I received a battered, used copy of Jack Kerouac’s novel Visions of Gerard in the mail yesterday. And while I agree it’s better to buy books from local, independent bookstores, the detective in me loves getting used copies shipped from Amazon because I often find little clues about the person who once held the same object.

Clue Number 1: Upon opening the cover, I read this quote, scribbled in pen: “fear is my lubricant.” Is this an excerpt from Visions of Gerard, or did the previous owner of this book scrawl the statement? The name Jeff (last name given but not revealed) was written on the opposite page.

Clue Number 2: A “Camel Cash” slip was found inside the book. According to ChatGPT, Camel Cash was active from October 1, 1991, through March 31, 2007.

So now we’ve narrowed down the time period.

Clue Number 3: A faded, yellow ticket from the Dutch railway Nederlandse Spoorwegen.

Clue Number 4: This final piece of the puzzle gives us the best information. It’s a ticket from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

After I uploaded the image, ChatGPT spit out the date of Wednesday, July 6, 1994, and this coincides with the dates when Camel Cash was still running.

Now, what does the investigation prove? Absolutely nothing, except satisfying my insatiable curiosity. I’m not proud of it, but my compulsion—my need to find out more information—could not be repressed.

And now I want to read Kerouac’s work, and maybe the book’s interior pages will reveal more clues about our friend Jeff.