Von Hei?en ran his hands over the first of the skulls. Centuries ago, the racks had been drenched in drying blood, the stench of death heavy in the air, but now every skull was creamy smooth and yellowed with age. ‘Look at the size of them! Aryan!’
Father Ehrlichmann reached into his canvas satchel for a pair of sliding callipers. ‘An index of around seventy-five,’ he announced after he’d finished measuring the first skull. ‘Unusually broad, but I think Reichsfuhrer Himmler will be pleased.’
Again, Levi said nothing. Ehrlichmann might be an acknowledged authority on the dubious science of craniometry, he thought, but like von Hei?en, Ehrlichmann seemed unaware of ancient Mayan customs.
A week later, the Junkers returned on the first of its weekly resupply runs. Levi leaned back in the canvas chair outside his tent and looked towards the skies, his spirits lifting. Perhaps there would be a letter from Ramona. The aircraft circled the clearing in the jungle and then disappeared before lining up for its final approach.
Inside the plane, il Signor Alberto Felici tugged nervously at his large black moustache. Beads of sweat ran down his pale, pudgy face. He detested flying, and the DC-2 flight from Rome to Guatemala City, followed by the flight from Guatemala City in the Junkers, had done nothing to lessen his apprehension. Felici maintained a fierce grip on the armrest, but he needn’t have worried. Under the patient tutelage of Oberst Krueger, Leutnant Muller eased the Junkers onto the rough strip, turned at the far end and taxied back. He cut the power and the propellers phutted to a stop in quick succession.
Levi watched as a bald-headed, portly little man dressed in a fawn safari suit and carrying a large leather briefcase descended from the Junkers. Von Hei?en and Father Ehrlichmann were waiting to welcome him. They disappeared into von Hei?en’s tent and Levi wondered who would take the trouble to travel to such a remote part of the world, but he was not left wondering for long. The visitor, accompanied by Father Ehrlichmann, emerged almost immediately and they both headed in Levi’s direction.
‘Il Signor Felici is an advisor to Pope Pius XI,’ Father Ehrlichmann enthused after he’d made the introductions, ‘and he’s here on a fact-finding mission at the personal direction of Cardinal Pacelli, the Cardinal Secretary of State.’
‘Why would the Vatican be interested in the Maya?’ Levi asked politely after Ehrlichmann had left.
‘May I call you Levi?’ Felici asked smoothly. Levi smiled and nodded. ‘And I’d be grateful if we could keep our conversations confidentiaclass="underline" the Nazi machine is not always to be trusted.’
Levi nodded again. Perhaps, at last, he had a friend in court.
‘The possible existence of a Maya codex has not gone unnoticed in the Vatican. Bishop de Landa’s burning of the Mayan libraries was a terrible loss to civilisation, and although the Vatican will never publicly admit to any involvement, privately, the support for this expedition is in recognition of a grave injustice.’
‘It will take a lot more than that to make amends, Signor Felici. Imagine the outcry if the Maya had invaded Rome and burned all the public libraries and art museums!’
‘It’s been a painful lesson,’ Felici agreed, ‘and one that should not be forgotten, but in the meantime I’d very much appreciate a briefing on your progress.’
‘What do you expect this codex to contain?’ Felici asked after Levi had dismissed the Nazi’s craniometry theories and brought the papal envoy up to speed on the expedition’s findings.
‘The Nazis think it will provide proof of a link between the Aryans and the Maya, but I think they’re wrong. The Maya were amongst the greatest astronomers of the ancient world, and from my study of their hieroglyphics, I’m convinced they’re trying to warn us of a rare planetary alignment that will occur in 2012. It won’t affect you or I, of course, but anyone who’s alive in 2012 will need to prepare against the full force of the cosmos. And there may be a link between the warning in the codex and the warnings of the Virgin at Fatima, which makes me wonder why the three secrets the Virgin entrusted to the children at Fatima have been suppressed. Are they just a threat to the papacy, or do they speak of the annihilation of our civilisation?’
‘I wasn’t aware they had been suppressed,’ Felici replied, feigning surprise.
‘The Maya predicted the Marian appearance at Fatima, a thousand years before the secrets were transcribed,’ Levi continued, searching Felici’s face for any reaction.
‘How?’
Levi smiled enigmatically. ‘They left a warning on a stela which was found not far from here. We still have a lot to learn about the Maya, Signor Felici. We’re only scratching the surface. Astronomers have now confirmed their predictions for 2012, down to the last second. If humankind is to have any chance of responding, it’s vital this codex be found.’
Von Hei?en poured another generous shot of whisky into his tumbler.
‘Whisky, Signor?’ von Hei?en offered Felici, who had returned to von Hei?en’s tent.
‘Thank you, Herr Sturmbannfuhrer. You’re well set up out here.’
‘I like to think so, and, please, it’s Karl,’ von Hei?en replied, conscious of Himmler’s dictum to treat the papal envoy well. ‘So, what did the Professor have to say?’
‘He’s convinced the lost Maya Codex exists, although I wouldn’t trust him, Karl. He is, after all, a Jew,’ Felici intoned, raising his glass. ‘ Prost.’
‘Yes, but don’t worry, we’re watching him very closely. Prost! Did he give you any idea what the codex might contain?’
Felici shook his head. ‘Other than being convinced it’s here somewhere, he was very vague, Karl. But if he does find it, I’d be very grateful if we could discuss it before any release to the wider world.’
‘Of course. We’re on the same side here. And how are things at the Vatican? I gather the Pontiff is not well.’
‘Deteriorating rapidly, I’m afraid,’ Felici agreed.
‘Any word on his likely replacement?’
‘Are you a betting man, Karl?’
Von Hei?en smiled. ‘I’ve been known to have the odd wager, Signor.’
‘Then I’d put your money on the Cardinal Secretary of State, Eugenio Pacelli. If Pacelli’s elected, it’ll be a great boost for German-Vatican relations… The Cardinal Secretary of State is quite well disposed towards your Fuhrer.’ Felici was stretching the truth a little. Pacelli, he knew, had serious reservations, but the concordat between Hitler and the Vatican had greatly strengthened the power of the Holy Church in Germany, and Pacelli saw the Nazis as offering the best hope against the advancing tide of Communism.
‘We should stay in touch,’ von Hei?en opined, as he farewelled Felici from his tent. ‘Your proposal for a new Vatican Bank sounds very interesting. I’ve received word from Reichsfuhrer Himmler himself that once this expedition is concluded, I will most likely be posted to Mauthausen in Austria. If you’re ever in Vienna, I know some excellent restaurants.’
Felici nodded, slightly unsteady on his feet. ‘I’m in Vienna two or three times a year on business, so I’ll look forward to that. Gute Nacht und danke schon.’ Felici weaved his way towards his own tent, reflecting on the powerful forces gathering to Italy’s north, and von Hei?en’s impeccable connections to the highest levels of the Reich.
Von Hei?en reached for his diary and began to record the day’s events in characteristic detail.
Levi felt frustrated. In the nearly three months they’d been at Tikal, despite having sent several messages via the local villagers, Roberto Arana had not made contact. Levi leaned back in his canvas chair and looked out through the tent flap across the red-dirt airstrip. The day before, he’d received word to join the elders in the local village for a meal, and he wondered if Arana might at last appear tonight. In the time they’d been here, 129 skulls had been collected from around the ball court. Father Ehrlichmann had meticulously measured each one and made copious notes. And in that time Levi had also received several letters from Ramona, letters he was convinced had been opened. Levi was more homesick than ever for her touch, her laughter, and he worried about her safety and the safety of the children. He re-read the last paragraph of the letter he’d received earlier in the week.