Lost Books and Old Bones

by Paige Shelton

  “No plans at the moment,” I said. “I mean, of course not.”

  “We need fingerprints of everybody here, mostly to rule you out. I need any specifics if any of you have been in the alley—the close—recently.” Tom and I said we hadn’t, but I wasn’t sure about my coworkers. “I’ve got an officer with a fingerprint machine. He’ll be right in.”

  “You don’t have to give him your fingerprints voluntarily. Not yet at least,” Gaylord said.

  “I don’t mind,” Tom said.

  “I don’t mind either,” I said.

  Gaylord nodded.

  Two officers came into the shop. I couldn’t make out the words that accompanied their somber tones as Inspector Pierce stood to join them by the front door.

  “That was fine,” Gaylord said. He turned to me. “Did you and the victim have any harsh words for each other?”

  “No,” I said. “We barely knew each other.”

  “I didn’t think so, but the inspector didn’t ask that specifically and I wanted tae make sure.” He frowned. “We might have a conflict I didn’t foresee. If the victim was related tae a man named Conn Clacher, I might not be able tae represent you. He’s a local thug, and I’ve represented him a time or two. If there are connections … Well, I just don’t know.”

  “Thug?” I asked. “Do you think he could have had something to do with Mallory?”

  “I’m going tae make some calls and see if there’s any connection. If so, I’ll tell the police, but I’m fairly certain Conn isn’t in town.”

  “Do you think Inspector Pierce will ask to see the scalpels in the warehouse?”

  “Probably, but that’s okay, isn’t it?”

  “Does he need a warrant?”

  “There was a murder. They have full access.”

  I nodded.

  “Listen to me. Do not ever talk tae the police about a crime without an attorney present. Promise me.” He handed me his card. “Tom and I went tae university together, but no matter of our friendship, I’m a defense attorney. I’m not leaving until he’s done, but do not talk to him without me or one of my colleagues.”

  “I won’t.”

  A knock sounded from the shop’s front window, turning those of us inside silent as we looked that direction.

  A young woman was outside and peering in, her face close to the glass, her hand shading the reflection. Lots of blond curly hair framed her pretty features.

  “Tom?” Gaylord said.

  “I … uh,” he began. He shrugged. “She works for a newspaper, I guess.”

  “I forgot,” Gaylord said. “Excuse me—I’ll go tell her tae go away, and then make those calls.”

  Gaylord left the bookshop, making his way around the police by the front door. He and the woman obviously recognized each other, and they came together in a brief hug and greeting and then seemed to speak to each other in, by all appearances, a friendly manner.

  “You know her?” I said to Tom.

  “We were friends at university.”

  “Oh.” I smiled at his discomfort.

  Gaylord became distracted by another passerby. I didn’t recognize the man he turned to talk to, and the blonde didn’t seem to know him either. She stepped away from them and knocked on the window again.

  One of the officers looked at her and said something. She hesitated, and then said something to him. He said something else before he turned away from her. Obviously irritated to have been dismissed, she frowned as she peered up toward the sign above the window and chewed on the inside of her cheek. She turned and waved to Gaylord, who sent her a distracted return wave before she walked away from the bookshop.

  “I’ll have to meet her at another time,” I said.

  “This is an inappropriate moment tae try tae be clever, but is there any chance you’d like tae move tae Glasgow?” Tom said.

  Edinburgh wasn’t quite big enough for me and all of Tom’s previous girlfriends, or at least women he’d dated long enough that they’d been upset when he didn’t want to date them any longer. We’d run into a number of them.

  “Long commute,” I said.

  Tom smiled ruefully.

  “Thanks for calling Gaylord. I like him,” I said.

  “My pleasure. He’s still living a young single man’s life, out every night, but he’s a fine attorney. Don’t ever hesitate tae call him if you need him, Delaney. He’ll be there for you.”

