The Bookman's Wake by John Dunning

Author:John Dunning [Dunning, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective
ISBN: 9780731813032
Publisher: Bt Bound
Published: 1994-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

27

* * *

I finally reached Leith Kenney at midnight. The conversation was short but potent.

“Mr. Kenney?”

“Yes.”

“I’m calling from Seattle.” I didn’t tell him who I was. I was more interested at this stage in finding out who he was. I played my trump card right out of the gate. “I’m calling about Grayson’s Raven . The 1969 edition.”

I heard him catch his breath, as Lewis and Clark might’ve done at their first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. I knew one thing right away: I had dealt myself a strong hand, even if I couldn’t see all the cards.

I let his pause become my own. Then I said, “Are you interested in talking about it?”

“Oh, yes.” His voice quivered at the prospect. “Yes, sir,” he said, underlining the sir part.

His eagerness was so palpable that I knew I could run the show. “Tell me about Rodney Scofield.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Look, I’m just a guy who’s stumbled into something. I was tipped to you people by somebody who might know a lot more than I do. But right now I don’t know you boys from far left field.”

“Mr. Scofield is a businessman…”

“And?”

“He collects books.”

“Grayson books.”

“Yes.”

“And it’s fair to say that Mr. Scofield is a pretty substantial man.”

“You can check him out. You’ll find him in most of the financial reports that are available in the library.”

“And who are you?”

“Well,” he said as if it should be obvious, “I work for Mr. Scofield.”

“Doing what, besides taking questions about Grayson?”

“That’s my full-time job.”

I thought my way through a stretch of silence. “Would it be fair to say that Scofield would pay a small fortune if a Grayson Raven were to fall into his hands?”

The silence was eloquent. Mr. Scofield would pay more than that. Mr. Scofield was that most dangerous of book animals, the man with the unquenchable passion and the inexhaustible bank account.

“I’ll get back to you,” I said.

I hung up before he could protest. I wouldn’t worry anymore about Leith Kenney or Rodney Scofield. I had their number, I knew where they were, and they’d be there when I wanted them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.