by Carol Pack
A local coin shop with a good reputation was more than happy to pay Johanna cash for gold. She did not say she had a doubloon, just an “old gold token my grandfather gave me before he died.” That stopped the proprietor from questioning her about where it came from and told him she did not seek any profit above the value of the metal. She slipped the money into her wallet and caught a cab to Jackson’s house.
Johanna stood for a moment on the sidewalk outside the teen’s home. She envisioned what the dilapidated cottage might look like with a few repairs, a fresh coat of paint, and some rose bushes planted out front. The sound of a dog barking brought her back to reality. She walked up to the front door and, seeing no bell, knocked firmly.
Mrs. Roth’s hair escaped from a clip loosely secured to the top of her head. She had fine lines around her eyes, and unconsciously clamped her lips together in a frown. Fuzz balls matted her pink sweater, which had a stain on the front. Her feet were bare and her toenails plain, and her hands looked rough and red, as if continually immersed in detergent and water.
Johanna stuck out her hand. “Hi, Mrs. Roth. I’m Johanna Charette, from the Library of Illumination. Jackson’s school nurse told me he didn’t feel well, and I came to see if there’s anything I could do.”
Jackson’s mother’s composure crumpled, and she sniffed back the threat of tears. “He’s so sick. His brother has pneumonia, and I think Jackson has it too. But I have no money for medicine, and I don’t know what to do.”
Johanna thought about the cash she had just received from the coin dealer. If it weren’t for Jackson, she wouldn’t have that money. “I think I can help out. Has he seen a doctor?”
“I wanted to take him to the walk-in clinic, but I can’t leave my other son alone, especially now that he’s just starting to feel better. If I take him with us, I’m afraid he’ll have a relapse ...” Her voice trailed off as she tried to hold back more tears.
“You take Jackson to the clinic. I’ll watch your younger son while you’re away.”
“It’s no use. I have no money.”
Johanna opened her bag and removed several bills. She handed them to Jackson’s mother. “See how far this goes.”
The woman stared at the cash for nearly a minute. “I can’t take this.”
“Yes, you can. Think of it as a loan. I’ll give Jackson some extra work when he’s feeling better to pay it off.”
Ten minutes later, Johanna watched as Jackson’s mother led him out of the house. His face had lost all color, his eyes looked dull, and his hair hung limply. He coughed a phlegmy, rumbling sound that seemed to originate deep within his lungs. He did not acknowledge Johanna’s presence.
While she babysat, Johanna wondered what Jackson had done with the money from the doubloon he had pawned. Surely he would have given at least some of the proceeds to his mother. Then again, who knew what a poor teen with a sudden windfall would do?
A couple of hours passed before Jackson and his mother returned. He walked straight to his room and closed the door. “You have to excuse him,” his mother apologized. “He’s really sick.”
“Does he have pneumonia?”
“No. The doctor said it’s good that I brought him in before it got that bad. I used your money to pay the doctor and fill his prescriptions on our way home. I’m sorry, I don’t have any change for you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Johanna replied. “I’d better be getting back to work. Tell Jackson I hope he feels better soon.”
Back at the library, Jeeves gave Johanna an inquisitive look. “Is the Royal Family coming for a visit?” he asked in a clipped British accent.
“What makes you say that?”
“While you were gone, some men delivered these.” He pointed to a number of metal stands and a pile of red velvet ropes that Johanna had rented. She wanted to prevent people attending the library’s public reading from getting close enough to the shelves to open any books.
“I had a devil of a time letting them in,” Jeeves continued. “I could hear them banging on the door, and sometimes they sounded like they were right in the room, screaming something about the buzzer not working. Then one of them used rather coarse language involving something to do with illumination, and a big opening appeared out of nowhere. The less gifted of the two grumbled the entire time they were here, because he apparently had to do all the work. The other one insisted on standing guard to make sure the door didn’t close. Then they acted like I should pay them something for making the delivery, but the invoice they gave me clearly indicated the order had been paid in full, and I told them as much.
“They stomped out of here like a couple of delinquent school boys. I’m sure I don’t know what this world is coming to.”
Johanna couldn’t hide her smile. “You handled it just right, Jeeves. These ropes are to cordon off the library shelves, to keep visitors from reading the books.”
Jeeves didn’t miss a beat. “Yes. I can see how that would be a brilliant tack for a library to take—keeping readers away from books. It would certainly eliminate wear and tear.”
Rather than explain, Johanna thanked Jeeves as she walked over to the novel bearing his name and closed the cover.
She almost regretted not asking the valet to help her set up the stanchions. Almost. Instead, she took her time moving each one in place and attaching the velvet ropes. They couldn’t ensure that no one would open a book, but they would send the signal that getting too close to the shelves was frowned upon. As a safeguard, Johanna had also ordered mass-produced leather-bound books that she knew would not come to life within the library walls, and placed them within easy reach of people attending the reading. That way, they would have something to divert their attention from the library’s cherished and enchanted hoard of books. She spent the rest of the day moving any book that might look interesting out of sight.
