The Bookman's Promise by John Dunning

that difference as well. Whenever that might be.”
    “Couldn’t be fairer than that,” Ralston said, looking hopefully at his wife.
    Denise was looking at me. “I trust you. That’s not what’s bothering me.”
    I knew what was bothering her. The deathbed promise I had made lingered in the air. “Nobody expects you to find those books,” Ralston said.
    Denise shook her head. “Oh, honey, that’s where you’re wrong.”
    A long quiet moment later, I said, “I didn’t give that promise lightly. If those books are there to be found, I will find them. I’m just thinking how much easier it might be if this book is in my hands alone. We can let it ride, if that’s what you want. But I get the final word on where the hunt goes and how I want to conduct it.”
    “He used to be a cop,” Ralston told his wife.
    “Really? That surprises me. You seem like such a gentle soul, Mr. Janeway…it’s hard to believe you were ever part of any violent world.”
    “I’ve been called lots of things, but a gentle soul isn’t even close to the list. Maybe I’m making some headway.”
    “Why did you leave the police?”
    “Long story. Goes to my attitude, which isn’t always so gentle. Let’s just say I like the book world better.”
    “You should’ve seen him wheeling and dealing those two cats from Texas,” Ralston said. “Two fat cats came into his store and he pulled eight bills out of their pockets slicker than hell.”
    “They knew what they wanted,” I said. “They got what they paid for.”
    I asked if either of them knew who or what Koko was.
    “I can’t imagine,” Denise said. “Probably some childhood friend.”
    “Who’s been dead forever,” Ralston said.
    Denise touched the book, opened it carefully. “This is all so far from my own life, from any kind of experience I’ve ever had. Until now I couldn’t have imagined such a book.” A moment later, she said, “Would it bother you if I kept it overnight? Maybe for a couple of days? I’d just like to…I don’t know…get a feel of it…if that wouldn’t bother you.”
    It bothered me a lot, but what could I say? What I said was, “You’d have to be very careful.”
    “I know that.”
    “I mean
really
careful, Denise. A spot on the cover could be five grand.”
    “I hear you.”
    Now an extended silence fell over us. Denise walked to the window and looked out into the yard. Ralston cocked his head and smiled at me, a quizzical expression that said,
You’ll have to wait for her, man, it’s the only way
.
    But he was the one who squirmed as the minutes dragged on. “That’s a whole bunch of money, doll,” he said to some crack in the floor. “We could get a great new start with that.”
    He looked up at me and found another reason to take the money and run. “The answers you want won’t be here in Denver, will they? There’ll be expenses, and they’ll come out of the book’s value, right off the top. That’s only fair.”
    Denise took a deep breath, as if the same thought had just occurred to her. I could quickly eat up the entire value of the book traveling, and for what?
    Erin was watching me intently. I smiled at her, then at Denise, who had just turned from the window. “It’s your choice,” I said. “You could take your money and be done with it. Speaking just for myself, I’ve got to try.”
    “Wherever that leads,” Ralston said. “Whatever it costs.”
    Denise looked at me and her face was troubled. She said, “This isn’t easy, is it?” A moment later she said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Janeway…could Michael and I have a few minutes alone?”
    Erin and I went out on the porch and stood quietly at the edge of things. “Well, old man,” she said. “You do make for an interesting first date.”
    “Next time I’ll take you on a tour of Denver’s best pawnshops.”
    “That would be good. I’ve been wondering where I can hock my virtue.”
    Half a dozen crazy answers wafted up from my funny bone, but the