Ghost Hunter

The detective had to be squirming this morning, Cooper thought. That was a good thing. People who started to squirm usually tended to start screwing up.

'I'll be waiting,' Cooper promised the photos. 'I'm good at that.'

Elly had opened her shop punctually at nine. Judging by the frequent muffled tinkling of the doorbells, he assumed that she was either doing a brisk business or else her neighbors were making excuses to stop in to get updates on her personal affairs.

In the interest of saving time he had contacted Emmett London first thing. The job of researching DeWitt's background had been turned over to Wyatt's assistant, a man named Perkins.

The business of finding the former owner of Mary Tyler Jordan's Medicinal Herbs and Flowers of Harmony was a little trickier. Cooper had reserved that task for himself.

Thanks to Elly, he had the names of the three collectors known to have copies of the rare volume in their collections.

It took patience and some serious name-dropping to get the first two on the phone. They had informed him that their copies of the Jordan herbal were still in their libraries.

He got lucky with number three. Edwin Sheridan was a retired member of the Cadence Guild.

'Thank you for speaking with me, Mr. Sheridan,' Cooper said in his most polite tone.

'My housekeeper said you told her this was Guild business.' The voice on the other end of the line quivered with age. 'Used to be a Guild man, myself, back in the days when this was Connor Hyland's town.'

'That was a little before my time, sir.' Say, about fifty years before. Cooper added silently. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. It had been a long morning.

Edwin snorted. 'Let me tell you, son, when Hyland was in charge, things were different in this town. The Cadence Guild upheld tradition. There wasn't any of this modern nonsense about going mainstream, that's for damn sure.'

'I understand, sir.'

'Every time I pick up a newspaper these days there's some damn article about how the Cadence Guild is trying to modernize, trying to become a respectable social institution. Ridiculous.'

Cooper cleared his throat. 'As a matter of fact, sir, I'm from the Aurora Springs Guild.'

'Aurora Springs, eh? Now, there's a good, solidly run, old-fashioned outfit. I hear they've got a proper respect for tradition over there in Aurora Springs.'

'We like to think so, sir.'

'Heard the new Guild boss there was all set to marry a nice young woman from a good Guild clan a few months back but that the wedding got called off.'

'It was postponed, sir, not canceled.'

'Is that right? What happened?'

How in green hell had he ended up discussing his love life with Edwin Sheridan? Cooper wondered.

'There were some complications,' he said evenly, 'but the new boss is working to straighten them out. Sir, I'd like to ask you about your copy of Jordan's herbal.'

'How the heck did that book become Guild business?'

Cooper looked at the herbal in front of him. 'It came up in the course of an internal Guild investigation.'

'Ah, one of those,' Edwin said wisely. 'The Guilds police their own.'

'Yes, sir. Could you tell me if-'

'That's one damn good reason why the organizations shouldn't get involved in this mainstreaming stuff. First thing you know, they'd have to open up their files to every police detective or attorney or politician who conies along thinking he can build a reputation by going after some high-ranking Guild man.'

'You make a very good point, sir. Now, about the herbal. Is it still in your collection?'

'Nope, sold it a few months back. To tell you the truth, I didn't even know it was in the library. You see, it was my wife who was the collector in the family, not me. She passed on a few months ago.'

'My condolences, sir,' Cooper said.

'Thank you. Well, the long and the short of it is that neither my sons nor my grandkids are interested in the books, so I'm selling them off here and there whenever I get a good offer.'

Cooper sat forward and reached for a pen. 'Who was the buyer of the herbal?'

'Don't know. Buyer insisted on remaining anonymous.'

'How was the transaction conducted?'

'It was handled by a dealer named Bodkin who specializes in private sales between clients who don't like publicity.'

'I'd like Bodkin's address, if that's not too much trouble.'

'No trouble, but I doubt if he'll tell you the name of his buyer. Bodkin evidently has a reputation for confidentiality.'

'I'm sure he won't mind doing a favor for the local Guild boss,' Cooper said.

Five minutes later he hung up the phone, folded his glasses into the case, and headed downstairs, keys in hand.

Elly was at the counter, measuring out a small amount of dried purple flowers from an herb jar. Her client was a middle-aged woman who beamed when she spotted him in the doorway.

'Oh, hello, there,' the woman said. 'You must be Elly's friend from Aurora Springs. I'm Sally Martin. I work in Butler's Relics just down the street.'

'Nice to meet you, Mrs. Martin.'

'I have a cousin over in Aurora Springs,' Sally said brightly. 'Maybe you know her. Laura Meehan?'

'I don't think I've had the pleasure,' Cooper said in a tone he hoped would cut off that line of inquiry. He looked at Elly.

'I'll be back later this afternoon,' he said.

She frowned a little. 'Everything okay?'

'Got a lead on the sale of the herbal.'

'Good luck,' she said. 'And please be careful,' she added, lowering her voice slightly.

It occurred to him that he had been living alone a long time, long enough to forget how it felt to have someone tell him to be careful when he went out the door.

He walked to where she stood with her measuring scoop and jar and kissed her. It felt good to be able to kiss her like this; good to know that he would be returning here later; good to know that she would be waiting for him.

'I'll do that,' he said.

He was halfway across the back room, reaching for the knob of the alley door, when he heard Sally Martin's low-voiced comment to Elly.

'My goodness, I can certainly understand the attraction, dear. There was a time when I had a thing for khaki and leather, too. I suppose every woman does at one time or another. Best to get it out of your system while you're still young and single, though.'

*****

BUSINESS SLACKED OFF RAPIDLY AFTER LUNCH. ELLY WENT upstairs to make herself a sandwich and fresh tea. She ate at the table, sharing bites with Rose, and listened for the sound of the door chimes.

When she finished, she picked up the Jordan herbal and took it back down to the shop so that she could leaf through it in her spare moments.

She was alone with Rose, who was busily rearranging the contents of the jewelry box, when she looked up from the herbal and saw the curtain twitch in Doreen's kitchen window.

She closed the herbal, dove for the phone, and rezzed Doreen's number. She had already called several times. Each time she had gotten the shop's after-hours message. '…We are closed for the day. Please call back during regular business hours or leave a message at the beep…'

'Doreen, this is Elly. I know you're there. Pick up your phone, or I'm coming over there with my key.'

There was a long pause. For a time she thought Doreen was going to ignore her. But finally there was a click.

'Hello, Elly.' Doreen's voice was weary and oddly thick. 'What do you want?'