Shout in the Dark (8 page)

"
The note they left after the raid is proof enough."
Reinhardt reached forwards and took Angelo Levi's file from the
table. He turned slowly through the contents. "Amendola is facing a
certain problem with his loyalties."

The Pope nodded. "Allow me to guess.
Cardinal Amendola wishes to discover the truth about the relic, the
Head of Eusebius, yet he is embarrassed by the possible
outcome?"

Reinhardt smiled openly. "You also use the
name."

The Pontiff returned the smile. "The Head
of Eusebius? Quite so, Josef. The name has been little used until
recently. And here we are, saying it as though the relic was
definitely genuine. Yet Augusto Giorgio is convinced..."

"
It gets worse," interrupted Reinhardt. "Monsignor Augusto
Giorgio will be on the panel with Amendola."

The Pope stared in astonishment. "Augusto
Giorgio will certainly not be keen to dwell on the Jewish ancestry
of our Savior in public." His face suddenly lightened. "Do our two
clerics have a copy of the neo-Nazi note?"

"
They do."

The Holy Father walked to the window and
stared at the floodlit rooftops, his quick eyes darting from tile
to tile. "And you are confident that Marco Sartini is the right man
for this work?"

"
Absolutely, Holiness. Sartini talked himself into the job
when he volunteered to be interviewed on TV Roma."

The Pope raised his eyebrows. "And he
talked at such length. So much time to get noticed."

Reinhardt smiled. "My contact within the
television company ensured that the full, unedited interview has
been repeated more than once already today."

The Pope frowned. "I have to accept that
your duties involve subterfuge, Josef, however distasteful it may
seem to some members of my staff. That is not a criticism," he
added hurriedly. "I have every confidence in your
abilities."

"
Thank you, Holiness." Reinhardt looked grim. "But I still
have to motivate the rabbit."

"
I will
not
entertain
the waste of an innocent life. I trust I make myself
clear?"

Reinhardt shook his head slowly. "I
cannot..."

The Holy Father sighed. "Then let me put
it more plainly. Sartini must be warned of the neo-Nazi
involvement. If he is to work for you, Josef, I insist that you
show him a copy of the note that was left in the
studio."

Reinhardt paused before nodding
cautiously, unwillingly. "I will do as you say."

"
And you can assure me that you will prepare the young man
for an approach by the forces of darkness?"

Reinhardt side-stepped the question. "I am
satisfied that Sartini will act correctly."

"
I pray that you are right, Josef. Are you confident this
panel of Amendola's will not hinder God's work?"

"
Amendola has selected his panel to provide an abrasive mix
of views -- to help in the search for truth, Holiness."

"
Truth. Yes, Josef, we must never be afraid of truth. You
have served our Lord well over the years. I hear you are
seventy-nine."

Reinhardt smiled broadly. "At the end of
the year, Holiness. I am a young seventy-eight at the
moment."

The Pope laughed. "Then there's plenty of
time to make a pope of you! I know you have not exercised your
ordination of the priesthood since you entered the Vatican Security
Services. I find myself wondering if you are wise to use the
unassuming title of priest at this moment."

"
Being seen as a priest has always provided cover in my
work."

"
Father Josef Reinhardt, the humble priest?"

Reinhardt smiled wryly. "Some have not
always called me humble."

"
Amendola is a man who gets his own way. If you ever have
any doubts..."

"
Doubts, Holiness?"

"
About the direction being taken by the panel of inquiry.
Any doubts at all, and you are to contact me immediately. You have
always operated with a low profile. Will Sartini also work like
this?"

Reinhardt joined the Holy Father at the
small window. "Remember why we are using the rabbit, Holiness.
Wolves never come near the farm if they hear the guard dogs. It is
essential for us to keep in the shadows."

The Pope pointed to the night sky. "Look
out there and what do you see, Josef? I see only blackness. But
beyond the blackness you and I know that there is light. If we
stand here in the morning, the sun will rise over those rooftops
and sweep the darkness away."

The Holy Father put his hands on the
elderly priest's head. "Josef Reinhardt, I charge you with the
responsibility of conducting the battle against the forces of
darkness. Together we must commit this matter in prayer to our
Heavenly Father."

Reinhardt had no hesitation in accepting
the offer. He stayed with his head bowed. "Thank you,
Holiness."

Chapter
8

Piazza di Santa Mario Maggiore

MARCO
was horrified to receive a summons from Luigi Cardinal
Amendola just after midnight. He realized the Cardinal must have
made the official machinery in the Vatican move at full speed, for
Amendola dispatched a personal courier with a summons for him to
appear before a panel of inquiry at nine o'clock in the
morning.

Marco was horrified to receive it. It was
not a summons to the Vatican, but to a building in the Piazza di
Santa Maria Maggiore. Sister Maria had once told the class that a
freak fall of summer snow in the early days of the Christian Church
had been seen as a miraculous sign, requiring the construction of a
building to the glory of God. From then on the huge building
filling the large piazza had fascinated him.

He knew he could do with a miracle himself
as he got off the bus. It might not be the Inquisition, but the
tall green-shuttered building concealed an ecclesiastical panel of
inquiry. The
carabinieri
had
already questioned him at length, but the need to dress up for them
had not been an issue. This morning he hoped to make a good
impression by wearing his black suit, although it had meant
cleaning his best shoes.

