But then she ran into Holmes in town, and he was jubilant. “I’ve cracked it!” he said, and picked her up and whirled her around.
“The code?” she said. “You’ve cracked the peacocks’ code?”
“The very same,” he said. “And guess what: the coded words explain the reason for the entire Detective’s Bible! Well, some of it anyway. It obviously continues on pages we don’t have.”
“The reason Earful wrote it, you mean?” she said.
“Yes! It’s amazing, Amanda. You have to read this.”
He held the pages in one hand and shoved his phone in front of her with the other. She read the translation greedily. Then she looked up at him.
“This thing about Poe, I can’t believe it.”
“It’s unreal, isn’t it?” he said. “We’re not supposed to know this, you know.”
“No. According to this snippet, it can take years before they tell you. Some detectives never get to find out.”
“What do you think would happen if we all did?” he said.
“You mean someone like David, for instance?” She didn’t want to say Nick.
“Or his roommates,” said Holmes.
“It’s tough running a secret society, isn’t it?” she said. “How do you ever know your secrets won’t get out?” She thought of Professor Snaffle. As guardian of the school’s secrets, she had the toughest job of all. What had happened to her anyway?
“Obviously they do. Get out, I mean.”
“And then what?”
“And then exactly what we’re facing,” said Holmes.
“We need to find the rest of the Bible.”
“It’s explosive stuff,” he said. “We can’t let Moriarty get hold of it.”
“We should go back and look some more. The peacocks will find it if it’s anywhere near here.”
“Let’s go,” he said, grabbing her hand.
“I was going to go anyway. You can come with me, for a while.”
He knew exactly what she meant. She was going to see Nick again and she didn’t want him there. She could see it all over his face. But this time things were different. Breaking up with Amphora seemed to have freed him. He could show his feelings, fight for her. “I can give you everything,” he said tenderly.
“I know,” she said.
He took her in his arms and said, “I love you, Amanda. Please.”
“Well, isn’t this lovely?” came a deep voice from behind them. “Lestrade and Holmes and their undying love.”
Amanda whirled around to see a tall man dressed all in black. He sneered at her and said, “I’ll take those.” Then he grabbed the Bible pages out of Holmes’s hands.
“Hey,” said Holmes. “Those don’t belong to you.”
“They do now,” said the man, holding the treasure just out of reach. He laughed, then looked down at Amanda and said, “Oh, and nice to meet you, Amanda. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m your new stepfather, Banting Waltz. We’re going to be great friends, you and I.”
Discussion Questions for Your Reading Group
Do you think Professor Darktower has his good points? If so, what are they?
Do you think teachers should be allowed to teach at schools where their children are students? What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages? What safeguards , if any, should be in place?
Would you like to live on a boat? What about it would you enjoy or not enjoy? How would you decorate it?
Do you have a favorite work of art? What is it, and why do you like it so much? What does it “say” to you?
Would you like to take a tour through subterranean Britain? Why or why not? What in particular would you like to see and do there?
Do you think King Arthur was a real person? How about Merlin? Why or why not? What are some other historical figures that may or may not be real? Do you have any favorites?
What do you think would really happen if Merlin’s bones were found?
If it could irrefutably be proven that a descendant of Merlin could do magic, how do you think the world would change?
Have you read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass? Did you like them? What were your favorite parts? If you didn’t like them, why not?
Do you like Alfie Kingsolver? Why or why not?
What do you think would have happened if Amanda had reneged on her promise and not let Hugh go?
Do you think Charlotte was right to get mad at Professor Kindseth for keeping Legatum’s secret? If you were in her place, what would you do?
Did Nick do the right thing cutting a deal with Scapulus? What would you have done in his position?
What would you do if you had to give a peacock medicine?
Have you ever tried to decode a secret? How difficult was it?
Have you ever been on an archaeological dig? If so, what was it? What did you like or dislike about it? What would be the ultimate dig for you to go on if you could?
Would you have let the wretches live in the secrets trove as Thrillkill did? Why or why not? How would you protect Legatum’s secrets?
What do you think happened to Professor Snaffle?
Is Scapulus fair to Amphora in hanging around with Amanda? Why or why not? What would you do in his place?
What should Amanda do about her new stepfather?
Did Nick surprise you in this book? If so, how? How do you feel about him at this point?
What should Amanda do about her feelings for Nick and Scapulus now?
Q and A with Author Paula Berinstein
You seem to make up a lot of stuff about science. Is there actually a factual basis for the crazy stuff you come up with?
Very often there is. I do research all of my science carefully. Then I riff off of it.
For example, birds being able to see ultraviolet is a documented fact. In addition, many birds have plumage that reflects ultraviolet light. There’s a fascinating article called “True Colors: How Birds See the World” at http://www.nwf.org/news-and-magazines/national-wildlife/birds/archives/2012/bird-vision.aspx that details studies carried out with a spectrophotometer, a device that measures light absorbed or reflected by a surface. Scientists found that in some species where males and females look alike to us, the birds themselves can distinguish the sexes because they perceive differences only visible in the UV spectrum. Birds also use UV vision to find food, feed their young, and perhaps distinguish their own eggs from those of other species. It’s very cool stuff.
I also found information about how biological nanostructures give rise to colors in plants and animals. See “Color from Structure: Researchers are working to understand how often-colorless biological nanostructures give rise to some of the most spectacular technicolor displays in nature” by Cristina Luigi, The Scientist Magazine, February 1, 2013.
By the way, regarding Simon and Clive’s history machine, a recent episode of “CSI” showed something similar, where the lab was able to reconstruct conversations from the vibrations they’d imprinted on nearby leaves. When I saw that, I said, “Simon’s history machine!” I guess great minds think alike.
Do peacocks really say “email”?
Yes, they do. A few years ago I lived in an area where there were lots of wild peacocks and you could hear them screech exactly that. They used to come in our yard. They were wonderful!
I’ve heard you say that you make timelines for all your books. Can you talk about that a little?
I do, and boy are they difficult. Sometimes I think I’ve got the chronology of the story right, only to find out after I’ve constructed my timeline that I’ve got the kids doing way more in twenty-four hours than humanly possible or having people in the hospital for a month when they only need a week. It would be embarrassing if it weren’t so hilarious. You would think for someone who outlines as extensively as I do that everything would be correct when the manuscript is done, but you’d be wrong. I’ve had to go back several times and adjust the text to make sure it makes chronological
sense. In the second book in the series, Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis, I even had Holmes in two places at once!
By the way, one extra thing I do with the timelines is list the characters that appear in the books in the places they enter. That way I can keep track of all my characters and add them to the Amandapedia on my site.
Did you know from the beginning of the series what was going to happen between Amanda and Nick, and Amanda and Holmes?
Yes.
How about Darius? Did you know?
That I was less sure of. In fact I’m still toying with the idea of giving him a break. But if I do that, it will mess up what happens in the next book, so I think not. I am quite ruthless when it comes to killing off my characters, but these people live in a dangerous world and bad things happen.
Can I make a suggestion for what I’d like to see in one of your books?
Absolutely! The bees in Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle were a suggestion from a friend. If you have ideas you’d like me to consider, please email me at [email protected] or contact me on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/969582.Paula_Berinstein) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AmandaLesterDetective/).
Where can I get Amanda Lester, Detective bookmarks?
Same as above. Just let me know and I’ll send you some. Non-U.S. addresses are fine.
About the Author
Paula Berinstein is the former producer and host of the popular podcast, The Writing Show. She lives in Los Angeles.
Amanda Lester, Detective Box Set Page 141