“So does mental illness.”
Will drummed his fingers on the back of a chair. “It was wrong to take Evangeline’s money, no matter how dire your straits at the time. However, you acted quite nobly in returning the museum’s property when you didn’t have to. I’d never thought about security for the museum before.” Will scratched his head, looking around at the precious books.
“If you don’t mind my saying, sir, you can’t be too careful these days.”
“I’ll say.” Evie glared at Sam.
Will nodded, thinking it over. “Very well. How would you like an honest job at the museum? There’s plenty to be done, and you could stay here at night to thwart any unwanted thieves.”
Evie whirled around to face Will. “Unc! He’s a thief!”
“Yes. So he is. Are you a good thief, Sam?”
Sam smiled. “The best, sir.”
“A good thief in need of a job,” Will mused. “I suppose you may start right away.”
“Will, Evie’s right. You don’t know him, and he’ll only be in the way,” Jericho said quietly. “I could keep watch if you need me to.”
“I don’t think that’s wise, Jericho,” Will answered quietly. Evie didn’t know what he meant by that, but Jericho’s face went stony. “We can always use an extra hand, especially now that we’re investigating a murder.”
“A murder?” Sam said. “Sounds exciting.”
“They might be investigating yours pretty soon, pal,” Evie warned.
“Yes, well, I do hope you’re not averse to hard work,” Will said.
“Nothing better than an honest day’s work, I always say, sir.”
Will checked his watch again. “I am now nine minutes late. Jericho, could you return Mr. Lloyd’s coat and show him to the filing, please?”
A thoroughly irritated Jericho retrieved Sam’s coat from the closet and handed it over a bit roughly.
“He is enormous,” Sam whispered to Evie. “What do you feed him?”
Evie leaned close. “I’m on to you, pal. You so much as whistle off-key and I promise I will personally give you the bum’s rush. You won’t even have time to grab your hat.”
“Well.” Sam nodded, slipping on the coat. “I am pretty fond of this hat. Nice to see you again, Sister.”
“The pleasure was all yours,” Evie said and ran to catch Will. Behind her, she could hear Sam whistling “Am I Wasting My Time on You?” He was whistling off-key, and Evie had the distinct impression he was doing it deliberately.
“Unc!” Evie called. She caught up with Will at the front door.
“Evie, can this wait? The ladies of the Ancient Order of the whatever-it-is—”
“Phoenix,” Evie supplied.
“Phoenix are expecting me, and if I can’t hail a taxicab, I’ll go from being forgivably late to being egregiously late.”
“Unc, you can’t let Sam Lloyd work here. Not with all those priceless artifacts! He’s likely to rob you blind.”
“It’s precisely those qualities that could prove useful.”
“What do you mean?”
“From time to time, the museum has to be… clever in ferreting out objects, stories, and people before anyone else gets there. It’s delicate.”
“You expect me to believe that there are other people who want those creepy things?”
“You’d be surprised.”
“He’s still a thief.”
“A thief who reads Kierkegaard is an interesting thief, indeed.”
“But Unc—”
“Evangeline, not everyone starts life in a comfortable house on a comfortable street in Ohio,” Will said pointedly.
The comment stung. Why was Will defending Sam Lloyd, a common criminal, over her? After all, Sam was a stranger; she was family. Weren’t family supposed to protect their own? But he’d sided with the opponent, just like her father and mother had sided with Harold Brodie instead of defending their own daughter. If Uncle Will wanted to be foolish, well, that was his affair. She’d been stupid to try to intervene.
“I hope you’re right about him,” Evie said and went back to the library. She glowered at Sam once for good measure and then settled in at the long table, checking through stacks of newspaper reports and books, searching for anything that might shed light on the strange murder of Ruta Badowski.
When she’d had enough, she sneaked out her copy of Photoplay.
“So, is Clara Bow running away with Charlie Chaplin?” Sam read over her shoulder.
Evie did not look up. “Why don’t you take it and read it for yourself? You seem to be skilled at taking things. In fact, why don’t you carry it with you on your way out?”
Sam snickered. “Now, why would I leave such a sweet deal? Besides, I’d hate for you to miss me, sister.”
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Let’s put that phrase to the test, shall we? I’ll get your hat.”
“No can do. Your uncle needs my help. Look at all this stuff—who knew there were so many superstitious charms? Like this—love charm of the Hopi. Oh, I better not let you hold this, sister. You might get goofy for me.”
“That’ll be the day.”
“I’m counting on that day.”
“I hope you can count pretty high, then,” Evie said.
He leaned in a little closer. Evie could see the flecks of amber in his eyes. “Admit it—you liked that kiss.”
“You owe me twenty dollars.”
“Cash or check?” he said cheekily. Even the dullest Ohio girls knew that bit of lingo: Kiss now or kiss later?
“Bank’s closed, pal.”
Sam nodded. “Check, then.” Whistling, he headed for the library doors. Evie followed him up the wide, curving staircase that led to the museum’s second floor.
“Can I help you, sister?”
“I’m making sure you don’t leave with half the museum.”
“Just have to iron my shoelaces,” he said, nodding toward the men’s room at the top of the stairs. When he reached the men’s room door, Evie stood outside, her arms folded across her chest.
“Honestly, I’d invite you in, but I’ve managed to avoid getting arrested for petty theft. I’d hate to go to the Tombs for perversion.”
“Whatever it takes to get you out of my uncle’s museum,” Evie quipped. “I’ll wait.”
“Suit yourself, doll.”
In the museum’s musty lavatory, Sam washed his hands and left the tap running. Whistling, he sat on the cracked tile floor and watched the shadow of Evie’s feet under the slit of the door as she paced. She’d get bored eventually. He opened Jericho’s wallet, which he had lifted while the blond giant was occupied in the stacks. Trusting fella. That was a dangerous habit—trust. Sam removed a five-dollar bill, replacing it with two singles. It was the oldest trick in the book: If you stole the Abe’s cabe outright, the other fella could make you for a thief. But if you took a large bill and left some singles, the mark would think he’d spent the big dough and just didn’t remember getting change.
From his jacket pockets, Sam removed two small silver ashtrays, which he’d managed to take from the library unnoticed. These he hoped to sell later to a disreputable pawnbroker on the Bowery for a few bucks. For now, he wrapped them in one of the bathroom’s hand towels and hid them behind the toilet bowl. He had big plans, and plans took time and money.
Evie’s shadow disappeared. Sam opened the door a crack and saw that the hallway was empty. He closed the men’s room door again, turned off the tap, and stared at his reflection in the tall wooden mirror. Two shocks of his dark hair hung down on either side of his gold-flecked eyes. The devil-may-care expression was gone, and in its place was one of hard determination.