The Mysterious Messenger by Gilbert Ford

Author:Gilbert Ford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

* * *

Maria and Sebastian got off the train at Union Square to a bustling sidewalk of pedestrian traffic. They turned right down Broadway and weaved through street crowds, until they stopped before carts containing used books. The building beside the carts displayed STRAND BOOKS on a red awning.

“This must be the place,” said Maria, before pushing open the door to find herself in a store filled with people and a couple million books. “But where do we start?”

“I’ll check upstairs,” said Sebastian, trailing behind her. “Let me know what you find by walkie-talkie.”

Maria nodded and turned the volume up on the plastic device. Then she weaved her way through the stacks. Most of the books appeared to be new, so she rushed to the basement for the used books. Fiction. Poetry. Psychology.

Suddenly her walkie-talkie buzzed. “Maria. It’s on the third floor. Come on up!”

Five minutes later, Maria and Sebastian stood in the rare book room. It was much quieter and less busy than the main store. The spines of most of the books looked a lot older, too. There were even some behind glass.

A woman with slick black hair took off her glasses and smiled. “Are you two looking for something?”

Maria pursed her lips and tried to make her most serious face. “Yes. We were wondering what makes a book rare.”

“Usually first editions of popular books. Age can be a factor, or even scarcity.”

“What’s the most valuable book you sell?” asked Sebastian before he sneezed.

The woman laughed. “Bless you!”

Sebastian sneezed again. “Sorry! I’m allergic to something in here.”

“That’s okay,” the woman said. “To answer your question, I don’t know, maybe James Joyce’s Ulysses?”

“But how much does it sell for?” asked Maria a little impatient.

The clerk stood up and walked around the desk. “They range in price. Anywhere from ten dollars to a couple of thousand.” Then she turned to Sebastian. “But Ulysses is priced at thirty-eight thousand dollars.”

Sebastian’s mouth fell open. “No way!”

“It’s true,” said the clerk, laughing. “Are you two interested in starting a collection of rare books? We have a first edition Curious George for around four thousand five hundred dollars.”

Maria and Sebastian looked at each other with wide eyes. “No thank you,” said Maria. “Do you have anything by Jack Kerouac that is … really rare?”

The clerk gave Maria a puzzled expression. “Maybe a first edition of Dr. Sax,” she said. “It’s only four hundred fifty dollars, so it’s not super rare.”

“Thank you,” said Maria before turning to Sebastian. “The treasure isn’t gold and silver hidden behind a painting.”

“No?” said Sebastian.

“I think we’re looking for the lost books of the Beat poets. With the price of that James Joyce book? the rarer the better.”

Suddenly Maria thought about Mrs. Fisher’s books in her apartment. If some of them were lost or missing, then Edward’s riddle would make sense. They might even be worth money. And maybe one of them contained Beat poetry.

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