Book Club Read Free

became of the weapon? It wasn’t one of the objects in this room. I hardly think, having eliminated the threat to his freedom and acquired what he came for, he’d stop to put the weapon back. If, on the other hand, he brought it with him, it becomes a coldblooded act.”
    â€œFingerprints.”
    â€œI was trained to think like a murderer. I’d wipe them off rather than take the chance of being seen on the street carrying a bronze vase or a marble bust.”
    â€œDNA.”
    â€œPossibly. As I said, I’m far from current.” He hooked on his spectacles. “Wasn’t Lloyd interviewed recently by a television crew?”
    â€œYeah. Big to-do when a network van rolls into a town this little. Some kind of reality show like Hoarders, only high-end: rich collectors. It was what you call a pilot, hoping to become a series.”
    â€œNot an unlikely procession. In many cases, the only difference between a wealthy bibliomaniac and somebody’s mother-in-law living in an apartment full of old newspapers and empty pop bottles is the size of the investment.”
    â€œSort of a nutjob Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous .”
    Sharecross looked pained.
    â€œI’d hate to see that adjective applied to Lloyd. The reason I brought it up …”
    â€œFor once we’re neck-and-neck. I’ll see about getting that TV footage and we’ll compare it to the crime scene. If the picture’s sharp enough, we’ll see what was in that gap—if Mr. Fister didn’t overhaul the library in the meantime.”
    â€œI doubt it. It looks the same as the last time I visited him, and as we’ve discussed, he had the foresight to prevent an extensive reorganization.” The bookseller’s tone was wistful.
    â€œCheer up, Avery. One morning you’ll hop out of bed, rarin’ to give your place a good old-fashioned spring cleaning.”
    â€œThat’s the pep-talk I’ve been giving myself for thirty years.”
    â€œI can’t believe it. I can’t sleep nights thinking I’ll be murdered in my bed.”
    â€œDon’t concern yourself, Birdie,” said Uncle Ned. “It ain’t as if everybody in town ain’t dreamt about it as long as they knew you.”
    Carl Lathrup used his gavel. “That’s enough of that, Ned. Miss Flatt has the floor.”
    â€œShe ought to take a mop to it now and again. I been stepping in the same wad of Billy Fred Muster’s gum since I voted last.”
    Billy Fred, chewing in the back row of chairs in the crowded town hall, shook his head. “That’s a lie, you old coot. Lincoln’s been dead since before gum was invented.”
    â€œPipe down, the both of you.” Birdie gave her girdle a mighty tug. “We used to have a nice safe town to raise our children in. The last week alone, the murder rate’s gone up a hundred percent.”
    â€œThat’s because last week it was zero,” Chief Dockerty pointed out. He stood near the door with his thumbs hooked inside his Sam Browne belt, his belly pushing out around them.
    Lathrup pointed the gavel his way. “Since you feel like talking, Chief, maybe you can bring this special session up to date on the progress of your investigation.”
    â€œMr. Sharecross and me—”
    â€œAnd I ,” corrected Neil Bonn, principal of the elementary school and a substitute English teacher.
    â€œWell, Mr. Bonn, I didn’t know you was putting your heads together when I wasn’t present.” Dockerty grinned. “Mr. Sharecross and I are expecting an express package from ZBC headquarters in New York City sometime today. The program director’s sending us a DVD of that TV pilot they shot in Mr. Fister’s library back in March. With any luck, it’ll tell us what book the killer stole.”
    â€œAnd what good will that do, I’d like to know?” asked Birdie. “While I’m at it,