The Narrows

where you could get a book signed by a writer named Dean Koontz. So I was wondering if you got any of those around. I'd like to get her one."
    "I think I might have something left in the back. Let me go check. Those things go fast but I usually keep a stash."
    He left me at the counter and walked through the store to a door at the back that appeared to lead to a stockroom. I assumed the rear delivery door was back there. When he was out of sight I leaned over the counter and looked at the shelves beneath. I saw a small video display tube with its screen cut into four segments. There were four interior camera angles showing the cash register area, with me leaning over the counter; a long view of the entire store; a tighter view of a group of shelves; and the rear stockroom, where I could see Thomas looking at a similar VDT tube on a shelf.
    I realized he was looking at me leaning over his counter. I straightened up, my mind quickly trying to come up with an explanation. A few moments later Thomas came back to the counter carrying a book.
    "Find what you were looking for, Harry?"
    "What? Oh, you mean me looking over the counter? I was just sort of wondering if you, you know, had any protection back there. You being a former cop and all. You ever worry about somebody coming in here who you knew from back when?"
    "I take precautions, Harry. Don't worry about that."
    I nodded.
    "Good to hear. Is that the book?"
    "Yeah, does she have this one? It came out last year."
    He showed me a book called The Face. I didn't know if Kiz had it or not but I was going to buy it.
    "I don't know. Did he sign it?"
    "Yeah, signed and dated."
    "Okay, I'll take it."
    While he rang up the sale I tried some small talk which really wasn't small talk.
    "I saw you have the camera set up underneath there. Seems like a little much for a bookstore."
    "You'd be surprised. People like to steal books. I got a collectibles section back there-expensive stuff from the collections I buy and sell. I keep a camera right on it and I caught a kid in there just this morning trying to shove a copy of Nick's Trip down his pants. Early Pelecanos is tough to find. That would've been about a seven-hundred-dollar loss for me."
    That seemed like an inordinate amount of money for a single book. I had never heard of the book but guessed that it must have been fifty or a hundred years old.
    "You call the cops?" "No, I just kicked him in the pants and told him if he came back again I would call the law."
    "You're a nice guy, Ed. You must have mellowed out since you left. I don't think the Praying Mantis would've just let the kid slide."
    I handed him two twenties and he gave me the change.
    "The Praying Mantis was a long time ago. And my wife doesn't think I'm so mellow. Thanks, Harry. And tell Kiz I said hello."
    "Yeah, I will. You ever run into anybody else from the table?"
    I didn't want to leave yet. I wanted more information so I continued the banter. I looked up over his head and spotted a small two-camera dome. It was mounted up near the ceiling, one lens angled down on the register and one taking in the long view of the store. There was a small red light glowing and I could see a small black cable snaking from the camera housing and up into the drop ceiling. While Thomas answered my question I was thinking about the possibility that Backus had been in the store and was captured on a surveillance tape.
    "Not really," Thomas said. "I sort of left all of that behind. You say you miss it, Harry, but I don't miss a thing about it. Not really."
    I nodded like I understood but I didn't. Thomas had been a good cop and a good detective. He took the work to heart. That was one reason why the Poet had put him in the sights. He was paying lip service to something I didn't think he really believed.
    "That's good," I said. "Hey, do you have that kid you kicked out of here on tape from this morning? I'd like to see how he tried to rip you off."
    "Nah, I just have live feeds. I got the cameras out in the open and a sticker on the door. It's supposed to be a deterrent but some people are dumb. A setup with a recorder would be too expensive and a pain in the ass in maintenance. I just have the live setup."
    "I see."
    "Listen, if Kiz already has that book I'll take it back. I can sell it."
    "No, that's cool. If she already has it I'll keep it and read it myself."
    "Harry, when's the last time you read a book?"
    "I read a book about Art Pepper a couple months ago," I said indignantly.