by C. S. Poe
Aw, shucks.
“I have an idea.”
Chapter Nine
“A YEAR ago I’d have said this was absurd,” Calvin stated.
“You didn’t know me a year ago.”
Calvin checked his mirrors before making a turn at the end of the block. “You really want to go all the way to Queens?”
“That’s where the Museum of the Moving Image is.”
“You don’t have to take the train, though. I can drive you.”
“They don’t open until after ten,” I replied. “And I’ve no desire to wait around in the desolate, ass-end of Astoria with a bunch of overworked and undercaffeinated filmmakers. I’ll go this afternoon. It’s no problem.”
“Whatever you want,” Calvin answered.
I looked at his profile. “I appreciate the offer, though.”
Calvin nodded, eyes on the road as he made his way through morning traffic to the Emporium. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised there’s a film history museum in the city.” He drove past an open spot on the side of the road before quickly backing up to parallel park.
“Just be happy the Kinetoscope didn’t come with a stag film,” I stated.
“Why’s that?” Calvin put a hand on the back of my seat and looked behind him as he worked his magic.
“It might have required a trip to the Museum of Sex instead.”
“Gotta love New York,” he murmured before putting the car in Park and turning off the engine.
I climbed out of the passenger seat and looked at the storefront. The gate was down and the interior lights appeared off.
All was seemingly well.
Calvin stepped between the bumpers, came onto the sidewalk, and opened the back door to let Dillon out. He handed me the leash, leaned against the car, and crossed his arms. God, he looked so cool without even trying.
“Max is on his way?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“You told him what happened?”
“Uh-huh.”
Calvin retrieved a near-empty tin of mints from his coat pocket and popped a few into his mouth.
“Hey. What do you want for your birthday?”
Calvin crunched down on the cinnamon treats. He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Come on. It’s tomorrow, and I’m a terrible present-picker-outer.”
He crossed his arms again. “I don’t need a gift.”
“Need wasn’t part of the question.”
“I already have everything I could possibly want,” he corrected.
I scoffed. “Aren’t you romantic.”
Calvin smiled.
“If you end up with a watch, it’s your fault I panicked and bought something generic,” I continued.
Calvin raised his arm and pulled the sleeve back to show me his nicer-than-I-probably-would-have-picked-out-anyway watch. “I already have one.”
“Coffee mug.”
“We just bought that new set.”
“Shaving kit.”
“I’ve been shaving for nearly thirty years. Safe to assume I’ve already got the necessary grooming products.”
“How about a tie?”
Calvin glanced down at the one he was wearing.
“You’re killing me,” I stated.
“Boss!”
I turned to my right, recognizing Max’s voice before I was able to correctly identify his shape on the sidewalk. Summer sunshine’s a real bitch. “Hey,” I called.
He jogged toward us, gave Calvin a high five, then looked at me. “How’re you?”
“Fine. Thanks for coming.”
“Well… I work here,” Max said as he pointed at the Emporium. “Admittedly some days I’m less excited about that than others.”
I made a face.
“Can we sage this place before opening?”
“No.”
“Or call a priest,” Max continued.
“Max.”
“Because I am so out if Linda Blair shit starts happening next.”
I ignored Max’s commentary and walked to the gate. I unlocked it, and then Calvin came up behind me and hoisted the woven metal upward before I had a chance to. I unlocked the front door next, leaned inside to tap in the security code on the wall panel, and moved out of the way.
“Armed boyfriends first,” I said.
Calvin stepped inside. He flipped the overheads on and started down one of the aisles. Max and I peered through the open doorway, waiting until Calvin deemed the shop clear of thieves and killers.
“The police department put a padlock on the back door,” he said.
After letting the pup inside, I took Dillon’s leash off, killed the overheads, and switched on some bank lamps. “Keep it on for now?”
“If you don’t mind.”
“No problem. I won’t be able to accept any more oversized crates full of murder and mystery.”
Calvin shook his head, pushed his suit coat back, and put his hands on his hips. “God, I love you,” he said dryly.
I smirked. “Love you too.”
Calvin stepped forward and kissed me. “No sleuthing today.”
“Museums don’t count,” I said. For clarification purposes.
“Only barely.” He looked over his shoulder at Max, returning from the counter. “Keep him on the straight and narrow,” he said while pointing at me. “Or I’m arresting you too.”
“Straight isn’t gonna happen. But I’ll call if he runs off with only his magnifying glass and delusions of being the World’s Greatest Detective.”
“Traitor,” I muttered.
“I’m leaving,” Calvin stated. He gave me one more look. “Will you go to your father’s afterward?”
“Only if you promise not to pull an all-nighter. I mean it.”
Calvin took a breath and nodded. “Promise.” He reached down to give Dillon a few scratches behind one ear before he saw himself out.
AFTER WE opened for business, I was a bit distracted.
Not that anyone could really blame me.
