The Paper Chase

Douglas Kimball with his books.

Thomas Kimball contacts Maddie when books from his disappeared Uncle's library start to go missing.

Until quite recently he had thought that his Uncle must have died under mysterious circumstances. Now that some of his Uncle's favorite books are missing, he's starting to wonder whether his Uncle is actually alive.

The following books were discovered missing:

  1. A Voyage to Arcturus - David Lindsay
  2. A Princess of Mars -Edgar Rice Burroughs
  3. The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
  4. The Adventures of Captain Hatteras - Jules Verne
  5. Polaris - H. P. Lovecraft

None of the books have much street value, though Douglas was fond of them.

Maddie interviewed Mrs. Kramarcuk who complained about Thomas's music listening habits and raved about Douglas as a quiet neighbor who preferred to avoid human interaction as much as possible. Maddie's investigation ultimately led her to the Elm Street Cemetery, where Douglas Kimball was sometimes seen reading his favorite books. There she met Melodias Jefferson, the caretaker. A veteran of WW I, he did remember Mr. Kimball coming to read from time to time. Maddie also noticed that the cemetery was only separated from the apartment by a park.

Maddie decided to set up a stakeout. On the second night, she witnessed someone slipping through the park from the cemetery and crashing through the locked library window. Rushing down to investigate, she encountered a white faced Thomas who said someone was in the library. Maddie caught a glimpse of someone leaping from the window, books in hand.

Not wasting a moment, Maddie sprang into action, giving chase through the window. Divining that whoever it was was headed to the cemetery, avoiding the light cast by the few street lamps there, she sought to cut them off. She almost caught up before the shadowy figure made its way over the wall of the cemetery.

Undeterred, Maddie scrambled over the fence in time to see the figure come to a halt on top of one of the many above ground graves. She could see that it was reading a book on its perch. Approaching carefully, Maddie caught a whiff of rancid charnel house. Gripping tight to her sanity, fingernails biting into her leg, she finally got a good look at whatever it was. Hooved feet, rubbery skin, cracked, grotesque nails, carrion dripping from its teeth.

Maddie and Douglas Kimball had a friendly conversation, there in the graveyard, where he spoke of the friends who had led him below the earth into a new world. There he had found a life more suited to his desires. Plenty of time to read, and none of the pesky distractions of modern life. The meals, he said, took a bit of getting used to, but the benefits greatly outweighed the cost.

His new friends, he said, were permanently closing the door to this place, which was why he must recover a few more books before it was too late. He asked only that Maddie keep his new circumstances a secret from his nephew. Maddie agreed to tell Thomas that the whole thing was simply a fraternity prank and wouldn't happen again. He gladly accepted this explanation.