Chris Kuzneski - Sign of the Cross

Anyway, he was about to ask Jones for his thoughts on the topic when his cell phone started to ring. Payne checked the caller ID and saw an unfamiliar number. An international number. He showed it to Jones, and he didn’t recognize it, either.

Payne asked, ‘Are you sure your encryption program will work?’

Jones nodded. Several weeks ago he placed a microchip in Payne’s phone that prevented it from being traced — something to do with tricking the relay stations into misinterpreting his signal location. Ultimately it prevented his cell phone from being used like a homing beacon. ‘The chip should buy you a minute. Maybe more. It all depends on who’s looking for you. To be safe, hang up within forty-five seconds.’

Payne hit the timer on his watch then answered the phone. ‘Hello?’

‘ Signor Payne? Is that you?’

He recognized the sound of Frankie’s voice. ‘Yes, it’s me.’

‘Oh, I so glad. I no sure you gonna answer the phone.’

‘No time for small talk, Frankie. This call can be traced.’

‘But this be important. Life or death.’

Payne glanced at his watch. ‘If I hang up, wait an hour before calling back. Got it?’

‘ Si , no problem. One hour.’

‘So, are you all right?’

‘ Si, signor , I be fine. It’s you and D.J. that I be worried about.’

‘Us? Why are you worried about us?’

‘I just learn something you not know.’

Twenty-five seconds left.

‘What’s that?’

‘I know why they kill your American friend.’

Payne raised an eyebrow. ‘Friend? You mean Barnes?’

‘Yes, the red-necked fat man. Is that how you say?’

Twenty seconds.

‘Frankie, I thought I told you to stay out of this. It’s not safe.’

‘Yes, and not for you either. I learn why they hide bodies.’

‘Bodies? What bodies? What are you talking about?’

‘When I look closer at film, I see them. There be two bodies at crash. One, two!’

‘Yeah, the pilot and the shooter.’

‘No, signor , not inside. Outside.’

Ten seconds.

‘Outside? What do you mean? Outside the chopper?’

‘ Si! Like they fell from cliff.’

‘There were four corpses? Two inside and two outside?’

Five seconds.

‘ Si! And you no believe who one of them be!’

‘Who? Tell me who!’

‘I go to police station and I — ’

‘The names!’ Payne demanded. ‘Tell me the names!’

Unfortunately, the second hand on his watch hit zero before Frankie could reply.

‘Shit!’ Payne cursed as he hung up the phone. He didn’t want to hang up, but he had to. It was either that or risk being found. ‘Why didn’t he say the damn — ’ Payne stopped his rant midstream and took a deep breath. It didn’t help that everyone was staring at him.

Jones asked, ‘What did Frankie say?’

Payne focused on Boyd and Maria, hoping to catch their reaction. ‘It turns out Dr Boyd’s toolbox was more deadly than we thought. Frankie put Barnes’s photographs under the microscope and discovered four people had died. Two in the chopper and two on the rock face.’

Maria said, ‘But that doesn’t make sense. Why were they there if they had a helicopter?’

‘They were coming to kill you, up close and personal.’

‘But the guy in the chopper had the gun.’

‘Don’t kid yourself, Maria. They all had guns.’ Payne grabbed a sheet of paper and made a simple diagram. ‘Classic two-by-two formation. The men on the cliff were the assault team. The watchdogs in the chopper were backups.’ He drew a few more lines. ‘They planned to enter the Catacombs, making sure that they silenced you. It’s a good thing that Dr Boyd heard the chopper, otherwise they would’ve picked you off and left you to rot with all the others.’

‘But how did they — ’

‘Yeah,’ Payne said. ‘If your discovery was such a secret, who told them you were there?’

Boyd looked at Payne, speechless. So did Maria.

Jones said, ‘Back in Milan, you told us that you had permission to dig in Orvieto. Yet our friend said it was common knowledge that Benito Pelati — ’ He looked at Maria. ‘Your dad wouldn’t grant access to anyone… I take it you sweet-talked your old man.’

Maria blushed. ‘I did no such thing. I’d never ask him for a favor. Ask Dr Boyd. He wanted me to call him the moment we got to Milan, but I refused. I’d rather die than go to him for help.’

‘That’s a definite possibility if we don’t find out who’s after you.’ Payne stared at Boyd, who looked frazzled. ‘Doc, how’d you get the digging permit? Or was that just a big ol’ lie? You didn’t you have one, did you?’

Sheepishly, Boyd glanced at Maria. ‘I swear to you, if I had known about the acrimony with your father, I never would’ve used your name to…’

‘What?’ Her eyes filled with anger. ‘You used my name for what? ’

‘To secure the permit.’

She jumped out of her seat. ‘ Santa Maria! I don’t believe this!’

‘Maria, listen to me. I never talked to your father. I swear I didn’t. I tried to get the paperwork through the proper channels, but — ’

‘But what? You got turned down so you decided to use me!’

‘No, it wasn’t like that — ’

‘You swore that you invited me because I was your best student, not because of my name. Now I find out that was the only qualification you were looking for!’

‘Maria, I swear that wasn’t the — ’

Payne grabbed Boyd before he could say another word and eased him into the far corner. Meanwhile, Jones put his arm around Maria and tried to comfort her. It was a good move on his part because the last thing they needed was for her to start hating Boyd.

‘Doc,’ Payne said, ‘you can talk to her later, after she calms down. But right now I need you to focus on one thing. Who gave you permission to dig in Orvieto?’

‘What?’ he asked, distracted.

‘You said you never talked to Maria’s father about Orvieto. So who gave you the permit?’

Boyd blinked a few times. ‘Some chap named Dante who works for her father. I told him that Maria and I were looking to dig in Orvieto, and he said he’d take care of it. A week later he rang me and told me that he’d made all the necessary arrangements.’

‘So you never talked to Benito?’

‘No, I swear, Dante handled everything . The permits, the signatures, the guards. He cut through all the red tape for me in less than a week.’

‘And you’re sure the permit was authentic?’

‘Of course it was authentic. We were required to present the bloody thing the moment we arrived in Orvieto. Moreover, the guards double-checked it before we were allowed to dig. I’m telling you, we had permission to be there!’

Payne studied Boyd’s eyes and could tell that he was telling the truth. Up until now Payne kind of assumed that Benito Pelati was behind all the violence in Orvieto. He figured they were trying to keep the Catacombs a secret and had done everything in their power to stop Boyd and Maria from telling the world about their discovery. But since they had permission to dig, Payne no longer knew what to think. So he said, ‘What does your gut tell you about this?’

‘About what?’

‘About the violence. Who tried to kill you in Orvieto? Who blew up the bus?’

‘I have no idea.’

‘Come on, Doc. I don’t believe that for a second. You’re in the CIA, for God’s sake. You have to have a theory. The CIA always has a theory.’

Boyd shook his head. ‘Not this time. I’ve been too wrapped up in the mystery of the Catacombs to consider my personal safety. My sole focus has been on the scroll.’