Fifteen

On the Friday before Christmas break, Arthur steals a signed first edition of John O’Hara’s Appointment in Samarra to test Jayne’s honesty about money. He arranges a meeting through Tana and heads to Shut-Up-And-Eat-It at dusk.

In the parking lot, Jayne dismisses the book’s value, but Arthur asserts it’s a mint first worth around $7,500. He calculates he has surpassed the $60,000 Jayne demanded and expects to be done. Jayne counters that fenced goods fetch far less, claiming she’ll get only $2,000 for the O’Hara, shifting the goalposts and extending his obligation.

Jayne then reveals her Boston buyer wants one specific item—the skin-bound Crane journal—and promises $12,000 for it, crudely leveraging Tana to pressure Arthur. Arthur refuses, noting the book is locked and uniquely traceable to him. Jayne advises framing his drug-using roommate as a scapegoat by planting stolen books, showing her readiness to destroy Arthur’s relationships.

Arthur stalls, saying the library will be closed until mid-January and offering other valuable titles instead, but not the Crane journal. Jayne responds with open racism and an ultimatum: by the end of January he must deliver the Crane book, framing it as his unavoidable “appointment.”

Shaken and silent, Arthur watches Jayne drive off. Snow begins to fall heavily, underscoring the chilling escalation and the narrowing options before him.