The Library at Mount Char Part 3

"The librarians I know are into, like, I dunno, tea and cozy mysteries, not breaking and entering."

"Yeah, well. This is a different kind of library."

"I'm afraid I'm going to need a bit more in the way of explanation." As soon as the question was out of his mouth he regretted it. You're not actually considering this, are you? He took a quick spiritual inventory. No. I'm not. He was curious though.

"I've got a problem," Carolyn said. "My sister said you might have the sort of experience required to solve it."

"Like, what sort of experience are we talking about?"

"Residential locks-nothing special-and a Lorex alarm."

"That's it?" His mind went out to the toolbox in the back of his truck. He had his plumbing tools, sure-torch, solder, pipe cutter, wrench-but there were other things as well. Wire cutters, crowbar, a multimeter, a small metal ruler that he could use to-No. He clamped down on the thought, but it was too late. Something inside him had come awake and was beginning to stir.

"That's it," she said. "Easy-peasy."

"Who's your sister?"

"Her name's Rachel. You wouldn't know her."

He thought about it. "You're right. I don't recall meeting anyone by that name." She certainly wasn't part of the small-very small-circle of people who knew about his former career. "So, how does this Rachel person know so much about me?"

"I'm honestly not clear on it myself. But she's very good at finding things out."

"And what, exactly, did she find out about me?"

Carolyn lit another cigarette and blew twin columns of smoke out of her nostrils. "She said you've got a knack for mechanical things and an outlaw streak. And that you've committed over a hundred burglaries. A hundred and twelve, I think she said."

That was true, if almost ten years out of date. Suddenly his stomach was in knots. The things he had done and, worse, the things he hadn't done back then were always circling, never far from his thoughts. At her words they landed, tore into him. "I'd like you to go now," he said quietly. "Please."

He wanted to read Sports Ill.u.s.trated. He wanted to think about the Colts' offensive line, not about how he could b.u.mp through a residential Kwikset in thirty seconds even without proper tools. He wanted to- "Relax. This could be very good for you." She slid something across the floor to him. He peeked under the table and saw a blue duffel bag. "Look inside."

He picked the bag up by the handle. Already half suspecting what he might find, he unzipped it and peeked inside. Cash. Lots of it. Mostly fifties and hundreds.

Steve set the bag down and pushed it back across the floor. "How much is in there?"

"Three hundred and twenty-seven thousand dollars." She stubbed out her cigarette. "-ish."

"That's an odd amount."

"I'm an odd person."

Steve sighed. "You have my attention."

"Then you'll do it?"

"No. Absolutely not." The Buddhist undertakes to refrain from taking that which is not given. He paused, grimaced. The previous year he had declared $58,000 on his taxes. His credit card debt was just slightly less than that. "Maybe." He lit another cigarette. "That's a lot of money."

"Is it? I suppose."

"It is to me, anyway. You rich?"

She shrugged. "My Father."

"Ah." Rich daddy. That explained some of it, anyway. "How'd you come up with-how much did you say it was?"

"Three hundred and twenty-seven thousand dollars. I went to the bank. Money really isn't a problem for me. Will that be enough? I can get more."

"It should cover it," he said. "I used to know people-qualified people-who would do a job like this for three hundred dollars." He waited, not unhopefully, for her to rescind the offer, or maybe ask for an introduction to the qualified people. Instead they stared at each other for a while.

"You're the one I want," she said. "If it's not the money, then what's holding you back?"

He thought of explaining to her how he was trying to do better. He could say, Sometimes I feel like a new plant, like I just sprouted from the dirt, like I'm trying to stretch up to the sun. Instead what he said was "I'm trying to figure out what you get out of this. Is it some kind of rich-kid extreme sport? You bored?"

She snorted laughter. "No. I'm the exact opposite of bored."

"What, then?"

"Something was taken from me a number of years ago. Something precious." She gave him a flinty smile. "I mean to have it back."

"I'll need a little more detail. What are we talking about? Diamonds? Jewels?" He hesitated. "Drugs?"

"Nothing like that. More like sentimental value. That's all I can tell you."

"And why me?"

"You come highly recommended."

Steve considered. Over Carolyn's shoulder, on the dance floor, Eddie Hu and Cath were practicing the Charleston. They're getting pretty good, too. Steve remembered what it felt like to be good at something. For a time, in some circles, he had been a little bit well-known. Maybe somebody remembered. "All right," he said finally. "I can accept that, I guess. Couple more questions, though."

"Shoot."

"You're sure that whatever it is, we'll just be dealing with basic, residential alarms? No safes, no exotic locks, nothing like that?"

"I'm sure."

"How do you know?"

"My sister again."

Steve opened his mouth to wonder about the quality of her information. Then it occurred to him that he couldn't have told you exactly how many jobs he'd done if you put a gun to his head. One hundred and twelve sounds about right, though. So, instead, he said, "Last question. What if whatever it is you're after isn't there?"

"You get the cash anyway." She smiled slightly and leaned in a little closer. "Maybe even a bonus." She c.o.c.ked an eyebrow, smiled just a little flirtatiously.

Steve considered this. Before she dropped the burglary bombsh.e.l.l he'd been hoping that the conversation might head toward flirty land. But now..."Let's keep it simple," he said. "The money should do me just fine. When do you want to go?"

"You'll do it then?" Her legs were strong and tan. When she moved you could see the muscles working under her skin.

"Yeah," he said, already knowing in his heart what a terrible idea it was. "I guess."

"No time like the present."

II.

