Ashwin Sanghi - The Rozabal Line

Items starting with ‘CWML’ were located on level F in the Special Collections Reading Room. The extremely efficient Barbara Poulson headed towards level F, where she started moving in reverse serial towards CWML 1220.

CWML 1224… CWML 1223… CWML 1222… CWML 1221… CWML 1219… Where was CWML 1220?

In place of the book was a perfect square, crimson box about twelve inches in length, width and height. It had a small, white label pasted on the front that simply read ‘CWML 1220’.

Barbara was puzzled, but she had no time in her efficient and orderly world to ponder over things for too long. She lifted the box off the shelf, placed it on the nearest reading desk and lifted off the cardboard lid to reveal the perfectly preserved head of Professor Terry Acton, neatly severed at the neck. On his forehead was a yellow Post-it that read ‘Mark 16:16’.

The cool and extremely efficient Barbara Poulson grasped the edge of the desk for support before she fainted and fell to the floor.

The passage Mark 16:16 of the New Testament reads as follows: He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Waziristan was no-man’s-land, a rocky and hilly area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, and a law unto itself. Even though Waziristan was officially part of Pakistan, it was actually self-administered by Waziri tribal chiefs, who were feared warriors, as well as being completely indomitable and conservative.

The presence of the lanky, olive-skinned man wearing a simple white turban, camouflage jacket and holding a walking cane in his left hand was a little out of place in this region. The man was extremely soft-spoken and gentle in his ways. His overall demeanour was that of an ascetic, not a warrior. So what was he doing in this harsh land where swords and bullets did most of the talking?

He was sitting inside a cave on a beautiful Afghan rug. His few trusted followers sat around him drinking tea. He was talking to them. ‘As for the World Trade Center attack, the people who were attacked and who perished in it were those controlling some of the most important positions in business and government. It wasn’t a school! It wasn’t someone’s home. And the accepted view would be that most of the people inside were responsible for backing a terrible financial power that excels in spreading worldwide mischief!’ [3]

‘Praise be to Allah!’ said one of the followers excitedly.

‘We treat others merely like they treat us. Those who kill our women and our innocent, we kill their women and innocent until they desist.’

‘But Sheikh, we have already achieved a sensational victory. What else is left to achieve?’ asked one of his followers.

‘We started out by draining their wealth through costly wars in Afghanistan. We then destroyed their security through attacks on their soil. We shall now attack the only thing that is left-their faith.’

‘How?’ wondered the followers.

‘Ah! I have a secret weapon,’ said the Sheikh in his usual hushed voice.

Popes had ruled most of the Italian peninsula, Rome included, for over a millennium, until 1870. Disputes between the Pope and Italy had been settled by Mussolini in 1929 through three Lateran Treaties, which had established the Stato della Città del Vaticano, more commonly known as Vatican City. It instantly became the world’s smallest state, with an area of just 0.44 square kilometres.

His Eminence Alberto Cardinal Valerio was just one among 921 other national citizens of the Holy See but was extremely important among the 183 cardinals.

He now sat in his office wearing his black simar with scarlet piping and scarlet sash around his waist. The bright scarlet symbolised the cardinal’s willingness to die for his faith. To die or to kill , thought His Eminence.

He picked up the sleek Bang & Olufsen BeoCom-4 telephone that contrasted dramatically with his Murano antique desk and asked his secretary to send in his visitor.

The young woman who entered his office had delicate features and flawless skin. It was evident that she possessed a beautiful blend of European and Oriental features. Her bright eyes shone with fervent devotion and she knelt before His Eminence.

‘Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been a year since my last confession.’

‘Go ahead, my child,’ whispered His Eminence. He motioned for her to talk by waving his podgy hand. On his ring finger sat a pigeon-blood-red Burmese ruby of 10.16 carats.

Swakilki began. ‘I severed the professor’s head and left it in the library as a lesson to those who mock the sanctity of Christ’s suffering. He deserved it for his blasphemy.’

‘And are you repentant for this terrible sin?’

‘Oh, my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.’

His Eminence pondered over what she had said for a few seconds before he spoke. ‘May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you; and by His authority I absolve you from every bond of excommunication… I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Passio Domini nostri Jesu Christi, merita Beatae Mariae Virginis et omnium sanctorum, quidquid boni feceris vel mail sustinueris sint tibi in remissionem peccatorum, augmentum gratiae et praemium vitae aeternae. ’ [4]

Valerio made the sign of the cross and looked squarely at the young woman. Swakilki looked up at the cardinal. He was seated on a large leather sofa in the luxurious office.

‘Do you reject sin so as to live in the freedom of God’s children?’ asked Valerio.

‘I do,’ replied Swakilki.

‘Do you reject Satan, father of sin and prince of darkness?’

‘I do.’

‘Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?’

‘I do.’

‘Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?’

‘I do.’

‘Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?’

‘I do.’

‘Then it is time to eliminate all those who make people believe otherwise. Now listen carefully…’

In 1844 Johannes Baur opened his second hotel in Zurich, right beside the lake and with an open view of the mountains. The hotel would soon become one of the most luxurious hotels of Zurich, the Baur au Lac.

Nestled within one of the deluxe suites of the Baur au Lac, with a beautiful view of Lake Zurich, sat Brother Thomas Manning. He was quite obviously a very valued regular patron. Why else would the hotel specifically stock Brunello di Montalcino, his favourite Tuscan wine?

There was a discreet knock at the door. The brother commanded in fluent German, ‘ Kommen sie herein !’ and the door opened.

The visitor was a thin, spectacled man.

Mr Egloff was the investment advisor from Bank Leu, the oldest Swiss bank in the world. Bank Leu had started out as Leu et Compagnie in 1755 under its first chairman, Johann Jacob Leu, the mayor of Zurich. The bank’s clients had soon included European royalty such as the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. [5]

‘Herr Egloff, under instructions from His Eminence Alberto Cardinal Valerio, I require a sum of ten million dollars to be transferred from the Oedipus trust to the Isabel Madonna trust,’ said Brother Manning.