The Secret of Fatima (18 page)

Rome, Italy

His arms propping up his head, Kevin was sitting at the desk deep in thought, his eyes fixated on the laptop screen. Katie's email reminded him that he'd made a commitment he really didn't want to keep. He was knee-deep in the mystery of the secret and finding the two missing pages was his priority. But where to begin? In her email, Katie had said she was thrilled Kevin would be coming to Sarajevo, to baptize the baby and to meet Jimmy. She was planning to arrive on Tuesday and hoped Kevin could join her for dinner. Jimmy was travelling from New York and wouldn't arrive until later that night. Dinner alone with Katie? Kevin thought. Not a tough decision. In fact, a no-brainer.

When Max phoned, Kevin had settled on the sofa with his laptop to check flights.

“I'm going to be away for a few days next week, Max,” Kevin said.

“Shall I guess why?”

“No. You'll likely guess right, which'll just piss me off.”

“Can I help?” Drotti laughed.

“No, thanks. I'm going to Sarajevo to baptize Katie's adopted child,” Kevin said.

“Sarajevo? I'm coming over, Kevin. I have things to tell you.”

Kevin barely had put the phone down when Max arrived, out of breath, holding a folder under his arm. He wiped sweat from his brow and plunked down in the armchair facing the sofa.

“If I said your behavior was strange, it'd be a gross understatement,” Kevin said. With a Peroni in one hand, he offered one to Max, who accepted it without saying a word.

Max pulled a map out of the papers he was holding. “Medjugorje is about 160 kilometers from Sarajevo. Our Lady wants you to go there.”

“Please tell me you're not plagued by apparitions, too, Max.”

“No, no. Be serious. You're familiar with Our Lady's appearance at Medjugorje. These are the most trusted recent apparitions by the Virgin Mary. She appears regularly to six visionaries and has told them a total of ten secrets.”

Kevin nodded. Maybe Max was on to something.

Max pulled another page from his stack. “Listen to this. It's a transcript of Our Lady's message to the visionaries on August 25, 1991. Here, I'll read you the salient parts:

“
Dear children, today, I also invite you to prayer, now as never before when my plan has begun to be realized. Satan is strong and wants to sweep away plans of peace and joy and make you think that my Son is not strong in His decisions … I invite you to renunciation for nine days so that with your help, everything I wanted to realize through the secrets I began in Fatima may be fulfilled
.”

“She referenced Fatima?”

“Yes!” Max almost shouted. “You've got to go to Medjugorje, Kevin. Our Lady must have planned this.”

“Let's not get ahead of ourselves. And if I go, what would I be doing there?”

“Obviously, trying to see one or more of the visionaries. Maybe they'll help us with what we're missing in the secret of Fatima.”

“And how do I do that?”

Max was prepared for the question. He scribbled something quickly on a piece of paper and handed it to Kevin. “Here's a name and contact info for a friend there. Ivan Koncik. He's not a cleric, but he's well connected, knows everybody in town. He's a friend I studied with. I'll let him know you're coming.”

Standing up, Kevin traversed the room. Pacing back and forth, he wasn't sure what to do, but Max's plan certainly wasn't without merit.

“Any questions?” asked Max.

Kevin sat down again. “Tell me what you know about the Medjugorje secrets.”

Max consulted his notes. “The apparitions started in 1981. The Virgin Mary appeared to six children, now called ‘the visionaries.' Ever since, she's been appearing to three of them. By the way, if they were children in 1981, they're now in their fifties.”

“And there were secrets?” Kevin asked.

“Correct. Ten of them. This becomes confusing.” Max consulted his notes again. “Three of the visionaries have received all ten secrets; three haven't. When all six visionaries have received all the secrets, Our Lady will stop appearing to them. One of the visionaries chosen by Mary, a lady by the name of Mirjana, will receive the most important message when Our Lady makes her final appearance. We don't know when, except we know Our Lady's last important message will come during Mirjana's lifetime.”

“Any clues as to what it is about?”

Max shrugged. “There's speculation, of course. But other revelations suggest a need for prayer to prepare for a major event.” Max handed the folder of information to Kevin. “Here's some reading material for your trip.”

