Beneath the Estate, page 16
“To be clear, we are talking about theft here, right? We are stealing these books?”
“No. They stole them from my family first.”
“Right. No, I get that: but you’re saying we go in when the doors are locked at night?”
“Yes. Not tonight, obviously, but another night,” replied Elio. Daniel exhaled a deep breath. It felt like his throat was closing up.
“There has to be another way,” said Daniel, shaking his head and massaging his throat.
“How? Using the legal system? We’ve already been down that road. Look here. Just look,” said Elio as he zoomed in closer on the security guards. “These are old men. Two of them aren’t even security guards: they’re janitors. Even the security guards don’t care about the security of the library,” he explained as he pointed at the name tag stitched into his uniform. “Look, I helped the company I work for install these cameras and the keypad on the vault. I know what I am doing.”
“Then why don’t you go in and do this?”
“I don’t have time to train anyone to operate the camera software. It is easier if I just tell you what to do.”
“I’m sweating. I’m just sitting here, and I’m sweating. I’m short of breath, and I’m just sitting here. My throat is closing up. I’m sweating and having difficulty breathing. Imagine if I were inside right now. No way I can do this,” Daniel rattled.
“Hey,” Elio said in a low tone. The tone commanded Daniel’s attention as he looked back at Elio. “My aunt told me that the entirety of the machine and what it does resides in the first journal, which is in that vault.”
“The first journal?” repeated Daniel.
“Focus. Calm down. If you listen to me, this will all be over, and you will have what you came all this way to find,” said Elio before he panned a camera to the library’s front door and kept one on the vault. Daniel took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Elio then opened the sliding door to the van and stepped out.
“Where are you going?”
“You just watch the monitors,” he said before closing the van’s side door. Elio walked away from the van to the library’s front door and removed a key ring full of keys from his utility belt. He inserted a key, unlocked one of the doors, and went inside the library.
Daniel watched the monitor that showed the library’s front door and saw Elio walk inside. He waved at the camera before he walked to the vault. Daniel looked at a different monitor with the card game, and saw a guard put a small stack of poker chips in the center of the table. All was well. The camera that was focused on the vault saw Elio standing next to the metal plaque. He looked up and waved at the camera. As he turned and started to head out of the library, Daniel rubbed his sweaty palms on his corduroy pants. The next camera showed Elio exiting the library. When the sliding door quickly opened, Daniel jumped. Elio got in and once again stood on his knees.
“Nothing to worry about.”
“Nothing to worry about? Why didn’t you just get the books right now? You were right there.”
“No. No. The vault is an entirely different thing. We have to enter an access code on a magnetic stripe card, and you have to swipe it for access. This means I need to actually make the card. There is a lot to do. Can’t just go in and hope for the best. Won’t work that way.”
“I see. So, are you certain you can’t just do this?”
“You came all this way to get what you want, and you’re going to stop at the first obstacle?”
“That obstacle happens to be espionage. I’m still sweating, by the way,” he said before rubbing his palms on his pants. Elio opened the sliding door, unplugged the cable from the electrical box, relocked the box, tossed the cable into the van, and closed the sliding door. Opening the driver’s side door, he climbed into the seat. Daniel followed suit, navigating his wiry body from the back of the work van and into the passenger seat. Elio reached down between the seats and brought up three journals with tape on the spines. He handed them to Daniel.
“Those are replicas. Fake duplicates.”
“Of what?”
“The journals that were taken from us. You will replace the three authentic journals with those,” explained Elio. Daniel set them in his lap and opened one. He flipped through the pages, finding the journal to be blank. “This way, there won’t be a noticeable hole on the shelves. They will pass a quick glance.”
“You’ve really thought this through,” said Daniel as he handed them back. Elio then handed him three sheets of paper with one large photograph on each page.
“Emma took these photos about six months ago, using her phone. They show that the journals are on the second row of bookcases, the third shelf up.”
“Third shelf up,” Daniel repeated as he looked at the photos. “Okay, so what now?” he asked as he handed the three photos back to Elio.
“We go back to Emma’s. I just wanted to show you how easy it will be. We’ll come back tomorrow night. A storm is forecast, and it’ll be a good cover for the video cameras. I’ll simply turn off their recording units and they’ll think the storm knocked them off-line.”
“Ok, but I don’t think I can do this.”
“You can do it.”
“No, I can’t.”
“I just did it.”
“Then you do it.”
“I have to work the cameras. What if one of them decides to go for a walk?”
“Then I’ll get caught.”
“Not if I am working the cameras.”
