Murder at the 42nd Street Library
Page 28
“I’ve got change. Do you want something from the vending machines?”
They walked over to the machines and waited their turn. John got a canned root beer, chips, and a couple of candy bars. When they sat down again, John chewed on his candy bar and drank from his soda.
“And the something else?”
John’s manner was different, more confident. “The girl who was killed, Emily Smith. I knew her.”
“Her real name is Emily Yates. Are you sure it’s the same girl?”
John nodded. “I knew she had a different name. Her father was a famous writer.”
“Yes.”
“You know anything about her kid?”
Ambler felt a thousand synapses go off. Every fiber of his body was alert. “Yes. What about him?”
“He’s my son. I’m wondering what happens with him now she’s dead—”
Ambler wasn’t hearing. His head was spinning. “What did you say?”
“I went with Emily for a while.”
“You’re Johnny’s father? Are you sure? How do you know?”
John smiled, not a smirk this time, a real smile. “Check the birth certificate. I gave it to Mom to keep for me. My name’s on it.”
Ambler felt his face light up. He was smiling at his son.
His son was smiling at him. “Just like yours on mine.”
* * *
“Raymond. That’s nothing to joke about.”
“It’s not a joke. I’m Johnny’s grandfather. I found out from my son. Last night, I toured a few bars and found his mother. She has a copy of Johnny’s birth certificate with some of John’s stuff in a safe-deposit box.”
“You’re Johnny’s grandfather? We can keep him. Oh my God! It’s a miracle.” She was screaming and then she was crying. “What will you do? How does it work? What about Lisa Young and her lawyers?”
“I can’t wait to talk to them.”
“Will they let you keep him? You’re a man, and you’re old.” She paused. “Well, not that old.” She hesitated again and spoke carefully. “What about me, Raymond? You can keep him. What about me?”
“You can keep him, too. We’ll work something out.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He heard the doubt in his voice.
“Can I tell Johnny?”
“You can tell Johnny but carefully. I’m not sure he’ll understand it all.”
Adele laughed. It was a pretty sound. He’d never really listened to her laugh before. “I’m not sure I understand it all. Do we have to keep hiding?”
“No. You can take him to your place, or bring him to my place.”
Her tone changed. “You know he has to go to school. And he needs clothes. I bought him some things and shoes. But he needs his own things.…” She went on about so many things he hadn’t thought of that she sounded so sure of. He couldn’t keep up. “And we need to get him away from McNulty. He’s a terrible influence. Johnny won a hundred dollars at the track yesterday. Now, he’s talking about trifectas and five buck on the nose and sounds like Louie the Lip.”
Acknowledgments
Librarians are among the most knowledgeable and helpful people in the world, generous to a fault with their time and knowledge—and underappreciated and underpaid almost everywhere. Here I want to thank the multitudes of librarians in schools, colleges, and public libraries who over the years helped me in so many ways, beginning with the kind woman who checked out my first book—about Matilda the cat—from the Greenwich, Connecticut, public library when I was in first grade.
Special thanks to Jay Barksdale, now retired, who presided over the study rooms at the 42nd Street Library and who welcomed me to the fold of the Frederick Lewis Allen room (where I wrote a good part of this book), despite my questionable credentials, and answered a ridiculous number of questions about the workings of the library. Thanks also to Carolyn Broomhead who carried on Jay’s guardianship of the study rooms when he retired. She, too, answered myriad questions and took me on an eye-opening, back-of-the-house tour of the 42nd Street Library (carrels in the stacks, a carpentry workshop, who would have guessed?). Thomas Lannon, the 42nd Street Library’s Acting Charles J. Liebman Curator of Manuscripts, sat down with me a number of times to talk about what curators of library special collections actually do. He did this with patience and good humor, while providing a running commentary on the history of New York City. Dr. Isaac Gewirtz, Curator of the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, provided an introduction to the remarkable collection he presides over.
Lesa Holstine, Collection Development Manager at Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library in Evansville, Indiana, formerly Arizona Librarian of the Year, proprietor of Lesa’s Book Critiques blog, as well as a book reviewer for a number of journals including Library Journal—and friend to mystery writers everywhere—helped me so much when I was first embarking on this endeavor. My thanks, too, to Jane Murphy of the Westport, Connecticut Public Library, who also helped immensely in the beginning stages of the book and introduced me to a bibliography of librarian detectives. Doris Ann Norris, Molly Weston, Kaye Wilkinson Barley, and many others, librarians and other mystery lovers, on the listserv DorothyL have kept me informed and entertained for more than a decade now.
My agent Alice Martell provides great advice, never fails to return calls, responds to requests in seconds, and, best of all, is ever hopeful. My editor at Thomas Dunne Books, Marcia Markland, rescued me years ago from the remainder bin at the Strand Bookstore and has stuck with me ever since. Quressa Robinson, also at Thomas Dunne Books, provided editorial suggestions for the book that were invaluable. My thanks also to everyone else at Minotaur/Thomas Dunne/St. Martins, especially copy editor David Stanford Burn, Hector DeJean and Sarah Melnyk in Minotaur’s publicity department, and Talia Sherer, Macmillan authors’ fabulous link to the librarians of the world. Thanks to Tom Mann for his astute comments on the book, and a special thanks to Roan Chapin, the best first reader ever, who came to know my characters at least as well as I did and helped me see them for who they are.
ALSO BY CON LEHANE
What Goes Around Comes Around
Death at the Old Hotel
Beware the Solitary Drinker
About the Author
Con Lehane is a mystery writer. He has published three previous crime novels featuring New York City bartender Brian McNulty (Beware the Solitary Drinker, What Goes Around Comes Around, and Death at the Old Hotel) and a dozen or so works of short fiction. He is a former editor, college professor, union organizer, and bartender.
Please visit his Web site at www.conlehane.com. Or sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Author’s Note
Epigraph
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
&n
bsp; Chapter 30
Acknowledgments
Also by Con Lehane
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A THOMAS DUNNE BOOK FOR MINOTAUR BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
MURDER AT THE 42ND STREET LIBRARY. Copyright © 2016 by Con Lehane. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover photograph © Robert Crum / Shutterstock
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Lehane, Cornelius, author.
Title: Murder at the 42nd Street library: a mystery / Con Lehane.
Description: First edition. | New York: Minotaur Books, 2016. | “A Thomas Dunne book.”
Identifiers: LCCN 2015045810| ISBN 9781250009968 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250036872 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Murder—Investigation—Fiction. | Libraries—Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Mystery & Detective / General. | GSAFD: Mystery fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3612.E354 M87 2016 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015045810
e-ISBN 9781250036872
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: April 2016