I stood in front of the Kinetoscope, behind the counter, coffee cup in one hand, the other rubbing my chin. I scowled at the viewfinder, lost in thought. I was trying to convince myself I had simply been set up to be swindled, and that somehow those plans had gone astray after one of the contenders wound up dead in my dumpster. But the film itself was the object of desire, and it just wasn’t worth anything in comparison to the Kinetoscope. And that was a four-foot-tall, heavy, old cabinet. It wasn’t like the owner would have been stupid enough to think it could be hijacked from the Emporium and wheeled down Second Avenue with people none the wiser.
So it was definitely the footage they wanted. I supposed the owner could argue the historical value alone made it priceless, but it just seemed like an odd way to try to suck my wallet dry.
I glared harder at the Kinetoscope.
It did nothing in return.
“I figured out what you should get Calvin for his birthday,” Max muttered, suddenly hovering beside me.
I jumped, spilled coffee, and spun. “Jesus. Don’t sneak up on me like that!” I wiped my hand on my jeans.
“I had to break you out of that obsessive zone you get into.” He pointed to his own forehead. “You’ve got that thinking-too-hard crease between your eyes.”
I rubbed at my forehead, like the wrinkle was a stain I could wipe away. “What were you saying?”
“Birthday gift for Tall, Pale, and Ginger.”
“And what’s that?”
“Concealer.”
“Conceal—huh?”
Max pointed at my neck. “To hide that wicked hickey he gave you.”
“Make yourself useful. Go dust something.” I turned back to the Kinetoscope.
Max left when the bell over the front door chimed. He welcomed the customer to the Emporium, and I stopped listening.
I’d have to call the shipping company again. As much as I wanted to believe a murder long-since past was what this all revolved around, solv
ing it seemed about as likely as obtaining the little golden key had been for Alice after she shrank to only ten inches high. So I’d mostly focus on the present and help Calvin obtain a name to put to the Kinetoscope. I just hoped I didn’t get Cindy on the phone again.
I crouched down in front of the Kinetoscope and leaned close. “Shit.” I’d gotten coffee on the wood finish. I set the cup on the floor and wiped the base with the sleeve of my sweater.
My idea to visit the Moving Image museum wouldn’t be of any real use to Calvin. It was mostly to satisfy my own curiosity about the footage and to gather historical facts about the Kinetoscope. Despite not having the film on hand to show curators, I hoped there was still an opportunity to glean something of mild interest relating to the boxing match. Or the murder.
You know. Either-or.
Believe it or not, I was quite happy with my recently acquired domestic setup. I wasn’t looking to set my life on fire. But… at the same time, this was a mystery within a mystery. If Calvin was taking care of today’s murder, then who else was there to look into the one of another era but me? Even if I never got to the bottom of the long-ago death, I couldn’t just ignore it indefinitely. Once upon a time, that victim had been someone. He had a story. And as a researcher, historian, and recovering sleuth, it was my job to share that story so he wasn’t forgotten.
Near the base of the cabinet, where I’d been wiping the wood, a corner piece suddenly shifted.
“Oh no.” I reached back, pulled my magnifying glass from my pocket, and got on my hands and knees to inspect the possible damage. “Don’t you dare be broken,” I said in a threatening tone. I touched the wood, and it gave way a bit more. I sat back on my knees quickly. “Max!”
“Boss,” he answered from somewhere near the front displays.
“Come here.”
“Ah, you should probably come here first.”
Immediately, all I could imagine was my assailant inside, with a weapon, threatening Max. I jumped to my feet, turned, and saw a man with him near the door. The spike of adrenaline took a second to ease upon recognition.
I walked toward Max and patted his shoulder. “It’s okay.”
He looked at me like I was crazy. “You sure?”
“Yeah.” I stared at Neil. When Max took an exit, I said, “Hey.”
“Morning.”
“If you’ve come for more of my clothes, take a hike.”
I wouldn’t say a smile crossed Neil’s face—too strong of a description—but the glimmer of one perhaps. The sort of smile you could only see from the corner of your eye.
“I was driving by and saw you were open.”
“You don’t drive this way to work,” I replied.
He put his hands into his pockets. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“After last night.”
“Everyone has a moment of weakness,” I answered with a stiff upper lip.
Neil nodded. “I know.”
He didn’t say anything else, and I didn’t offer further insight.
The tension between us at that moment could have been cut with a knife.
Finally, Neil exhaled. “All right.”
“Fine.”
We kept staring at each other.
“Good talk,” I concluded. I started to leave.
“Sebastian, hold on.”
I looked at Neil again.
“Is everything okay here?”
“Yes. Calvin even opened with me.” I cocked my head to the side and shifted focus, going from Point A to Point Q, as Calvin liked to say. “When you were collecting fingerprints from the Kinetoscope, you didn’t damage it, did you?”
“Oh hell, Seb. Do you think I got this job yesterday?”
Whatever sort of shaky truce there had been between us was gone just like that.
“No. I mean—the bottom corner looks to be loose.”
“The whole cabinet appeared to be wiped down,” Neil said, not really answering my question.
“Uh, yeah. I did that after Max and I moved it behind the counter.”
He frowned. “I only pulled a partial from the door.”
“Got a hit on it yet?”
“Nothing from AFIS,” Neil replied thoughtfully. Then he looked at me and held a hand out. “I’m not talking about an open investigation with you.”
