The Collectors cc-2

by David Baldacci

  She stared up at the big old house. In another life she and Jonathan might have lived there, with a passel of children, who knew? It was probably a good thing it hadn’t turned out that way. She would’ve likely made a terrible mother.

  Her thoughts turned to the obvious issue. Jerry Bagger would be erupting in two days. The smart move would be to leave the country now, despite what she’d told the men about meeting tomorrow. It didn’t take her long to decide. She was staying and seeing it through. Maybe she owed it to Jonathan. Perhaps she owed it to herself. Because right now seemed a good time to end her collection of lost chances.

  CHAPTER 31

  ANNABELLE AND THE CAMEL Club gathered at Stone’s cottage at seven o’clock the next morning.

  “Nice digs,” she said, gazing around the small interior. “And you have such quiet neighbors,” she added, motioning out the window to the tombstones.

  “There are some dead people whose company I would prefer over that of certain of my living acquaintances,” Stone replied tersely.

  “I can relate,” Annabelle said cheerfully, sitting down in front of the empty fireplace. “Let’s get to it, guys.”

  Reuben sat next to her looking for the world like a large puppy hoping for a little scratch around the ears. Caleb, Milton and Stone sat across from them.

  “Here’s my plan,” Stone said. “Milton will find out as much as possible about Bob Bradley. There may be something about that we can use. I’ll visit Bradley’s house, or rather what’s left of his house, and see what I can discover. Reuben used to be stationed at the Pentagon. He’ll work his contacts there to find out what he can about Behan’s military contracts that Bradley’s dethroned predecessor might have helped push through.”

  Annabelle gazed at Reuben. “Pentagon, huh?”

  He tried to appear modest. “Three tours of Nam too. Enough medals to decorate a damn Christmas tree. Hey, it’s all about serving your country.”

  “I wouldn’t know,” Annabelle said, turning back to Stone. “But what about Jonathan’s death? How do we find out if someone killed him?”

  “I have a theory about that, but it’ll require going to the Library of Congress and checking out the fire suppressant system there. The one problem with that is we don’t know where it’s located in the building. Caleb can’t find out because it’s classified for some reason. I guess so unauthorized persons couldn’t sabotage it, although I think that’s precisely what happened. The building is so massive that even if we could search room by room, it would take forever. We also need to see the configuration for the ventilation system for the room where Jonathan was found dead.”

  She asked, “What’s this fire suppressant system got to do with anything?”

  “I have a theory,” is all Stone would say.

  “Wouldn’t the architect who did the building have the plans that would show both the fire system and the HVAC?” Annabelle pointed out.

  “They would,” Stone said. “Although the Jefferson Building was built in the late 1800s, it underwent extensive renovation about fifteen years ago. The Architect of the Capitol has the plans, but we have no access to them.”

  “Did they use a private architectural firm to help with the renovation?” she asked.

  Caleb snapped his fingers. “You know, they did, one right here in D.C. I remember now, because the government was trying to stimulate the local economy and was getting more into public-private partnerships.”

  “There’s your answer,” Annabelle said.

  “I’m not following you,” Stone replied. “We still have no access to those plans.”

  She looked at Caleb. “Can you get me the name of the firm?”

  “I believe so.”

  “The only issue will be whether they’ll let us take pictures of the plans. I doubt they will, and copying them is probably out too.” As she was thinking out loud, the Camel Club stared at her mystified. She finally noted this and said, “I’ll get us into the architectural firm, but we need copies of the designs if we’re going to locate the fire room and HVAC in the building.”

  Milton said, “I have a photographic memory. If I look at the plans once, I can memorize them.”

  She looked at him skeptically. “I’ve heard people make that claim before, and it never quite works out.”

  “I can assure you that it ‘works out’ with me,” Milton said indignantly.

  She grabbed a book off the shelf, opened it to a page in the middle and held it up in front of Milton. “Okay, read the page to yourself.” He did so and nodded. Annabelle turned the book around and looked at the page. “All right, Mr. Photo, start regurgitating.”

