Angelina Bonaparte Mysteries Box Set Nanci Rathbun (i love reading books txt) 📖

elsewhere. Her eyes sparkled and she drew in a breath. “Wow, that’s exciting.” When I mentioned the Serbian connection, she pursed her lips and examined the pictures again. “The uniforms might be Serbian Army, but I can’t tell. The women’s clothes appear Middle Eastern. Why don’t you start with the Serbian War and I’ll try tracking down the books—they’re my area of expertise. The writing on this cover is odd, a mixture of both Latin and Cyrillic alphabets.” She handed the clothing pictures back to me and tapped her lips with her forefinger. “There’s a visiting professor on campus from Sarajevo. She and her family lived through the siege.” Lily gave a little shudder. “I remember the stories and pictures, after the city was liberated. Terrible. She doesn’t say much about it, but she might talk to you.”

I nodded. “I recall the awful intensity of the siege, but I’m fuzzy on details. Maybe I’ll find a brief article while I’m here.”

“Listen, if you need to check anything out, I can arrange it. I’ll put in a referral for you now so it’ll be ready when you want to leave.” She looked at her watch. “We’ve got two hours and fifteen minutes until closing.”

“I’d better get on it.” Lily logged me into a computer workstation using a guest ID. While I missed the sensual pleasure of handling catalog cards in their narrow wooden drawers, I appreciated being able to search based on keywords, since I didn’t have title or author. There was no material dedicated to Serbian army uniforms or even the Serbian Army itself, but there were hits for books that included or referenced them. I spotted a printer nearby and tried the icon on my monitor. Sure enough, the printer hummed and spit out a piece of paper. Nice!

An hour later, I had one very slim pamphlet, titled Remember Sarajevo, that I planned to check out and four books with paper tags marking pages with uniform details and pictures. I hauled them down to the main floor and located a pay-as-you-go copier. Two dollars later, I sat at a table and noted the book citations on each copy, then left the books on the table, as directed by signage. Only library personnel were supposed to re-shelve.

Lily was at the information desk, once again clicking away at the computer keyboard. Now, however, her face was intent and animated.

“Lily, I made copies of the pages I wanted, but I would like to check out this pamphlet, for background.”

“No problem. Look at this—” she rotated the computer monitor to face me—“I figured out the language on that book. It’s probably Bosnian, a language spoken by Bosniaks, the Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other official languages are Croatian and Serbian. No wonder they couldn’t get along—different languages, cultures and religions, all forced into one political entity by the Soviets.”

“Is that the same book as mine, on the monitor?” I asked.

“I think so, but I’m guessing, based on staring at the letters. It’s a work of poetry, probably from the sixteenth century. If that’s true, it would be valuable. I’m going to print this for you.” She pressed a key and extracted a couple sheets of paper from under the desk. “Were there drawings or illuminations in the book?”

“I only opened it to the frontispiece. I didn’t want to damage it.”

“Probably wise.” She stood and walked around the desk. “This has been the most fun I’ve had in ages. Listen, if you want, I’ll talk to Professor Kolar and explain your findings and that you’re trying to understand their significance. Let me make copies of the pictures, if that’s okay, so I can show them to her and ask if she’ll meet with you.”

“Take these. I have them on my computer. But please keep all this confidential, Lily. Don’t show the pictures to anyone else. I don’t know if they tie into the murders, but in case they do, we need to keep it under wraps.” I handed her a small notebook. “Would you give me your full name and how to contact you outside the library? And Professor Kolar’s full name, too, please.” When she handed it back, I tucked the notebook back into my briefcase and gave her one of my business cards.

“Here’s a guest checkout card for you, Angie. It’s good for two weeks.”

“I’ll be sure to have the pamphlet back on time.”

She loomed over me, but with no sense of intimidation on her part. “Could I be present if Professor Kolar agrees to meet with you? I’d love to know more about the items and the actual case.” There was a sheepish look on her face. “I read a lot of mysteries.”

“Let me run that by the attorney I’m working for and I’ll get back to you. It might help if you’re there, especially if the professor is normally reticent about her experiences in Sarajevo. She might open up more.” I extended my hand. “You’ve been so helpful, Lily, I can’t thank you enough.”

“My pleasure. Really.”

I noted the time as I went through the checkout process for the pamphlet. Ten thirty-five. The family meal was seven hours ago and I suddenly felt hungry and tired and cranky.

The library didn’t directly access the street. While I crossed the commons to reach the sidewalk and my car, I pondered whether there was something in the fridge to heat up, or if I’d have to make a food stop. Juggling briefcase and purse to pull out my key ring, I heard a sibilant noise behind me, to the left. Before I could turn, the blow struck on the back of my head. As I fell, I thought, That’s what happens when you let down your guard.

Chapter 14

A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.

—Arnold Glasow

I didn’t lose consciousness—at least, I didn’t think so. But I heard a piercing whistle and a woman shouting. Then Lily appeared, tall as a building, standing over me.