Elizabeth sat at her desk drinking coffee. The morning briefing wasn't due to start for another hour and she was already on her third cup. Stephanie came in and poured herself a cup. She sat down next to the cat and breathed a sigh of relief.
"It always feels good to get off my feet." She sipped at her coffee. "How was dinner with Clarence last night?"
"Good. We went to that Thai restaurant over by Dupont Circle."
"How are things going with him?"
Clarence Hood was Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He and Elizabeth had been seeing each other. Stephanie thought something more than a casual relationship was developing between them.
"He's a wonderful man," Elizabeth said. "He's intelligent and charming, with a bit of that old South courtliness about him. He sends me flowers and little notes. It's something you'd hardly expect from someone in his position."
"Have you slept with him yet?"
"Steph!"
Elizabeth's milk white skin flushed pink.
"You have! I knew it."
"Only once. I'm not sure where it's going."
"It's wonderful. You deserve to have someone in your life."
"It's fun to be with him. I never thought I'd meet anyone again that I could get close to. I find myself holding back sometimes, out of habit."
"You should go for it," Stephanie said.
Elizabeth changed the subject.
"Let's talk about that tile. What have you found out so far?"
"I did a massive search for any records of a priest named Anastasius during the fourth century. I came across only one reference, on a document listing monks at Sumela Monastery."
"Where's that?"
"In Turkey. It was founded by Theodosius in 386 CE and that's one of the reasons I'm pretty sure it's the same man as the one on the tile. It makes sense he'd go to the monastery to get away from the turmoil surrounding the emperor's death."
"That's good work, Steph."
"There's no record of him after that, or what happened to him."
"We may need to go to Sumela to find out," Elizabeth said, "but Turkey is becoming a difficult place for us to operate."
"It may not be worth the trouble. The monastery was abandoned in 1923 when Christians were being persecuted by the Turkish government. There were forced population exchanges between Greece and Turkey, a lot of confusion and deaths. The monks had to leave and they weren't allowed to take anything with them. Sumela Monastery was famous for an icon of the Virgin that was supposed to perform miracles. They buried it under the floor of the chapel to hide it from the Turks."
"What happened to it?"
"A monk retrieved it ten years later, along with other things they'd hidden. They took everything to a monastery in Greece, in Macedonia."
"An icon that performed miracles."
"Well documented," Steph said. "The history of the monastery is filled with miraculous events, especially after Anastasius arrived there."
"Are you suggesting the Grail was responsible for miracles happening at that monastery?"
Steph shrugged. "Who knows? It doesn't really matter to someone who's healed."
"I didn't know you were a religious person, Steph."
"I wouldn't call myself religious, but I had a lot of time to think when I was in the hospital after those bastards shot up our car. It's nothing short of a miracle that Lucas and I are alive. I don't see any harm in thinking a higher power might have had something to do with it."
"The only problem with believing in a higher power is when you think it gives you the right to murder and torture in the name of God."
"What if the legends about the Grail are true? If was at the monastery that could explain the miraculous healings."
"Whether the legends are true or not, if Anastasius took the cup to Sumela and it still exists, the monks would have protected it. They might have hidden it with the icon. If they did, they would have taken it back to Greece."
"That's what I was thinking," Steph said.
"We know Hussein was ISIS. If you tracked down Anastasius, they can as well. By now they must know about the Grail. They'll send someone to Greece. That might not turn out well for the monks there."
"There aren't any monks there, even though it's called a monastery. It's only a church. Tourists and pilgrims go there to view the icon and pray. If the Grail is there, there's no sign of it."
Elizabeth looked at the row of clocks on the wall opposite her desk. It was twenty after seven in the morning, Virginia time.
"Everyone will be here soon. Can you find me some pictures of that monastery or church or whatever it is before they get here? Information on the area?"
"I thought you might want that," Steph said. "It's ready to put up on the monitor whenever you want it."
"What about that ring Selena described?"
"Now that's interesting. It's a ring worn only by members of a religious society in Italy."
"A religious society?"
"The Companions of the Holy Grail. It's been around since the Renaissance."
"The Grail again," Elizabeth said. "First the scrolls, then the tile and then a dead man with a ring, all with the Grail in common. It can't be a coincidence."
"The society seems to be pretty typical," Steph said. "A bit like a Rotary club and religious fraternity combined. They support charities, raise money for the church and get dressed up in fancy costumes a few times a year to march in parades."
"Anything else about them? Something that stands out?"
"Nothing in particular. The commander of the society is an old line Italian aristocrat named Mercurio who lives near Milan. He's an actual count. He's also rich."
"Where's the money come from?"
"Oil."
"Oil? I didn't know they had oil wells in Italy."
"Not that kind of oil. Mercurio's business processes most of the olive oil in the country."
Her computer signaled an encrypted transmission. Elizabeth opened the file. It was from Forsberg at KSI.
After she read it, Elizabeth said, "Talk about perfect timing. This is about Mercurio. He was negotiating with Bergstrom for the tile. The Swedish police found correspondence between them."
"We should talk with him."
"We will, but I want to check out the Greek connection first."
CHAPTER 20
Nick and Selena were first to arrive and Ronnie and Lamont came in soon after. Once everyone was settled, Stephanie put up a picture of a large, Greek church on the monitor.
"This is the Monastery of Panagia Soumela," Elizabeth said. "It's possible that the Grail was taken here. It's a monastery in name only, there aren't any monks or nuns."
"That building looks new," Nick said. "Why would the Grail be hidden there?"
"Steph traced the priest on the tile to a monastery in Turkey." She explained how a Turkish monastery had ended up in the mountains of Greece. "The church is famous for a miraculous icon that's supposed to have been painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist."
"How can it be a monastery if there aren't any monks?" Lamont asked.
"They wanted to keep the association with the original monastery in Turkey, like provenance for a rare painting. It helps everyone know the icon is authentic."
"Are you sending us there?" Nick asked.
"Yes."
"To look for the Grail?"
"Yes, but that's not the only reason."
"I never thought I'd be following in King Arthur's footsteps," Nick said.
"I love stories about King Arthur," Lamont said. "His knights are a kind of medieval special forces, always fighting their way out of trouble. Reminds me of us."
"The Grail would be a handy thing to have around if you got shot," Ronnie said. "I can think of times we could've used a miracle."
"Like Indiana Jones in the movie," Lamont said. "Remember? Harrison Ford poured water from the Grail onto Sean Connery after he'd been shot by the Nazi and it healed the wound."