  Milton read the page from memory, including punctuation marks, without one misstep.

  For the first time in their company Annabelle looked impressed. “You ever been to Vegas?” she asked. He shook his head. “You might want to try it sometime.”

  “Isn’t card counting illegal?” Stone asked, quickly deducing what she was alluding to.

  She answered, “No, so long as you don’t use a mechanical or computer device to do it.”

  “Wow,” Milton exclaimed. “I could make a fortune.”

  Annabelle said, “But before you get your hopes up, even though it’s not illegal if you’re just using your brain, if they catch you, they’ll beat the crap out of you.”

  “Oh!” Milton said, horrified. “Never mind.”

  She turned to Stone. “So how do you think Jonathan was killed? And no more doublespeak or I walk.”

  Stone studied her and then made up his mind. “Caleb found Jonathan’s body. Right after that he fainted. At the hospital the nurse said that he was getting better and that his temperature was coming up, not down.”

  “And your point is?” Annabelle said.

  “The fire suppressant system at the library uses a substance called halon 1301,” Caleb said, taking up the explanation. “It starts as a liquid in the pipes but turns into a gas when it comes out of the nozzle. It puts out fires in part by eliminating oxygen in the atmosphere.”

  “Meaning Jonathan might have suffocated to death! Good God, you mean the police didn’t stumble across that possibility and check to see whether the gas cylinder was empty?” Annabelle said angrily.

  “There was no evidence that the system was even engaged,” Stone said. “The warning horn didn’t sound, and Caleb learned that it was operational, although it could have been disconnected and then reattached later. And the gas leaves no residue.”

  “And on top of that, halon 1301 could not have killed Jonathan, not at the levels that are used to suppress fires at the library,” Caleb added. “I checked it. That’s why it’s used in spaces occupied by people.”

  “So where is this leading?” Annabelle asked. “You seem to be saying two different things. It was the gas but it wasn’t the gas. Which is it?” she demanded.

  Stone took up the discussion. “One element of the suppressant being engaged is the lowering of the temperature in the room. Caleb said he saw Jonathan’s body, got an immediate chill and fainted. I believe the chill came from the gas, which led to the nurse’s comment in the hospital about Caleb’s temperature coming up. And I think Caleb fainted because the oxygen levels in the room were low, but not low enough to kill him, because he’d come into the room about a half hour after Jonathan.”

  Annabelle said, “So it obviously wasn’t this halon 1301 stuff. So something else?”

  “Exactly. We just have to find out what.”

  Annabelle stood. “Okay, I need to start doing some serious prep work.”

  Stone rose and faced her. “Susan, before you really become involved, you need to know that there are some very dangerous people tied up in this. I’ve already had evidence of that personally. It could be very risky for you.”

  “Oliver, let me put it this way. If it’s any more dangerous than what I was involved in last week, I’d be floored.”

  Stone looked stunned by this comment and stepped back.

&
nbsp; Annabelle hooked an arm through Milton’s. “Okay, Milton, we need to spend some time together.”

  Reuben looked crushed. “Why Milton?”

  “Because he’s my little Xerox machine.” She pinched Milton’s cheek and he immediately turned red. “But first, we have to get him the right clothes, the right style.”

  “What’s wrong with my clothes?” Milton said, looking down at his red sweater and jeans, both of which were impeccably cleaned and pressed.

  “Absolutely nothing,” she said. “Except they’re all wrong for what I need.” She pointed at Caleb. “Call Milton with the name of the firm as soon as you get it.” She snapped her fingers. “Let’s go, Miltie.”

  She strode out the door. A shocked Milton looked helplessly at the others and hissed, “Miltie?”

  “Milton!” Annabelle called from outside the cottage. “Now!”

  Milton shot out of the door. Reuben immediately whirled on Stone. “Are you just going to let her take him?”

  “What exactly would you suggest I do, Reuben?” Stone said bluntly. “That woman is a hurricane and earthquake all rolled into one.”

