Julia Navarro - The Brotherhood Of The Holy Shroud

When he was alone, with trembling hands Renaud de Vichiers took from the sack the coffer that held the Mandylion. He felt his senses almost overwhelmed by emotion, for he was about to see the face of Jesus, the Christ.

He unfolded the cloth and fell to his knees and prayed, giving thanks to God for having allowed him to contemplate this miracle.

It was dusk on the day after the arrival of Robert de Saint-Remy and Francois de Charney when the Grand Master called all the knights of the order into the chapter's grand hall. There on a long table lay the Mandylion, at full length. One by one, they passed before the shroud of Christ, and some of those hardened knights could hardly contain their tears. After prayers, Renaud de Vichiers explained to his brothers that the grave cloth of Jesus would be placed in a cask, hidden from prying eyes. It was the most precious jewel of the order's possessions, and they were to defend it with their lives.

Gathered together, the knights swore a sacred oath: No matter what transpired, until death and after, they would never reveal where the shroud was held. Its very possession would become one of the great secrets of the Order of the Knights Templar.

MINERVA, P1ETRO, AND ANTONINO HAD AR-rived in Turin on the first plane that morning, and Marco invited the team to lunch.

They were just finishing when Sofia's cell phone rang. When she recognized the voice on the other end, she blushed and got up and left the room. Pietro's tension was evident when she returned. He had become increasingly nasty. But she knew that as long as she worked in the Art Crimes Department she'd have to deal with him, which just reconfirmed her decision to move on as soon as they'd closed this case.

"Marco, it was D'Alaqua. He invited me to join him tomorrow at some sort of farewell luncheon for Dr. Bolard and the rest of the scientific committee."

'And you said yes, I hope," Marco replied.

"No," Sofia answered. "Tomorrow is our general run-through with the whole team-I thought I was supposed to coordinate everything."

"Yeah, but that would have been a golden opportunity to check out the scientists again, especially Bolard."

"Well, we put it off until the day after tomorrow, although the scientists won't be there."

Everyone looked at her in surprise, and Marco couldn't suppress a smile.

He called for the check, and the conversation turned to the details of the upcoming operation.

A few kilometers out of Turin, the car D'Alaqua had sent turned down a small road that ended in front of an imposing Renaissance-style palazzo surrounded by woods. Sofia had dressed simply, in jeans and a casual jacket, her hair pulled into a ponytail. She had wanted to underscore the working nature of the lunch but now began to regret not having made more of an effort.

The gate opened automatically as the car approached it. She couldn't spot the security cameras but figured they were everywhere.

Umberto D'Alaqua was waiting for her at the door, wearing an elegant dark gray silk suit. He greeted her warmly and smiled when she complimented him on the loveliness of his home. "I asked you here because I knew you would enjoy the paintings," he said as he led her through an imposing entrance hall.

The palazzo was a museum, a museum turned into a house. For more than an hour they wandered through room after room, all boasting impressive works of art hung with intelligence and superb taste.

Over a long lunch they talked animatedly about art, politics, literature. The time passed so quickly that Sofia was shocked when D'Alaqua excused himself, saying that he had to get to the airport for a seven o'clock flight to Paris.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I've kept you," she apologized.

"Not at all, not at all. It's not six yet, and if I didn't have to be in Paris tonight, I'd ask you to stay for dinner. I'll be back in ten days. If you are still in Turin, I'd like to see you again."

"I'm not sure… By then we may have finished or be close to it."

"Finished?"

"With the investigation."

"Oh, yes! How's it going?"

"Fine. We're in the final phase, I think."

"Have you reached any conclusions?"

"Well…" Sofia paused uncomfortably.

"Don't worry," D'Alaqua broke in, waving the question away with a smile. "I understand. When you've finished your work and everything is cleared up, you can tell me about it."

Sofia was relieved. Marco had absolutely forbidden her to tell him anything, and although she no longer shared her chief's suspicions about D'Alaqua, she would never disobey his direct order.

Two cars were waiting at the door. One would take Sofia back to the Hotel Alexandra and the other would drive D'Alaqua to the airport, where his private plane was waiting. He pressed her hand warmly and held it for a moment as he settled her into her car.

"Why do they want to kill him?" the capo asked his informant.

"I don't know. They've been planning it for days. They're trying to bribe a guard to leave his cell door open, along with theirs. The plan is to go in tomorrow night, slit his throat, and get back to their cell with no one the wiser. Nobody'11 know-mutes don't scream."

"Will the guard take the bribe?"

"Probably. I heard it's fifty thousand euros."

"Jesus! Who else knows about this?"

"Two other prisoners. Turks, like them."

"Okay, get out of here."

"What about my money?"

"You'll get paid."

Frasquello was thoughtful. Why would the Bajerai brothers want to kill the guy? A murder for hire, sure- but who was hiring?

He sent for his lieutenants, two mafioso serving life sentences for murder. The three met for about half an hour. Then he asked a guard to send for Genari.

The head guard entered the capo's cell after midnight. Frasquello was watching television and didn't move when he heard Genari come in.

"Sit down, and keep quiet. Tell your cop friend he was right. They're going to kill the mute."

"Who?"

"The Bajerais."

"But why?" Genari asked in surprise.

"How the fuck should I know! And why should I care? I'm doing my part-tell him he better do his."

The capo spoke in low tones for a few minutes more, filling in the guard on what he had learned.

Genari left the cell and hurried to his office, where he dialed Marco Valoni's cell phone number.

"Signor Valoni, it's Genari."

Marco looked at the clock-past midnight. He was tired. Yesterday they'd done a run-through of the operation that would swing into action as soon as the mute was released from prison. Today he'd gone back to inspect some of the tunnels under Turin again, and for two hours he'd wandered around, tapping on walls, listening for hollow spots. Comandante Colombaria, making a great show of patience, had come along, continuing to insist there was nothing to find.

"You were right, they're going to try to kill the tongue less guy." The guard was clearly agitated.

"Tell me everything."

"Frasquello's people say that two Turks, the Bajerai brothers, are going to take care of him tomorrow night. They're throwing a lot of money around. We might be able to stop it this time, but we can't protect him for long with that kind of money in play. You need to get him out of here as soon as possible."

"We can't. He'd suspect there was something going on, and the whole operation would go to shit. Will Frasquello do his job?"

"He already is-he told me to remind you to do yours."

"I will. Are you at the prison?"

"Yes."

'All right. I'm going to call the warden. I'll be there in an hour-I want all the information you've got on those two brothers."

"They're Turks. Good boys, really. They killed a guy in a fight, but they're not murderers-not professionals, anyway."

"You can tell me about it when I get there. One hour."