“That phone call means we’re ready for step two,” Xandria said. “I’m afraid you’re not going to like it.”

“What a surprise.”

Xandria opened the laptop and double-clicked on one of the files she had downloaded. “I want you to look at this,” she said, turning the screen toward August.

August peered at the computer and instantly recognized the image as a page from a Gutenberg Bible. “I’m assuming this isn’t a photo you got off the Internet. Where did you get it?”

“From the Morgan Library. A friend of yours helped us.”

August only knew one person who worked there. “Alex Pierson? I don’t believe you.”

“Just like you, he didn’t have a choice. But things didn’t go as well for him.” Xandria pressed a button on the computer and another picture appeared. It was a photo of Alex, facedown on the pavement, his limbs at odd angles. His tweed jacket was marred in the middle of the back by two ragged holes. “Somehow he set off a remote alarm system. We didn’t want to harm him, but he forced our hand.”

August’s anger boiled just beneath the surface. “Alex is one of the nicest people I’ve ever known. You didn’t have to shoot him.”

“We needed to send a message. And I’m gauging from your response that it’s coming through,” Xandria said, closing the laptop. “You’re a book man, so it’s probably hard for you to comprehend the idea that strong words don’t get you very far in this life. It’s action that speaks. And it’s well-planned action that speaks the loudest. Which leads me back to step two. Have you ever heard of the term ranging?”

“No.”

“It’s what makes GPS systems work, the process of using multiple points of reference to locate a target between them. But it’s not merely a geophysical term. It can also refer to other things . . . triangulating coded information, for instance.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Gutenberg was smart enough not to bury all of his secrets in the same grave. He spread them out. In order to put the pieces of his puzzle together, we need at least three sources.”

August scoffed at Xandria’s bravado. Three Gutenberg Bibles! No one person could obtain multiple copies of such a rare work. And yet, she had already managed to get her hands on two of them. But where was the third copy coming from?

“You know where all this is leading,” she said.

The answer coiled around August’s mind like a snake. “April,” he said. “She has the third copy.”

Xandria swept her honey-colored hair over the opposite shoulder. “My associates don’t realize it yet, but they’re going to need your wife’s assistance. You need to convince her to help them get the Bible. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble doing that, given the situation.”