Guardian Cats and the Lost Books of Alexandria

Chapter 53: Miss Pinkley

In spite of the library being officially closed, it was busier than usual. Insurance adjustors, fire inspectors, police and health officials nosed around with clipboards.

When Professor Chin arrived for the purpose of examining the older manuscripts, Miss Pinkley assumed he was sent by someone higher up.

She was rather taken with him, even though she would never have admitted it. Maybe it was the fedora, or his square jar and solemn face punctuated by a trim moustache. It could have been his soft-spoken manner. But most likely it was the eye patch which suggested an intriguing past. He carried a large leather satchel, not in a casual way, like a lot of people, but as though it held his most precious possessions.

He inquired about the location of older books and manuscripts, offering his condolences to her about the fire. He said he hoped they didn’t lose anything too valuable, but this was his area of expertise and he would be able to give her a full report.

“Oh,” said Miss Pinkley. “There’s also a small collection upstairs. I don’t know if you’re interested in that one. It’s mostly local history, but there are some very old books in that room. We were worried about the smoke damage since it collected in the balcony area, but our big concern was Cicero.”

“Cicero?”

“Oh,” laughed Miss Pinkley, wondering at the sudden paleness that came over the man. “Cicero is our library cat. He pretty much owns the local history room.”

“Maybe I could start there. Yes, that would be good.”

“Certainly Professor. I’ll show you where it is.” Miss Pinkley got up, happy with the opportunity to escort the man to the room, but stopped short when an insurance adjustor approached her with some questions.

“Don’t worry,” Professor Chin assured her. “I’ll find my way.”

Miss Pinkley sighed. “We are getting ready to go home for the night. You only have a short time left today.”