The hallway smelt of wax. Five men were
assembled in a large room on the second floor, wearing various
mixtures of clerical black and shades of red, making the gathering
very formal. Luigi Cardinal Amendola was heading the panel.
Amendola, from the Greek for an almond tree. The overpowering
Cardinal hardly characterized the frail blossom of spring. Next to
him sat Monsignor Augusto Giorgio, a small man who was introduced
as being on a Vatican select committee investigating the remains of
the relic. There were two other church officials, neither of whose
names registered with Marco. Then he noticed the old priest who had
spoken to him yesterday morning in the Piazza Venezia. Father Josef
Reinhardt.

Suddenly Marco felt a surge of confidence.
He smiled at each man in turn as he was introduced. Unfortunately
the smile seemed to provoke Amendola.

"
I suppose you
do
know
why you're here, Sartini?" The Cardinal's bushy black eyebrows met
in a shallow V, but even these were almost hidden behind heavy,
black-framed spectacles sitting firmly on a large, hooked nose.
Marco remembered getting a toy disguise kit like this a long time
ago at a Christmas party. Everyone knew Cardinal Amendola. His
family had been connected with the Church for centuries. Marco
recalled a choirboy once telling him, in all seriousness, that one
of Amendola's ancestors had been a cardinal to Saint
Peter!

Marco glanced round the gloomy room.
Paintings of unknown clerics stared down from gilt frames, dark
with age. They brought no inspiration. He spoke slowly and loudly.
"It could be something I said on television last night." He
stopped, and gave a broader smile.

"
Sartini," chided Amendola, raising himself slightly in his
chair so that whether by accident or design he appeared to grow
taller and more menacing; "the fact is that you appeared on a
public television station, apparently representing the Church,
while wearing casual clothes. You admitted that you saw two men
acting suspiciously outside the studios before the broadcast, yet
you did absolutely nothing to prevent the seizure of the bronze
head. And after the raid you spoke publicly on financial matters
concerning the Church -- without obtaining permission from a higher
authority. You even had the audacity to bring the personal life of
the late Canon Angelo Levi into disrepute."

Marco raised his eyebrows, but decided not
to risk asking from how high above permission should have been
sought. "I didn't have time to give the matter much thought, Your
Eminence."

The oldest member of the inquisition
seemed to give Marco the slightest of winks. Marco had taken an
instant liking to Father Josef Reinhardt yesterday in the Piazza
Venezia, and the old priest seemed completely out of place in the
company of these dry churchmen.

"
He was only speaking the truth as he saw it," Marco could
overhear Father Josef saying to Amendola in a loud whisper.
"Perhaps the young man can explain what he meant about using the
relic to raise money for the poor."

"
Can you?" asked Amendola, looking up sharply.

Marco was taken aback by the intensity of
the look. "Explain what I meant, Your Eminence?"

The Cardinal nodded, and began tapping his
fingers impatiently on the table.

Marco shook his head. "For years the face
of Christ must have been gathering dust somewhere in the Vatican,
but it could have been put on display."

"
The face of Christ?"

"
People would have paid to see it. Surely you believe in
helping the disadvantaged, Your Eminence. I certainly
do."

An embarrassed shuffle of papers amongst
the assembly encouraged Marco to continue with his disruption. He
looked around. "Doesn't everyone here feel exactly the same?" He
was pushing things a little, but this lot were starting to annoy
him.

There was silence. He decided to be even
more blunt. "Don't you see, Your Eminence, I was only saying what
you would have said in the circumstances."

Amendola rose from his chair, but merely
snorted before sitting down again, studiously referring to his
notes. The notes looked extensive. This could be a long, hard
ride.

Marco half listened as the questioning and
reprimanding continued, but his thoughts kept turning to Natalia.
It wasn't her fault, although she and the television interviewer
had encouraged him to come out with a few maverick statements last
night. And he'd been a willing enough party.

"
Tell us, Sartini, why did you refer to the bronze head as
the Head of Eusebius?"

"
It wasn't my name. Other people have been using it. I
suppose it got its name because it was once seen by the historian
Eusebius." Marco frowned. What was Amendola up to now?

"
Well, you are wrong, Sartini. Eusebius never saw this one.
For it to have been from a statue he saw in the fourth century, the
bronze casting would need to be more than sixteen hundred years
old. Work it out for yourself, young man. And for it to be
contemporary with our Lord and Savior, as believed by Eusebius, it
would have to be almost two thousand years old."

Marco wondered where this line of
reasoning was leading. The mathematics were clearly not a matter
for dispute, but Amendola must be intending to blame him for the
catastrophe.

The Cardinal began to sink back into his
chair, seeming now to shrink as he had earlier seemed to inflate,
although his aura remained impressive.

"
Sartini, supposing I told you that laboratory analysis of
the recovered fragments reveals minute traces of synthetic resins,
and a probable date of manufacture within the past thirty years.
What would you say to that?"

"
I'd say something like praise the Lord." Marco felt a wave
of relief.

"
Would you indeed? Yes, I think I might be inclined to share
in your joy."

Monsignor Augusto Giorgio had become
agitated. "We are entering unhealthy territory," he said. "The
facial features of a genuine bust would exhibit Christ's cultural
background, his Jewish looks. Such a prospect appalls me. It seems
we have been reprieved from a public airing of our treatment of the
Jews throughout the history of the Church." He turned to Marco. "I
want you to understand that there never was such a statue, so this
discussion is purely hypothetical."

Amendola raised himself again, obviously
unhappy with the interruption.

Marco shook his head. The Monsignor's
concern over Christian and Jewish relations sounded pathetic, but
at least he had not played a part in the destruction of a priceless
relic. So why all the fuss? But Amendola had only said
"Supposing."