Mayhem in May

by Camilla Chafer

  I thought. "I don't have a lot of experience in rare book sales but a private buyer is a definite possibility. Also, there are plenty of rare book dealers and fairs that cater to interested parties."

  "So it wouldn't be hard to sell a book quickly?"

  I shook my head. "No, it would be fairly easy."

  "Thanks again," he said before he left, nodding to Ethan as he exited.

  Ethan stepped in and we both watched the detective walk to his car. "What was that about?" asked Ethan.

  "I think I just handed the detective a whole bunch of ideas about how I might be responsible for stealing rare books and killing Lance to cover up my crimes. Now I've all but told him I know how to fence the books too."

  "Whoa! You'll have to catch me up. I'm not sure I understood any of that!"

  I laughed and shook my head. "How can I help?"

  "I called Artie and he said he'd meet me here so I can take some measurements while the museum is quiet."

  "He stepped out to lunch a half hour ago," I told him. "And I think he has the keys for the building. I'd offer to wait but I need to run an errand to the library. I just had an idea."

  "Why don't I walk with you?" Ethan checked his watch. "I haven't had lunch yet and you can explain what's going on."

  "Okay," I agreed. "Artie should be here when we get back. Let's go."

  During our walk to the library, I told Ethan what happened that morning and how I suggested all kinds of new theories that pointed directly to my guilt. By the time I got to the part about searching Lance's car, Ethan was shaking his head. "If you were the guilty party, you wouldn't be handing motives to Detective Logan so willingly. He knows that."

  "Then you haven't watched every episode of “Colombo.” The guilty party is always more than helpful," I scoffed.

  "Why are you really running an errand to the library?" he asked. "I put two and two together and figured it had something to do with the missing books."

  "I figured if anyone knew anything about books, it would be the head librarian, Sara Cutler. We've collaborated a few times on small exhibitions and she's very knowledgeable."

  "Do you think she could be Lance's fence?" Ethan winked.

  I gasped and swatted Ethan's arm playfully. "No! If Lance were up to something shady, and so far it's all guesswork on my part, I don't think he would team up with Sara. I'm one hundred percent positive she doesn't spend her free time fencing rare books."

  Sara Cutler wasn't at her desk when we walked in but the assistant librarian waved us upstairs. We jogged up the beautiful staircase and stepped onto the upper level. After a little searching, we found her arranging a display case on the far side.

  "Tess! Hi!" she called, waving when she saw us. She tucked her brown hair behind her ears, smiling as she waited for us to walk over. "I was thinking about you this morning. What a terrible business at the museum. You all must be so upset."

  "We're still shocked," I told her. "But I have every faith in the investigation."

  "I hope they catch who did it. What a terrible thing to happen to Lance!"

  "Were you friends?" I asked.

  Sara shook her head. "Oh, no. Actually, that just seemed like the right thing to say. Sorry, if it didn't come out too sympathetic."

  "We hoped you might be able to help us," said Ethan, moving on before Sara became embarrassed. "We're making some inquiries."

  "I don't know that I can. I hardly knew Lance at all. I don't know if it was his general demeanor, and I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but he left a bad impression with me. He was rude to me on both occasions we met. Like I said, it's still a terrible thing to happen to a person." She winced and I understood her dilemma. It was hard to feel really sorry for such a horrible person but like me, Sara couldn't lie and say he was a nice guy.

  "It's not about him so much as the museum's book collection. I wondered if Lance ever spoke to you about it?" I asked.

  Sara shook her head quickly. "No, never. I don't think he would either."

  "Why's that?" asked Ethan.

  "I came to the museum just last week to talk with Artie about borrowing some of those lovely botanical books you have for an evening event at the local gardening club and Lance called me a ‘parochial idiot.’"

  "Ouch!" I pulled a face. Unfortunately, that sounded exactly like Lance.

  "I know. Anyway, he didn't stick around and Artie said it was fine to borrow them and I should talk with you. I meant to ask you at the party but then Lance..." Sara trailed off.