  “I appreciate it,” I said. If Tom thought I hadn’t noticed his slightly disapproving tone with the words “a young single man’s life” he was wrong, but that sort of thing was currently the least of our worries.

  He looked at me, frowned, and said, “Her name is Bridget, but I’d rather not talk about it.”

  Bridget, huh? “Sure.”

  The bustle that took place in the bookshop for the next half an hour or so was surreal. We should not have been moving out of the way of the police; there should not have been blackened marks of fingerprint powder around and on the front door. There should not have been a dead body in the close; someone who, it seemed, was killed while trying to get inside the bookshop. There should not have been a skull carried out in a see-through bag by one of the anonymous crime scene officers. And watching the filled body bag being rolled to the ambulance might have been one of the most soul-aching moments I’d ever experienced. None of this was supposed to happen.

  But it had.

  She’d been so alive, complaining about her dark roots, even. Life was fleeting. You should enjoy each moment because you just never knew. Were these still clichés when they were such truths?

  I tried not to cry, not because I felt like I needed to be strong, but because I felt like I needed to be smart. Something had happened the night before that must point to a killer. It was right there.

  I just had to remember what it was.

  SIX

  Inspector Pierce remained outside a long time, watching, directing, discussing. He was definitely in charge.

  Tom and Gaylord sat at the back table with Hamlet. I didn’t know what they were talking about, but I noticed they’d been looking at some old maps of Inverness that Hamlet had spread over the table the day before. Rosie sat at the front desk and Hector on the desk’s edge watching the goings-on with human-like blinks of curiosity. Edwin watched everything too, but he stood by the front window, his attention sometimes focused inside the shop with the rest of us, sometimes outside the window.

  “Edwin,” I said as I approached him. “I’m so sorry for all of this.”

  “Lass, you didn’t do anything wrong. None of this is your fault.”

  “I know we locked the doors, but I can’t help but think that if Tom and I hadn’t come here last night, this might have not happened. Maybe we were followed, and … I don’t know.”

  “I don’t think that’s true,” Edwin said. “I think my secrets are becoming too unruly, Delaney.”

  It hadn’t occurred to me that he might have that interpretation. “No, Edwin, it’s not because the warehouse is supposed to be a secret. We don’t know all the circumstances yet, but it’s definitely not that.”

  If the secret of the warehouse had led to Mallory’s murder, then we were all at fault because of our insistence on keeping the mystery, the secret, going. I didn’t want that to be the truth.

  Edwin gave a throaty harrumph and then leaned a little closer as he lowered his voice. “You know about the skull room at the university? I believe it’s part of the medical school.”

  I blinked. “No.” I looked toward the stairs. Inspector Pierce had gone over to the dark side again, this time with two other investigators.

  “Of course not. Why should you? There’s a room full of skulls at the university; I think the medical school professors are in charge of it. It’s not open tae the public, but there for study and research. It’s available tae visit by appointment only.”

  “And a skull by the body. That’s one more reason to suspect Dr. Eban,” I said.

  “Is it?�
� Edwin said. “Or does that feel a wee bit like a red herring?”

  “The killer put the skull there to keep the police on the scent of the medical school professor, or professors? That’s possible. It does feel obvious.”

  “Aye. Whatever it means, I hope the police will put together where it came from quickly. All of the skulls there have a mark on their inside designating where they’re from.”

  “You’ve seen the skull room?”

  “I’ve contributed two skulls.”

  I blinked.

  “Well, not … I acquired them from medical schools in Germany. It was … it’s a long story. Aye, I’ve seen the room. It’s spectacular.”

  “Did you mention it to Inspector Pierce?”

  “No. I didn’t think about it until a few minutes ago. I’ll tell him before he leaves, but if they’re any good at their jobs, they already know.” Edwin looked back toward the stairs. “He wants you and me tae go with him to the warehouse when he’s done with the other officers.”

  I nodded. “Good. I’d like to look in that drawer.”

