all across her face and chest. It looked like she’d taken a killing round right in the head. Uniformed cops and a couple of suits were poring over the place. How long had he been unconscious? The next thing he saw drove all other thoughts from his mind.

There were twin bullet holes in the bedroom window and matching ones in the window he was looking out of. “Oh, shit!” Reuben exclaimed as he ran for the door, stumbled again and fell. He reached out to catch himself, and his hand closed around it. When he stood back up, he was holding the rifle that he was certain had been used to kill two people. He immediately dropped it and took the steps two at a time. As he raced through the kitchen and saw the food that he’d left out, he realized his prints would be all over the damn place, yet he had no time to worry about that. He stepped through the back door.

The light hit him flush in the face, and he put a hand up to block the glare.

“Freeze!” the voice bellowed out. “Police!”

“I was able to get him a lawyer,” Caleb said. “Although he was so young and so cheap, I don’t know how effective he’ll be. But I told a little white lie and said that Reuben was staying there at my request to watch over the book collection, which is why he had the house keys and the alarm code. And I also gave that statement to the police. I told them Jonathan’s lawyer’s name so he could confirm my role as literary executor.”

Milton and Caleb were at Stone’s cottage. The stunning news of Reuben’s arrest for the murders of Cornelius Behan and his lady friend was evident in the group’s somber looks.

“Will he get out on bail?” Milton asked.

Stone shook his head. “It’s doubtful considering Reuben’s personal situation and the circumstances of the case. But perhaps with the information Caleb gave them they’ll reconsider the charges.”

Caleb said, “I saw Reuben briefly this morning. He said he was watching Behan’s house when he noticed the fire and then someone hit him on the head and knocked him out. When he came to, he saw that Behan and his girlfriend were dead. When he tried to leave, the police nabbed him.”