After Cabe dated Ionna’s cards, she would store them in the safe-deposit box, along with the USB and her father’s translation of the manuscript. This weekend she would read the rest of Nettie’s story and then go to Beijing and get on with her life. She couldn’t do any more than that.
As if to prove her wrong, her cell phone rang. She answered, trying to keep her voice steady. “Hello?”
“Semele? It’s Theo.”
“I know,” she said before she could help herself. Even the sound of his voice affected her.
“I want to schedule our meeting tomorrow. I’m about to get on the plane.”
There was so much she needed to ask him, but she wanted to see his face when she did. “I’ll be at the office until noon. I could meet you then?”
“Let me take you to lunch.” He suggested The Garden at the Four Seasons, where he was staying.
Semele agreed to meet him there at 12:30P.M.and hung up.
Anticipation built inside her, and her imagination began to conjure fantasies about tomorrow, of another kiss on another table. To take her mind off Theo, she jumped on the Kairos server and caught up on the latest industry news. It was the quickest way for her to refocus.
She smiled when she saw that Christie’s had sold one of George Washington’s personal ledgers for two hundred thousand dollars. She bet the letters Cabe was restoring would do nicely when they went to auction.
Scanning the rest of the week’s highlights, she noted that Christie’s had also sold a letter written to Beethoven, the original copy of a poem that had influenced van Gogh, and a map of the Siege of Louisbourg. As she read over the auction details, she was amazed at how many custodians and janitors were credited with making these finds while cleaning out old closets and basements. There was so much buried treasure out there in the world, waiting to be discovered, which was why her favorite assignments sent her to the mustiest spaces.
The next auction she read about made her sit up. J. A. Stargardt in Germany was selling the original handwritten manuscript ofMirabilis Liber,an infamous compilation of prophecies from Christian saints and religious men published in France in 1522. The book was quite popular in its day. Nostradamus had relied heavily on theMirabiliswhen composing his prophecies, and there was even speculation that Nostradamus’ father, Jaume de Nostradame, was the anonymous compiler.
A flurry of articles about ancient manuscripts and prophecies was circulating because of the auction. As Semele clicked on them, her despondency over the theft grew. These articles should be focusing on Ionna’s manuscript, not theMirabilis,which had been read and analyzed around the globe countless times. She had imagined the manuscript’s announcement would be met with this same kind of excitement, if not more. Now no one would even know it existed.
She wondered about who was behind the theft, and rage filled her. Again she questioned Raina’s involvement. Were others at Kairos involved too? She had a hard time believing it. Nothing made sense.
With angry pecks at the keyboard, she logged into her office e-mail to see if any progress had been made on the investigation. There was no news. She had no idea how to talk to Mikhail about Raina, but he needed to know.
Mikhail had replied to her last e-mail. He was expecting her tomorrow morning at nine. They would finalize Beijing, and he had carved out an hour for them to go over specifics.
From his curt reply, she could tell he wasn’t happy that she’d taken additional days off. Her flight to China left at noon on Sunday, which didn’t give her much time. Raina had already forwarded her itinerary. Semele was scheduled to be away for a month with the possibility of an extension.
Raina’s reaction to her new assignment was beginning to make sense. Raina wanted her out of the way. At the time Semele had thought she was jealous of her relationship with Cabe, but now she was certain it was because of the manuscript. Semele would have to talk to Mikhail tomorrow. That would be her only opportunity.
She was about to reply when out of nowhere a wave of nausea hit her. It was so intense she had to close her eyes.
Once the worst had passed, she went to the kitchen and drank a glass of water, hoping it would help. Then she checked the time and saw it was already seven. She hadn’t eaten all day. Maybe she’d duck out and pick up some Thai takeout. Cabe should be here soon.
She grabbed her phone to order the food and noticed that she had a missed a call from him. He had left a voice mail too. Her stomach fluttered again and she had to sit back down.
How had she missed that? She was about to listen when her phone rang.
Raina was calling her.
Just seeing her number made Semele’s nausea worsen. She answered the call, knowing that, whatever this was, it had to be bad.
“Semele?” Raina’s voice was thick with emotion. She didn’t sound like herself. “Cabe’s been in an accident.”
The Moon
It felt like all the oxygen in the room was gone. Semele couldn’t breathe. She sat in shock in the waiting room of Lenox Hill Hospital. Raina was trying to tell her what she knew.
No one saw the plates. Cabe was outside Kairos when the car had come up right behind his bike. Witnesses said a man wearing a hoodie had taken Cabe’s backpack and run off during the commotion.
Semele closed her eyes.They wanted the cards.She covered her mouth, about to be sick.
Raina was an absolute mess. Mascara ran from her eyes and her hands shook as she crumpled and uncrumpled a ball of Kleenex. “I can’t believe.…” She trailed off.
