Doctor Who_ All-Consuming Fire - Andy Lane [12]
'Which documents are missing?' my friend snapped.
'Three books from our alternative zoology and phantasmagorical anthropology section. Here are the titles.' He held out a sheet of paper.
'You were expecting us?'
'I was expecting someone.'
'What, pray tell,' I interjected, 'is "alternative zoology"?'
'The study of fabulous beasts,' Ambrose answered. 'Dragons and deamons, griffins and chimerae. You may have heard rumours concerning a sea creature which inhabits Loch Ness, near Inverness in Scotland. We have a number of manuscripts describing its habits and its physiognomy.
You may also remember the discovery of the fossilized bones of what might be termed "primeval monsters" at Charing Cross some ten years ago, now. Again, we have quite a selection of books on that subject, going right back to the Bible.'
'The Bible?' I said, scandalized.
' "There were giants in the Earth in those days",' Ambrose quoted.
'And these books were kept where?' Holmes said tersely, trying to get the conversation back on the right track.
'In a room, not far from here.'
'And your security procedures?'
'Nobody is allowed to remove books from the library.'
'So I am informed. I am not concerned with what people are allowed to do, but with what they are forbidden to do.'
Ambrose had the grace to look discomfited.
'You will have noticed,' he began, 'that we have an arrangement with the local criminal fraternity. More precisely, two of the local gang leaders, or
"scurfs" as the argot has it, guarantee the safety and integrity of the Library in return for financial recompense.'
'And how exactly do they operate?'
'Very simply. There is only one way out of the Library - the doorway through which you entered. At no other point do its bounds come near the outside world; apart from that door we are completely sealed in. Every visitor and every member of staff who leaves is searched by the skilled pickpockets, or "fine wirers", of each gang. If anybody is caught attempting to remove a book - and they will be caught - their hands are cut off. It's a very simple deterrent!'
'Bribery?' Holmes suggested.
Ambrose shook his head. 'It was obvious to the original creators of the Library that any one set of guards could be suborned by bribery or threats.
Since time immemorial we have used two tribes, or gangs, who are in competition. Each watches the other, you see? Each would like nothing more than to catch the other one out, and so we avoid placing too much reliance on any one person or group of people.'
'An equitable arrangement,'Holmes said brusquely. 'Do these gang leaders have names?'
'They are known by the colourful sobriquets of Mr Jitter and Mack "The Knife" Yeovil'
'I know of them. Men without any notion of decency or morals: thieves and killers whose catalogues of crimes are exceeded only by their hatred of each other. I have often suspected them of being linked to the Moriarty gang.'
Ambrose smiled.
'That rivalry assures our security,' he said. 'Each man would take great pleasure in catching the other one out, or discovering a theft that the other had overlooked.'
'What about ventilation?' I asked. 'Could somebody gain access through ventilation ducts?'
'There is no ventilation.'
'But the air . . . it's fresh.'
Ambrose smiled. 'The Library has been designed to provide a natural channel for the transit of air from the doorway, around the many corridors and rooms, and out of the same doorway whilst still maintaining a constant temperature and humidity. Effectively, and without wanting to appear melodramatic, the Library breathes, just as you or I.'
'Very interesting, I am sure,' said Holmes, who could be very blinkered when he chose to be. 'But how soon would the theft have been discovered?'
'We had just completed a full inventory of the Library's stock a month back when an old and respected visitor asked to see the