Free Sun of the Sleepless by Patrick Horne

grinning benignly and clearly pleased with the profit of the evening's trade. 'Shall I wrap them for you?'
    After a curt nod, Rey became transfixed by the careful precision applied to the wrapping process, albeit distracted by the opposing thoughts running through his mind.
    On the one hand, he did actually want the books. On the other hand, it would be convenient that the old man now had a large amount of cash on the premises, just in case he and Frans required a ready made motive for a staged burglary gone wrong.
    He could not help but think of eventualities yet to transpire and depending on the outcome of a visit to the temporary holder of the Sigil Ring , they might need to drop in on the old man once again.
    Rey's attention was drawn by Johann Janssens leaning forward and pushing the fastidiously wrapped parcel across to him. He saw him grin tentatively, as if worried that the deal may still go sour at any moment.
    'Your books?'
    'Yes, sorry, I was just thinking, thank-you.'
    The old man nodded and winked confidentially.
    'Not to worry, I find myself thinking one thing and doing another all the time, although I do not think that age is such a problem to you as it is to me, hey?'
    Placing his wrinkled hands palm down on the scarred but well polished wooden counter top, the flat worn face of a gold ring sitting loosely about a gnarled little finger momentarily caught the light and glinted brightly.
    'Hopefully, I may see you again some time, as you can see, there are plenty of books here which may distract you!'
    Rey tucked the parcel under his arm and took in a last look around the heavily laden shelves, pausing just for one moment before replying, 'Yes, you never know, maybe I will be back.'
    After an exchange of farewells and a couple of minutes to traverse the street, Rey was once again sitting opposite Frans in the café, the packaged books sitting on the table in front of him, patiently waiting for a tea and a coffee to be brought to them before he would hear the translation of the exchange that had, for the time being, saved the old man's life. He was intrigued.
    Frans coughed and ran a fore-knuckle across his lips as the waitress brought a couple of steaming mugs to their table.
    ' Dank u wel !'
    Pouring in the contents of two sugar packets, Rey then dripped some coffee creamer into his tea before giving the murky brown liquid a thorough stir.
    'So, I know how it went, but how did it go?' asked Rey as he tapped his spoon against the rim of his cup before resting it in his saucer.
    Frans rasped in air through the side of his clamped lips, staring with some disdain and humour at the muddy liquid exuding vapours before his comrade.
    'White tea and cryptic English, you'd never pass for a European!'
    'Come on,' Rey harrumphed, 'what was said that gave you such a warm and fuzzy feeling that we're not in there right now supervising the old fella's demise?'
    Frans clasped his hands and rubbed them together vigorously, 'Ahhh, interesting! Can you believe that Mr. Janssens was entirely up-front about the book when I asked him about it? Did you notice his ring? A Freemason no less, so I gave him a story about how it had been stolen from a Masonic Lodge!'
    'That was convenient,' muttered Rey as he lowered his head to blow over his tea before taking a sip.
    'He said that a young guy came in a couple of weeks ago and tried to sell it to him, although our Masonic friend guessed that it was not his to trade in the first place. Initially, he didn't want anything to do with it and wouldn't even take a look at it.'
    'What changed his mind?' Rey intoned, sardonically raising an eyebrow of disdain. 'Did he suddenly smell a profit?'
    Frans grimace was accompanied by a shake of his head, 'Our young thief, he became aggressive, he was insistent and our dealer was not a little worried that things might turn ugly. He's had some trouble with youth gangs around here before; graffiti on the front of the shop, shouting and drunkenness in the