Shout in the Dark (37 page)

It felt scary being in touch with the top
of such a powerful organization. "Let me speak to
Phönix."

"
That's impossible. Tell me where you are."

"
A call box."

"
A
public
call box?
What country are you in?"

"
I... I..."

"
Who gave you this number, Herr Bretz?"

He'd made a mistake in trying to contact
anyone in this book. "It doesn't matter."

"
Stay by the phone, Bretz!" The man spoke unexpectedly
sharply. "I'll get back to you. Give me your number."

He replaced the receiver. He could feel
his heart beating wildly as he looked round to see if anyone was
watching. Surely no one could trace an international call this
quickly. He had to get away and find Sartini, and make him talk. He
would wait within sight of Sartini's apartment and hope that the
old troll hadn't recovered yet.

Chapter
32

Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore

LAURA PHONED
MARCO and said she wanted to see him again. Marco
explained that he had just received another summons to one of
Amendola's friendly little panels, so unfortunately she would have
to wait.

Before she rung off, Laura apologized for
not being at the Colosseum when he got there. She said that the
burned body at Monte Sisto had upset her badly and she'd wanted
company, but had decided to go home rather than wait for him to
turn up in a taxi.

Marco knew that there must be more to it
than that, but Laura made him promise not to talk about it again.
He kept trying to convince himself that she had nothing to do with
the murder of the man in the
burned-out Audi.

The summons to Amendola's panel of inquiry
had been as sudden and as unexpected as the first. Inside the dark
chamber in the Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore, Marco felt confident
that he had already gained some skill in dealing with the higher
echelons in the Vatican. The first panel had obviously been set up
to intimidate, but with this one he felt more at ease. The hastily
reassembled clerics, complete with Augusto Giorgio, sat along the
dark oak table in a row. Father Josef's warning to go easy on the
Cardinal was not the first thing on his mind.

"
In your own words, Sartini, tell the panel why you have
been disobedient." Amendola did his earlier trick of drawing
himself up in the high backed chair.

At the end of the long table Father Josef
sat motionless, apparently thinking of other matters and certainly
not offering any support.

Marco returned his attention to Amendola,
"Your Eminence, I set out to find the genuine bronze head for
Father Josef. You agreed to the plan."

"
I understand from Monsignor Augusto that you were not alone
in your escapade."

"
No, I had some companions. We went to Monte
Sisto..."

Monsignor Augusto Giorgio was nodding his
head vigorously. "Who were these companions, Sartini? That's what
the panel needs to know."

Since the Monsignor already knew the answer,
why was he asking the question? Was he getting enjoyment out of
making mischief?

Marco glanced first at Father Josef then
at Amendola. He could glean no comfort from either of their
expressions. "I was carrying out my search in conjunction with
three journalists."

"
And were ... these people ... friends of yours?" Monsignor
Augusto's slow and deliberate voice sounded sympathetic.

It was obviously a trap. "I only got to
know them because Laura Rossetti came round to my
apartment."

Monsignor Augusto Giorgio stood up quickly
and leaned on the polished table. Damp patches began to appear
around his hands. Perhaps he was nervous. More likely he was
sweating with anticipation.

"
A
woman?
" He made
it sound as though the greatest scandal ever to rock the Church was
being unfolded. "You discussed Vatican business with ... a
woman?
"

Marco looked over at Father Josef but the
old priest was staring at the table. It would be hard to forgive
this silence. "Yes, Laura Rossetti is helping me look for the
relic. I thought it would be a good idea if we teamed
up."

"
Teamed up?
" The Monsignor made it sound as though teaming up involved
a carnal act at its most sordid.

"
Laura had a letter her father sent to her mother. She
thought it might tell us where he'd hidden the relic. I expect you
know her father was the late Canon Angelo Levi."

It was a calculated move, like chess with
Brother Roberto at the seminary; and it was paying off by putting
the major pieces on the board under pressure. The oppressive gloom
lifted instantly. Even the faces hanging on the high walls looked
less severe as Marco breathed out heavily. The reference to Angelo
Levi and his daughter was enough to transfer all guilt to a
suddenly defensive panel of inquiry.

Monsignor Giorgio sat down. "I see no
reason for us to pursue this particular line of questioning." He
turned to the Cardinal.

Amendola rose from his high backed seat.
Father Josef looked awkwardly at the floor as though he already
knew what was coming.

"
Marco Sartini, you have been ordained into the priesthood
of the Church of Christ. At present, we do not believe you are
either fit or ready to take up duties in a parish. It is the
unanimous decision of this panel, set up at the request of the
Vatican Council under whose authority we operate, that your
provisional suspension is formally confirmed as from today. The
suspension will be continued for a minimum period of six
months."

Marco had expected something like this, but
he had hoped for a small protest from Father Josef.

The pitch of the Cardinal's voice changed
to a mellow, almost caring tone: "Marco Sartini, you will, I am
sure, find this a difficult decision to accept. In the intervening
period you can report to Father Josef. I want him to attempt to
knock some commonsense into you."

Father Josef glanced up but did nothing to
acknowledge this invitation, not even giving a brief smile.

Amendola continued. "Marco Sartini, you
will be called to appear again before this panel in six months'
time, when your case will be reviewed. Maybe when that time comes,
you will prefer to continue working with Father Josef -- if Father
Josef is willing to entertain the prospect."