  “I don’t know, you could . . . I mean . . .” He plopped down in a chair and growled, “Damn it, why couldn’t I have a photographic memory!”

  “Thank God you don’t,” Caleb exclaimed in a disgusted tone.

  “What makes you say that?” Reuben demanded hotly.

  “Because then she’d be calling you Ruby, and I’d have to be sick to my stomach.”

  CHAPTER 32

  LATER THAT DAY AT THE LIBRARY Caleb sent an e-mail to the administrative offices. An hour later he found out the name of the private architectural firm that had helped with the Jefferson Building’s renovation. He telephoned Milton with that information.

  “How’s it going with that woman?” he said in a low voice.

  Milton whispered back, “She just bought me a black suit and a really bright tie, and she wants to restyle my hair. You know, jazz me up.”

  “Did she tell you why?”

  “Not yet.” He paused, then added, “Caleb, she sort of scares me. She’s so, she’s so confident.” Milton had no way of knowing, but he had never uttered a truer statement.

  “Well, you just hang in there, Miltie.” Caleb hung up, chuckling.

  He next phoned Vincent Pearl, knowing that he would get the answering machine, since the rare book shop wasn’t open until later in the evening. The fact was he didn’t want to talk to the man because he hadn’t made up his mind what to do about the sale of Jonathan’s collection yet, but most of all he didn’t know what to do about the Psalm Book. When its existence was revealed, there would be a positive uproar in the rare book world. And he would be at the center of this maelstrom, a thought that terrified but also intrigued him. A little time in the spotlight wasn’t such a bad thing, particularly for a person used to operating in the obscurity of a library.

  The only thing that stopped him from going full bore ahead was a nagging thought. What if Jonathan had gotten the Psalm Book somehow illegally? That might account for his secrecy about the book. Caleb didn’t want to do anything to besmirch his friend’s memory.

  Caleb put these unsettling thoughts aside and walked over to speak to Jewell English, who, like the Hemingway lover, Norman Janklow, had been a regular in the reading room over the last few years.

  As he walked toward her, Jewell took off her glasses, tucked her pages of carefully written notes inside a small manila folder and motioned for him to sit down next to her. When he did, she clutched his arm and said excitedly, “Caleb, I got a line on a mint Beadle. Maleska, the Indian Wife of the White Hunter. It’s a number one, Caleb.”

  “I think we have a copy of that volume,” he said thoughtfully. “Make sure it’s in true mint condition, Jewell. The Beadles were cheaply put together.”

  Jewell English clapped her hands together. “Oh, but, Caleb, isn’t it exciting, though? A number one.”

  “Yes, it’s very exciting. And if you want me to look at it first, I’d be glad to.”

  “Oh, you are a dear. I need to have you come over sometime for a drink. We have so much in common.” She patted his arm and raised her carefully penciled-in eyebrows suggestively.

  Caught off guard, Caleb said hurriedly, “Yes, well, that would be nice. Someday. Maybe. In the future. Sometime. Perhaps.” He tried not to run back to his desk. Being hit on by a septuagenarian didn’t really do much for his ego. He quickly recovered his good mood and surveyed the room. It was actually comforting to see bibliophiles like Jewell and Norman Janklow perched at the beautiful tables perusing old books. It made the world seem far saner than it actually was. Caleb loved giving in to such an illusion, at least for a few hours each day. Oh, to be back in the world of foolscap and quill pen, if only for a little while.

  He was working at his desk about twenty minutes later when he heard the door to the reading room open. He glanced up and froze. Cornelius Behan was walking toward the reference desk when he spotted Caleb. He said something to the woman stationed at the desk, and she pointed to Caleb. He rose from his desk as Behan walked over, his hand out. He didn’t have his bodyguards with him, Caleb noted. Perhaps security wouldn’t let them through with their guns.

  “Mr. Behan?” he said. Caleb had a sudden vision of Behan with a pair of panties flapping from his privates. He had to choke back a laugh. “Sorry,” he said. “Air went down the wrong way.”

