Chapter 11
A s before, the examination of the artifact took hours. Unlike before, Jane had only a professional rapport with her counterparts at this museum. While he waited for her, Blue did his homework on each person she met with, and the results were enlightening.
Dr. Andrew Stone, for instance, was on heavy doses of medication for depression and insomnia. He was also in the middle of a nasty divorce and had a history of gambling addiction. If anyone had motive to make extra cash, it was him. And he certainly had the knowledge, given that Blue only understood about every ten words he said, but the forgeries had taken time, effort, and energy. Dr. Stone seemed lacking in all three, given the massive doses of medication and lack of sleep.
Dr. Theresa Coleman had spent nearly a hundred thousand dollars on infertility treatments with no success. In addition to trying to conceive a child, she was in a near desperate search for a husband, if her ten cross postings on multiple dating sites were any indication. She also had a hundred thousand dollars in student loan debt and was facing eviction from her apartment. She had to be desperate for cash but, again, would she have the time and energy for intricate forgeries?
There were two lab assistants. Jerome Calder had a sealed juvenile record for vandalism but had been clean since then. Marjorie Tanner was clean as a whistle as far as the law went but, going five years back, Blue found some unsavory racially charged postings on an anti-government site and nothing since. Either she had changed her views or gone underground and learned to cover her tracks.
And then there was Jane Dunbar. Invisible Jane with no record of any kind. As if she felt his thoughts on her, she turned and smiled at him. In his current suspicious mood, the smile could have been chilling, but it wasn’t. It was sweet and a tiny bit flirtatious. The combination kicked his heart into overdrive. I like her, Blue thought. If only he could quash the bit of lingering suspicion. Ten years of working in intelligence taught him everyone had skeletons. Sometimes, like him, they were early indiscretions, not indicative of lifelong character. Other times it was a slow boil, years of mistakes and broken laws culminating in a career of subversive behavior. He had never encountered anyone like Jane, a blank, a question mark. With no information, his mind was too busy filling in the blanks.
For lunch, the museum catered a meal. Blue found it interesting how easily everyone put up a facade—casual, happy, in control. In reality the assembled group had debt, infertility, mental illness, insomnia, and loneliness, among other things. Sometimes he felt like a voyeur, but it was his job to learn things about people, to dig into their pasts and find out what secrets they were trying to hide.
“Are you bored?” Jane whispered as lunch wore down and the museum’s employees returned to work.
“As long as I have my computer, I’m never bored,” Blue said. When he wasn’t snooping into other people’s lives, he sank into the virtual world, one of his own design.
“It’s not looking good with the artifact,” Jane continued in a whisper, leaning into him slightly. “I have a few more tests to run, but I suspect it’s a fraud.”
She was very close to his ear, leaning in to be better heard. He resisted the urge to tuck her hair behind her ear to better see her face, to touch her. “Is there anything I can do to help?” Blue offered, knowing the answer would be no. He was completely over his head in her world. He knew as much about ancient Egyptian relics as she did about coding and apps.
“Moral support. They’re not going to take it well,” Jane replied.
“I’m here for you,” he assured her and then, because he couldn’t resist anymore, reached out and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Her cheeks tinted faintly pink, and he smiled. When was the last time everything had clicked this way? When he had been attracted to a woman and she had felt the same? Jane was quieter, more conservative than his usual type. But she was also funny and intelligent, and he liked her, maybe a lot.
“I should probably get back to work,” she said, dragging her eyes away from him.
“You could phone it in, fake the tests, and we could be out of here in ten minutes,” he teased.
“Don’t tempt me,” she said so seriously he couldn’t tell if she was joking.
When she returned to work, Blue attempted once again to locate her, this time switching to the dark web. He was about to give up when suddenly her name pinged out like a beacon. Unfortunately for him the rest of the page was encrypted and Blue’s decryption key was on his home computer and not his laptop. His mind raced, wondering what the site said and how he could have missed it on his first search. Worse, it was a hacker’s site. Why would hackers be talking about Jane?
Several hours later, she delivered her conclusion to the other scientists: the artifact was another fraud. Like before, it was an excellent, sophisticated forgery. As predicted, they were devastated. Blue didn’t get it. To him it was a simple jade scarab. To them it represented much more, authenticity and provenance that had now been ruined.
They thanked their hosts and stepped outside into a bustling Manhattan weekday. “Where to, tour guide?” Blue asked.
“What are you up for?” Jane asked.
“Anything,” Blue said.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” she said and raised her hand for a taxi.
A half hour later they landed in Chinatown. Jane led them through crowded streets to a restaurant with no visible English written anywhere.
“What would you like?” she asked once they stepped inside.
“Um,” he said, scanning the wall for a menu. Everything was in Mandarin. “I have no idea.”
“Are you picky?”
“No.”
“Do you trust me to order for you?” she said.
“Completely,” he said and stepped back while she stepped forward to order in Mandarin. Jane retrieved chopsticks and sauce and they found a small table in the back.
