Chapter 3 Chapter Two A Diamond As Big As The Ritz

1 Dazzling, no doubt, but there are places in that novel that seem to me to be overcrafted, like pruned shrubs in a garden.For him, short stories have more room for development and can be written in a more messy way. "A Diamond As Big As The Ritz" comes alive like an enchanted garden gnome. In this regard, I have my own views.Remember, you can get a good education elsewhere than the usual places. Although he can't remember how he got into bed or how he got undressed, AJ wakes up in bed with only his underwear on.He remembers Harvey Rhodes dead, he remembered behaving badly in front of that handsome sales rep at Knightley, he remembered throwing curry meat across the room, he remembered his first glass of wine and the Son" toast.After that, he doesn't remember anything.From his point of view, the evening had been a success.

His head throbbed in pain.He went to the great room, expecting to find the remains of curry meat.But the floors and walls were spotless. AJ finds an aspirin from the medicine cabinet, secretly thanking himself for having the foresight to clean up the curry meat.Sitting at the restaurant table, he noticed that the wine bottle had been taken out and thrown away.It was odd that he was so meticulous, but not unprecedented.If being neat when drunk isn't a skill, he's really useless.He looked across the table, where he had kept Timur.Now that the book is gone, maybe he just thought he took the book out of the box?

AJ's heart raced against his head as he walked across the room.Walking halfway, he saw that the temperature-controlled glass coffin locked with a combination lock, which was used to protect "Timerlane" from the outside world, was open, and it was empty inside. He puts on a bathrobe and a pair of running shoes that he hasn't worn much lately. AJ jogged down Captain Wiggins Street, his tattered plaid bathrobe flapping behind him.He looked like a depressed, malnourished superhero.He turned onto Main Street and ran straight into the sleepy Alice Island Police Station. "I was stolen!" AJ yelled.He didn't run very far, but he was panting, "Please, someone help me!" He tried not to feel like an old lady who had her wallet stolen.

Lambiase put down his coffee and looked at the frantic man in a bathrobe.He recognized him as the bookstore owner, and it was he who, more than a year before, had driven his beautiful young wife into the lake.Compared with the last time we met, AJ looked much older, although Lambiase felt that getting old was inevitable. "Well, Mr. Fikry," said Lambiase, "tell me what's wrong." "Someone stole Timur," AJ said. "What is 'Tamerlane'?" "It's a book, a very valuable book." "Be clear. You mean someone took a book from the store without paying for it."

"No, it's in my personal collection. It's a very rare collection of poems by Edgar Allan Poe." "So, this seems like a book you like a lot?" Lambiase said. "No, I don't like it at all. It's crap, immature crap. It's just..." AJ gasps, "Fuck." "Don't get excited, Mr. Fikry. I'm just trying to figure it out. You don't like this book, but it has sentimental value?" "No! Fuck its sentimental value. It has high commercial value. Timur is like the Honas Wagner of rare books. You know what I'm talking about?"

"Of course, my dad collects baseball cards." Lambiase nodded, "So valuable?" AJ's mouth can't keep up with the speed of his brain. "This is the earliest work of Edgar Allan Poe, when he was eighteen years old. The volume of this book is very small, because the first printing only printed fifty copies, and it was published anonymously. There is no 'Edgar Allan Poe' printed on the cover. Gar Allan Poe', but 'A Bostonian'. Depending on the condition and the market for rare books, each copy can sell for more than $400,000. Auctioned the book. I was going to close the bookstore and retire on that income."

"If you don't mind me asking," Lambiase said, "why do you keep that kind of thing in your own house instead of in a bank vault?" AJ shakes his head. "I don't know, I'm stupid, I like having it around, I think. I like seeing it, and having it remind me when I don't feel like doing it, and when I can quit. I keep it in a combination lock I thought it would be safe enough." Indeed, there are very few thefts on Alice Island except during the tourist season.And it was October. "So, did someone break the glass box or crack the code?" Lambiase asked.

"Neither. I tried to get drunk last night. Stupid as hell, but I got that book out so I could look at it. Just let it keep me company, I know it's an excuse. Oops." "Mr. Fekri, have you insured for Timur?" AJ buried his head in his hands.Lambiase interpreted that to mean that the book was not insured. "I only discovered that book about a year ago, two or three months after my wife died. I didn't want to spend more money, so I never did it. I don't know, there are a million idiotic reasons, the main One is, I'm an idiot, Officer Lambiase." Lambiase didn't bother to correct that he should be Sheriff Lambiase. "I'm going to do that. First, I'll make a statement with you. Then, when my agent comes to work—she only works half-days during the off season—I'll send her over to you for fingerprints and other evidence. Maybe There will be some discoveries. One more thing we can do is call all the auction houses and other people who deal in this kind of thing. If it's a rare book like you said, then such a dubious Books come out on the market and people will notice. Don't things like that have a record of who owns them and what they're called?"