CHAPTER 38
Tuesday, October 23, 1906
Biltmore House – Library
Mr. Collins stepped inside the library and closed the door behind him. The room was empty and the lights were off. The light coming in through the windows was enough to illuminate the fireplace, the bookshelves, and the ceiling above him. Above the bookshelves on the first floor, a second floor protruded out that was more of a balcony than an entire floor. A spiral staircase made of wrought iron allowed Mr. Vanderbilt and guests access to the bookshelves on the balcony. Collins ascended the iron staircase and walked toward the left, where the bust of Epicurus had been placed. Beside it were rows and rows of monthly editions of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazines. Perusing the covers, it took some time until Mr. Collins found an issue that showed the “Oxford Circus Robbery” short story by A. Conan Doyle in the table of contents. Upon finding it, Collins cradled it as he descended the stairs, first from the balcony and then from the library, and made his way to his office, where he closed the door and began reading the story.
A widow who owned a bank left her apartment every day at the same time and took a carriage to Oxford Bank and Loan, where she oversaw the day-to-day operations. Since her husband’s passing, she had worked every day to ensure that her husband’s legacy of building a banking business would be secure. On one of the few sunny days in London, she had arrived as usual at the bank to see employees crying and the London Police scurrying about.
Mr. Collins put the book down, left the office to fetch a cup of tea from the kitchen, and pocketed several biscuits before returning to his desk. He sipped on his tea and chewed on the biscuits as he continued the story.
An inspector with an injured right leg and a white cane sat the widow down to explain that someone had opened the vault and had stolen everything.
Engrossed in the story, Collins was forced to break from the book to tell those knocking at his door that now was not a good time and to come back later. He continued reading about the widow and how she cried uncontrollably. Then the inspector found a lead.
The vault company claimed that no one had forced their way inside. The inspector found this to be true: the front and rear doors hadn’t been forced open. The theft therefore must have come from an employee.
Mr. Collins continued, finishing his tea and the last of the biscuits as he read that the inspector had closely examined every staff member’s shoes and concluded that two employees could have been in on the theft, but he had no way of proving the accusation.
A meeting was called, and all the employees gathered in the lobby. The inspector walked in through the front doors with his white cane. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he began. “It was raining on the night of the robbery, and because of this we found two sets of footprints in the vault. We have examined every employee’s shoes, and I regret to inform you that the two perpetrators are in our presence as I speak.” The employees gasped as the inspector walked around with his white cane, tapping on the floor with every stride.
Hanging on to every word, Mr. Collins leaned in close to the book as if it would help him focus.
“I have here in my hands an envelope from a participant in the theft,” the inspector said as he held up the envelope. The employees grumbled and looked around the room, searching for the culprit. “One of the men involved has taken immunity from this crime so that we may prosecute the mastermind!” the inspector said as he opened the envelope and read a name aloud. “The man who is to be arrested,” the inspector announced as the London Police began to close in, “is Mr. Ralph Dawes!” The crowd surged in vocal disapproval. Ralph Dawes, dressed in a suit with a pocket-watch chain, lunged at another man, attempting to strangle him and yelling “I’ll have your head for this! If I go down, you’ll go down with me!” As the police pulled Dawes off his accomplice, the accomplice looked upon Dawes with a confused face. “I didn’t talk to anyone, Ralph! He’s making it up!”
Mr. Collins looked up from the book and smiled. He understood what to do. Unable to put the book down, he turned the page and read the ending.
As the police restrained both men, the inspector leaned in toward Dawes and spoke softly to him while tapping his shoulder with his white cane: “I do thank you for your timely confession, sir. It is most appreciated.” The crowd of employees cheered. The criminals were caught. And the money was recovered.
Mr. Collins set the book down on his desk. When he and Mrs. King had questioned Margaret Dubois, she said that Clara had told her to ensure that the hallways were clear and that she, Margaret, hadn’t actually seen the silver napkin rings in Clara’s possession. He sat back and began to devise his own plan. He smiled as he briefly considered carrying around a white cane for effect, but quickly dismissed the idea.
CHAPTER 39
Present Day
Milan, Italy
As forecast, a thunderstorm hovered over Milan. Elio drove his work truck through the rainy streets of the University of Milan and parked on the side of the library. Opening the sliding door, he pulled the cable behind him, walked up to the utility box, unlocked it, and plugged in the access cable. Getting back in the truck, he closed the door behind him. Beads of water rolled off the fabric of his uniform and dripped onto the floor of the van. The three video monitors came to life, and Daniel looked upon them, hoping that the guards were making their rounds with flashlights and destroying the possibility that he would have to go inside.
“Okay, let’s see what we can … see …” said Elio as he moved the cameras around the library. Zooming in on the back corner, he found the poker game in full swing. He looked at his watch. “It’s after two a.m., and they will be at it for the next two hours,” he explained. “Sit here a second. Let me go unlock the front door.” Elio opened the van door to the sound of pelting rain and hurried outside. He quickly unlocked the front door of the building and returned, minding the cable as he slid the van door closed behind him. “You got your card for the vault?” he asked. Daniel checked the right pocket of his corduroy pants. He grabbed the card, held it up so Elio could see it, and put it back into his pocket. He was breathing heavily and hadn’t been out in the rain yet, but his clothes were damp. “You have your cell phone and earbuds?” asked Elio. Daniel nodded. His eyes were wide, and he looked as nervous as a cat on its way to the vet. “Hey. Calm down. It’s going to be fine.”
