CChhaapptteerr OOnnee three deliveries

� � �On a warm October night in Chicago,three deliveries were made in the same neighbor-hood. A plump tangerine moon had just risen overLake Michigan. The doorbell had been rung ateach place, and an envelope left propped outside.

Each front door was opened on to an emptystreet. Each of the three people who lived in thosehomes lived alone, and each had a hard time fallingasleep that night.

The same letter went out to all three:

Dear Friend:I would like your help in identifying a crime thatis now centuries old. This crime has wronged oneof the world ’s greatest painters. As those inpositions of authority are not brave enough tocorrect this error, I have taken it upon myselfto reveal the truth. I have chosen you becauseof your discriminating eye, your intelligence, andyour ability to think outside of convention.

If you wish to help me, you will be amplyrewarded for any risks you take.

You may not show this letter to anyone. Two

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other people in the world have received thisdocument tonight. Although you may nevermeet, the three of you will work together in waysnone of us can predict.

If you show this to the authorities, you willmost certainly be placing your life in danger.

You will know how to respond. I congratu-late you on your pursuit of justice.

The letter was not signed, and it had no returnaddress.

� � �The man had sat down to a late dinner.He liked to read when he ate, and he was on pagefour of a new novel. Book in hand, he answeredthe door.

His spaghetti and meatballs were cold by thetime he remembered them. He sat at the table fora long time, looking first at the letter and then outat the moon.

Was this a joke? Who would go to the troubleof writing and sending such a letter? It was printedon expensive stationery, the kind you buy if youwant to be impressive. Or pretentious.

Should he feel flattered? Suspicious? What did2

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this person want from him? What kind of rewardwere they talking about?

And who was it who knew him well enough toknow he’d say yes?

� � �A woman tossed and turned in bed, herlong hair trapping moonlight against the pillow.She was going over lists of names in her mind.

The more she thought, the more agitated shebecame. She was not amused. Could this be acoincidence, or was it a clever warning? What exactly did this person know about her past?

She finally got up. A cup of hot milk would calmher nerves. She moved carefully in the dark, usingthe watery rectangles of light that fell across thefloor. She wasn’t about to turn on the kitchen light.

The names scrolled in tidy columns throughher mind, each group belonging to a differentchapter in her life. There was Milan, there wasNew York, there was Istanbul. . . .

But this was an invitation, not a threat. Ifthings got strange or frightening, she could alwayschange her mind.

Or could she?

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� � �Another woman lay awake under themoon, listening to the wind and the occasionalwhine of a police siren.

This was one of the weirdest coincidences ever.Was this letter insane, or inspired? And was she

just being gullible, thinking this person was reallywriting to her? Maybe hundreds of these lettershad gone out. Had her name been picked out of aphone book?

Fake or not, the letter was intriguing. . . . Acenturies-old crime. What could this person beplanning?

And what about the spooky part? If you showthis to the authorities, you will most certainly be placingyour life in danger.

Maybe this was a maniac, one of those serialkillers. She pictured the police going through herapartment and finding the letter, standing overher body and saying, “Jeesh, she shoulda called usfirst thing. She coulda been alive today. . . .”

A lone cat yowled in the alley below her bed-room, and she jumped, her heart pounding. Sittingup in bed, she shut the window and locked it.

How could she not say yes? This was a letterthat could alter history.

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If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the

publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

Text copyright © 2004 by Elizabeth Balliett Klein. Illustrations © 2004 by Brett Helquist.

This book was originally published in hardcover by Scholastic Press in 2004.

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or

registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or

their content.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

We gratefully acknowledge the following institutions for permission to reproduce the work of Johannes Vermeer van Delft (1632–1675) in this book: The Lady Writing, The National Gallery, Washington D.C., and The Geographer, Stӓdelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, both images courtesy of Arothek in

Weilheim, Germany.

Chasing Vermeer is a work of fi ction. While some of the settings in Hyde Park are actual, others have been altered or invented.

ISBN 978-0-439-37297-8

35 34 33 32 31 30 29 18 19 20 21 22

Printed in the U.S.A. 40This edition fi rst printing 2018

The display type was set in Fink.The text type was set in 12-point Hoefl er text.

Title hand-lettering by David Coulson.Original hardcover design by Marijka Kostiw

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