  "We can discuss it soon. I'm sure we'll be happy to lend the books to the library," I assured her. "I wondered if you knew anything about the rare books world? Sellers and buyers, valuations, that sort of thing?"

  "A little. I don't have any purchasing power for rare books but I do subscribe to a few auction houses and journals that cover such information. Occasionally, the library gets a bequest so it's useful to have some knowledge but I have to admit, it's a nerdy passion of mine."

  "We all have nerdy passions," smiled Ethan. "Mine is making matchstick models of buildings."

  "I've seen a couple displayed in your office window. Did you make them?"

  "Sure did."

  "If you ever want to make one of the library, we'd love to borrow it," said Sara. To me, she said, "They're amazing. Every little detail is so perfectly reproduced."

  "I will make one when I get some time," agreed Ethan.

  Before they got side-tracked, I knew I had to bring the conversation back to the point. "If I gave you a small list of books, do you think you could find out if any of them are valuable?" I asked. "That is, very valuable?"

  "Sure, I can try. Do you have the list?"

  I only had my audit list with me but I told Sara I would get some paper from her desk and leave the list with her assistant. "No need," said Ethan, producing a notepad from his pocket.

  I printed the book titles, authors and editions and handed it to Sara. She skimmed it and her eyebrows rose. "I think I've seen this one recently," she said, tapping one of the titles. "I remember because it had such a pretty cover. Come to my office." She closed the lid of her display case she was stocking and we followed her downstairs and across the library to a small office. She rifled through a stack of catalogs and junk mail before she found the one she was looking for. After flipping through a few pages, she turned it around and pointed to a listing.

  Ethan whistled. "Do you think that's one of your missing books?" he asked.

  Sara looked to me. "Missing? As in stolen?"

  "I think so," I said with a heavy sigh as I looked at the listed price for the book. "That's a lot of money."

  "The auction was last month. Let me see if it sold," she said. She sat at her computer, her hands whizzing across the keyboard. "Yes. Here it is. This book sold for a lot more than the reserve price. Almost fifty thousand dollars!"

  "Could it be a coincidence? Perhaps it's another book from the same printing?" Even as I said it, I had a horrible feeling the recently sold book was one of the ones I was looking for.

  "Times that by eight?" said Ethan as I was already doing the mental arithmetic. "That is definitely worth murdering for!"

  Chapter Nine

  The information Sara Cutler imparted kept my brain occupied as Ethan and I returned to the museum. "I can see the lure of stealing valuable books to sell," said Ethan as we rounded the final corner, "but surely Lance knew he'd be discovered at some point."

  "That's if he really was stealing the books. We don't know for sure," I pointed out.

  "You saw him take one!"

  "I'm sure I did, but it could easily have been a different book. I wasn't exactly paying attention," I admitted. Now I wish I had looked more closely instead of focusing on being so mad at him. "If only there was some way of tying the missing books directly to Lance but Detective Logan and I searched his office and didn't find anything; and when the detective searched his car, he also came up empty-handed."

  "Lance would hardly have held
onto stolen property. He would have sold them as fast as he could in case anyone raised the alarm. What you need is a bill of sale."

  I gave him a skeptical look. "Would he really keep a bill of sale for a stolen item?"

  Ethan looked sheepish. "When you put it like that... No."

  "I'm going to do some online research and see if I can find any recent sales of the missing books. I might even find the buyer or the middleman if he used one. I could ask them if they dealt with Lance. At least then I can give some evidence to Detective Logan that exonerates me from the thefts."

  "What will you do if you can't find that evidence?"

  I shrugged. "Hope he doesn't arrest me for theft and murder?"

  "I don't think you did either crime."

  I smiled warmly at his confidence. It was nice he believed in me. "Thank you."

  "There's Artie. I better go but I'd like to know what you find out. Drinks later?"

