The Book Glasses Page 3

  She kept sneaking looks at him. He was stunning. He stood over six feet tall, had brilliant blue eyes, a fair complexion and shoulder-length wavy blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. She guessed he was in his early thirties and she loved his gorgeous smile. His clothes looked as if they’d come out of the same charity donation bin as hers, but she couldn’t keep her eyes off his brawny arms and shoulders. It wasn’t until they were almost finished filling out the paperwork that she noticed he wore a wedding ring.

  The room they were in was completely enclosed by four enormous laboratories, separated from them by ten-inch-thick multi-layer glass walls. Sam was told she could only enter this room using the elevator and that the entrance to any of the laboratories was only via this room, but only after completing some sort of sterilisation routine. It was all too much for her to understand so she just held on for the ride.

  “Before we commence your staff induction, first let’s get to know a little about each other, I’ll go first. I’ve been married ten years, and I’ve got two kids—Jenny is eight and Tom Junior is seven. My wife Sue works in a bank and we live in Redfern.

  “It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been here for almost fifteen years and I’ve had the laboratory manager position for about five years. You know, I started here in the very same position you are in. Anyway, enough of me, tell me about you,” Tom said as he politely pointed at her with a smile.

  Before Sam could run, Bruce grabbed her by the hair with one hand and forced her into her bedroom. Leaving the door open, he king-hit her so hard she fell face-down on the bed as Sam sobbed. “I’m telling Grandma and Poppy how you treat me. I’m telling them how you come into my room at night. I’m telling them everything!”

  Sam pushed the memories of her foster father out of her mind. She hated it when they arose and took over everything. They were in the past, and now she had a job, something Bruce had told her would never happen. “I grew up in Melbourne and moved here when I was eighteen.” Thanks to the help of the government youth protection assistance programme, but he doesn’t need to know that. “I’ve been trying to find a job for a while now and have been volunteering at a local women’s refuge to get some work experience. The sisters there were so good to help me out.”

  She asked Tom if he knew Joyce Thomas. But Tom made it clear he had nothing to do with senior management, especially the board of directors. He put on a serious face. “Look, you are not getting any special treatment from me just because the boss hired you. If you don’t pull your weight around here or if you get here late, you’re out!” Then, with a ghost of a smile, he shook his finger at her. “And don’t even think about chucking a sick day, okay?”

  With a short burst of laughter, Sam shook her head from side to side. “No way.” She loved everything about him and knew she would love working with him. He made her feel comfortable in every way.

  “Do you have any questions, Sam?”

  “If we are in here doing this, who is doing the cleaning?”

  “We have contract cleaners. We are the only permanent cleaning staff and it’s my job to coordinate the contract cleaning crews. Your job is more about touching up their work after they complete a big job.”

  Tom began breaking down her duties clearly and systematically. Cleaning was her main function and anything else was left to the other staff. He drummed this into her for hours and explained they used specially formulated cleaning detergents rather than supermarket brands to avoid damaging the fossils, artefacts, and other delicate items.

  Tom gave her a comprehensive cleaning demonstration and Sam was enthralled.

  “Okay, let’s break for lunch. I bring my own sandwiches and eat them in the park across the road. You can join me if you like.”

  Sam didn’t know what to say and kept packing away the cleaning equipment he had used for his demonstration.

  “I get it—you want to be alone. No worries. Let’s meet in the lobby after lunch. You haven’t got an electronic pass yet, so I will organise one for you to allow you to access the lab without calling me. You have one hour for lunch, so I’ll see you in an hour.” He smiled, grabbed his lunch, and walked her out to the foyer.

  It was a beautiful sunny day. Sam gave Tom a little wave and headed for the refuge. It was lunchtime and she didn’t want to miss out. In her excitement, she had forgotten to eat breakfast and was starving. Her legs were shaking, and she felt faint, so she paused for a minute or two to muster her strength before continuing on her way.

  Somehow, she made it to the refuge and thankfully accepted a glass of orange juice from Sister Sue, who pestered her with questions about her new job. But Sam was ravenous and before she could reply, she munched through an assortment of meat and salad sandwiches washed down with more orange juice.

  Once satisfied, she was back on her feet, feeling grateful for Sue’s kindness, but Sam knew the nun had always been appreciative of her tireless generosity in helping out at the refuge over the last five years.

  Realising her lunch hour was nearly over, she said goodbye to Sister Sue, grabbed a couple of bananas and an apple and took off like the wind, back to the museum.

  “Hello, Sam. How are you enjoying your new job?” Mr Harman asked, startling her from behind as she walked into the foyer.

  “Yes, very much, thank you,” she replied, and, with a deep breath, she looked into his hazel green eyes. “Mr Harman, can I bother you with a question?”

  “Yes, of course, go ahead.” He walked her to a quiet area at the front of the foyer.

  “It’s about Joyce Thomas. You referred to her as Joyce Page. Can you tell me a little more about her, please? Anything would be helpful.”

  “First of all, I hope you had the opportunity to tell her about me hiring you?”