“Exactly how many languages do you speak?” he asked. This morning she’d spoken Sanskrit while reading an object.
“The number changes depending on the fluency. I can speak a smattering from every place I’ve lived. We lived in China for six months when I was eleven. I learned enough to order food and read a few signs.”
“What did you order?” he asked.
“It’s a surprise.” She opened her chopsticks and laid them on a napkin.
“This is the point where I confess to you I have never been able to master chopsticks,” he said.
“I’ll show you how a friend in China showed me.” She placed the chopsticks between his thumb and third finger. “Grip it as if you’re holding a pencil. Now lay the other one on top and rest your index finger gently on top of it.”
“That’s a lot easier, but I’m still fairly certain I’m going to end up wearing most of my meal.”
“I promise not to notice if you’re covered in food.”
Their food arrived a few minutes later. Jane had ordered an assortment of dumplings and dim sum as well as fresh squid.
“This one’s my favorite, but be careful because it has hot soup in it,” Jane warned.
“There’s hot soup in the dumpling?”
“Yes, and it’s amazing.”
“How does one eat it?”
She demonstrated, using her chopsticks.
“You make it look so easy,” he said. He attempted to take a dumpling and failed miserably.
“I think I have something that can help, if you like,” Jane said.
“A fork?” he asked hopefully. He hadn’t been able to find any so far.
“No, a rubber band.” She dug in her purse, pulled one out, and wound it around the top of his chopsticks. Then she rolled a piece of paper and stuck it between the two sticks. “Leverage.”
He tested the new arrangement, easily pinching the sticks. “This is so much better. Why doesn’t everyone do this?”
“A lot of small children do,” she said, and he laughed.
A half hour later, they stumbled out, their bellies stuffed. “That was amazing. I’m never going to be able to eat at a so-called Chinese buffet again,” Blue said.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” she said.
“I really did,” he assured her. “What else do you have planned for me?”
“A few things, but I’ve been having second thoughts. These are things I enjoyed when I was here, but I was seventeen, unable to go to clubs or bars or anywhere exciting or illicit. I don’t want to bore you.”
“Jane, I’m twenty nine. I haven’t been to a club in seven years. On my last day off I spent eight hours in an online gaming tournament. Please believe me when I tell you my life is far less interesting or exciting than whatever you’re imagining. I want to see the city through your eyes. A day in the life of Jane, or rather an evening in the life.”
“Okay, let’s go.” She tossed her hand in the air, hailed a taxi, and gave him the address. Twenty minutes later, they arrived in front of a building Blue didn’t recognize. Jane flashed an ID, and they were admitted entrance.
“What is this place?” Blue asked.
“The Explorers Club,” Jane replied. “My dad is a member and used to take me here whenever we were in New York. I thought it was the coolest place ever as a kid. When I moved here, I joined and used to hang out whenever I was homesick and missing him.”
“I had no idea this existed,” Blue said. It was a literal explorer’s club, founded by some of the people who first trekked to the Arctic and discovered unmapped territories. The space was filled with exploits, taxidermy animals, and incredible souvenirs, and the building itself was spectacular. Jane led him on a quick tour, giving him the highlights of what could have lasted days, given the amount of things to see.
She checked her phone for the time. “Ready?”
He wasn’t; he could stay for hours more, inspecting all the cool sights at the club. But now he was curious to see what else she had planned. “Ready,” he agreed. This time they walked to their destination, a few blocks and then Jane took his arm.
“Here,” she said. He looked around, but it appeared like any boring street corner.
“No, here .” She pointed to the ground. Blue looked down and saw a section of rock enclosed in glass.
“What is it?”
“It’s the Portal Down to Old New York. In 1975, they did an archaeological dig and located the remains of the first Dutch colony from the 1640’s. This is it. We’re standing where settlers stood four hundred years ago.”
“This is so unbelievably cool,” Blue breathed, crouching to get a better look. “I had no idea they did an archaeological dig in the middle of Manhattan.”
“Most people walk over it every day with no idea,” Jane said. “It always felt like my little secret, kind of. My connection with all the people who have come through New York for the last four hundred years.”
Blue pulled out his phone and took a picture and then took a selfie before pulling Jane alongside and taking one of her, too.
“I’d ask you to tag me in that, but basically you’d have to pin it to a literal bulletin board and write my name on it,” she joked.
He wanted to ask her about her lack of online presence and social media, but he sensed the topic was deeper and more taboo than he wanted to approach. The night was fun and interesting, and he didn’t want to do anything to spoil it. She checked the time on her phone.
“We have to hurry,” she said and jetted away so quickly he had to jog to keep up with her.
The next place they went was somewhere he recognized, but he wasn’t sure what they were doing there. Jane led him into Grand Central Station and positioned him against a wall.
“Stay right here. Don’t move,” she ordered. He watched as she walked across the massive room. He had no idea what she was doing, and then he heard it, a tiny whisper. It had to be some kind of fluke or anomaly to hear her small voice above the din of the teeming crowd of people.
