Bakkalbasi had stayed on in Berlin. From there he would fly to Zurich to withdraw the money they needed to pay the two men who were being hired to kill Mendib before he could be released from prison.
Addaio had known Mendib since he was a child. He was a fine boy, friendly and intelligent. Obedient. The pastor remembered how eagerly he had embraced his mission, their last words before he submitted to the age-old sacrifice and surrendered his voice forever so that the community might prevail. But now he was a known link between them and the cathedral. A link that must be broken.
They had managed to survive the Persians, the Byzantines, the Crusaders, the Turks. They had been living their secret lives for century upon century, carrying out the mission they had inherited.
God's favor should have been with them as the true Christians they were, but it was not-instead, He sent them terrible trials, and now a faithful young man had to die.
The pastor slowly climbed the stairs and went into his room. The bed was turned down. Guner always did that, even when Addaio was away. He could not have been a more faithful friend, trying always to make Addaio's life comfortable, sensing his wishes before he could make them known.
Guner would never betray him-it had been stupid to think that. If he could not trust Guner, then he would never be able to bear the burden he had carried since he was barely a man.
He heard a soft knock on the door and stepped to open it.
"Did I wake you, Guner?"
"I haven't slept for days. I must know. Is Mendib to die?"
"You got up to ask me about Mendib?"
"Is there anything more important than the life of a man, pastor?"
'Are you determined to torment me?"
"That's the last thing I want. But I can think of nothing else. Addaio, I appeal to your conscience-stop this madness."
"Guner, go. I need to rest."
Guner stared at him as if he could see into the depths of his dark soul. Then he abruptly turned and left the room. Addaio pressed his hands to his temples, trying to contain the rage and despair that pounded within him.
33
"HAVE A BAD NIGHT?" GIUSEPPE ASKED ANA, who was absentmindedly chewing on a croissant in the hotel's dining room.
"Morning. Yes, I had a terrible night, thanks. Where's Dottoressa Galloni?"
"I'm sure she'll be down any minute. Have you seen my boss?"
"No, I just got here."
Giuseppe looked around the room. The tables were all occupied. "Mind if I sit and have cofFee with you?" he asked the reporter.
"Of course not! How's the investigation going?"
"Slow. How about you?"
"I've become a history student. I've read dozens of books, spent hours online, but I'll tell you, last night I learned more listening to Sofia than from all of that combined."
"Yeah, Sofia explains things so well, you can see them. I've had that same experience with her. So, any theories yet?"
"Nothing solid, and today my head feels like jelly. I had nightmares all night."
"Must have a guilty conscience."
"What?"
"That's what my mother used to say to me when I woke up from a bad dream. She'd ask me, 'Giuseppe, what did you do today that you shouldn't have?' She said that nightmares were a warning from your conscience."
"Well, I don't remember doing anything yesterday that would bother my conscience. Certainly nothing to merit these nightmares. Are you just a cop, or are you a historian too?"
"Just a cop, which is enough. But I'm lucky to work in Art Crimes-I've learned a lot these years working with Marco."
"I can tell you all worship him."
"Yep. Your brother must have told you about him."
"Santiago has tremendous respect for him, and I like him too. I've been to dinner at his house, and I've seen him a few other times."
Sofia entered the dining room and spotted them.
"What's wrong, Ana?" she asked as she pulled out a chair.
"I guess I look like hell if you can see it from across the room! Is it so obvious I had a rough night?"
"You look like you've been to war."
"Ha! I was in the middle of a battle, in fact, and I saw children hacked to pieces, their mothers raped-I even smelled the black smoke from fires burning all over the city. It was awful."
"I can see that."
"Sofia, I know I'm probably pushing my luck, but if you have a minute free today and wouldn't mind, could we talk again?"
"I don't know when, but sure, we can talk."
Marco came in, reading a note, and walked over to the table.
"Good morning, all. Sofia, I have a message here from Padre Charny. Bolard is expecting us ten minutes from now in the cathedral."
"Who's Padre Charny?" Ana asked.
"You just had dinner with him. The dashing Padre Yves de Charny," Sofia answered.
"Don't be such a snoop, Ana," Marco added.
"It's my nature," the reporter replied with a smile, then winced and pressed her hand to her head.
Marco clearly wasn't interested in lingering. 'All right, let's get going-everybody knows what they're supposed to be doing. Giuseppe, you-"
"Yeah, I'm on it. I'll call you."
"Let's go, Sofia. If we hurry we can still get there on time. Ana, have a nice day."
"I'll try."
On the way to the cathedral Marco asked Sofia about Ana Jimenez.
"What does she know?"
"I don't know. She seems like she's kind of floundering around, but I have a feeling she's got more than she lets on, and she's smart. She asks question after question after question, but she doesn't show her cards, you know? You'd think she didn't have anything, but I'm not so sure."
"She's young."
"But sharp."
"Good for her. I spoke to Europol-they're going to give us a hand. They'll start by securing the borders- airport, customs, train stations-at the right time. No one will get through without careful scrutiny. When we're finished with Bolard this morning, we'll go to carabinieri headquarters; I want you to see the plan that Giuseppe has been organizing. We won't have many men, but I hope there'll be enough. Not that it should be too hard to tail a guy who can't talk."
"How do you think he'll get in touch with his people when he gets out?"
"I don't know, but if he does in fact belong to some organization, he'll have a contact address, someplace to go to-he'll have to go somewhere. Trojan Horse will get us there, don't you worry. You'll stay at headquarters to coordinate the operation."