  “No, I didn’t, I’m sorry. That same day she collapsed, and an ambulance took her to St Vincent Hospital. After my interview, I raced over there but they told me she had died.” Sam was steadfast in showing no emotion after seeing Mr Harman’s eyes start to tear up.

  “I’m so sorry to hear this. My sincere condolences. Let’s go to my office.” He put one arm around her and started walking. He stopped for a moment and whispered to James, “Please inform Tom that Sam is with me and I will send her down once we are finished.”

  “Yes, sir,” James replied.

  Sam’s silent heartbreak had subsided by the time they got to his office. She placed her bag on the seat next to her and drank the glass of water Mr Harman kindly poured for her.

  Then he sighed and sat down heavily at his desk, folding his hands in front of them. “Apart from the two job interviews, Joyce and I never met. She stepped down from her board position soon after I started so I never had the chance to tell her how thankful I was for her confidence in me. It was after resigning from the board that she started using her maiden name of Thomas, I believe.”

  When Sam heard all this, her heart sank. Would she ever know the truth about the mysterious Joyce? She thanked Mr Harman for his kindness and went back to the lab to continue her training.

  The Book Glasses

  After a week of training one-on-one with Tom, Sam commenced her duties. Working on the small exhibitions and cleaning up the day-to-day spills children would make during their visit took up most of her time.

  The contract cleaners worked the night shift, leaving Tom and Sam to take care of all the small jobs and the general spills and mess left behind by museum visitors during the day.

  Seeing the magnificent exhibitions every day was never boring. The more she saw them, the more excited she was about them. Each day she noticed something new. As the days passed, Sam would pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming because everything was perfect. The staff were always polite and kind to her, the building was spectacular, and she loved the museum’s wonderful exhibitions.

  But it was the work she loved the most. It didn’t require her to read and, for the first time, she was free from the embarrassment of feeling useless and dumb. Now that she
was earning a regular weekly wage, she was able to start a new life and hoped to meet someone special. For the first time in her life, things were exciting for her and joy was slowly entering her life. It was strange at first, but she felt she was ready for it.

  Just after opening time, Sam was attending to a mishap in between Mesozoic World and the T-Rex exhibitions when she was knocked to the floor by a group of three men running down the hallway swearing and screaming at each other. She didn’t get a good look at them but when she got up and dusted herself off, she realised they had come out of Mr Harman’s office.

  Dropping what she was doing, she ran to his office. She couldn’t believe her eyes. It was trashed—everything was on the floor. Even the huge solid oak desk was lying on its side.

  She called out to Mr Harman and heard his muted reply from under his desk.

  “Mr Harman, are you alright?” Sam asked and then screamed upon seeing he was pinned under his desk with a knife protruding from his chest. Sam noticed his lips were turning blue and started to panic.

  “I’ve pressed the silent alarm, Sam, and security will be here very soon, so I would like you to listen to me very carefully. I need you to open the bottom drawer of my desk and remove the false bottom. There, you will find a glasses case, in which you will find a set of odd-looking reading glasses. I would like you to take the case and do not, under any circumstances, tell anyone you have it. Are you listening, Sam?’ Then with a strong voice he said, “Go, do it now!”

  She could hardly see through her teary eyes but finally managed to locate the glasses. “Mr Harman, I—”

  But it was too late. He was gone. She screamed even louder.

  “Step aside ma’am. Security here!” commanded a tall dark man in a uniform displaying the museum’s logo on the shirt pocket.

  Before she knew it, there were half a dozen security guards crowded into the office. It seemed as if they were all talking at once, whether into the two-way radios they all wore or to each other. The first guard escorted her out of the office and told her to wait nearby until the police arrived.

  She was shaking like a leaf. Why would anyone do this to Mr Harman? Who would want to hurt such a kind and gentle man? She collapsed into a chair and held her head in her hands.

  The police soon came—first a couple of uniformed officers, then a handful of detectives and eventually, it seemed as if half of the forensic department was there. It wasn’t enough that they interrogated Sam outside Mr Harman’s office, they asked her to go with them to the police station to make a full statement, explaining to her that it was best to do so immediately after the event.

  Sam didn’t argue after Tom encouraged her to go with them, for Mr Harman’s sake. She went, not realising she still held the glasses case in her hands.

  At the police station, they escorted her into an interview room and asked her to walk them through what had happened. Then they peppered her with questions and their interrogative style was exhausting.

  Finally, the formal interview was over. For a moment she just stared at the huge mirror on the opposite wall, totally numb.

  “Thank you for your statement, Samantha. Please sign here and I can drive you back to work. You can use your glasses to read your statement before you sign it if you like?” the detective said, pointing at the glasses case she was still clutching in her hands.

  The glasses case, she screamed silently to herself. I still have it! A cold shiver ran up and down her body. She hadn’t mentioned it in her statement. She’d forgotten that she’d been holding in her hands the whole time.

  “No, I don’t need them to read, thank you,” she replied with a quiver in her voice. She knew how to scribble her name, but she wasn’t going to reveal she couldn’t read. And now she couldn’t even use the excuse that she needed reading glasses.

