“We do not know Castillo’s motive for this crime and are investigating several possibilities. The most likely hypothesis relates to the fact that there are three other claimants to having relics purporting to be the head of Saint John the Baptist. This has long been an area of controversy: a debate over which relic is the true one.”
He looked up again. “That is all, thank you.”
Now the cardinal spoke again. “Brother Armagh, do you have any questions so far?”
Armagh tried to think. He had a million questions, but none seemed appropriate to ask at that time. “Not yet, Your Eminence.”
“Very well. I have conferred with the pope about this matter. He does not want a scandal or publicity. He does not want the Vatican police to bring the matter to the Italian authorities, Interpol, or the Americans. He would like to keep it quiet—for now. That, Brother Armagh, is where you come in.”
Armagh gave a slight bow of the head.
“You will travel to San Francisco and meet privately with Mr. Javier Castillo—and ask for the relic back.”
A silence fell as Armagh absorbed this surprise.
“His Holiness would like this to be accomplished quietly and with dignity. If Mr. Castillo will not cooperate, then we will escalate. His Holiness is concerned that if Mr. Castillo learns he’s under a criminal investigation, he might destroy the relic to cover his tracks. We would like to give him the opportunity to make things right, with no charges filed. That is where we need your help.”
“Yes, Your Eminence. But… what if he no longer has it?”
“We haven’t seen any evidence of it being passed along to a third party. But if he doesn’t have it in his possession, you willandrà a braccioand induce him to cooperate in its retrieval. Commissario Manicaldi here will brief you on the details of your assignment in the Biblioteca Cardinalium later this evening. All the arrangements for your mission have been made—flights, hotel, car, ample funds. You will go as yourself, Brother Armagh, and you will leave tomorrow morning. You will appeal to Mr. Castillo’s sense of fairness and his conscience, if he has one. You might also make clear to him the consequences of not cooperating—that he will be extradited to Italy and face trial here. We have security footage and additional evidence—everything we need to convict. He will face many years in prison. That, of course, is a last resort.”
The cardinal leaned forward, a scowl on his handsome face. “This is an opportunity for you, Brother Armagh, to redeem your order from the dishonor that has fallen upon it.”
“Thank you, Your Eminence. I greatly appreciate this opportunity.” Even though his face remained calm, inside, Brother Armagh was reeling. This was not a simple assignment, and there was no telling what this Castillo was really like, why he’d done what he did, or how he would react to being approached. The burden of redeeming Brother Armagh’s beloved order of Irish Pallottines was now on his shoulders. He couldn’t help but think a success could lead to his becoming Rector… or failure to his disgrace and his departure from Rome to some backwater posting.
Cardinal Collini rose, and now a smile broke out on his face for the first time, dramatically transforming it from chiseled severity to radiant blessedness. He went to Brother Armagh and clasped his hand in both of his, pressing it warmly. “Brother Armagh,” he said kindly, “I feel assured you will succeed at this important assignment. I know His Holiness shares my confidence in you. You know how to get along with Americans, how to interact with criminals and law enforcement alike. Handle this as you see right—we will not micromanage.”
He turned to leave, his cassock sweeping the ground, and the threepolicemen with him rose as well and followed. As Brother Armagh turned to the inspector who had escorted him, his eye fell once again on the gaggle of burning hunchbacks with their twisted, screaming faces, illuminated in the flickering candlelight—and he shuddered.
