“Just take the box in,” Charles said.

Jacob shrank back as Angelo passed. “You let him touch your books?”

“I do,” Charles said. “And it’s fine. Let me help you to your taxi.”

“Bah! I’ll make it myself.”

“Take care, Jacob.”

“You too, Charles.” Once Jacob was launched he moved quickly. The cab door was opened for him, the cab driver was scolded, and the cab drove away.

Charles closed the door and took a deep breath. “Angelo. Everything went okay?”

“Except that old crazy man.”

“That’s Mr. Leatherman, and he’s actually very nice, just prickly.”

Angelo frowned. “What is prickly?”

“Like a cactus.”

“Like a little dog to bite at you.”

“He doesn’t bite, he just barks. But never mind. You took a long time.”

“I came a different way from you, or why should I even carry the box instead of you?”

“You’re right.”

Angelo held out his hands. “So, boss, here is your box.”

“Thank you.” He took it, respectfully. “Go check with Mrs. Beale. I think she has a delivery for you to do this afternoon.”

“Okay.”

“And Angelo…”

He turned back from the steps and waited.

“Do you remember the delivery we made together, last November, and the man had the chess set on his desk, and he talked to you in Spanish?”

“I remember that house and that man.”

“That is the man who died. These are his books that I bought back today.”

“Oh, that man?” He shrugged. “That’s too bad.”

“It is too bad. That book we took him, it’s here in this box.”

Angelo glanced at the box with no greater interest than before, and then turned to his next task.

“I’ll be in the basement,” Charles said to Alice.

But he was interrupted. “Mr. Beale?”

Charles had just started for the basement.

“Yes, Morgan?”

As Angelo had ascended, Morgan had descended. He sat on a step halfway down. “There’s a first edition Odyssey that just came up on eBay.”