Jackson did not return to work the following day, so when another shipment of un-enchanted books arrived, Johanna took on the task of spreading them around. She scattered a pile of them not too neatly on the refectory table. She put a few on the reception desk. And some others on a rolling cart. She made sure they were the only books within reach on any shelf positioned close to the velvet ropes. She would also advise guests not to stray when she greeted them at the door.
Their speaker would bring his own annotated book to the library to read. She had ordered a selection of hard and soft-covered copies of the classic he had selected, for anyone who wished to purchase or borrow one. She had taken every precaution she could think of to avoid disaster. She hoped her perseverance would pay off.
The following afternoon, last-minute preparations kept Johanna busy. She didn’t know if Jackson would return to work, and she could not afford to depend on him.
Just when it looked like she had everything under control, the phone rang.
“Is this Johanna? It’s Larry Farmer from Once A-Pawn A Time.”
“What can I do for you, Mr. Farmer?”
“Mr. Farmer? Why so formal all of a sudden? I like to think of us as friends.”
“Yes, of course, Larry, how can I help you? Do you need some other coin catalogues?”
“No, nothing like that. I just heard my favorite thespian is doing a reading at the library. We’re actually old school chums. I admire him a lot, so I just called to tell you to make room for one more guest tonight.”
“I’m sorry, Larry, I don’t think I can do that. Members of the library board put the guest list together, and it’s by invitation only. We have a finite amount of space here, and a long waiting list in case anyone cancels.”
“Oh, come on, Johanna. I’ll stand if I have to. It’s just that I already told him I’m attending. He’ll never forgive me if I stiff him. Please ... do a guy a favor.”
She really wanted to say no but thought better of it. Maybe she could pump him for more information about the doubloon. “Okay, Larry, but don’t tell anyone about this. It’s another one of our little secrets.”
>
“Don’t worry, Johanna. My lips are sealed.”
Larry Farmer did a little jig around his pawnshop. He needed a reason to be on the library grounds, and with so many people there for the reading, nobody would notice him snooping around.
He was fired up, especially after the kid had returned that morning with another doubloon. Larry had taken it to a coin dealer he knew and asked him for an appraisal. The dealer told him it would take a couple of days. When he asked the dealer to rush, the man said he couldn’t because he had to quit work early to take his wife to a reading at the Library of Illumination.
The pawnbroker had immediately felt his excitement build, and now that he was on the guest list, nothing could stop him from doing a little prospecting.
He put the Closed sign in the window and lowered the lights. He opened the drawer under the cash register and removed a small Smith & Wesson handgun. A man had pawned it years before, and when he never reappeared to claim it, Larry loaded it and put it in the drawer behind the front counter. You never knew when there was going to be trouble. He slipped the gun into his waistband. If he found any doubloons, he might be forced to protect them. Besides, there was nothing like a little heat to make you feel warm all over.
That afternoon, Jackson knocked on Johanna’s office door. His complexion appeared mottled, and his red nose rivaled one belonging to a certain holiday reindeer. But Jackson said he felt better and wanted to work. Then he stepped forward and put a fistful of ten and twenty-dollar bills on her desk.
“What’s this?”
“It’s the money you lent my mother to take me to the doctor. I’m paying you back.”
Her eyes unconsciously narrowed. “Where’d you get the money to pay me back?”
Jackson’s face went totally red. He looked down at his feet. “I found a doubloon in the library,” he said softly. “I cashed it.”
“At Once A-Pawn A Time?”
His head snapped up. “How did you know that?”
Before she could answer, the phone rang. Then the door buzzer sounded. Everything started to happen all at once. People called for directions, the caterer arrived to set up coffee and dessert, and a return shipment of books came in from a borrower.
Their conversation would have to wait.
Johanna managed to shower and change before guests started to arrive. She had just propped open the interior door when the head of the library board walked in. The public reading had been his idea, and he grinned from ear to ear. Johanna shared her concern about guests not straying beyond the velvet ropes, and considering the blank look he gave her, she wondered if he actually knew about the library’s charms. A group of patrons entered, and as Johanna checked off their names on her guest list, the administrator wandered off.
When Larry Farmer arrived, he reached for her hand. She realized too late that his hands were filthy.
“Sorry about that. Flat tire. Do you have a men’s room?”
She pointed it out, and he wandered off in that direction.
Finally, the star of the show made his grand entrance. As people took their seats, Johanna realized she had forgotten to set up an extra chair for Larry Farmer. She saw him comfortably ensconced in the front row, while an elderly woman remained standing. She went to her office to find Jackson. “I need you to run downstairs and get one more chair. We had a last-minute addition to our guest list, and I forgot to bring up an extra one.”
“Sure.”
The pawnbroker did a double take when he saw Jackson walk past the self-absorbed group and activate the entrance to the basement.
Larry abandoned his seat and walked behind the crowd. When he felt sure no one was paying attention to him, he slipped down the stairs and headed toward the spill of light coming out of the storage room.
“I’ve got it,” Jackson said as he turned around. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head at the sight of the pawnbroker. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to ask you the same thing, kid. You never mentioned that you worked here. I want to know where you’re getting all those gold doubloons.”
