Page 134 of The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon #6)

The Manhattan sidewalk glistened beneath Faukman’s feet as he made his way up Broadway. The afternoon rain had finally passed, and it was time to go home.

His call with Prague had been brief, as Langdon was hesitant to say much on the phone.

He offered assurances that he and Katherine were safe and also alerted Faukman that they were considering a stop in New York on their way home so they could all debrief face-to-face about everything that had transpired with the manuscript.

Not much to discuss, the editor lamented.

Even if Katherine could wrap her head around rewriting her entire book, the CIA would almost certainly have something to say about it.

For Faukman, losing this book was a considerable professional blow, and yet he took solace in knowing Robert and Katherine were safe.

As he neared Columbus Circle, Faukman smelled the earthy scent of dark roast coffee, and he slipped into the city’s busiest Starbucks. If ever there were a day that warranted an extra dose of caffeine for the walk home, it was today.

With apologies to Robert, he mused as he placed his order.

The Harvard professor had long boycotted Starbucks for what he proclaimed to be their “egregious misuse of a classical symbol.”

Faukman chuckled as he eyed the familiar logo emblazoned on every coffee cup in the establishment.

“The Starbucks mermaid, ” Langdon had railed, “has two tails! That means she’s not a mermaid at all, but rather a siren —an evil seductress who lures sailors to follow her blindly toward shipwreck and ultimately toward death !

I can’t trust a corporation that neglected to conduct any iconographic research before adorning Frappuccinos with a deadly sea monster… ”

Leave it to a symbologist to ruin a good cup of coffee, Faukman thought, feeling no guilt as he took his first heavenly sip of the creamiest flat white in the city. Then, turning up the collar of his vintage gray peacoat, he stepped back outside and headed home.