  "Oh, I..." I faltered. Was this a date? Like last time when Karen was so convinced he asked me to lunch on a date and I thought it was a work meeting. A flash of hurt crossed Ethan's face as I hesitated and before I could agree, Ethan shrugged. "Or just let me know when we see each other next time. I'm sure I'll be back over in a few days. Artie!" he called before he bolted ahead, jogging to catch up with my boss. They entered the museum and when I followed them in moments later, they'd already crossed the lobby.

  Karen waved me over to the reception desk, a pair of scissors in her hand. "Guess who just walked in," she whistled. "I'll give you a clue. He's a handsome architect. Now take a guess!"

  "I don't need to. Ethan and I walked here together and he jogged ahead to meet Artie. What are you doing here anyway? Artie said he gave you the day off."

  "I couldn't stay away. I tried to but I just couldn't. I knew I'd find something to do like opening the mail." Karen brightened. "Did you and Ethan have lunch together?"

  "No. He helped me on a fact-finding mission at the library," I said, launching into an explanation about what I found in the museum’s library and Sara's advice, ending with "--and then I blew it when he asked me to have drinks later."

  Karen shook her head slowly, tut-tutting. "Maybe third time will be the charm," she said.

  "Like he'll ever ask me again!"

  "Oh, he will," said Karen with such certainty that I had to wonder if she knew something I didn't.

  I laughed and shook my head. Karen's positivity was never-ending. Unfortunately, she probably wouldn't feel very positive after she heard what I was about to say. "I think we need to conduct the museum audit sooner than planned," I told her. "We have to make sure all our other artifacts are safely accounted for, especially after what you told us over lunch."

  "Surely you don't think Lance could have stolen anything else!"

  "I hope not but I didn't expect him to steal any books either. Now it looks like he might be responsible for the disappearance of several. I'd like to be certain. It's all conjecture at the moment so please don't mention my suspicions to anyone else. It's bad enough that I have to inform the board about the missing books. They'll be furious!"

  "Artie will be devastated," said Karen. "I'm happy to help with the audit."

  "I appreciate it. It'll be a two-woman job, checking and rechecking."

  "You just let me know when. Maybe we can do some of it while the museum is closed to the public? I can't bear the thought of that awful man getting his grubby hands on the museum's treasures. I'm not surprised he was up to no good!"

  "It's still no more than conjecture," I reminded her. "Nothing is proven yet. I'm going to do some research, then I'll clue Artie in after he finishes his meeting with Ethan."

  "Good luck with that," said Karen, sucking in a deep breath. She cut into the box before waving me away and I had no doubt she was relieved she did not have the task of telling Artie the bad news.

  I headed upstairs to my office, strangely uncomfortable with the silence in the museum. Normally, I'd hear tourists asking for directions or one of the volunteers imparting noteworthy information. Even here in the office wing, someone would be on the phone or tapping a computer keyboard; but today there was nothing but the sound of my footsteps.

  Lance's office was empty and Artie must have been with Ethan in the outbuildings. For the first time since I joined the museum I felt the unbearable weight of loneliness. No, not loneliness per se, but how alone I was. If someone managed to get to Lance on an evening when the museum was filled with people without anyone seeing a thing, how easy would it be to attack me? Or Karen? I shivered. I had to banish the horrible thought. There was no reason anyone would want to kill me, and I now had a very good theory for why someone might want to kill Lance. All I had to do was verify it.

  While my computer powered up, I glanced at the list of missing books. With only eight titles to research, the list wasn't exhaustive. I wasn't sure where to start so I simply typed in the first title and author, anxiously waiting for the search engine to return the results.

  I spent a couple of hours wading through pages of material that took me to all kinds of other pages but few had any vital information. I refused to get disheartened but I knew when I started the research that I was unlikely to find a page with a big red arrow pointing to the right information like you’d see in a cartoon. I wondered if Detective Logan was having any more success than I, or was he also chasing a dead end?