  “Please, just call me CB.” They shook hands. Behan looked around the room. “I didn’t even know this place existed. You should advertise better.”

  “We could do a better job of public awareness,” Caleb conceded. “But with shrinking budgets it’s hard to find the money.”

  “Trust me, I know all about government pecuniary shortfalls.”

  “Well, you’ve done very well dealing with Washington,” Caleb commented, and then instantly regretted having said it as Behan looked at him with heightened scrutiny.

  “It was a nice funeral,” Behan said, abruptly changing the subject. “As far as funerals can be nice, of course.”

  “Yes, it was. It was good meeting your wife.”

  “Right. Anyway, I was downtown meeting with some folks on the Hill and thought I’d drop by. All this time I was Jonathan’s neighbor, and never once have I seen where he worked.”

  “Well, better late than never.”

  “I guess Jonathan really loved his work here?”

  “He did. Always the first one in.”

  “Lots of friends here. I’m sure everyone liked him.” He looked at Caleb questioningly.

  “I think Jonathan got along well with everyone here.”

  “I understand you were at Jonathan’s house last night with a woman?”

  Caleb took this second abrupt change in subject in stride. “You should’ve come by if you saw us.”

  “I was busy.”

  I bet you were, Caleb thought.

  “But some of my people saw you, they keep a tight lookout. So, this woman?”

  “She’s an expert in rare books. I had her come by to take a look at some of Jonathan’s holdings as part of the appraisal process.” Caleb was very proud of himself for coming up with that lie so quickly.

  “So what’ll happen to Jonathan’s house?”

  “I’m assuming it’ll be sold. I’m not really involved in that part at all.”

  “I was thinking about buying the place and turning it into a guesthouse.”

  “Yours isn’t big enough?” Caleb blurted out without really thinking.

  Thankfully, Behan laughed. “Yeah, I know. You’d think it would be, but we have lots of guests. I thought you might have an inside track on what they’re going to do with it. Maybe you’ve looked all through the place,” he added in a casual tone.

  “No. I’ve just confined myself to the vault.”

  Behan studied Caleb closely for a long moment. “I’ll just call the lawyers then, let them earn their money.” He hesitated and
added, “So can you give me a tour of the place while I’m here? You keep really rare books here, I understand.”

  “Hence the name Rare Books reading room.” Caleb had a sudden thought. It was against certain library protocols, but what the hell, it could be important in finding out who killed Jonathan. He said, “Would you like to go into the vaults?”

  “Yes,” Behan said almost too quickly.

  Caleb gave him the standard tour, which he ended near the spot where Jonathan DeHaven had been killed. Was it Caleb’s imagination, or did Behan’s gaze linger just a beat too long on the fire suppressant gas nozzle sticking out of the wall. His suspicion was confirmed when Behan pointed at it.

  “What’s that?”

  Caleb explained about the system. “We’re actually going to replace the gas we use with another one that’s more ozone-friendly.”

  Behan nodded. “Well, thanks for the tour.”

  After Behan had left, Caleb called Stone and told him about this encounter.

  Stone remarked, “His roundabout way of asking if Jonathan had any enemies is very curious unless he’s looking into the possibility of pinning the murder on someone else. And the fact that he wanted to know if you’ve looked all through Jonathan’s house is very telling. I wonder if he knew about his neighbor’s voyeuristic tendencies?”

  After he had hung up with Stone, Caleb picked up the book he’d brought from DeHaven’s vault and walked through a series of underground tunnels to the Madison Building where the Conservation and Preservation Division was located. The division was split into two large rooms, one for books and the other for everything else. Here almost one hundred conservators labored at restoring rare and not-so-rare items to better condition. Caleb went into the book room and headed to a table where a thin man wearing a green apron was carefully turning the pages of an incunabulum work from Germany. Around him was an assortment of tools, ranging from ultrasonic welders and Teflon spatulas to old-fashioned manual screw presses and X-acto knives.