I didn’t think these two teenagers were working alone either. Yesterday it’d almost made sense that the grandfather was pulling the strings and this was a far less convoluted mystery. But now? Nothing was ever cut-and-dry where I was involved. I don’t doubt for a minute that there were kids who loved art and history like I did and had learned about Dickson at an early age. But it simply wasn’t the norm. Students learned about his accomplishments, if at all, in college.
Usually in a specific field of study.
Like moviemaking.
“It’s never good when you’re quiet,” Calvin murmured. He didn’t look up from his food.
“It’s never good when I talk either,” I countered.
He smiled.
“Look,” I began. “I’m not trying to make this uncomfortable for you. But I think we need to discuss something about Lee—like, how yesterday when the grandfather called the Emporium after the shooting, I wrote his address on my hand.” I raised it to show Calvin the faint outline of letters that hadn’t come off in the shower. “And the people with me when that happened were Max and Lee.”
“Lee was in the shop when the shooting happened,” Calvin replied. “And you identified a teenager outside of James’s house and in the subway—”
“Exactly. I don’t think those kids were acting of their own volition. I think someone’s preyed on two susceptible teenagers and convinced them to commit terrible acts in the hunt for those film reels.”
“WhyLee?”
“Because there’s no way Casey or this unidentified assailant are Dickson fans trying to collect long-lost footage to hand over to museums. Someone in a higher position than a student, with knowledge of the movies, is orchestrating this. The logical assumption is a teacher. Lee works with students. At the Emporium, he would have had time to call this second kid and give him the address I’d written down. I didn’t hide the fact I was going to visit the grandfather.”
“You’re coming to conclusions without evidence, Sebastian.” Calvin pushed his plate away. “Before you jump off the deep end, let’s wait until I receive a copy of Casey’s transcript.IfLee is one of his instructors, then I have reason to interview him.”
“Lee is definitely a big enough guy—”
Calvin held his hand up. “Stop theorizing and eat your waffles.Please.”
I slumped into my chair, picked up my fork, and hacked off a chunk of syrup-soaked waffle.
Calvin pointed at his tablet on top of my book tower. “Researching recipes?” he asked, cutting through that awkward “we’re not angry at each other, but sort of annoyed and unwilling to apologize” silence.
“No,” I muttered. “I wanted to borrow your copy ofProfessional Criminals of America.”
He looked interested at that. “And why does my boyfriend require a handguide written by the controversial Chief of Detectives of New York City in 1886?”
I smiled a little and pushed pieces of waffle around my plate. “Who was that again?”
“Thomas Byrnes.”
“Careful or you’re going to give me a chub.”
Calvin laughed under his breath.
I took a few bites of the soggy waffle and grabbed the tablet. “Before I was robbed in the subway,” I began, searching through Calvin’s e-books, which were, in fact, mostly cookbooks, “I spooled through the film.”
“And?”
“It was the same as with the Leonard-Cushing fight—footage thought lost to time. But there were more spliced test pieces attached. One was the same outdoor scene—could have been a few hours before the killing. The other was definitely shot inside at Edison’s lab, earlier in the murder timeline.”
“So what’s it all mean?”
I chose Byrnes’s comprehensive book on criminals, tweaked the brightness level on the screen, and started scrolling through pages. “Supposedly, someone was after Dickson in 1895, and these movies were a crucial element to his safety. Since the only damning footage I’ve seen so far is the murder, I suspect if we can identify the men involved, we’ll understand why Dickson was in peril.Andwhy I ended up with a Kinetoscope that’s killed a kid.” I looked at Calvin.
He puffed his cheeks as he blew out a big breath of air. “In all my career, I’ve never heard of anything quite like the cases I’ve picked up since meeting you.”
“I wasn’t kidding when I said antiquing was murder.”
“And curiosity kills.”