“While I'm gone, see if you can make progress on the missing pages.”

“I'll do my best.”

“Thanks, Max,” said Kevin.

“I'll try, but if they've been missing a long time, this may be water under the bridge. Impossible.” Max said.

Kevin smiled. “Max, the impossible is what we're good at.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sarajevo, Bosnia

The flight from Rome to Sarajevo was short. Kevin was studying a guidebook on Sarajevo he'd picked up at the Rome airport.

Kevin hadn't been to Sarajevo, but he'd studied it in college. Sarajevo was the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1914, it'd been the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which had triggered World War I. More recently, during the Bosnia war for independence, following the breakup of Yugoslavia, the city had become infamous for the Serbs' siege of Sarajevo. For four years, from 1992 to 1996, the city was under attack. It was the longest siege in modern history.

On the taxi ride from the Sarajevo airport into town, Kevin was struck along the way by the number of dreary, homogenous Communist-era apartment buildings, detracting from the breathtakingly beautiful mountain vistas and idyllic countryside.

Once in town, the charm of the old city revealed itself and Kevin was eager to take a tour. He checked into the Bristol Hotel, where he and Katie had agreed to stay. The desk clerk said Katie had already arrived.

Kevin went to his room and unpacked. He'd brought his vestments to perform the baptism, including an alb, the long, white garment worn by priests, a stole, a cincture, a braided white cord worn around the waist, and a chasuble, the long, colorful cape. Unpacking, Kevin had to smile, remembering one of his students seeing him in his vestments and saying he looked like Batman.

Before leaving for an exploratory walk, Kevin dialed Katie's room. No answer. He left a message and went out. Dressed in his travel clothes, dark jeans and a blazer, he hadn't shaved; he knew he looked scruffy, but didn't care.

Old town Sarajevo was much as he'd imagined it, a fairytale labyrinth of uneven streets and quaint buildings, some dating back to the sixteenth century. An open-air market was bustling with bargaining patrons filling their bags with fragrant flowers and fresh vegetables. In close proximity, highlighting the new and the old, were churches, mosques, and synagogues, contrasting ancient and modern architecture. Packed cafés and charming restaurants were doing a brisk business of well-dressed young people chatting away.

Kevin went into St. Anthony's, the Catholic Church completed in 1912. His gaze was drawn to the stained glass windows radiating a mosaic of rich purples, reds, and yellows. Then he went to the statue of the Virgin Mary and knelt before her.

Kevin looked up at the Virgin Mary, into her eyes. He began to pray, and then was distracted by a childhood memory of an old church custom. Entering a Catholic Church for the first time, a newcomer would get three wishes. Smiling, he decided to reenact the custom in this new church.

But he then realized he wasn't sure what to wish for.
Something about Katie? What could he possibly ask? About his future as a priest?
He wanted no part of that, preferring to give God the leverage on that one.
So what else was there to wish for? Not much, really. That he learn quickly about what was in the two missing pages of the secret
.

Kevin said a few prayers and left.

Back at the hotel, he dialed Katie's room and this time she picked up and the familiarity of her voice cheered him.

“I'm so happy you're here, Kevin. I can't tell you how much!”

“Wouldn't miss it for the world,” he said.

“I spoke to the orphanage. We're meeting there tomorrow morning. They've asked if the mother could join us. They said she wanted to meet us.”

“What did you say?”

“I wasn't sure at first. But then I said it was fine. I wanted to assure her the baby will be in good hands with me. And having you there as my support will boost me.”

“Sounds good to me. Is Jimmy here?”

“He doesn't get in 'til later. Let's have dinner together.”

He was counting on this. He didn't let on that this was reason enough for the entire trip.

At the front desk, the concierge of the hotel directed Kevin and Katie to a local restaurant, Nanina Kuhinja, whose stone walls and arches had the feel of an old Parisian wine cellar. The two were seated and offered scrolled menus with elaborate calligraphy. As lovely as they were, the copy was completely illegible. With the help of the waiter, they ordered a dish, one with lamb, and a cornucopia of colorful vegetables.

