The 39 Clues [Cahills vs. Vespers] 05 - Trust No One by Linda Sue Park

Atticus was edging closer to the manuscript and had one hand on it. Amy reached over and brushed his hand away.
    “Atticus, whatever you’re thinking about doing, you can’t do it now. We need to get going because — because IT’S TIME FOR YOUR NAP.”
    “My
nap
?” Atticus looked utterly bewildered.
    Just then Jake started to say something. “Oh, I get it — er, I mean, you’re right, Amy. YOU NEED TO TAKE A NAP, ATTICUS.”
    Dan still had one hand over his eye. “Will someone please help me find my contact?”
    Amy grabbed Atticus with one hand and yanked Dan up with the other. “We should go now,” she said, her voice so bright it was almost shrill. “That way we can get Dan another contact and Atticus can have his nap! Thank you, Dr. James, we really appreciate your bending the rules for us.”
    “You’re welcome,” Dr. James said, still pleasant but clearly bewildered.
    “Yes, thanks, this was great,” Jake said. “Really, thank you so much.” He put his hand on Dan’s shoulder. It might have looked like a friendly gesture, but Jake had a pincer grip and pushed Dan toward the door.
    Meanwhile, Amy dragged Atticus out of the room.
    Without the manuscript.

    “A NAP?!” Atticus yelled. “What do you think I am, a three-year-old?”
    They were outside the Beinecke once again, after having left the reading area and retrieved their backpacks. On the way out, they had passed two guard stations, as well as the one at the building’s entrance.
    “Shh,” Amy said and led them to a bench.
    “What was all that in there, anyway?” Dan said angrily.
    “I couldn’t very well yell ‘Abort, abort!’ with Dr. James standing there, could I?” Amy said. “I had to figure out a way to tell you
not
to steal the manuscript.”
    “I guessed that’s what you were doing,” Jake said. “And anyway, there were all those guards and they were inspecting everyone’s coats and bags. We’d never have gotten away with it.”
    “But a NAP?” Atticus was still outraged. “Couldn’t you have thought of something else?”
    “Sorry,” Amy said. “I just said the first thing that came to me.”
    “Why did you call it off?” Dan said. “There might have been something in the manuscript that would tell us where seventy-four is!”
    Amy shook her head. “Look. Dr. James and the Beinecke people — they’ve had the manuscript for years. They’ve examined it every which way possible. If there was anything in it that pointed to the missing pages, don’t you think they’d have figured it out?”
    “So why would the Vespers send us here?” Jake asked.
    “To see it. So we’d have an idea what we’re looking for. I’m not sure, of course, but that’s my best bet. The Vespers always know exactly what they want from us, and in this case, it’s not the whole manuscript — it’s Folio Seventy-four.”
    Dan refused to be swayed. “I still think —”
    “Jake? Atticus? Is that you?”
    All four heads turned in the direction of the voice. Across the plaza, they saw someone approaching them.

    Atticus couldn’t see the man clearly yet. Beside him, Jake rose to his feet.
    “Hey, guys!” The man’s face broke into a grin and he trotted the last few yards.
    “Dave!” Atticus let out a huge sigh of relief.
    “He was one of my mom’s research assistants,”Jake explained. “Dave, this is Amy and Dan.”
    They exchanged greetings, then Dave noogied Atticus’s hair. “How are ya, kid?”
    “I’m good,” Atticus said. “What are you doing here?”
    “Working,” Dave said. “In the classics department.” Then his face grew solemn. “I know I’ve said it before, but I’m really sorry, guys. Your mom was a great lady. I miss her.”
    I do, too,
Atticus thought, but it seemed too obvious to say. Then his mind went back to the day his mother died. Dave had been at the house. Atticus, Jake, and their dad had taken turns sitting by her bed.
    Astrid had been delirious for several days before her death.