  “Aye.” He squinted back toward the stairs. “I’m surprised they haven’t insisted already, but they seem methodical. Maybe they feel other things are more important.”

  “You’re thinking something else?”

  “Did Mallory have anything tae do with the books the other two brought in? The medical books?”

  “I don’t think so. They were from Rena’s father, according to what she and Sophie said. Why?”

  “Offhand, I can’t make a connection tae murder, but a couple of strange things have happened since the day they brought them in. I thought it was all coincidence, but now I wonder.” He glanced around again. “There was a call after they arrived. Someone was looking for those books specifically.”

  “Sounds like a good coincidence. Hamlet says stuff like that happens all the time,” I said. “Did they want to buy them?”

  “He said he was ‘interested,’ but I told him we didn’t have what he was looking for.”

  “Why?”

  “It was too easy, Delaney. It’s happened before, aye, but these books are extremely rare. There was a tone tae the gentleman’s voice that made me think he was searching for answers, not books—he didn’t sound like a typical customer. I began to wonder if the books had been stolen, but I haven’t done anything about it because … well, the women are your friends and I just didn’t know yet.”

  “You were waiting and watching? You didn’t want Sophie or Rena to get caught if they’d done something illegal?”

  “Well, I like them, you like them, and … it wasn’t that I wouldn’t want them caught. It was more about me wanting tae know the reason they might steal something if that’s in fact what happened. I was just waiting a wee bit tae learn what might have been behind everyone’s motivations before I pointed anything out. Does that make sense?”

  “Yes.” If anyone believed that there might sometimes be a good reason to do something illegal, it was Edwin, but I really hoped my friends hadn’t stolen the books. “You said a couple of things have happened. What else?”

  “Aye. I was in the kitchen the other day, making some tea, and I noticed something about the window. It seems as if someone might have tried tae break in. Mind you, lass, I can’t be sure, but I wondered.”

  “What made you think that?”

  “The glass was cracked and there are scratch marks on the bars.”

  “The glass was cracked then?” I’d been in the kitchen just the day before, and I hadn’t noticed, but I might not have looked at the window. “The bars would be impossible to file through.”

  “I believe someone might have tried, though, but we’ll never know. The glass is gone now.”

  “You think that crack, or whatever you noticed, has something to do with the medical books?”

  “I can’t be sure, but the timing is odd, and none of us knew about the scalpels before you found them last night.”

  “Someone suspected the scalpels were there. Dr. Eban.”

  “Right. All roads seem tae lead tae him. The warehouse didn’t look the least bit disturbed, but I’m anxious tae see if the scalpels are still there.”

  “Me too,” I said.

  “Mr. MacAlister,” Inspector Pierce said as if our wishes had conjured him. He came down the stairs with the other officers behind. “We’re done with everything but for one more trip to the warehouse to look in that drawer.”

  “Did you find any clues?” I said.

  Inspector Pierce blinked at me. “I’m not at liberty to discuss that.” He turned his attention back to Edwin. “Let’s take a look in that warehouse again.”

  “Delaney will have to come with us,” Edwin said.

  “I understand, but neither of you touch anything. I’ll wear gloves.”

  “I’ll come along too,” Gaylord piped up from the back table. I hadn’t seen him on the phone again so I guessed he hadn’t heard back from his colleagues about Conn Clacher’s possible tie to Mallory Clacher. He was still Tom’s and my attorney.

  Tom remained at the table with Hamlet. In tandem, they both sent me a supportive nod. I nodded back, probably not as confidently as I’d wanted to.

  Inspector Pierce frowned at everyone but didn’t say anything. The four of us were silent as we marched over, three of us following Edwin and his quick, long steps that led us quickly to the red door.

  The doorknob and parts of the frame were covered in black chalky marks.

  “You fingerprinted this door?” I asked.

