Page 99 of The Society of Unknowable Objects
“Really?” Magda asked.
“Mmm-hmm. I love bookstores.” Magda watched as the woman’s gaze travelled around the nearby shelves, skipping from book to book. “I think I was happiest then. Sometimes I miss it.”
“You don’t work in a bookshop now?” Magda asked.
The woman shook her head, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth and blond hair bouncing on her shoulders. “No. I moved to Scotland last year. But I still like to visit bookstores whenever I can. I’m always on the lookout for... oh, special books, you know?”
Magda stopped what she was doing and met the woman’s gaze. The woman was watching her, a smile on her lips, and her eyes seemed loaded, as if there was a message hidden in her words. Then the woman nodded to the street beyond the window. “Lots of wild things happening around here a few months ago.”
Magda folded the bag and placed it on the desk, her mind suddenly silent, suddenly attentive to this woman. “Yeah,” she agreed slowly. “Crazy things. They’ve set up a government inquiry. But nobody really knows what happened.”
The woman’s smile broadened. “I’m sure someone knows.”
It’s a kind smile. Whoever she is, she’s kind.
Magda realised she was staring, saying nothing, but she couldn’t pull her eyes away. The woman was beautiful, but that wasn’t why Magda was staring. There was something else to this woman, something entrancing.
Magic. It’s magic, isn’t it? You can tell.
“Oh,” the woman said, laughing at herself. “I’m supposed to pay now, right?”
She reached into one of the deep pockets of her coat to pull out a purse. She extracted some notes and passed them over. Magda took the money and opened the till to retrieve the change.
“I was actually looking for something in particular,” the woman said. “I have a collection of used notebooks. Soft-cover things. Some of them are full of strange text and drawings.”
Magda’s scalp prickled, but she showed nothing on her face as she handed back the change.
“Have you ever come across anything like that?” the woman asked. She was still smiling, but her eyes narrowed slightly and her head tilted. “Soft-covered notebooks, but they might feel unusual. A little heavy, maybe?”
Magda shook her head and tried to laugh, but it sounded clumsy and forced. “We have lots of notebooks,” she said, her voice cracking in a way that surprised her. She gestured over to the rack at the side of the shop. “But they’re all empty. None of them secondhand.”
The woman nodded to herself slowly, as if understanding something from Magda’s answer. She folded the change back into her purse. “Well, maybe one day,” she said. “Maybe you might come across something like that.”
Magda shrugged, trying to appear amiable.
Who is this woman? What does she know?
She wanted to call James down, but didn’t want to do anything that would seem unusual.
“If you do come across a notebook like that,” the woman continued, “could you let me know? Because I have a lot of experience with things like that.” She held Magda’s gaze. “I’ve helped people before who’ve found these sorts of books.”
Magda nodded slowly. “Of course, yes,” she said, trying to smile.
“Thank you,” the woman said. “I really appreciate it.” She reached for her purchases.
“Who are you?” Magda asked, unable to stop herself. “I mean, I’ll need a contact point, if we find something like that.”
“My name is Cassie,” the woman said.
She held out a hand and Magda stared at it dumbly for a moment, before realising Cassie was offering a handshake. “Oh, right.” She laughed, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment. She took hold of Cassie’s hand—it was warm and smooth, the grip soft.
“If you do ever come across a notebook like that, a special sort of notebook...” Cassie said, releasing Magda’s hand to reach into her pocket again. “Email me, I’d love to hear from you.” She placed a business card down on the desk.
Magda watched her retreat, the red coat swishing with her hips as she moved. When Cassie reached the door, one hand on the handle, the other in her pocket, and the bag of books gripped under her arm, she smiled back at Magda. “It was lovely to meet you, Magda.”
“You too,” Magda said, so struck by the woman that it wouldn’t be until sometime later that she would realise that Cassie had used her name without her having given it.
Then Cassie opened the door and through the open doorway Magda didn’t see the frosty dark of Bell Street. Beyond the door was sunshine and blue sky, a warm summer’s day and green-brown hills in the distance.
