There was still no reply.

Something seemed to compel him to walk up the stairs-either instinct or inspiration, or a growing sense of terror, but whatever it was it kept on compelling him so that when he reached the landing he stepped through the open door to the left, which led into a huge room which stretched the entire length of the building, overlooking the town square. There was an orangey glow from the street lights.

And all along the walls of this vast orangey empty room were bookshelves-row upon row of bookshelves. Empty bookshelves.

He walked back out into the hallway and took a deep breath. He didn't know what to think. He fumbled in his pocket for some Nurofen: he had none left.

He stared for a moment at the photos on the walls: photos of a younger Zelda wearing a fox stole with the head attached, the jaw as a clasp; Zelda again in another photo with a hockey stick; another of her in a car with her hair in a tight scarf; Zelda wearing a fur coat.

'That was my first fur coat.'

Israel nearly leapt out of his skin.

Zelda stood at the top of the landing. She was looking tired. She was removing her make-up.

'Zelda!'

'Sshh,' she said. 'Minnie's asleep.'

She gestured for Israel to move back into the vast empty room.

'Zelda…'

'Yes?'

'The books.'

'Yes?'

'They're all back, in the van.'

'Yes. That's right.' She wiped creamy cotton-wool pads across her cheeks.

'But…' And now finally it clicked. 'Hang on. It was you? Who stole the books?'

'Well, they're back now.'

'Wait. Why? I mean…You were North Coast Books?'

The computer downstairs. The boxes in the hall. Oh, good grief.

'You?'

'Not just me.' Zelda's pale face shone in the glow of the street lights.

'Who? Who put the books back?'

'Everyone.' She was picking at her false nails, plucking them off, one by one.

'Everyone? What do you mean everyone?'

'Everyone. Everyone here tonight.'

'What? All of you?'

'Yes.'

'Minnie. And…?'

'Ted?'

'Not Ted! No!' laughed Zelda. 'He wouldn't have anything to do with it: he's not half the man he was.'

'Linda? The council?'

'No, of course not.'

'But. The Devines?'

'No, not them either, they wouldn't have anything to do with us. But everyone else.'

'Everyone with the overdue books and…'

'Yes. Of course.'

Israel couldn't believe it.

Zelda stared at him, unmade up, her fingernails bare.

'Why?' said Israel.

'Why do you think? The council robbed us of the library. We weren't going to let them rob us of the books as well. We've all lost enough round here already.'

'But…'

'When they announced they were closing the library we just took the books and set up our own-the people's library.'

'Here?' said Israel, glancing around.

'Yes, here,' said Zelda. 'That's right.'

'You stole the books and kept them here, above the café?'

'We ran it as a proper library. The books were in safekeeping.'

'But you were selling stuff on the Internet?'

'Out-of-date books and duplicates just, I think you'll find, to replenish our stock.'

'Right. I see.'

'No, I don't think you do see. I don't think you have any idea.'

'But-'

'No. No more buts now, thank you. I would love to stay and chat but I'm very tired, I'm afraid: I'm not as young as I was. I suggest you go home and get some rest.'

'But I have to-'

'What?' Zelda arched an already highly pluck-arched eyebrow. 'Tell the police?'

'Yes.'

'That's your decision. The books are all back. No one's been hurt.'

'Yes. But. Why have you given them back now? Why have you told me?'

'I don't know. Because. We decided to trust you. That you'd look after them.'

'But I'm going back now. I'm not staying. I can't stay here. I have to go back to London. My life's in London.'

'Is it?'

'Yes.'

'Your life is wherever you're living, I think you'll find, young man.'

'What?'

'Never mind. But anyway. You have to do what you think is right. Just the same as us.'

'Zelda. I-'

'Goodnight now. And close the door after you please. Quietly now.'

'Zelda…'

And with that, Zelda disappeared into the darkness of the house.

If a man in a van could ever properly be said to be experiencing a long dark night of the soul, a glimpse of the infinitude of the self, and if he could be understood, in at least some small way, to be undergoing a process of being and becoming, then Israel Armstrong on his last night in Northern Ireland most certainly was. He drove in the van until dawn, until his mind was clear-down the coast road, and along the dual-carriageways, and the ring roads, and the single-track roads of County Antrim-and he parked up eventually back at the strand to watch the sun come up, the books behind him, the vast sea before him.

And when he rang Gloria back in London there was no reply.

The signs went up around town later that day.

This was not what was supposed to happen at all.

