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
“It’s my son’s birthday tomorrow,” she said. “I already bought him a football, but somehow it doesn’t seem like enough. He’s going to be ten, and that’s one of the special birthdays.”
“Oh, you are right about that. Ten, thirteen, sixteen, those are milestones.” He chuckled. “And so’s thirty, and forty.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Feel free to look around, and if you have any questions, just ask. No hard sell here. If the appeal of my offerings isn’t immediately apparent, nothing I could say will make any difference.”
“Well, isn’t that refreshing?” she said.
He smiled. “I’m Edwin Nabler, by the way, but I also answer to Mr. Choo. Just like it says on the sign over the window.”
“Hello, Mr. Choo,” she said, smiling broadly and tipping her head. “I love that. It’s adorable.”
God. Cute and adorable.
“I’m Christina Pidgeon. If you think I smell like a dinner roll, it’s because I work down the street at Len’s Bakery.” She giggled. “My husband says work makes me smell better than my Calgon bath beads. Just finished for the day and was heading home, when I passed your store and just couldn’t stop myself from coming in.”
“Please. Look around.”
And so she did. Before long, she had discovered the same packaged set that Wendell Comstock had admired.
“I love this. How much is it?”
“I’m afraid that one is spoken for. I mean, I’m pretty sure it’s spoken for. There was someone eyeing that this morning and I’d feel terrible if he came back in before closing and wondered where it had gone.”
“Oh, of course. How about this one next to it? Do you think a boy turning ten would like this?”
“A Chesapeake & Ohio steam loco and tender? How could he not? Comes with a tank car and a caboose and a two-bay coal hopper and—”
“A what kind of hopper?”
“A car that transports coal. A transformer and all the track you need to get started. It’s one of the finest sets in the store.”
Christina picked up the box in both hands and as she admired it, her cheeks slightly flushed. “Oh my,” she said.
“Are you okay?”
“No, I’m fine, I just felt a little something wash over me, there.”
“Maybe you’ve got the bug,” he said.
“The bug?”
He grinned. “The train bug. Once the hobby gets hold of you, it’s hard to shake.”
“Well, I guess I’ve caught it, because . . . I’m taking this. Ring this up.”
That was exactly what Edwin did. He held the door open for Christina as she departed, and then, not seeing anyone else on the sidewalk who looked like an immediate prospect, he returned to his project in the back.