Shatterproof by Roland Smith Read Free Book Online Page B

slipped through the crack and strutted over to the cat dish like he was Tutankhamen entering a banquet hall.
    Mrrp
, said Saladin before starting in on his fishy meal.
    “Just remember who fed you,” Ian said. He shut the door, walked back to the living room, arranged the pillow, and lay down on his good ear, hoping Saladin didn’t know how to open a latch.

    Dan was also eating fish when Amy’s cell phone rang.
    “Heffo?” He tried to swallow a mouthful of
bratfisch mit pommes frites
and started choking. “Hong on.” He reached for a glass of ice water and took a deep gulp. “Sorry. Who’s this?”
    “Erasmus,” a deep voice replied.
    “Hey. How’s Pompeii? How are Hamilton and Jonah? I hear Mount Vesuvius is about ready to blow!”
    “I wouldn’t know,” Erasmus said. “We’re in Mumbai.”
    “As in India? I thought you were in Italy.”
    “We came across Luna Amato in Pompeii early this morning,” Erasmus said. “This is where she led us. Where’s Amy?”
    “She’s taking a shower.”
    “Tell her Jonah’s jet is on the way. The pilot will call you when it lands in Berlin.”
    “I will, but —”
    “Gotta go.” Erasmus ended the call.
    “Nice talking to you, too,” Dan said and exchanged the phone for a
pomme frite
, aka French fry, because Atticus had scarfed down the last piece of
bratfisch
, aka deep-fried fish, while he was talking to Erasmus.
    “Here it is!” Jake said. He had found something on the television about the Pergamon blackout.
    Dan and Atticus joined him in front of the tube. A news reporter was interviewing Rommel outside the entrance to the museum.
    “The reporter’s asking him if there was anything stolen from the museum,” Atticus translated. “Rommel says that the collection is all accounted for except for an old manuscript called
The Book of Ingenious Devices
. He says that the manuscript may have been moved by one of the curators. He hasn’t had a chance to talk to all the staff yet.”
    “It’s been swiped,” Dan said. “Or more accurately, it’s
being
swiped.” He pointed at the screen.
    Cheyenne and Casper Wyoming were walking right past where Rommel was being interviewed. They smiled at the camera. Casper had a wrapped bundle under his arm the size of a large book.
    “Vesper used us!” Dan said. “The Golden Jubilee was a diversion!” He pulled the velvet bag out of his pocket. “He knew this would set off the metal detector. He probably tipped Milos Vanek off, too. And then the Wyomings grabbed the book, which isn’t nearly as valuable as some of the other stuff they have in there. There probably wasn’t even a guard on it!” He picked up the Vesper phone and read part of the text again, aloud: “‘Thank you for your help at the Pergamon. We could not have done it without you.’”
    Jake stood up. “I’ve had enough of the Vespers for tonight. I’m going to sleep.” He walked into one of the bedrooms and closed the door.
    Atticus yawned. “I think I’ll go to sleep, too.” He snagged his third dessert from the serving cart and took it into another bedroom with him.
    Dan switched the television off and slumped into a chair. He couldn’t sleep. There was a secret itching at him, scratching away at the back of his brain until he felt like he was going crazy.
    Dan took his cell phone out and stared at his last text exchange with AJT — the person who was either posing as Arthur Trent . . . or was actually Dan and Amy’s father.
    If you’re really my dad, can you tell me what special thing you said to make us smile together?
     
    The answer had come back lightning fast.
    Moon face.
    Aside from Amy, the only person who could know this special nickname was his father.
    Dan had deleted all of the previous texts from AJT, swearing that he would not contact him again. But he couldn’t help himself. He glanced at Amy’s door, then quickly thumbed in a text.
    Why did you set us up at Pergamon Museum? What is The Book of Ingenious