There was a trace of humor in the
Cardinal's voice but Father Josef showed no sign that he found the
suggestion the least bit amusing. Rejected by the senior clerics,
Marco stood with his head bowed until the panel left the
room.

"
Try and smile, Marco!"

He looked up to find Father Josef beaming
over his wrinkled face.

"
I don't understand."

Father Josef clapped a thin arm round his
shoulder. "I'm so glad, so very glad."

"
Glad? About what? Where were you just now when I needed
you?"

Father Josef let out a shrill laugh that
Marco had never heard before. "I was praying I would be allowed to
have you working for me."

"
But when the panel..."

"
Panel, nonsense, you must credit me with more sense than
that. I had a little game to play. If certain members had even the
smallest suspicion that the Cardinal's plan was to my liking, they
would have argued most strongly against it. You still have a lot to
learn about manipulating senior members of the Church." He laughed
again. "Even the Holy Father takes lessons from me. Now, we really
must get down to finding the bronze relic. Welcome to my staff,
Father Marco."

KARL WAITED RESTLESSLY in his car at the
far end of the street where the old troll lived. Hopefully he would
see the
Priester
either
coming or going to his apartment. He felt for the comforting bulge
of the Makarov in his pocket. This time Sartini would
not
get away.

"
IS IT ALL RIGHT if I still see Laura? Only I wouldn't like
to be responsible for the Monsignor getting a heart attack." He had
nearly finished his early supper in the big house.

Father Josef nodded his assent. "I can see
no harm in that. After all, Laura's father was fully approved by
the Church!"

Again the shrill laugh Marco had not heard
before today. Perhaps the old man had previously found no occasion
for laughter. He seemed remarkably relaxed. Monsignor Augusto
Giorgio, had he been present, was unlikely to have shared the
joke.

"
This security group of yours: do I get to meet the
others?"

There was a momentary silence. "That will
not be possible for some time. I am part of a larger team, with
members placed in many parts of the Church. We are not here to spy
on the clergy, of course. I would like to think that the business
of the Church is more open since the Second Vatican Council.
Perhaps it is. My particular task is to protect the Church from
external subversive influences."

"
And my task?"

"
Your task is still the same, Marco. Recover the relic --
and if you are not able to recover it, destroy it. The Holy Father
would rather the object did not exist than it should fall into evil
hands. I must repeat my earlier warning. You are to trust no one:
not the
carabinieri
, and
not even the Vatican staff. Do I make myself clear?"

Marco nodded. Locating the relic might
still be possible with Laura's help, but he would find it hard to
destroy such an incredible part of history even if the situation
demanded it.

This new role could be a solution to his
personal dilemma. Working for Father Josef he wouldn't need his
clerical collar any more. He shook his head. He was still a priest.
Father Josef had made that plain. But surely he was being given a
chance to think again about his calling. Maybe it had been a
mistake as a previously married man to take the vow of celibacy and
chastity. But if he had a job that... He was being ridiculous. For
the past few days he'd caught himself indulging in immature teenage
fantasies. Yet Laura... No, this was not a route he should even
think of going down.

"
Excuse me, Father." He folded the napkin that had been
carefully embroidered by the sisters for their guests, and pushed
his chair back on the polished floor. "Is it all right if I make a
phone call? Laura wants to meet me, so I'm going to ask her to
drive me to my apartment to collect a few things. I want my
portable CD player and some more clothes. I'm bringing them back
here, then Laura and I might go for a drive."

KARL
FELT his patience running out. The street by the troll's
house had parking restrictions and the
stradale
approached his car several times, but the Roma
license plates aroused no suspicion as he moved the little Fiat on
without needing to be told. Suddenly a silver Alfa came down the
street, dodging in and out of the traffic. The custom black line on
the doors was distinctive. He of all people should be the one to
recognize it from the drive back from Monte Sisto, when Herr Kessel
wondered where Otto…

He started the engine. Otto and Herr
Kessel were in the past. It was important to concentrate. He had
been trained to think only of the job in hand.

The Alfa stopped outside the block where
Sartini lived. The driver was the woman he had seen at the
Colosseum. She and Sartini must be mixed up with Herr Kessel's
death.

The priest ran into the high building
while the woman waited in her car. As Karl was wondering whether to
follow, the priest hurried out with a bulging hold-all. He climbed
into the woman's car which shot into the evening traffic, swinging
sharp right into the main street without slowing.

Karl followed in the little red Fiat.

"
I'M GLAD TO be leaving that place," said Marco. "Thanks to
that skinhead I'd never feel safe there again. Signora Silvini is
still in hospital." He was getting used to Laura's driving by now,
and even managed to sound relaxed as he talked.

Laura turned her head to the right,
glancing across at him -- a rather disconcerting habit in all this
traffic. "I want you to meet Mamma. She's going to let us examine
all the letters from my father."

Laura's mother. It had been hard enough to
accept that Laura had Canon Levi for a father. Laura was simply
Laura, and she existed without the apparent need for
parents.

At the next intersection Laura squeezed
her car between two buses waiting at the lights. "We're going to
see her tomorrow morning. Riccardo's coming with us."

It was a simple
statement
, but the
mention of Riccardo Fermi's name irritated Marco. "I know
Riccardo's a friend of yours, but I think he had something to do
with the death of the man burned to death in the station wagon at
Monte Sisto. I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but Bruno
Bastiani definitely did. I'm sure he was going to name Riccardo
Fermi when he was dying at the Colosseum. Stop seeing Riccardo
--
please
."