Chapters (73)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Prologue
- Part IAnnie
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Part IIHarry
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Part IIIAnnie
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Part IVHarry
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Part VAnnie
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Also by Linwood Barclay
- About the Publisher
The man kept coming back to one set that had caught his fancy. It came with two boxcars that said santa fe on the side, a tank car, one flatcar with a small helicopter attached, and a second one whose load was a mini-submarine. There was even a red caboose. The most important item was a black metal steam engine and matching tender with pennsylvania emblazoned on the side.
The man held the box in his hands, contemplating. Nabler wasn’t sure whether the man had even noticed he was there, so he discreetly cleared his throat.
The man turned, smiled. “Oh, hey. You the owner?”
“Mr. Choo at your service,” he said, touching the brim of his engineer cap in a mini-salute.
“Mr. Choo?”
Edwin smiled. “My nom de plume, as it were. But you may call me Edwin.”
“This is a nice train set.”
“It’s one of our biggest sellers,” Nabler said, coming out from behind the counter. “And we sell all manner of accessories to go along with it.” He waved a hand at his shelves. “Buildings and trees and crossing signals. Everything you could want to make your own miniature empire.” He paused. “Thinking of something for a little boy or girl?”
The man looked sheepish. “I’m thinking of getting it for myself.”
“Why not? We all need a hobby, don’t we? And, to be honest, we’re all still kids on the inside. We never outgrow the toys we had as children. I still have my Slinky.”
“Oh God, I had one of those. What was the jingle?”
Edwin sang a couple of lines: “Everyone knows it’s Slinky, everyone knows it’s Slinky.”
“Thing is, I always wanted a train set when I was a kid but my folks didn’t have money for something like that. I had a friend, he had a super Lionel setup, and I would go over to his house and play with it. I was so envious.”
“It’s never too late,” Nabler said.
“Can we open this up so I can get a better look at it?”
“Of course.”
Nabler took the set from his hands and placed it on the counter by the register. He carefully opened the end flaps of the box and was starting to slide out the entire Styrofoam tray that held all the pieces securely when the man said, “That’s far enough. I just wanted a peek at the engine.”
“Have a gander. I’ve told you my name. What’s yours?”
The man extended a hand. “Wendell Comstock.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Comstock.”
“Wendell.”
“Of course, Wendell. Married, are you?” He had been looking at the gold band on the man’s finger.
“Yup. Can’t imagine what the wife’ll think if I bring this home. She doesn’t usually get into things I’m interested in.” The man’s face briefly fell.