“I told you, I found them out back.”
“Well then, let’s you and me take a walk out back, so you can show me where those shiny golden coins are coming from.”
“I can’t. I’ve got work to do.” Jackson picked up the folding chair.
“Now, kid,” demanded the pawnbroker.
Jackson still had a fever and felt pretty lousy. He had shown up for work only because he had a crush on Johanna and wanted to impress her. He knew she would have her hands full. But that didn’t mean he had to put up with the pawnbroker. He turned to look Larry in the eye and lay down the law, but instead, he found himself looking down the barrel of a gun. He could no longer think of a thing to say.
“Is there a way out back from here?” Larry asked.
“No.”
The pawnbroker snarled, “You’d better not be lying to me, kid.”
“I’m not. I always use the back door by the utility closet.”
Larry stuffed the gun in his jacket pocket. “Okay, kid, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to carry that chair upstairs and set it up. Then you’re going to walk straight to the utility closet. I’m going to watch you every step of the way. When I’m sure no one is looking, I’m going to meet you at the utility closet, and you and me are going to take a little trip out back.” He thrust the barrel of the gun forward, so it was clearly outlined in his pocket.
Jackson merely nodded. He didn’t have much of a choice.
—LOI—
CHAPTER FOUR
Upstairs, Johanna introduced the speaker to the audience, unaware that anything was amiss. She watched as Jackson placed the folding chair at the end of the back row. Her words of introduction faltered, however, when she saw him walk behind the velvet rope by the stacks. Her eyes widened when he grabbed a graphic novel off one of the shelves. Before she had a chance to yell “No,” the superhero known as Impervio the Indestructible landed in front of the podium. The audience looked startled at first, but after a moment they broke into applause. They obviously thought it was some form of entertainment.
Jackson dove under the velvet rope, rolled across the floor, and jumped up behind Impervio, shouting “That man has a gun!” as he pointed to the pawnbroker. Jackson moved so gracefully that it looked like it had been rehearsed. Impervio took a step toward Larry Farmer, who fired several bullets at him. Just like in the comics, the bullets could not penetrate Impervio’s force field; but before he could reach Larry, the pawnbroker threw his gun at the superhero and rushed out of the library. Impervio followed closely on his tail.
Jackson walked over to the graphic novel, closed the cover, and re-shelved it. Impervio, wherever he might be, disappeared as quickly as he had arrived. Jackson calmly walked over to the podium, where Johanna stood speechless. He smiled at her and said to the audience, “And that, ladies and gentlemen, illustrates the power of the written word and demonstrates how reading can be so richly rewarding. But you already know that, which is why you’re here. So let’s give a warm welcome to a man we all know and admire, who will entertain us with a reading from his favorite book.”
The audience clapped. Jackson took Johanna’s arm and led her to the information desk, so the evening could continue without further interruption.
“What is going on?” she whispered not so calmly in his ear.
“I’ll explain everything when everyone is gone. I swear.”
The rest of the evening progressed smoothly, although the local thespian later complained that he should have been informed about the Impervio skit. Everyone else loved it, and patrons chatted happily as they departed. The public reading was a huge success.
“I want an explanation. Now,” Johanna said as they locked the door to the library.
Jackson’s calm, cool demeanor evaporated. “It all started with the pirates fromTreasure Island. The book really did open by accident. I had re-shelved a bunch of them
and needed to insert one next toTreasure Island, but the linen on the front cover was loose and bunched up every time I tried to slide it into place. I didn’t want to damage it, and I figured if I pulled outTreasure Islandand placed the linen book next to it and pushed them both in together, it would work. Except I pulledTreasure Island out a little too fast, and it fell open. Before I could do anything, one of the pirates grabbed the book and handed me a mug of rum. I was so surprised, I guess I got carried away.
“Anyway, when you came in, I closed the book. But when I cleaned up, I found a bunch of doubloons on the floor and ...”
“A bunch?” she interrupted.
“About a half dozen. I was going to give them to you then and there, but you were pretty angry and had locked yourself in the back room. So I stuck them in my pocket until I could talk to you. But by then, I was so scared you would fire me that I forgot all about them.
“Then when I left, I found them in my pocket. I was afraid you would think I had tried to steal them, because I didn’t give them back right away. I didn’t know what to do. Plus, my brother has pneumonia, and my mom said the hundred dollars I gave her last Saturday didn’t go very far, so I took a doubloon to the pawnshop so I could give her more money.”
“Where are the others?”
“Uh ... well ... I took a second one to the pawnshop today. And that guy who owns the place must have gone bonkers, because he showed up tonight with a gun.”
“You told him the doubloons came out of the book?”
“No! I would never do that. I told him I found them out back under the dumpster.”
“It’s a wonder he’s not back there right now with a shovel.” She thought of Larry’s dirty hands.
“I think Impervio scared him away.”
Johanna cringed. Just for a moment she had forgotten about the superhero known as theavid activist. “I only hope everyone in the audience believes it was a theatrical performance for their entertainment.”