"Proof of origin," AJ said. "Yeah, that's right! My wife used to love watching Treasure Appraisal on TV. Have you seen that show?" AJ didn't answer. "One last thing, I wonder who else knows about this book." AJ snorted. "Everyone knows. My wife's older sister, Ismay, she teaches in a secondary school. She's been worried about me since Nicole...she's always trying to get me out of the bookstore and out of the island. About a year ago, she pulled I went to a dull property auction in Milton. This book was in a box with fifty or so other books, all of which were worthless except Timur. I paid five dollars ...those people had no idea what they had in their hands. If you want to be honest, it made me feel uncomfortable about it, not that it even matters now. Anyway, Ismay felt that if I put it Putting it on display in a bookstore would help business, educational and other shit. So I put that glass case in the bookstore all last summer. You've never been in a bookstore, I think."

Lambiase looked at his shoes, feeling the familiar shame of failing to complete the minimum reading assignment required by his teacher in thousands of middle school English classes. "I'm not much of a reader." "But you read crime books, don't you?" "Good memory," Lambiase said.In fact, AJ has an excellent memory for people's reading tastes. "Deever, eh? If you like that kind, there's this new writer from—" "No problem, I'll stop by sometime. Can I give you a call? Your sister-in-law is Ismay Evans-Parrish, right?"

