Pax looks stricken. “I feel an obligation to at least check them out.” He is loyal to the memory of his friend, William Stead. “They are the very foundation of the Spiritualism movement in the States. They’re on this list for a reason.”
“They shouldn’t be,” Kiyoko says. She tosses a dustpan full of dirt out the back door.
“We could use more hands.” Pax looks at the sagging ceiling, like he’s calculating something. How does one instinctively know how many hands are needed for a heist? “I’ll shoot them a telegram now.”
Early the next morning, Pax receives a two-word telegram in reply from the Fox Sisters: “SCREW YOU.” Those sisters paid thirty whole cents to give Pax the what-for. Kiyoko, Nirav, and I cackle for the next two hours.
CHAPTER TWENTY
That afternoon, I head back to the New York Public Library with my friends Kiyoko and Nirav in tow. Friends! Spirit shows me an image of three swashbucklers, chivalrous swordsmen fighting for what is right.Les Trois Mousquetaires. Mymamanused to tell us tales of the famous Three Musketeers. The image pleases me. Spirit has been largely mum on this plan of ours, so I’m interpreting this image as one that leans into justice rather than revenge.
Or as friendship, Stella.
Justice is not yours to seek.
“You’re in high spirits,” Kiyoko says, tilting a glance my way.
“Beautiful day, is it not?”
As soon as I see the pair of lions out front, crouched and guarding their den, my heart smiles. We find Laura in the map room and slyly return the newspaper she lent us.
“Thank you for your help,” I say. “We could use your skills for some additional research.”
“Of course!” Laura leads us across the hall and unlocks a door using the massive key ring attached to her belt. “It’s a study room,” Laura says to my surprised expression. “I figured you could use some discretion?”
The room is small, spare, but has a large table and several comfortable chairs. We can talk here without using hushed tones.
Befriending a librarian certainly has its perks. I introduce Kiyoko and Laura. They smile at each other almost as if they’ve met before.
“Now. What can I help you with today?” Laura asks.
My heavy burlap satchel thumps as I lay it on the table. Next out of its maw: Nirav’s painting.
“Can you help us identify which building this apartment is in? We know that this”—I point to the under-construction building through the window—“is the new Woolworth Building.”
Laura looks at the painting, and it’s obvious she recognizes me, Nirav, and Max Blanck in this likeness. But she’s shrewd and asks nothing. She cocks her head.
“Follow me,” she says, and she doesn’t look back to make sure we are, indeed, following. We cross the hall back into the map room, toward a section where the shelves are labeledNew York City.
She pulls out a tome stampedAtlas of the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan. From Actual Surveys and Official Plans [1911]. “I’m showing you where this is in case you need to refer to it further,” she whispers.
Laura turns on her heel and strides back to our tiny workroom. Kiyoko smiles and motions with her head,Well, let’s go!
On our workroom table, Laura flips to the Street Index in the front of the book. “The Woolworth Building sits at 233 Broadway,” she whispers. Habit, I suppose. She runs her finger down the list of streets in this city until she finds the listings for Broadway (there are many), and the subheading that encompasses “233.”
Spirit whistles at the length of the index.
Oi, how my city has changed since the 1850s.
You should see how it’s changed since 1614.
So many buildings! Where do they put the horses?
How do they farm?
“Plate two,” she says, and she flips the atlas open to that page. The maps are hand-drawn and colored with ink pens, pink and green and blue and yellow. Plate two features the slice of Manhattan from Liberty Street up to Thomas Street, and from the Hudson River over to Park Row. A large part of this map features a triangular green park that includes the courthouse, city hall, and the main Manhattan post office. This is where the Brooklyn Bridge empties into Manhattan.
Laura points to a spot across the street from the post office. “This is 233 Broadway.” Sure enough, the pink plot on the map is labeled “Woolworth Bld’g. Bldg 30 + Tower 25 = Stories 55.”