As they were eating, Katie asked, “What's going on with your 007 super-secret assignment?”

“Yep, that's me. James Bond.” Kevin smiled, his expression turning serious. “This is my life, Katie. Here is something no one knows. When somebody tried to assassinate the pope not long ago, my friend and I stopped it.”

Katie almost choked. “My God!” she said. “You're not joking?”

“Nope. Deadly serious.”

“How'd you stop it?” She put her fork down and looked intently at him, wanting to reach out and touch his hand.

“Let's just say I got to the assassin before he got the pope.”

“You … you mean you killed him?”

“Well, yes … something I had to do.”

“My God, Kevin. But … but … are you now in danger?”

“I'll be fine, Katie. Let's not talk about it now; let's celebrate your new baby.”

“Kev, is anyone following you?”

“You've been watching too many detective movies!” said Kevin, trying to lighten the mood. Knowing this was one of the last times he'd be with Katie alone, he didn't want to spoil it.

“I … I just don't want anything to happen to you, Kev. It sounds like you might be in too deep.”

“I can handle myself.”

“I know that … but …”

“But nothing, OK?” He touched her hand with his, then withdrew it. “Dessert?”

Reaching over, Katie took Kevin's arm in hers. She turned his wrist and smiled. “The Mickey Mouse watch?” she said.

Kevin smiled. “I kind of got used to it,” he said.

Katie pointed to the pin on her blouse.

“Oh yes, I noticed it,” Kevin said. “I guess there're parts of you and me that'll always be there.”

Katie refilled her wineglass. “Often I've thought the moment you really fell in love with me was when I gave you this watch. I can still the expression on your face—”

“Wrong,” Kevin interrupted, smiling. He realized the wine was loosening their tongues, maybe too much.

“Hmmm.” Katie was thinking. “Then maybe it was when I told you about Vukovar, and my dad dying a hero?”

“Wrong, again,” Kevin said, playing along.

“Then, when?” Katie asked, lowering her voice, frustrated.

Kevin hesitated a moment. “It was before you gave me the watch. It was that day when we were in Teehan's having a beer after class and you challenged a classmate for thanking God for saving his life. Remember?”

“Not sure …” she said.

“Some guy had been in a bus crash on the way to Georgetown. He was one of three survivors. Twenty people died. He thanked God for sparing him. You had a fit.”

Katie nodded. “Damn right,” she said. “God had nothing to do with it. I said, ‘Listen, asshole, if you think God spared you, then why'd he let the other twenty go? What makes you so special?' God doesn't choose either the survivors or the ill-fated. How dumb!”

“I agree, Katie. I admired your spirited resolve that day. You weren't afraid to speak your mind, and you did confront that guy.”

“Okay, do you really want to know when I fell in love with you?”

Kevin sensed the conversation was heading in a dangerous direction.

“Let's leave it, Katie.”

“Okay.” She looked away.

After dinner, they strolled through the cobblestone streets. Kevin again resisted taking her hand.

“I really hope you'll like Jimmy,” Katie said. “I want you two to be friends.”

What a great idea
, Kevin thought. Inside, he groaned. Katie had just brought up the one subject he'd hoped wouldn't come up tonight. It was ruining the wonderful feeling, the utter denial, the joy of hope. He was enjoying just being with her … alone. Now he was left with the cold truth: This would probably be the last time he'd be with her.

They kept sauntering quietly through the dark streets, now illuminated by tall lampposts.

“You're quiet, Kevin,” Katie said.

“I've got a lot on my plate these days.” But in fact, he was consumed by feelings he knew he shouldn't be having. As they walked, Katie put her arm through his. It felt good and natural.

As they approached the hotel, Kevin reciprocated, taking her arm in his, and turned toward her. With half a smile, she pecked his cheek. He caught the faint scent of lavender.

“Meet me downstairs at 9:30 tomorrow morning?” she said.

Sure. Good-night, Katie. Sleep well. Can't wait to meet your guy
. Kevin smiled as the elevator door closed shut. He didn't feel like going up to his room. As he exited the hotel, his cell rang.