his raw reaction at the sight of me felt like a blazing, neon sign that declared ‘trouble is afoot.’
Peter took a step back, already turning, when I pressed my face to the glass and said, “Didn’t we once meet at Reichenbach Falls?”
He froze. Spun back around, face a mixture of intrigue and anxiety. He was still silent, still frozen in place.
“Peter, I’m not who Eudora says I am,” I called through the glass. “I’m here in London because I’ve come into possession of something. A big something.” I paused, noted the slight drop in his shoulders. “A big something that could use your special and unique skillset.”
“Leave or I’m calling the police,” he said, slowly backing away. His head whipped around, toward the back, so I tapped on the glass again.
“But I can pay,” I said. “Whatever amount you received for your last job, double it, and that’s where I’d start.”
Peter was a thief, after all. And so, like many con artists before him, he took a reluctant step forward toward the person offering him money. Which was when I saw Abe, Delilah, and Henry slipping out from behind the cash register.
Peter jumped hard, back into the bookshelf, and whatever Abe was saying with that cool, impassive face of his had Peter paling dramatically. Henry walked over quickly, let me in as he checked to make sure we hadn’t been noticed. He flicked the switch next to the door, blanketing the store in near darkness. A backroom light cast an eerie glow through the space.
Behind Henry, I caught the flying, graceful movements of Delilah, who put my own hand-to-hand skills to an instant shame. Within a minute, Peter was trussed up and immobilized. Although he was furious.
She slapped a piece of duct tape over his mouth. Shrugged.
“Well done,” Abe said, pulling a chair in front of Peter. He sat with a kind of elegance, crossing his legs like we had all the time in the world. Henry and Delilah were fanning out, searching. I wasn’t convinced a whole team of Dresden security guards weren’t about to stream—
“Oh, goddammit,” I said as our three best Dresden friends came in through the same back entrance and launched themselves at us with frightening speed. Peter was yelling behind his duct tape as Delilah and Henry tag-teamed the first guard, taking him to the ground with ease.
With that same elegance, Abe stood, picked up his chair, and walloped the second guard across the back. Delilah threw tape across the room, and Abe bit a piece off to restrain his wrists.
The third guard was my old pal Linebacker. The moment he threw himself at me, I pepper-sprayed him—again. Then picked up the closest hardcover book and smacked him across the face with it. Delilah kicked his knees out, sending him to the ground before subduing him.
“Nice moves,” I said. She was breathing hard, hair a bit mussed, but other than that still looked gorgeous in her gown.
“Not so bad yourself.” She winked.
“She’s always had a Xena Warrior Princess vibe going on,” Henry told me.
“So three guards,” Delilah panted. “And no emergency button, as far as I could see. Which means Peter has this place watched. They must have seen us enter and followed behind.”
Peter was still staring at us with wide eyes as the guards wiggled like giant fish nearby. Abe kicked the chair out of the way and crouched in front of the man.
“I don’t know what your actual name is, Peter. I do know that two months ago, in Philadelphia, you masqueraded as an intern at The Franklin Museum where you stole the George Sand letters. And helped to steal a rare first edition of Don Quixote from Dr. Bradley Ward. And I’m going to guess that you know where the hell Bernard Allerton is.”
Peter’s entire body shook until he composed himself, lifting his chin and glaring defiantly.
“Abe.”
Delilah’s voice was thick with emotion. She stood in front of a giant bookshelf with the words The Great Game scrawled in elegant cursive over the top. All three of us were there in an instant. Delilah was breathing quickly, fingers shaking as she reached for the books.
“It’s an entire Arthur Conan Doyle collection,” she said. “And this row right here is just copies of The Hound of the Baskervilles.”
Henry and Delilah exchanged a shocked look.
“What?” Abe said sharply.
“The last time Henry and I encountered a copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles,” she said. “A secret passageway appeared behind a bookshelf.”
45
Abe
I crouched down next to