“It’s hot in here, that’s all,” Daniel said, placing the earbuds into his ears.
“Yeah. Here,” Elio said as he reached into a corner of the van and brought out a bottle of Disaronno amaretto liqueur that was half empty. “Take a couple of swigs. It’ll calm you down.”
“Ha! No. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t,” he said, shaking his head repeatedly. Elio forced the bottle into his hands and held up three fingers.
“Three big sips, buddy. Come on,” he insisted. Daniel took one sip and winced as he handed the bottle back. Then came the coughing as he shook his head.
“I can’t,” he said between coughs. “Good lord!” he added as he waved off the bottle.
Elio rolled his eyes. “Fine. You’ll just be a nervous wreck in there.”
“I can do this. Right? I mean, with you on the cameras?” he asked. Elio opened the door to the outside. The rain overpowered the sound of Elio’s voice.
“You have the replica books?” Elio asked over the pouring rain. Daniel patted both his back and front bulging pockets and nodded. “Call me when you’re inside,” Elio said. “I’ll be on the cameras.”
Daniel hopped out, and Elio closed the van door. He watched on the three monitors as the library’s front door opened and Daniel entered. Finding a row of shelves to the right, he ducked into the rows and crouched down. Then he called Elio.
Ring.
“The poker game is still going. Nothing to worry about. You’ll be in and out,” said Elio, his voice coming in through Daniel’s earbuds.
“Okay,” Daniel whispered as he kept low to the ground and approached the glass vault. Lightning flashed through the windows of the library, briefly illuminating everything. After moving past several shelves and keeping himself concealed, he looked at the vault and whispered “Am I clear to approach?” Thunder had clapped above the library, and Elio couldn’t understand what he had said.
“Say again?”
“Am I clear to approach?”
“Yep. They haven’t moved. Still playing,” answered Elio. Daniel pulled out the key card and crawled toward the vault entrance. “Hey, you can stand up. They won’t see you.”
“Almost there,” he said, ignoring Elio’s suggestion. He approached the card reader and held the key card in front of the reader. “Okay, do I just swipe it?” he whispered.
“Yes. Then you have to put in an access code. Swipe it and tell me if there is a green light.”
“Okay,” he said, putting the card at the top of the reader, he swiped it down through the slot. An LED light turned green. “Green,” he whispered.
“Use the keypad and type in 9698 and the OPEN button,” he instructed. Daniel punched in the code and then the OPEN button. The revolving door began to revolve slowly and continuously. “Good. Take a deep breath. If you get lightheaded, come back out and take another deep breath.”
“Wait. What?”
“It’s a low-oxygen vault.”
“Oh, great. I didn’t think about that.”
“It’ll be fine.”
“Could I pass out?”
“Doubt it. Find those books,” he said, glancing over at the poker game. “Nothing to worry about.” Elio took a sip of his can of Coca-Cola and watched Daniel on the monitors. He could see him moving about, using the flashlight on his phone inside the vault. It took Daniel a moment to figure out where he was standing in the vault versus where the photos showed the location of the books. He approached a row of shelves and began looking for the journal.
In the van, Elio heard the sound of sirens and roaring engines. “Is there a fire?” he asked aloud. Moving up toward the front of the van and looking out the windshield, he saw three police cars heading toward the library parking lot. “What?” he asked himself.
“What?” Daniel asked as he froze and covered the flashlight on his phone. “What’s wrong?”
“How’s everything in there?”
“Still looking for the second bookshelf. Why? What’s wrong?”
“No alarms or anything?”
“No. Why?”
“No reason. Just asking,” Elio said, trying to sound calm. He looked at the security guards, who quickly gathered up the poker chips, cards, and beer like roaches after a light has turned on. “Oh, no.”
“What ‘oh, no’? Why are you saying ‘oh, no’?”
“The guards are spooked by something. You’re fine. Just keep going. You almost done?”
“Spooked? What do you mean?”
“I’d hurry.”
“Oh, my God.”
“What?”
“I’m lightheaded. I’m gonna pass out.”
“Run around the revolving door. Get some air.”
“Where are the guards?”
“They are walking toward the back of the library. I’m not sure what’s going on. Hurry. The revolving door. Get some air. Hurry,” said Elio.
Before leaving for the revolving door, Daniel saw the second shelf. Continuing to use the flashlight on his phone, he found the third shelf up. He quickly found the three journals, picked them up, and replaced them with the three replicas as he felt dizzy.
“Uh-oh,” said Elio.
“What? Why do you keep saying that?” Daniel asked.
The guards had walked to the back of the library and opened the door for more security guards. Then the police walked in through the front door with flashlights and a hurry in their step.
“What is it?” Daniel asked in a yelling whisper.