  “Are you all right, love?” the detective asked, noticing her distress.

  “I’m fine, thank you. It’s all been a bit much for me, that’s all. I’ll be okay,” she responded convincingly. After pretending to carefully read the statement, she signed her name at the bottom.

  Sam shivered in the back of the police car all the way back to the museum. On her arrival, she calmly got out of the car and managed to make her way to the staff room without anyone noticing she was back.

  The room was empty, so she sat down and stared at the glasses case. It was time to find out what was inside.

  She slowly opened it and was a little disappointed to find a pair of old-style reading glasses resting on a note. But when she heard the staff room door open, she quickly closed the glasses case. It made a loud snapping sound that seemed to echo around the room.

  One of the security guards entered and Sam held her breath until he passed her with a brief nod and started to make a cup of tea. She stowed the case in her locker, under her handbag, and headed back to the laboratory.

  “Hi, Sam. I heard what happened to poor Mr Harman. Are you all right?” asked one of the ticketing staff as she walked down the hallway towards her.

  “I was told by the police not to discuss it with anyone, sorry, so I can’t say anything about it. I’ve got to go back to work now, bye,” Sam said and continued on her way.

  She couldn’t stop thinking about the reading glasses and the note resting underneath them. She knew she wouldn’t be able to read it. Yet, giving it to someone else was out of the question. After all, Mr Harman had expressly instructed her to not tell anyone she had the glasses. What should she do?

  When she bumped into Tom in the elevator, she habitually held back all emotions.

  “Sam, what are you doing here? Go home!” Tom said with a tremor in his voice while he hugged her tightly.

  He led her back up to the staff room, waited until she retrieved her gear from her locker and walked her out to the front of the museum. He explained to her that once she got some counselling and other proper support, then and only then, would she be allowed back to work. He also clearly stated that she would be on leave, with full pay, until she was ready to return to work. “Don’t worry about anything here. Are you sure you’re okay to get yourself home?”

  Sam nodded and Tom gave her another hug and waved goodbye. She walked out the front doors without looking back.

  Unable to face her empty apartment, Sam headed for the refuge. When she couldn’t find Sister Sue, she made her way to the kitchen and found some sandwiches left over from lunch. She had almost polished off a plateful when someone approached her from behind.

  “Get out of my kitchen. You’ve got money now!” cried Sister Sue, who laughed when Sam spat out what was left in her mouth in fright.

  “Hey, you scared me. I nearly choked!” she yelled, astonishing her.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Through her coughing, Sam told her what had happened, leaving out the bit about the glasses. Sister Sue wrapped her arms around her and held her like a mother would hold her child. “Tom is right,” she said, “You should go home and rest. Anytime you need support, I’ll be here. Just drop in.”

  After receiving another hug from Sue, she picked up her bag and headed home.

  Hours later, alone in her apartment, Sam retrieved the glasses case from her bag and opened it. She took the glasses out of the case, placed them on the kitchen table and unfolded the note. To Sam, it may as well have been hieroglyphics. In frustration, she tossed it across the table.

  Feeling sorry for herself, she picked up the glasses and studied them. They were heavy; the frames were made from steel. And the lenses were so clear that it looked like there was nothing in the frames at all. They were covered in unusual symbols and engravings. Without another thought, she put them on.

  A rush of adrenaline surged throughout her body. To steady herself, she closed her eyes and placed both hands on the table, palms down.

  Upon opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was the note she had tossed onto the table. She was amazed to see that the hieroglyphics had miraculously turned into words. Even mo
re astonishing, she could understand them!

  COMMISSIONED BY THE PAPAL BASILICA OF ST PETER, VATICAN CITY 1758.

  TO MY SUCCESSORS, YOUR EMINENCE, I PRESENT TO YOU THE BOOK GLASSES. THROUGH THEIR POWER AND THAT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, MAY THE CHURCH BE TRULY RENEWED. WE PUT OUR HOPE IN THE LORD, THAT HE WILL ASSIST US AND GUIDE US. LET US GO FORWARD WITH THE LORD IN THE CERTAINTY THAT THE LORD WILL CONQUER.

  HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XIV

  “What just happened?!” Sam screamed. She took off the glasses, placed them on the table and moved back as if they were deadly.

  Rising from her single dining room chair that didn’t match the dining room table, she started pacing back and forth across her apartment. After several minutes, she sat back down in the worn chair and looked at the note. The writing was back to hieroglyphics.

  What is going on?

  She glanced at the glasses and back at the note, alternating between the two for a while, before building up enough courage to put the glasses back on.

  As soon as she did, the hieroglyphics turned into words and she was again able to effortlessly read the note. She took the glasses off, folded the note, and placed it back in the case along with the glasses.

  “I can read! I can read!” she said, filled with joy and wonder. But then she realised that it was not her but the glasses. Her newfound happiness turned into confusion.

  She pictured Mr Harman lying on the floor of his office covered in blood, instructing her to tell no one she had them. She couldn’t leave them on the table for anyone to find so she picked up the case and hid it under a loose floorboard in the bottom of her almost empty bedroom closet. It was the best place she could think of.