“If you can hear me, turn toward the wall and whisper,” Jane murmured.
“How are you doing this?” he whispered to his wall.
“The miracle of architecture,” she whispered in reply.
He turned to face her again and saw her smiling and beckoning to him. He went forward, and she checked the time again. “It’s almost sundown. Are you ready?”
“For what?”
“Rest,” she said before turning to walk away from him again.
Blue trotted behind eagerly this time, curious to see where she would choose next. They wended their way through busy Manhattan streets and intersections, finally landing at a nearly hidden escalator in the middle of the sidewalk. They ascended the escalator, and Blue nearly gasped with shock and delight. At the top of the escalator was a paradise, a lush garden, so still and quiet it felt like an oasis. They selected a bench and watched the sun sink over the city, not speaking, merely enjoying the quiet beauty of the evening.
“This evening has been…” he couldn’t think of the word he wanted to say. Exciting? It hadn’t been. They hadn’t done much of anything, but it had been interesting and…restorative, maybe? They had connected with the past in a way he hadn’t imagined, first through the world’s bravest explorers and then the archaeological site and the architectural secret. And then they lost themselves in nature, in the middle of Manhattan. All in all, Jane Dunbar had taken Blue completely by surprise, and he loved it. It was like opening a cardboard box with no anticipation, only to reveal your dream present inside. She looked ordinary and unassuming, but Jane Dunbar was cool, probably way cooler than him, and he was at a bit of a loss as to know what to do with her.
“Did you think it was over?” Jane asked, smiling.
“It’s not?” he asked, his heart beating hard. They were isolated in the park, sheltered by a tree and the half-moonlight. She sat close beside him on the bench and, once again, he reached out and pushed her hair behind her ear, itching for more, wanting to touch her, to kiss her again.
“Everything so far has been something I enjoy. But you’re a gamer, so I thought we could do something for you,” she said.
“Internet café?” he guessed, unable to imagine what she might think would be for him.
“You’ll see,” she said. She did the thing where she stood up and began walking away again, beckoning him to follow without saying a word or lifting a finger. It was as if she had him on some kind of invisible tether, and he couldn’t not go with her.
They took a taxi again and stopped in front of an unassuming little building on a nothing side street. Blue got out and inspected the sign.
“It’s a Laundromat,” he announced. “This is what you think I enjoy?” He was only half joking. Unless it was some kind of speakeasy, he couldn’t imagine what might be inside that would hold his interest.
“You’ll see,” she repeated, stepping aside to allow him access. They took a few steps in, the scent of detergent and fabric softener rushing forth to greet them. Blue looked at Jane in question. She took his hand and began weaving through machines until they spilled into a back room filled to the brim with every conceivable pinball machine.
“Pinball,” he said stupidly.
“Pinball,” Jane agreed. “I have to warn you I spent so much time here when I was a kid that I got pretty good. No, I’m being modest. I’m kind of amazing.”
“I’m going to need you to prove it,” Blue said, withdrawing a ten from his wallet.
“One request: please don’t cry when I beat you,” Jane said.
“Care to make a little wager, doctor?” he asked.
“How much did you have in mind?” she said.
“If I win, you have to tell me why you have no virtual footprint, why you’re so off the grid.”
“Deal,” she said. “And if I win, you have to show me a picture of you from middle school.”
He groaned. “How did you know that would be my Achilles heel?”
“Lucky guess,” she said.
“Now I definitely have to win. There’s no coming back from my seventh grade school picture,” he said.
Jane hadn’t been exaggerating. The competition was fierce, lasting ninety minutes, until after midnight. In the end, she won.
“How does an anthropologist have such good hand/eye coordination?” he asked.
“Lots of dusting things with tiny brushes,” Jane said and, despite her best intentions, fought a yawn.
“I guess that’s a wrap,” Blue said.
“I have to confess I have no idea what happens in this city after midnight. I always had morning classes and conked out early,” Jane said. “It’s ten blocks back to our hotel. Walk or taxi?”
He stared down at her, wanting to do whatever was possible to prolong the mood of the evening. “Walk.”
They turned and headed in the direction of their hotel. In true New York fashion, the streets were still filled with people. A few times they had to squeeze together to avoid bumping into someone. Their hands brushed, and Blue took hers, letting his fingers wind their way through hers.
They reached the hotel and he held the door for her. The walk to the elevator and their rooms was quiet, expectant. They stopped outside of Jane’s room and faced each other.
“Thank you for such a monumentally fun and interesting evening,” Blue said. “It was fun.” He still held her hand. He brought it to his chest, clutching it between both his hands now.
“Thank you, I had fun, too.” An awkward lull fell between them. Jane glanced at her door. “Would you like to come in for a cup of monumentally bad hotel room coffee?”
Blue looked at the door, too. “Thanks, but it’s been a long day, and I’m kind of exhausted.”
“Oh. Good night then.”
“Good night, Jane.” He let go of her hand and waited until she was safely inside before going to his room.