Julia Navarro - The Brotherhood Of The Holy Shroud

"Whatever may be necessary to ensure the survival of our community."

"Even have Mendib murdered?"

"Is it you or I who has reached that conclusion?"

"I know you, and I know what you're capable of."

"Guner, you are the only friend I have ever had. I have never hidden anything from you; you know all the secrets of our community. But I realize now that you feel no affection for me whatever, and never have."

"You are wrong, Addaio, you are wrong. You were always good to me, from the first day I arrived at your house, when I was ten. You knew how it grieved me to leave my parents, and you did everything in your power to help me see them. I shall never forget how you would go to my family's house with me and let me spend the evening while you wandered through the countryside, taking your time so that your presence would not be a burden to us. I can never fault you for your behavior toward me. But your behavior toward the world, toward our community, the terrible pain you cause- that I cannot countenance."

Guner left the office and made his way toward the chapel. There, kneeling, he allowed his tears to wet his cheeks as he sought in the cross lying on the altar an answer to the questions that tormented him.

A.D. 944

Edessa was in flames. The cries of its people rose above the crash of burning timbers and the sounds of battle as the emperor's army began to engulf the city.

Why had God abandoned them?

The old bishop rose unsteadily to his feet as the towering commander of the emir's forces entered the chapel, his battle-weary face creased with regret. The Muslim defenders of the city had fought fiercely on the Christians' behalf, dying by the hundreds to preserve for Edessa the Mandylion of the great prophet Jesus, may Allah protect him.

But now there was no choice. The Mandylion must be surrendered. A great cry rose from the throng of Christians filling the church as the bishop moved forward to the altar and removed the precious cloth from the simple casket in which it had rested.

Then, with the elders of his community clustered around him, he made his way with halting steps to the waiting soldier and gave the carefully folded cloth over to him. They fell to their knees as the shroud of Jesus was taken from them, to begin its long journey from its ordained place in Edessa into the hands of the Emperor of Byzantium. They had broken their oath, the oath their forebears had died to uphold.

These men-descendants of the scribe Timeaus, the giant Obodas, Izaz the nephew of Josar, John the Alexandrine, and so many Christians who had sacrificed their lives for the Holy Shroud-would recover it, and if they did not, then their own children, and their children's children after them, if need be, would not rest until that mission had been accomplished.

They swore this before God, before the imposing wooden cross that hung above the altar, before the painting of the Blessed Mother, before the Sacred Scriptures.

"YOU'RE GETTING A LITTLE NEUROTIC ABOUT his, boss," Giuseppe complained as Marco brought up the subject of the Turin tunnels yet again. "We've studied the maps, and there's no tunnel that goes to the cathedral. Period."

"Listen, Giuseppe, these guys are going in and out through something other than the front door. The ground under Turin is like Swiss cheese. It's full of tunnels, and they're not all on the maps."

Sofia thought Marco was right. The cathedral intruders seemed to appear and disappear as though by magic, and without a trace.

Her boss had decided at the last moment that he'd go to Turin with them. The Minister of Culture had persuaded the Ministry of Defense to issue Marco a permit to explore the tunnels, including those closed to the public. On the army maps of Turin's subsurface infrastructure, there was no tunnel that led to the cathedral, but Marco figured the maps were wrong. With the help of a commander in the engineering section and fortifications specialists from the Pietro Micca regiment, he was going to explore the tunnels that were closed. He had signed a waiver exempting the army and the city government from all responsibility if he got himself killed or injured, and the minister had told him in no uncertain terms that he was not to endanger the lives of the men who accompanied him.

"Giuseppe," Sofia broke in, "we simply don't know what's under Turin. If we were to dig, God knows what we'd find. Some of the tunnels that run underneath the city have never been explored in modern times; others seem to go nowhere. The truth is, one of them might lead to the cathedral. It would be logical, after all-the city has been under siege how many times? And the cathedral has dozens of irreplaceable objects that the citizens would want to safeguard if the city was assaulted or conquered by an enemy."

Giuseppe fell silent. He knew when to give up.

They had checked into the Hotel Alexandra, near the historic old center of the city. The next day they would start working. Marco would go through the city's tunnels, Sofia had asked for an appointment with the cardinal, and Giuseppe was meeting with the city carabinieri to decide how many officers they'd need for the tail on the mute. But at the moment, at Marco's invitation, they were enjoying dinner at Al Ghibellin Fuggiasco, a classic, comfortable Turin restaurant known for its world-class seafood.

The second course had just been served when they were surprised by Padre Yves. The priest approached their table with a smile and shook everyone's hand warmly, as though he was delighted to see them.

"I didn't know you were coming to Turin too, Signor Valoni. The cardinal did tell me that Dottoressa Galloni would be visiting us-I believe you have an appointment with His Eminence tomorrow, dottoressa?"

"Yes, that's right," Sofia answered.

'And how is your investigation going? Well, I hope?" Marco nodded but said nothing as Padre Yves went on. "The work on the cathedral is finished, and the shroud is on view for the faithful once again. We have strengthened our security measures, and COCSA has installed a state-of-the-art fire control system. I don't think there'll be any further catastrophes now."

"I hope you're right, padre," said Marco.

"Yes, actually I do too. Well, I'll leave you. Buon appetite"

They watched him sit down at a nearby table, where a dark-haired young woman was waiting for him. Marco laughed.

"Know who that is with our good Padre Yves?"

"A good-looking girl, obviously-you gotta wonder about those priests," said Giuseppe in surprise.

"It's Ana Jimenez, Santiago's sister. Now it's my turn to go over and say hello!"

Marco crossed the floor, making his way over to them. Ana gave him a big smile and asked if he could spare a few minutes to speak with her when he had some time. She'd arrived in Turin four days ago.

Marco was noncommittal; he told her he'd be delighted to have coffee if he had time but he wasn't going to be in Turin very long. When he asked what hotel he might call to find her, Ana told him the Hotel Alexandra.

"What a coincidence. We're staying there too."

"My brother recommended it, and it's perfect for a few days."

"Well, then, I'm sure we'll find a minute to talk."

"She's staying at the Alexandra," he said when he rejoined Sofia and Giuseppe.

"No kidding! What a coincidence!"

"It's no coincidence. Santiago recommended it to her-I might have known. That's going to make it harder to avoid her."

"I'm not sure I want to avoid a good-looking thing like that!" Giuseppe said, laughing.

"Well, you will, and for two reasons: first, because she's a reporter and she's determined to find out what we're doing on the cathedral case, and second, because she's Santiago's sister and I don't want complications, all right?"