Hammered

«
    » Yeah, let’s. « Hal put his briefcase up on the table and took out a legal pad. I told him what I needed: approximately three hundred semi-rare books—nothing remarkable, just old—delivered by FedEx tomorrow morning. I also needed the firm to draw up paperwork to handle the sale of the store to Rebecca Dane after three months for a buck seventy-two.
    » Why the seventy-two cents? « Hal wondered aloud.
    » Because everyone who looks at the deal will ask the same question. I want Detective Geffert to think it’s a significant clue. I hope he builds a conspiracy theory around it. But it’s purely there to mess with his mind and waste his time. «
    Hal shrugged and wrote it down. I also arranged for the firm to provide three months’ pay to Rebecca and any additional employees she should choose to hire on her own. » I’ll let her know that she is to manage the place and to let anyone who inquires know that I have gone on an extended vacation to the Antipodes. « Hal raised his eyebrows but made no comment.
    I’d brought a parcel to the restaurant, and it rested next to me on the vinyl material of the booth seat. Now I hefted it onto the table and untied the string around it before removing the top. A truly rare book lay inside in a nest of tissue paper. The green cloth cover with gilt lettering and blind-embossed leaves finally got a reaction from Hal.
    » Is that … a first edition? « he asked.
    » Uh-huh. Extremely rare copy of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass . It should fetch at least a hundred fifty grand, probably much more. This goes to Rebecca Dane once she’s bought the store—not before. « I replaced the box lid, and Hal stared at the book cover until it disappeared from view.
    » All right. « He shook his head to clear it and get back to business. » What else? «
    » I’ll need new IDs for myself and my apprentice. Pick some random Irish names. «
    » All right, email me some pictures. Where’s she going to be while you’re gone? «
    » She’ll stick around for a couple days, then move to a secure undisclosed location. « Hal looked up at my choice of words. » No, the vice president won’t be there. «
    » All right. Is that all? «
    » Almost. Granuaile is to contact you after three months if she doesn’t hear from me by then. You’re to assume I’m dead if she contacts you in that case. « I really hoped this wouldn’t be necessary, but it was best to plan for the worst. » I’ll need Oberon to be looked after, preferably by Granuaile, and I need to set up a trust for her now. «
    We worked out the details of that and then Hal said, » I have some news to share with you. You recall that we set an investigator on the trail of this group calling themselves the Hammers of God? «
    » Yes. «
    » The investigator’s missing. Presumed dead. «
    » Hmm. Are we also presuming that the rabbi is returning with reinforcements? « The Rabbi Yosef Bialik had been convinced to leave town without harm, but I’d always assumed he’d be back.
    » Yes. Everyone in the Pack will shortly be wearing a thin body armor underneath their clothes. Should be good enough to stop a thrown silver knife. «
    » They enchant the handles too, so I’d suggest gloves. The idea is to hit you again when you try to pull the knife out. «
    Hal shrugged. » Magic doesn’t scare me. Only silver. «
    I wondered what it would be like to be scared of only one thing.
    After breakfast with Hal, I went to the shop and met Rebecca Dane there. I made her day by telling her she was getting a promotion and a raise, then spent the morning reviewing how to run the shop all by herself. She wouldn’t be able to make some of the more complicated teas that required the use of binding, but all the straight herbal stuff was well within her compass, including Mobili-Tea, my best seller for arthritic customers. » You can hire some help if you like. I’m going away for a while, and so is Granuaile. We are going on an archaeological dig in the Antipodes. «
    » Oh, « she said, a faint wrinkle of concern appearing between her eyes. » For how long? «
    » It might be months. « It would certainly be months. Years. I prepared her for it as best as I could, explaining that the law firm of Magnusson and Hauk would be paying her and keeping in touch. She was excited and flushed with the responsibility. She was fresh and affable, and my regulars liked her. She radiated innocence and served people without a trace of guile or