Contents
Eighteen
Overview
Arthur returns to the reopened library and steals the Crane journal from the Special Collection safe using his key. He notes the shelves seem thinned and secures the safe to delay discovery. Aware only three keys exist, Arthur accepts he will be the prime suspect once the theft is found out.
Summary
With campus still quiet before classes resume, Arthur visits the reopened library. The building feels hollow and underlit, and the Special Collection appears thinned, feeding his anxiety that losses might already have started to show.
Arthur goes to the steel cabinet safe, opens its ornate heart-shaped lock with his key, and locates the Crane journal inside a Solander box. Expecting something grotesque, he instead finds a worn, saddle-colored volume.
He removes the journal, replaces the empty case on the shelf, shuts the safe, and refastens the lock to slow detection. He mentally tallies the three keys in existence—Mr. Meckfessel’s original, a campus security duplicate, and his own—accepting that when the book is missed, suspicion will fall squarely on him.
Who Appears
- ArthurProtagonist; secretly opens the Special Collection safe and steals the Crane journal, accepting he’ll be the prime suspect.
- Mr. MeckfesselHead librarian, off-page; holder of the original safe key, underscoring Arthur’s risk of being identified.