  Rocking back in my chair, I wondered who the red-headed detective might have on his suspect list. He hadn't arrested me despite his obvious misgivings so I hoped he didn't plan to at all... unless he was merely confirming his suspicions until he could arrest me later! My heart palpitated unpleasantly and I swallowed, forcing careful breaths to calm the burst of anxiety; in and out, a gentle rhythm. Why should I worry when I knew I wasn't the murderer! Just as soon as I found out for certain that Lance actually stole the books and sold them, I could supply the detective with that morsel of evidence, giving him another suspect. If Lance were stealing, someone else had to know about it! Perhaps they wanted the proceeds all for themselves!

  With renewed energy, I resumed my search. Twenty minutes in, I found a listing that made me sit up straighter. I checked the title and author against my list and zoomed in on the supplied photos. Not only did it match one of our stolen books but I was more than certain it was exactly the same book! I hit print and while I waited for the printer to churn out the pages, I moved to the description box.

  The listing was dated a month ago with a brief description of the book's condition and authenticity. No mention of where it came from but I noted the auction was held in Georgia and the reserve price was listed as five thousand dollars.

  After a couple of minutes of searching, I had a phone number for the auction house. I grabbed my desk phone and dialed.

  "Dwight Auctions. How may I help you?" asked the chirpy woman on the other end of the line.

  "Hi, I'm inquiring about one of your recent auction lots. I wanted to find out how much it sold for."

  "Sure, I can get you that information. Do you have the lot number?"

  I leaned into the screen, located it and read it out.

  "One moment please. Ah, yes, here it is. That sold for nine thousand, three hundred dollars to a private collector."

  I made a note of the figure then added the price of the book Sara Cutler found. Yes, this book had sold for less but it was still a lot of money. "Could you tell me who bought it?" I asked.

  "It's against company policy to give out that information. Are you interested in purchasing a copy or a similar title? If so, I can give you information on some upcoming lots."

  "Yes, I think so," I said, which wasn't exactly a lie. "Perhaps I could speak with the seller?"

  "I can't give that information out either but I can tell you they currently have no more lots listed with us,” she said before reeling off a short list of other rare books for sale. “Is there anything else I can help you with?"

  I declined, thanked her and hun
g up. The conversation wasn't entirely fruitless. I was sure that book belonged to the museum and now I also knew how much it sold for; but without a seller's name, I was no closer to the truth. Perhaps Detective Logan could be more persuasive than I. Just as disappointment set in, the familiar sound of Artie's heavy, uneven footsteps sounded in the corridor. Grabbing the papers, I hurried after him.

  "Artie!" I called as he opened the door to his office. He half-turned, smiled and waved me in after him.

  "I just gave Ethan another tour of the new wing," he said, walking around his desk and settling into his chair. "He says he'll come back after he's made the preliminary architectural drawings just in case he missed anything. I left him there to finish up and he'll bring the keys back up in a few minutes. Can you take him when he wants access again? These stairs do not make my old hips happy!"

  "Yes, sure," I agreed readily. Perhaps it would give me the opportunity to undo my mistake earlier. Maybe Karen was right; Ethan would ask me out again. I bit back a smile as I realized how much I wanted that to happen. Flopping into the visitor's chair, I took a deep breath. Unfortunately, this would not be a pleasant conversation.

  "Is it the promotion?" asked Artie after a long moment of silence. "I'm sure the board will regain their senses now and offer it to you. Like they should have done in the first place!"

  I shook my head. The promotion wasn’t anywhere near the forefront of my mind. "Actually, no. I hadn't even thought about it," I admitted, although I would have to seriously consider my next steps soon. Even if the board did offer it to me, did I want it now, knowing I was their second choice?

  "I still can't imagine what got into them!" railed Artie. "They know I've been grooming you to take over after me for a year now. Lance..."

  "I'm here about Lance."

  "Dreadful business."

  "I think..."

  "I can imagine what you must think! I assure you, Tess, you are the woman for the job. I've never met someone more dedicated to this museum than you. You've practically been running the place these last couple of months by yourself and your ideas are perfect for taking this museum forwards. I know it, and the board knows it. Everyone knows it!" he continued, breaking off to cough loudly and bang his chest with a closed fist.