  I didn’t think Inspector Pierce would answer but he did. “Even though there’s no evidence that someone got in this far, the shop’s front door was open. Maybe someone came and tried all the doorknobs, and you told us you were in here. Checking other knobs became pertinent. We printed the office doors upstairs too.”

  I nodded and turned the key three times around to the left before I pushed the door open. “Do you want us to wait out here first?”

  “No, just don’t touch anything,” he repeated. “Point, and I’ll do the honors.”

  Edwin, Gaylord, and I followed him in. I could tell Gaylord was holding back a reaction, but he did send me a moment’s wide eyes.

  “All right,” Inspector Pierce said as he looked at me. “How’s it look? A general impression first.”

  “Fine. The same as last night,” I said as I noticed the paper over the surface of the desk and the message that I needed to call Birk.

  “This the desk you put the scalpels in?” Inspector Pierce pointed as he walked to it.

  “Yes, in the bottom drawer.” My eyes skimmed over the box of Rena’s books still sitting on one of the shelves. I veered that way as I walked to the desk and confirmed that the books were still inside it, undisturbed from what I could gather. Edwin and I shared a glance. I could tell he was torn as to whether or not he should mention the books to Inspector Pierce. I didn’t think he would, and I wondered if I should. I looked at him again. He seemed to tell me to make my own decision. They were Rena’s books and Edwin had only been guessing connections. I didn’t say anything. Yet.

  With gloved hands, Inspector Pierce pulled open the drawer.

  “In that small treasure chest,” I said.

  Inspector Pierce moved all three latches easily, and lifted the lid. The four of us peered inside at the bags with the scalpels and the cases.

  “Exactly as they were when we left them,” I said, relief washing through me, though I wasn’t exactly sure why. Why was it still a good thing that the scalpels hadn’t been taken? Maybe it was as simple as the fact that they were part of the story Tom and I had told about our middle-of-the-night adventures, and seeing the scalpels somehow proved we were telling the truth about everything else too.

  “Scalpels, huh?” Gaylord said.

  “Yes,” I said. “They look like barbers’ razors.”

  “I didn’t touch anything, didn’t even think tae look in the desk, but as I told you I did come in and lo
ok in here this morning before you and I had a look. Nothing seemed out of place,” Edwin repeated.

  Inspector Pierce closed the drawer. “Have you ever had any breakins before? In here, or in the bookshop in general?”

  “Never,” Edwin said.

  “How long have you been in business? How long has this room been … this room?” The impatient look on the inspector’s face made it clear what he thought about the warehouse: he didn’t like its existence.

  “In business since the 1950s, this room since the mid-1960s.”

  “Only one attempted breakin, if that’s what happened here, in all that time?” Inspector Pierce said.

  “Aye,” Edwin said.

  Gaylord lifted his eyebrows in my direction, but didn’t say anything.

  I didn’t understand what Inspector Pierce didn’t believe, but it was clear he suspected he wasn’t getting the whole truth somewhere.

  “I’m going to talk to the other women you were with, as well as Dr. Eban, today. I need you to call me if you remember anything else that might help.”

  “I will,” I said.

  “Inspector, do you know about the skull room at the university?” Edwin interjected.

  “Yes, and we have confirmed that the skull found next to the victim was from there. The skulls are marked on their insides. That might prove to be the easiest part of the case.”

  He’d answered quickly. We all looked at him. I wondered if he regretted sharing that bit of information. He didn’t appear to.

  “Lock this place up,” Inspector Pierce said after he’d pulled out his phone and taken pictures of the scalpels in the drawer. “I see no reason to turn it upside down. It looks like no one got in here and the items that were discussed are undisturbed. Let me get some results on the fingerprints and I’ll let you know when you can resume as normal.”

  Inspector Pierce watched me closely as I relocked the door. He had us glance into the kitchen. The window was broken, but there was no glass. I assumed it had been cleaned up by the police. Black fingerprint dust decorated the small window frame.