The 39 Clues [Cahills vs. Vespers] 05 - Trust No One by Linda Sue Park Read Free Book Online

his friendship with Dan, and now Amy.
They know I’m a total nerd, but they actually
like
that about me.
    It reminded him of the way his mother used to treat him. A nice change from being seen as a freak.
    He walked slowly around the case with Amy, examining and admiring the book from all sides.
    But Dan had moved toward the railing of the mezzanine and was staring at the glass tower.
    “Hey,” he called softly to the others. “The Voynich — do you think it’s somewhere in there?”

Dan’s question abruptly altered the mood. Jake, Atticus, and Amy joined him by the railing.
    “That’s the first thing, isn’t it?” Amy said. “Find out where it is.”
    “Actually, we might not need to,” Dan said. “If they bring it out for us, we can snatch it then.”
    “Yeah, that would be ideal,” she said. “But I still think we need to find out where they store it, just in case.”
    They descended the stairs and stopped at the desk again. The guard recognized them.
    “Hold on a second,” he said, and lifted the phone. “Dr. James? Those kids I was telling you about, they’re here now.”
    A few moments later, a woman stepped out from a door behind the desk. She was slender and pale, with dark eyes and chin-length auburn hair. The name badge on a lanyard around her neck read: KATHRYN JAMES, CURATOR MODERN BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS .
    “Hello,” she said. “I’m Kathryn James.”
    Amy went into her act again: homeschoolers on a field trip, studying the medieval period in general and the Voynich in particular. This time Jake and Dan chipped in.
    “I’ve been interested in the Voynich for years,” Jake said. “I can’t believe I’m finally in the same building with it!”
    Dr. James smiled. “I’m afraid we can’t show it to you,” she said. “As I’m sure you know, the manuscript is very fragile. We have to keep it under restricted access to preserve it.”
    The four teens exchanged glances of disappointment.
    Dr. James went on, “I’m sorry about that, but I can take you downstairs to the reading room, and you can have a look at the catalog. We have lots of Voynich resources that might interest you.”
    “That would be great,” Amy said politely.
    Jake guessed what she was thinking: that any chance to see more of the building could be useful. They followed Dr. James around a corner, where she asked them to leave their bags and backpacks in the lockers that lined the wall. Then they went down some stairs and past another guard into the reading area.
    They stopped at the desk and signed in. Dr. James then led them to the computers and sat down in front of one. A few clicks later, she had pulled up a page listing the Voynich-related material held by the Beinecke.
    Jake ran his eyes down the list, then gasped. “The Marci Letter is kept here, too? Cool!” He turned to the others. “It’s from the seventeenth century,” he said, “supposedly the earliest surviving written evidence of the manuscript’s history.”
    Dr. James looked surprised first, then impressed. “You do know your Voynich,” she said.
    “Mostly because of my mom,” Jake said. Struck by sudden inspiration, he said, “Maybe you knew her — Astrid Rosenbloom?”
    Now Dr. James looked
really
surprised. “Astrid? She’s your mom?”
    “Yes, did you ever meet her?” Atticus asked eagerly.
    Somewhat belatedly, Jake said, “I’m Jake Rosenbloom, and this is my brother, Atticus.”
    “I should have guessed — you look like her.” Dr. James smiled at Atticus. Then she grew solemn and her voice dropped a little. “I was so sorry to hear about her passing.”
    An uncomfortable silence.
    Jake wondered how long it took before you could talk about someone who had died with comfortable silences.
    “And yes, I did meet her. We e-mailed each other a lot, and she came here once to view the manuscript.”
    “She did? When?” Jake asked, a little indignant that Astrid hadn’t invited him to go along.
    “Summer,” Dr. James said.