Illuminated Read Online Free Page B

cab.
    “Well, it’s not like I knew the book was a palimpsest, if that’s what you’re asking.” He raised his hand to hail a yellow taxi. “But I would have figured out some excuse to get you down here. I don’t know why I didn’t think of setting the two of you up before.”
    “But now, there’s really a reason—a mystery.”
    “You sound kind of excited. I thought goat skins and vellum and dusty manuscripts were boring.”
    “No, this is different. It’s a hunt. It’s . . . it’s a mystery : Who is A.?”
    “And you’re not excited the slightest bit about sleuthing with August.”
    A cab pulled over to pick us up. I had August’s card in my hand. I glanced over at Uncle Harry. “Well, if I have to sleuth this summer and play Nancy Drew . . . there’s nothing like a hot guy to make it even more interesting.”
    As I slid into the cab, I smiled. The Summer of the Palimpsest was shaping up to be very interesting.

4
     
    Does love start with a secret? —A.
     
    T he next morning at nine, I was drinking my second cup of coffee (what would I do without caffeine?) when August strode into the auction house. He wore a button-down and nice jeans, and he waved when he saw Uncle Harry and me. My stomach did a flip.
    “So is that it?” He pointed at the manuscript, which was now safely encased under glass.
    I nodded. He leaned over the case and peered down. “Have you looked at it more? What sort of person is this A.?”
    “I don’t know,” Harry said. “Romantic. Seems fascinated by stars and the sun.”
    “I think I’m going to like A. I like the stars and sun myself,” August said, glancing my way.
    I flicked on the special UV light. “See. Look at the lettering.”
    When August exhaled, the glass fogged slightly. I could see, up close, his eyes change in the light as he peered into the case. The lettering was faint and pale bluish under the special light.
    I pointed. “On that page, there’s a quote about eleven stars and the sun and the moon bowing down.”
    He smiled at me slyly. “Well, then he’s more than a fan of the stars—our A. is a biblical scholar.”
    “How do you know that?” I asked.
    “That quote is from Genesis.”
    “Yes,” Harry said. He leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, “Pity he’s so dumb.”
    Shut up , I mouthed.
    Harry stood upright again. “Well, kids, I contacted James Rose, the man whose collection we are auctioning off. You two are meeting him in his apartment at ten thirty.” Harry handed me an address written on a piece of notepaper. “Remember, we don’t want to let on too much. Not yet. Just try to get him to talk a little about the origins of the collection. You can say that we think one or two of the books might be extremely rare. Particularly this one. See where it leads you. His father may have acquired it not knowing what he had. Or he may have acquired it illegally. Antiquities are sometimes sold from private collection to private collection. Sometimes the origins are a bit nefarious.”
    “People steal rare books?” I asked.
    Harry nodded vigorously. “There’s even one sneaky thief they call the Tome Raider.”
    “You have got to be kidding me,” I said, laughing.
    “I’m not. It’s a secretive world—who reads and collects books like these? Museums, auction houses, libraries . . . and collectors. And the people who collect them are often obsessive and possessive. I know of one woman—I won’t name names, but she is on the society pages every week in this city. And she is absolutely obsessed with Little Women. She will pay any price for first editions—she owns seven of them already that I know of. I think people who develop these collections are often hunting for feelings. For solace.”
    “What do you mean?” I asked.
    “People who love books, who collect these kinds of books, they’re often seeking to re-create the feelings the books inspired in them. That society woman? My guess is Little Women was some sort of