The Lions of Fifth Avenue

Four years after Jack’s death, Laura and Pearl live with Amelia; Harry was never found. Eventually, Laura secures a job, writing a weekly profile of members of the Heterodoxy Club. She persuades them that the only way to champion their cause is to come out of the shadows. That night, the family celebrates Harry’s 15th birthday, and Laura, who has spotted him on occasion with Red Paddy’s gang (he always eludes her), hopes to reconnect with him one day. Amelia mentions London again, but Laura doesn’t want to leave New York without Harry.

Laura steps out and ducks into a bookshop where she overhears Red Paddy trying to sell stolen books. When he leaves, she follows him to an abandoned basement. There, she sees an emaciated Harry. Laura offers to buy him food, careful to give him space. Over dinner, she invites him home, but he refuses, claiming he doesn’t need his family anymore. When she asks about the stolen books, Harry claims he did it to help the family finances. Harry asks about Jack, and Laura is forced to reveal the truth. He blames himself for his father’s death. Laura begs him to come home, but he refuses. Harry leaves the restaurant, and Laura knows she will never see him again.

Sadie and Nick return to the apartment, but Tamerlane is missing again. They suspect Robin was hiding in the apartment, and once they left, she took the book. Moments later, they appear before Dr. Hooper and the Board of Trustees to explain recent events. The Board ignores Laura’s advice to publicize the theft. Thinking of the Berg Collection suddenly gives Sadie an idea; she enlists Nick’s help.

Laura and Nick hail a cab and follow a member of the Board (Mr. Jones-Ebbing), whom Sadie suspects might be involved. They follow him to a brownstone and wait across the street. Moments later, Robin appears, and Jones-Ebbing lets her inside. Just then, two police cars, summoned by Nick, arrive. The police burst in, arrest Robin, and recover Tamerlane. Jones-Ebbing claims Robin instigated the whole plan.

As part of a plea deal, Robin admits to stealing the books but also provides more details. She and Jones-Ebbing have worked together for years, with his appointment to the library’s board making the thefts easier. As suspected, Robin used the library’s dumbwaiters as a transit system and exited via the balcony that overlooks Bryant Park.

Sadie, now reinstated as curator of the Berg Collection, peruses the exhibit. She still doesn’t know how Robin knew about the dumbwaiter system, as she never accessed the original floor plans. She removes Laura’s walking stick from its display case and examines it. Sadie recalls Hilary Quinn saying that Laura “never left home without it” (336), virtually the same thing she said about Laura’s missing essay. She notices a small “stopper” plugging the bottom of the walking stick. She pops it out, and inside the hollow stick is Laura’s final essay.

Sadie shows the note to Claude, and they take it to Babenko, who removes it. On the way, they mutually apologize for their past conflicts. The note is an admission of Harry’s guilt in stealing Tamerlane and reveals its hiding place in the dumbwaiter. In the note, Laura vows, “While my boy is alive, I will never tell a soul” (339). However, Pearl always told Sadie that Harry died of typhoid in his teens, which would have given Laura ample time to reveal the secret. Sadie wonders if this was another secret Pearl took with her.

The opening of the exhibit is a huge success, and Sadie vows to remain open to love. She and Nick set a date for the following night. Later, Sadie speaks at Robin’s sentencing hearing and asks for a harsher punishment (despite Robin’s tragic backstory). She argues that the sentence (30-37 months) doesn’t reflect the severity of the crime or the worth of the stolen items. She shows the damaged Folio and Virginia Woolfe’s diary to the court as evidence. The court sentences Robin to five years plus probation and financial restitution.

As the court is dismissed, Sadie notices an old man in the back—her Uncle Harry, still alive. As it turns out, Harry—who lives in Massachusetts, Robin’s home state—is who informed Robin of the dumbwaiters. After years under Red Paddy’s control, Harry escaped the city and made his way to Massachusetts where he found work at a bookstore, which eventually employed Robin. The two became friends, and Robin learned of Tamerlane and its connection to the Lyons family. Sadie invites Harry to attend the exhibit, meet Lonnie and his family, and regale them with stories from the past. With a successful exhibit under her belt, Sadie feels a connection to her past, to the courage of a woman who lived her life on her own terms and loved whom she chose.