Acknowledgements

For previous acknowledgements see The Truth About Babies (Granta Books, 2002) and Ring Road (Fourth Estate, 2004). These stand, with exceptions. In addition I would like to thank the following. (The previous terms and conditions apply: some of them are dead; most of them are strangers; the famous are not friends; none of them bears any responsibility.) I remain extremely grateful to the editors of The Enthusiast.

Robert Altman, Wes Anderson, Roger Angell, Ole Anthony, Harold Arlen, Roger Ascham, Simon Ashby, David B., Robert Baden-Powell, Stewart Bailie, Geoffrey Balderson, Bangor Rugby Football Club, John Barry, Paul Bell, William Beveridge, Steve Biddulph, O. Blaiklock, Lawrence Block, Jane Brocket, Buck 65, Lawrence Buell, Burkhard Bilger, Abraham Cahan, Jane Campion, John Candy, Ethan Canin, Joe Carey, Michael Chabon, Chase Organics, Roz Chast, George C. Chesbro, Billy Childish, Angelique Chrisafis, Agatha Christie, Susan Clarke, Rachel Cohen, Michael Collins, Captain Cook, Jacques Cousteau, Ben Cove, Damien Coyle, J. Creaghan, Yuriy Cubarenko, Matt Damon, Stuart Daniels, Susan David, Richard Deacon, Michael Deane, Mariana Della Barba, Julie Delpy, Johnny Depp, Vittorio De Sica, Fred Dibnah, Terence Patrick Dolan, Placido Domingo, Ariel Dorfman, Christopher Eccleston, Travis Elborough, Aaron Elkins, Victor Erice, Robert Fagles, Dr Feelgood, Federico Fellini, Mrs Finlay, First Bangor Scout Group, David Fitzsimons, Matthew Fletcher, Franz Ferdinand, Sasha Frere-Jones, Bill Frissell, P. Galvin, Finn Garbutt, Frances Garbutt, Luke Garbutt, Tom Gatti, Julian Germain, Ricky Gervais, Fiachra Gibbons, Christopher Guest, Half Man Half Biscuit, Tony Hargreaves, Adam HartDavis, Ethan Hawke, Fergus Henderson, Arve Henrikson, Thierry Henry, Willie Heron, I Am Kloot, Rea Irvin, Mahalia Jackson, Ashley Kahn, Keane, Atheline Kelly, Amir Khan, Mark Knopfler, Leon Kossoff, Stefan Kürten, Josh Lacey, Richard Lattimore, Chang-rae Lee, Dan Lepard, Graham Linehan, Sidney Lumet, Robert Lyle, Mrs Magowan, David Mamet, Sarfraz Manzoor, Ellie Martin, Keith Martin, Jay Martin, Rosie Martin, Steve Martin, Wendy Martin, Willy Mason, Eleanor Massey, Arthur Mathews, Duncan McCallien, Ralph McClean, John McCormick, Andrew McEwan, McGrory's Hotel, Moira McIver, Paul McKenna, Eric McKillen, Stuart McLean, Sean McMahon, Brad Meldhau, Louis Menand, Mrs Mills, Julianne Moore, Chris Moyles and Comedy Dave, Bill Murray, Julian Nangle, Willie Nelson, Christopher Nolan, Bill Oddie, Jo O'Donoghue, R. O'Hare, Orhan Pamuk, Gareth Peirce, Gilles Peterson, Michel Petrucciani, Sue Pitt, Stephen Poliakoff, Adam Pushkin, Rathgael Gymnastics Club, Rathmullan House Hotel, Satyajit Ray, Emily Reeve, M. Reeves, Django Reinhardt, Simon Reynolds, Sheila Rhodes, Paul and Amy Richards, Nicholas Rinaldi, Marilynne Robinson, Tony Robinson, Arundhati Roy, Patricia Rozema, Joe Sacco, George Saunders, Martin Scorsese, Ricardo Semler, Robert Sinclair, Paul Smith, Charles Albert Lucien Snelling, Steven Soderbergh, Aaron Sorkin, Sufjan Stevens, Ben Stiller, Anthony Swofford, Peter Tatchell, Catherine Tate, David Tattersall, P. K. Tattersall, John Taylor, The Thrills, Robert Tressell, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Gus Van Sant, Mordechai Vanunu, Lars Von Trier, Nicholas Walt, Harriet Walter, Emily Warren, Richard Weight, Hannah Westland, Karen Weston, Jo Whiley, Mrs Whiteside, Billy Wilder, Jincy Willett, Frances A. Yates, Viktor Yushchenko, Reiner Zimnik.