“What about an ID on Dumpster Kid?” I continued.
Neil crossed his arms. “I know there’s nothing wrong with your hearing.”
“It’d be nice if you’d tell me.”
“So Winter can kick my ass seven ways to Sunday?”
“I’m trying to help.”
“Helping never helps,” Neil answered.
“You should be a motivational speaker,” I replied.
Neil shook his head. “I’d nearly forgotten what a salty son of a bitch you could be.”
“You started it.”
A chuckle came from an unaccounted-for voice. I’d missed the bell over the front door entirely and was surprised to see Lee Straus, in another good-looking suit, standing not too far away.
He held up a hand. “I’m sorry for interrupting. You guys are funny.”
Neil and I looked at each other.
“A real riot,” Neil muttered, deadpan.
Lee made a beeline for me, forcing Neil to take a step out of the way. “I don’t mean to be a bother two days in a row.”
“Oh. Uh—no.” I glanced at Neil and then back at Lee. I noticed he had a lanyard with a custom design around his neck and an ID card hanging from it. It stood out against his light-colored suit. I squinted a bit to make out—ah, his teacher’s badge, I thought it was. With a motif of a sun rising over a hill? Not a school logo I was familiar with. “It’s fine. Did you need something?”
“Calvin isn’t here, is he?” Lee absently tucked the badge into his breast pocket.
“He’s at work.”
“I felt I came on a little strong yesterday,” Lee continued. “Seeing Calvin was a bit of a shock. He all but vanished when we got out of the Army. I couldn’t even find him through his family. We saw a lot. Together. I’ve always been a little worried about his transition to civilian life.”
It’s not that I disliked Lee as a human being. If Calvin had kept his company, he must have been okay. It was that I disliked Lee as a—a guy. He’d been out of the picture for far too long, and yet spoke like he and Calvin were still tight as hell. I mean, I got it. He was possessive, a bit jealous, and definitely offended that he was him and I was me and Calvin chose Frumpy Dumpy Sebastian Snow. But he wasn’t sorry for how strong he had come on.
He was there to rub salt in my wounds.
“A lot of the guys used to say he was heartless—nothing shook him. But that isn’t always a valuable skill in the real world,” Lee murmured.
I remembered one of the photographs Calvin kept hidden in a box. Of him in uniform, dirty and missing his helmet, holding a crying child.
“Heartless is going out of style here in New York,” I replied. “Mr. Invincible is more popular these days.”
Lee smiled. “Yeah? Suits him.” He made a flippant gesture with his hand. “Anyway. He seems happy with you, so I wanted to give my blessing.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I wasn’t aware I needed your approval.”
Okay, maybe that came off a bit dickish.
My choice in words didn’t seem to bother Lee. “Calvin used to be my boy—well, we used to see each other.”
Over Lee’s shoulder, Neil slowly leaned into my line of sight.
“It was pretty serious,” Lee continued.
Neil had an eyebrow raised as he made eye contact with me. I could almost hear him asking, “Want me to butt in?”
It was nice of him.
I took a deep breath and gave Lee a fake smile. “What’s past is past.”
Lee met my fakeness. “I suppose so.”
Neil cleared his throat. “Mr. Snow and I were discussing
business.”
Lee looked behind him, like he’d completely forgotten Neil was there. “Oh! I’m sorry. I believe you two were somewhere around ‘salty son of a bitch,’” he said in amusement.
I really didn’t like Lee.
Neil pushed past him. God bless the man, his pricklier-than-a-cactus personality was turning out to be beneficial for once. He stood sideways to look at Lee. “We’re capable of insulting each other without assistance.”
But before any of us could speak again, there was a shot.
Cracking glass.
And the front window of the Emporium exploded.
Chapter Ten
I HIT the floor hard enough to have the wind knocked from my lungs.
Neil had his body draped over my own, his head lowered beside mine.
Another shot splintered the air.
“Holy shit!” Max screamed from somewhere.
“Stay down!” Neil bellowed in response.
A third round sounded louder. Closer. Like it’d ricocheted off the pillar beside the register. Neil tensed above me. A fourth hit the distinct sound of hard plastic and gadgetry. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized the security camera near the door had been shot.
Then… I heard nothing.
Nothing but ringing and blood pumping in my ears.
Neil raised his head, looking down at me with an intensity I’m not sure I’d ever seen before. “Are you okay?”
“I think so.”
He sat back on his knees and looked over his shoulder. I sat up on my elbows. The front window was gone, broken and shattered into a hundred thousand little pieces across the floor and nearby displays. New York City ambience drifted into the shop.
Well… at least it wasn’t raining this time.
Neil got to his feet and held a hand out. “Call 911,” he said as he helped me stand.
“I already am!” Max’s scared voice said from somewhere behind the counter.
“Winter, then,” Neil told me before stepping away.
“Wait! Neil!” I grabbed his arm. “It’s dangerous.”
He pulled his pistol from his holster. “Sebastian,” he said in a quiet, unreasonably calm tone. “Call Calvin.”
I blinked a few times and nodded. I reached into my pocket for my phone, chose Calvin in the contacts, and put it to my ear.