The Illumination by Karen Tintori

from one another would remain on the same page . . . so to speak. . . .”
    Her voice trailed off. She peered intently at the faded lettering swimming beneath the powerful prism. The brief handwritten inscription seemed to begin with the Hebrew letter
tzadi,
the alphabet’s
ts
sound. Still, Natalie knew from her archaeological work in Israel how similar some Aramaic letters were to Hebrew. This character could be from either alphabet.
    â€œCan you tell? Is it Aramaic?”
    â€œNo, damn it.” She bit her lip. “Not without consulting someone proficient in both languages.”
    â€œCan you at least read what it says?”
    â€œI only recognize a few letters on this first line. This one looks like a
resh
—that’s the
R
of the Hebrew alphabet. But it could be either an Aramaic
R
or
Y
, because those characters are written similarly. The others here are too faded for me to make out.”
    â€œFaded—you mean with age?”
    â€œOr from the elements. But look.” Natalie’s voice hitched with excitement. “Part of the second line is darker and easier to read. I can make out a
shin
—and the word ends in a
resh,
like the one on the line above it, but the rest . . .” She shook her head in frustration.
    Suddenly she glanced up, eyeing him with new respect. “What made you think to look inside? I was so caught up in the pendant, I didn’t really focus on the pouch. The outside of itdidn’t strike me as unusual, other than that it was painted to mimic the pendant. It’s so simply constructed—just a basic circle of leather with a drawstring to close it—I didn’t pay any attention to the inside.”
    â€œI’m a journalist.” He shrugged. “It’s my job to pay attention. To look at things from all sides. We like to turn things on their heads, and inside out. But go back a minute to what you were saying about testing the gemstones in the pendant. What were you planning to show me in that book?”
    Natalie set down the pouch, reached for the book, and forced herself to change gears. “I was starting to tell you that in the past we had to chip off a fragment of a gemstone if we wanted to check its authenticity. We’d need a piece of it to test its chemical properties in order to determine with certainty what it was. But now, with the help of powder X-ray diffraction analysis and raman spectroscopy, we’re able to define exactly what a sample is—and so much more. We can not only pinpoint the identity and age of a gem, but we can zero in on its place of origin—sometimes even the mine it came from—and all without dismounting it, or doing it any damage.”
    â€œIn other words, you’ve got ways of peeking inside this thing without sawing it open. How do you do that? Laser scanners?”
    Natalie skimmed to a section halfway into the book before holding out the page for his perusal. “Here’s how. Check out these photos.”
    D’Amato took the book from her and studied the page. He’d changed from the sport coat and sweater he’d worn earlier into straight-legged jeans, a khaki shirt, and a light beige windbreaker. Natalie noticed the laserlike concentration with which he scrutinized the series of photos taken from various angles. They were close-ups of a primitive statue studded with tiny red gems.
    â€œThis artifact was found five years ago in a cave in Iran.” She ran her finger below the lines of text. “The gemstones on it were dated and analyzed using ion beam techniques—particle-induced X-ray emission, or PIXE for short. PIXE determined they were definitely rubies and contained inclusions found onlyin certain regions in the Middle East. Archaeometry pinpointed the age and the provenance, proving this statue indeed came from ancient Mesopotamia. And—it was all done without removing a single stone or submitting the statue to the