One of the things Steve liked about Warwick Hall was how clean it was. Everything was polished wood, glowing bra.s.s, well-sprung leather seats shaped like a friendly invitation for your a.s.s, black-and-white tile laid out on the floor in a way that would have tickled Euclid.

That atmosphere broke as soon as you went out the front door, though. To get back to the modern world you had to climb a couple of flights of greasy concrete steps up to the street. The stairwell was black with ancient dirt, the sort of place stray cats go to die. Drifts of Mcc.r.a.p acc.u.mulated in the corners-cigarette b.u.t.ts, fast food bags, a Dasani bottle half full of tobacco spit. Tonight it was chilly, which kept the smell down, but in the summer he held his breath while he climbed.

Carolyn didn't like it either. She had removed her rubber boots in the bar, but put them back on at the threshold, then took them off again at the top of the stairs. Her leg warmers were candy-striped in the many colors of the unfashionable rainbow. Oh h.e.l.l, I've got to ask. "Where did you even get those things, anyway?"

"Hmm?"

He pointed at the galoshes.

"I'm staying with a lady. She had them in her closet." Without the rain boots her feet were bare. The parking lot was crushed gravel. Walking on it didn't seem to bother her.

"That's my truck over there." It was a white work truck, a couple of years old, HODGSON PLUMBING stenciled in red letters on the door. The locks on his equipment cases were Medeco, the best. "Chicks dig it, I know. Try to contain yourself." It had turned cold after the sun went down. His breath puffed white as he spoke.

She tilted her head at him, a quizzical expression on her face.

"Not funny. Never mind." He got in the driver's side. She fumbled at the door handle.

"Is it jammed?"

She gave a small, nervous smile and fumbled harder. He reached across the seat and opened the door from the inside.

"Thanks." She tossed her galoshes and the bag with the $327,000 onto the floorboard, there to languish among the Mountain Dew bottles and empty bags of beef jerky. She curled up on the bench seat, legs folded beneath her, flexible as an eight-year-old.

"I got a spare jacket in the back. You want to borrow it? It's chilly out."

She shook her head. "No, thanks. I'm fine."

Steve cranked the truck. It rumbled to life. Cold air began to pour out of the vents. Last chance, he thought. Last chance to back out of this. He glanced at the floorboard. In the phlegmy yellow glow of the streetlamp he could see a bundle of money outlined against the canvas of the bag. He grimaced the way you do when you swallow medicine. "You got an address for this place?"

"No."

"Then how am I-"

"Take a left out of the parking lot. Go two miles and-"

He held up a hand. "Not yet."

"I thought we were doing it tonight?"

"We are. But first we've got to talk."

"Ah. OK."

"You ever done this before?"

"Not exactly. No."

"You the high-strung type? Nervous?"

She flashed a small, wry smile. "You know, I'm honestly not sure. If I am, I've got it under control."

"Well, that's good. I don't know what you're expecting, but this isn't going to be like bungee jumping. As a first-timer, you might be a little tense. That's normal. But after the first couple of times, it's actually pretty boring, more like helping a buddy move to a new apartment than anything you'd see in the movies."

She was nodding. "I get that. I-"

He held up a hand. "However. There are a couple of things to keep in mind. You got a cell phone?"

She looked confused for a moment, then shook her head.

"Really?"

"Really. I don't have any kind of phone. Is that a problem?"

"Nope. I was going to have you get rid of it. They can be tracked. It's just that everyone seems to have them these days. You got gloves?"

"No."

"I got a pair you can use. You'll need to put your galoshes back on too-footprints. They're probably not going to give the full CSI hair-and-fiber treatment, not for a simple burglary, but they might dust for prints. Other than that, just follow my lead and try not to touch anything you don't have to. You don't have any guns, right?"

"Nope."

"OK, good. Guns are bad news." Aside from not wanting to hurt anyone, Steve was a convicted felon. If he were caught in possession of a gun he'd be looking at five years, minimum.

"Let me get some things." Steve took his own cell phone out of his pocket and removed the SIM card. He knew that cops could put together a pretty accurate map of where a person had been by the cell towers their phone connected to as they moved around. If I remove the card, that should make it impossible, right? He wasn't sure. Back when he used to do this, cell phones didn't exist. It crossed his mind to put the phone in one of the equipment lockers in the back of the truck. He figured that would work about like an elevator in terms of insulating the signal. But you never know. Ah, f.u.c.k it, he thought. I'll just smash the thing. Probably that was overkill, but if he was going to do this he was going to do it right.

He was parked in the back corner of the lot-under a light, but away from everybody else, and mostly out of sight. Old habits die hard. He smiled a little. The metal locker over the wheel well swung open on well-oiled hinges.

He started pulling out tools. A cordless Makita drill, a couple of screwdrivers, a small crowbar, a five-pound hammer, and a slim jim he had made himself out of sheet steel from Ace Hardware. Just, y'know, for practice. He wrapped his cell phone in a towel and ruined it with two whacks from the hammer. The rest of the stuff he put into his tool belt along with a couple of pairs of leather work gloves, then stuck the tool belt in a knapsack. Long time since I put a kit together. He felt a burst of something like nostalgia and squashed it down hard. He hated how he missed this so much. He wanted to do better and, mostly, he did. Even after ten years the slap that ended his burglary career, and the accompanying verdict-You little a.s.shole-were never far from his thoughts.

But...three hundred grand. He sighed. "How far is it?"

"About twenty minutes."

"What kind of place is it? House? Apartment?"

"It's a house."