"Ismay is—" At this moment, AJ froze suddenly, as if someone had pressed the pause button on him.His eyes were blank and his mouth was open. "Mr. Fikry?" For almost half a minute, AJ just sits there, and then he goes on talking like nothing happened. "Ismay's working, I'm fine. No need to call her." "You lost consciousness for a moment," Lambiase said. "what?" "You passed out." "Oh my God. It was just a mind-wandering moment. I used to do that when I was a kid, and I rarely do it again as an adult, except when it's really stressful." "You should see a doctor." "No, it's all right, really. I just want to find my book." "I'll feel better if you go," Lambias insisted. "You were hit hard this morning, and I know you're alone. I'm going to take you to the hospital, and then I'm going to make you My wife, sister, and brother-in-law will go there to find you. At the same time, I will let my people see if they can find any clues about your book." In the hospital, AJ waits, fills out forms, waits, undresses, waits, gets tested, waits, gets dressed, waits, gets more tests, waits, undresses again.Finally, a middle-aged general practitioner saw him.The female doctor was not particularly worried about his sudden attack.However, various tests showed that his blood pressure and cholesterol levels were right in the high range for a thirty-nine-year-old man.She asks about AJ's lifestyle.He replied matter-of-factly, "I'm not what you'd call an alcoholic, but I do like to get myself drunk at least once a week. I smoke occasionally, and I eat all frozen food. I rarely floss. I I used to be a long-distance runner, but now I don’t work out at all. I live alone and I don’t have any worthwhile relationships. Since my wife died, I also hate my job.” "Oh, is that all?" asked the doctor. "You are still a young man, Mr. Fikry, and there is only so much a human body can take. If you want to kill yourself, I can think of a quicker and easier way." .Do you want to die?" AJ couldn't answer for a moment. "Because if you really want to die, I can arrange a psychic observation of you." "I don't want to die," AJ said after a while, "I just find it hard to stay here all the time. Do you think I'm crazy?" "No. I can see why you're feeling that way. You're going through a tough time. Start with exercise," she said. "You'll feel better." "Ok." "Your wife is lovely," said the doctor. "I used to attend a mother-daughter reading group organized by your wife at the bookstore. My daughter is still working part-time with you." "Molly Klock?" "Klock is my husband's last name. I'm Dr. Rosen." She tapped her name tag. In the hospital lobby, AJ saw a familiar scene. "Would you mind?" A nurse in a pink lab coat holds a battered mass-market paperback to a man in a corduroy blazer with elbow patches. "I'd love to," Daniel Parrish said. "What's your name?" "Jill, that's Jill from 'Jack and Jill Go Climbing'. Macy, that's the name of the department store. I've read all your books, but this one is my favorite. Well, so far." "That's the common opinion, Jill on the Hill." Daniel wasn't joking.None of his other books sold as well as the first. "I can't express how much it means to me. Well, it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it." She bowed her head, respectful like a geisha, "It's the book that made me want to be a nurse I just came here for work. Ever since I found out you live in this town, I've been hoping you'd come here someday." "You mean, you want me to be sick?" Daniel said with a smile. "No, of course not!" She blushed, then smacked his arm. "You! You're so bad!" "I'm bad," Daniel replied, "I'm really bad as hell." When Nicole first met Daniel Parrish, she commented that he was good-looking enough to be a news presenter on a local news station.As they drove home, she revised her opinion: "His eyes are too small for a newscaster. He could be a weatherman." "He did have a loud voice," AJ said at the time. “If that person told you that the storm was over, you would absolutely believe him. Even if you were being hit by the wind and rain, you would probably still believe him,” she said. AJ cuts off the flirting. "Dan," he said, "I thought they called your wife." AJ doesn't mince words. Daniel cleared his throat. "She's a little unwell, so I'm here. How are you, dude?" Daniel likes to call AJ "dude," despite the fact that Daniel is five years older than AJ. "I broke my fortune, and the doctors said I was dying, but other than that, I was in fantastic shape." The sedatives gave him insight. "Great. Let's go get a drink." Daniel turned to Nurse Jill and whispered something in her ear.When Daniel returns her book, AJ sees him write down his phone number. "Come on, you majesty in charge of the vineyard!" Daniel said and walked towards the door. Although AJ loves books and owns a bookstore, he's not particularly fond of authors.He finds them slovenly, narcissistic, goofy, and generally unlikable.He tried to avoid getting to know authors who wrote books he loved, fearing that the authors themselves would spoil his feelings about them.Fortunately, he wasn't a big fan of Daniel's books, not even his popular first novel.As for Daniel himself?Well, he kind of made AJ happy.In other words, Daniel Parrish is one of AJ's closest friends. "It's my fault," AJ said, down his second beer, "Should have insured it, should have put it in the safe, shouldn't have taken it out while drinking. Whoever stole it, I can’t say I’m not at fault.” The sedatives and alcohol relax AJ, turning him into a philosopher.Daniel picked up the flagon and poured him another glass. "Don't do that, AJ, don't beat yourself up," Daniel said. "That was a huge hit for me," AJ said. "I'm definitely going to cut down on my alcohol." "Let's talk after drinking this cup." Daniel joked.They clinked glasses.A high school girl walks into the bar wearing denim fringed shorts so short that a little of her ass shows at the hem.Daniel raised his glass to her. "Nice clothes!" The girl gave him a middle finger. "You've got to stop drinking, and I can't cheat on Ismay anymore," Daniel said. "But then I saw those shorts and my resolve was severely tested. What a ridiculous night. That nurse! Those shorts!" AJ sipped his beer. "How is the writing?" Daniel shrugged. "If it is a book, it will have inside pages, a cover, plots, characters, and branches and leaves. It will reflect the results of my years of research, deliberation and practice in creation. Nevertheless, it is still affirmative. It's not going to be as popular as the first book I wrote when I was twenty-five." "Poor luck," AJ said. "I'm pretty sure you're going to win this year's unlucky guy, man." "I'm so lucky." "Poe's a lousy writer, you know? Timur's the worst of all, a boring imitation of Byron. If it's one of those goddamn decent first editions, it's fine. You Should be happy without it. I hate collectible books anyway. People are crazy about some old paper piles. It's the thoughts, man. The words in it," said Daniel Parrish. AJ finishes his glass of wine. "Sir, you are an idiot." The investigation lasted a month, which in Alice Island Police Station's sense of time felt like a year.Lambiase and his team were unable to find relevant physical evidence at the scene.In addition to throwing away the wine bottles and cleaning up the curry meat, the criminal apparently also wiped off all his fingerprints left in the apartment.Investigators questioned AJ's employees and the few friends and relatives he had on Alice Island.None of these interviews resulted in a particularly convicting individual.Nor have book dealers and auction houses reported any Timurids on the market. (Of course, the auction house is notoriously low-key about such matters.) Investigations came to nothing.The book was gone, and AJ knew he would never see it again. The glass case is useless now, and AJ is unsure what to do with it.He has no other rare books.However, the glass case is quite expensive, nearly five hundred dollars.The remaining optimism in him wants to believe that something better will come across and can be put in a glass case.When buying it, he was told it could also be used to store cigars. With no prospect of retirement, AJ read sample books, answered emails, answered the phone, and even wrote a shelf card or two.At night, after the bookstore closed, he started running again.There are many problems in long-distance running, but one of the biggest problems is where to put the keys.In the end, AJ decided not to lock the front door.In his estimation, there was nothing in the store worth stealing.