“Nobody move,” Littlefield said.

Nobody did.

“You’re right,” he said. “I killed them both, and I don’t know why you had to make a federal case out of it, because they both asked for it. Rathburn thought I was somebody else, and I couldn’t manage to stall the son of a bitch. I didn’t mean to kill him, not at first, but then when I switched a light on and saw him lying there I got a look at the library steps and saw how easy it would be to make it look like an accident. But that would only work if he was dead, so I picked up the pillow and put him out of my misery.”

“And Wolpert?”

“He knew I’d killed Rathburn. I don’t think he even knew what it was Rathburn wanted from the guy who never showed up, but he saw an opportunity to do himself some good by putting the squeeze on me. I tried fencing with him, but the little bastard was pretty slick. Before I knew it he’d managed to worm out of me that I had a briefcase full of stolen bonds, and he was all set to cut himself in.”

“Until you cut him out instead.”

“I lost my temper,” he said. “That’s the same thing that happened with Rathburn, when you come right down to it.”

“But you didn’t grab a camel this time around.”

“What I grabbed was his necktie,” he said. “Grabbed one end of it in each hand and pulled until his face got purple. I couldn’t figure out what to do with him, so I took him outside and parked him on a lawn chair and threw a sheet over him. I didn’t figure anyone would notice.”

“You didn’t figure anyone would notice?”

“Well, maybe I wasn’t thinking too clearly. It was late and I’d had a hell of a day, plus I’d helped myself to a couple of glasses of that Drum stuff. And I didn’t write it down in the book, either, Nigel. I’m afraid your honor system doesn’t work too well with guys like me.” He gestured sharply with the gun. “Hold it right there, Colonel. That’s as close as you get if you don’t want a bullet.”

I glanced at my watch again. Keep him talking, I thought. “Speaking of bullets,” I said, “I’m surprised you brought a gun along on your honeymoon. Your wife probably thought you were just glad to see her.”

“Funny,” he said. “The gun belonged to Wolpert. I took it off him when I dragged his body outside. He never got the chance to use it, but I’m in a different position.”

“You’re not wearing a necktie.”

“And I’ve got the gun in my fist already, and it’s got a full clip and a live round in the chamber. It’s a thirteen-shot clip, so you can do the math yourselves. If anybody makes a move I start shooting. I’ll shoot the men first, and if I run out of bullets toward the end I’ll finish the rest of you by hand. I never planned on killing anybody, but I already killed two people and if I have to knock off the rest of you I’ll do it. What the hell are you looking at, Lettice?”

“My God,” she said, aghast. “I married you!”

“And we both know why,” he said, sneering. “You thought you were getting a rich husband, because I always had plenty of money to throw around. Well, this is how I get it. I steal it.”

“Are you going to kill me, too, Dakin?”

“I’m not going to kill anybody unless I have to,” he said. “What I want to do is figure out a way to get out of here with the bonds, and with enough lead time so that I’m in the clear before anybody can call the cops. The phone lines are out, so you can’t call anybody, but if I walk down to where I can ford the stream, somebody else can do the same thing after me, and it wouldn’t take you long to get to a phone that works.”

He paused, thinking it through, and I listened and heard something in the silence. At first I could just barely make it out, but then it got a little louder.

“I’ll need a hostage,” he said. “If I’ve got somebody with me, you’ll have to stay back, won’t you?”

“I’ll be your hostage,” the colonel said.

“You? Jesus, that’s just what I need is a fat old blimp with a stiff upper lip to drag around over hill and dale. If you didn’t drop dead from the exertion you’d be looking for a way to get the jump on me. No, the kid’ll be my hostage.”

“You son of a bitch,” Greg Savage said. He took a step forward, and Littlefield swung the gun in his direction.

“Not so fast,” he said. “I’m taking her with me, whether I have to shoot you first or not. Listen to me, people. If you all cooperate, everybody gets out of this alive. All you have to do…What’s that noise?”

“Noise?” I said.

“Dammit, Rhodenbarr-”

“You mean that pocketa-pocketa-pocketa? Sounds like a helicopter to me.”

“A helicopter.”

“And it sounds as though it’s coming right here. I wonder who it could be.”

“How did-”

“It seems to be landing on the front lawn,” I said. Maybe it’s Mr. Pettisham, full of apologies for having been delayed. Maybe it’s Ed McMahon, Littlefield, to tell you you’ve won the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes. You’ll be a rich man even if you have to give the bonds back. My God, man, it’s your lucky day.”

He just stared at me. He didn’t say a word, and neither did anybody else. We were still silent when the front door opened and a group of men trooped through the hall and found their way to the library.

Their leader, the only one not wearing a uniform, was a big fellow in a gorgeous gray suit that looked as though it had been custom-tailored for someone else.

“Well, here we all are,” he said, casting his eyes around the room. “It’s Mrs. Rhodenbarr’s son Bernard, and it looks like you went and rounded up the usual suspects. You got the right to remain silent, all of youse, but I wouldn’t advise it, because the sooner we get this sorted out the sooner we can all get home. And the sooner the better as far as I’m concerned, because I never seen so much snow in my life.”

“My God,” Carolyn said, “it’s Ray Kirschmann, and I’m actually glad to see him. I never thought I’d live to see the day.”

But she had, and she’d live to see others, which was more than you could say for Dakin Littlefield. He gave a little cry of abject despair, then stuck the business end of the gun in his cruel mouth and pulled the trigger.

The big problem with automatics, or so they tell me, is that they’re apt to jam. This one didn’t.

CHAPTER Twenty-eight

Four days later I was perched on a stool behind the counter at Barnegat Books, unwrapping a killer sandwich from the Russian deli around the corner. They use a particularly crinkly waxed paper, except I don’t suppose it’s actually waxed, I suppose it must be some sort of miracle polymer laminate designed to wreak havoc with generations yet unborn. Whatever it is, it’s noisier than the D train, and crumpling it never fails to get Raffles’s attention. He perked up, I feinted left and threw to the right, and he refused to be faked out, pouncing like a champion.

“I thought the layoff might hurt him,” I told Carolyn, “but he’s not the least bit rusty. I’ll tell you, though, he’s glad to be back.”

“He’s not the only one, Bern.”

“You said it. I suppose the country makes a nice change, but I’m a city boy at heart. I’d rather be on a bench in Bryant Park with life going on all around me. Give me the subway at rush hour, a couple of fire engines with their sirens wide open…”

“I know what you mean, Bern. The simple pleasures.”

“Well, you know what Sydney Smith said about the country. He said he thought of it as a sort of a healthy grave.”

“All that fresh air, Bern. If you’re not used to it…”

“Exactly. It was starting to get to me. But all I really needed was a couple of days at home and I’m my old self again. Working in the bookstore, playing with my cat.”

“Same here. Washing dogs all day, then going home and watching my cats wash themselves.” She grinned. “And going out at night for a few pops and the chance of an adventure.”