Character: Nell Pratt
Title: (still working on that)
Series: The Museum Mysteries
Author: Sheila Connolly
Website: ww.sheilaconnolly.com
Remember me? I haven't been around much lately. I’m Nell Pratt, President of the Society for
the Preservation of Pennsylvania Antiquities in Center City Philadelphia. I’ve
been running the place for a couple of years now, and we haven’t gone broke
yet, so I must be doing something right.
It’s June. I like June in Philadelphia (I like the city at
other times of the year too, but June is particularly nice). It’s warm but not
hot, and a lot of people have already left for vacation. The commuter trains
are only half full. James, my live-in whatever he is, and I are getting
comfortable in our Victorian house, and I’ve hired a summer intern for the
Society, a graduate student who’s learning all about antiquarian books and
bookbinding. He’s very enthusiastic and is learning quickly.
Which is why when he came to me with something unusual he’d
found, I paid attention. He’s been cataloguing the books from a batch that had
been left to the Society by a long-time member who had died recently, and in
one book he found what looked like an old letter inside the binding. Yes,
inside—sewn into the cover. My first thought was that it was nothing more that
padding added when the book was rebound a hundred years or so earlier, but
Dylan thought there might be more to it, so I told him to go ahead and explore
(if he could do it without damaging the book). He was right: it was a letter,
but the ink was so faded it was impossible to read.
But James works for the FBI in Philadelphia, and they have a
basic lab, so Dylan and I trotted over there and asked for their help to
decipher it, and they found a way with their super science machines. It turned
out that there was something written—or drawn?—in ink on the page, but it
didn’t help us to understand it. So of course I called Martha Terwilliger,
friend and Society member, who knows everything there is to know about
Philadelphia, and she recognized our paper as a small, hand-drawn map, and she
knew what part of the city it showed.
And that’s where the whole mess started. I won’t bore you
with the details, but we found that site, which was being cleared for a new
construction project. And then we found a whole lot more. Let me tell you,
Philadelphia is full of surprises. And what I learned in school left out a lot
of the good stuff.
Have you visited Philadelphia? What's your favorite place there?
Haven't had the chance to explore Philadelphia - YET. I would love to go to that part of the country. So much history there that would be so interesting to explore.
ReplyDelete2clowns at arkansas dot net
I have been. The best thing is wondering around and be sure and visit the Philly steak places.
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
Looking forward to April book release!
ReplyDeleteSounds so good. Can't wait for the title so I can purchase.
ReplyDeleteNancy B
nlb1050 (at) yahoo *dot) com
I have visited Philadelphia a couple of times as my brother lives near there, at least for now. Sounds like an interesting series.
ReplyDeleteWe were on a Philly river dinner cruise that went past the Naval Yard (I think) - anyway, miles of mothballed ships, dark and spooky as all get out at night. I'd go again.
ReplyDeleteI've been to Philly for a conference. it was fun and of course, visited the famous steps to the art museum (cue Rocky music). I can't wait for this book. I love this series and am thrilled that it returns.
ReplyDeleteI haven't visited Philly but wanted to say that I am so excited that a new title in the series is coming out!!!
ReplyDelete