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its attic, though one of its keys was slightly wonky. The lowercasea, I think
it was.
Thank you, Kate said, and hung up on the woman s voice.
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Her next call was to the source of Lee s article, theChronicle columnist.
Leah Garchik was out, so Kate left a message asking her to phone back. No
sooner had she hung up when the phone rang to tell her that the two World War
Two vets who d found Gilbert s body were there to give a statement.
They were a little confused about why they d needed to give it twice, since
they d talked to the Park Police on Monday, but it was easier to tell them the
tale of a bureaucratic mix-up than to go into the precise jurisdictional
requirements of a case, and both accepted the story with cheerful resignation:
One thing an Army vet knew was bureaucracy. By the time they signed their
statements and left, arguing happily all the time, Kate was satisfied that
they had nothing to do with Gilbert s death or the disposal of his body.
She spent some time online, cruising through the references that came up at
the phrase Sherlock Holmes manuscript, and found a lot of nonsense and a few
very peculiar things. She was sitting back in her chair to read the printout
of a London newspaper article concerning a dispute within the Conan Doyle
family when the phone rang.
It was the English accent again, which started without a preliminary. About
that list of potential evaluators?
Yes, Mr. Nicholson?
I ve got some names and numbers for you, but my fax machine seems to have a
gremlin in it, and the repair guy isn t coming until next week. It s rather
laborious to read this sort of thing over the phone, particularly the e-mail
addresses I don t know about you, but I m forever getting letters wrong when I
have to write them down. Shall I pop it into the post tomorrow?
How bout I drop by and pick it up this afternoon?
Okay, but I may be in and out. Can we set a firm time, so I m certain to be
here for you?
What about one o clock?
The stroke of one it is.
She went back to her reading, made a dozen more phone calls, and at 12:58
rounded the corner of Nicholson s apartment building, finding him not only at
home, but on the street across from the entrance. He was talking to a young
blond woman the same young blue-eyed blonde whose photographs were on display
inside as the latter rested her shapely backside against a bright yellow
Volkswagen convertible. Hespotted Kate s car and reached past the girl to pull
open the Volkswagen s door. She laughed at something he said and got in; he
leaned own to take the hand that she had left on the bottom edge of the opened
window, pulled it to his lips and kissed it with an air of playfulness, then
returned it inside to the wheel. The girl laughed again, started the car, and
drove away, trailing her fingers out the window in a wave.
Nicholson watched the yellow car until it had disappeared around the corner;
in turn, Kate watched him. Some portion of that final scene had to have been
staged for her benefit, but then, men in their fifties were apt to show off a
trophy like that one. Hell, a lesbian in her thirties would want to show off a
trophy like that, and really, she had to give him credit, another man would
have climbed down the girl s throat with his tongue to demonstrate right of
possession. Nicholson turned, still smiling, to join Kate. I am impressed
with your punctuality, Inspector.
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To serve and protect, she quoted, and put her hand out for the folded sheet
he pulled from his shirt pocket.
The page contained twenty-three names, seventeen of which had e-mail
addresses, and phone numbers with area codes ranging from Los Angeles to New
York.
These are people I know whom Philip has consulted in the past. I ve worked
with all but two of them, they re highly reliable and utterly trustworthy.
This is very helpful, Mr. Nicholson. Thank you.
And how is the investigation into his death going?
Kate glanced at him curiously, realizing that, in Nicholson s mind, the
investigation into the story was a separate, and probably more urgent, matter
than the investigation into Gilbert s death. Like academics, she thought,
collectors were a race apart.
It s going ahead, Mr. Nicholson.
Well, if there s anything else I can do for you, please let me know. And I
know you can t promise me anything, but if I could have a look at that
manuscript sometime, I would be most grateful.
I will keep it in mind, Mr. Nicholson.
I happen to know that Tom is Philip s executor, although I don t think the
other Diners do anyway, I had a word with him, and told him that I ll need a
few minutes to make an announcement at the Diners meeting tonight. I thought
I should tell them about the story. I wish I could actually give them each a
copy, but Philip hadn t made his intentions clear. I suppose Tom will have to
sort that out.
The point is, I meant to say that if you d like to join us this evening,
you d be more than welcome. You d have to put up with our questions, of
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