“I’m on holiday,” protested Gabriel. “And I’m supposed to be back in Tel Aviv in a week.”
“Leaving you just enough time to find out who killed the Holy Father before the beginning of the conclave. For all intents and purposes, it’s already begun. Most of the men who will choose the next pope are holed up at the Casa Santa Marta.” The Domus Sanctae Marthae, or Casa Santa Marta, was the five-story clerical guesthouse at the southern edge of the city-state. “I can assure you those red-hatted princes aren’t talking about the sporting news over dinner each night. It is imperative we find out who was behind the murder of my master before they file into the Sistine Chapel and the doors are locked behind them.”
“With all due respect, Luigi, you have absolutely no proof Lucchesi was murdered.”
“I haven’t told you everything I know.”
“Now might be a good time.”
“The missing letter was addressed to you.” Donati paused. “Now ask me about the Swiss Guard who was on duty outside the papal apartments that night.”
“Where is he?”
“He left the Vatican a few hours after the Holy Father’s death. No one’s seen him since.”
8
Ristorante Piperno, Rome
Gabriel was momentarilydistracted by the man who wandered into thecampoas the waiters were clearing away the first course. He wore dark glasses and a hat and carried a nylon rucksack over one square shoulder. Gabriel reckoned he was of northern European stock, German or Austrian, perhaps a Scandinavian. He paused a few meters from their table as if to take his bearings—long enough for Gabriel to calculate the length of time it would take to draw the Beretta lodged against the small of his back. He drew his phone instead and snapped the man’s photograph as he was leaving the square.
“Let’s start with the letter.” Gabriel returned the phone to his breast pocket. “But why don’t we skip the part where you claim not to know why Lucchesi was writing it.”
“I don’t,” Donati insisted. “But if I were to guess, it concerned something he found in the Secret Archives.”
L’Archivio Segreto Vaticano, the Vatican Secret Archives, was the central repository for papal documents related to matters of both religion and state. Located near the Vatican Library in the Belvedere Palace, it contained an estimated fifty-three miles of shelf space, much of it in fortified underground bunkers. Among its many treasures wasDecet Romanum Pontificem, Pope Leo X’s 1521 papal bull ordering the excommunication of a troublesome German priest and theologian named Martin Luther. It was also the final resting place of much of the Church’s dirtiest laundry. Early in Lucchesi’s papacy, Gabriel had worked with Donati and the Holy Father to release diplomatic and other documents related to Pope Pius XII’s conduct during World War II, when six million Jews were systematically murdered, often by Roman Catholics, with scarcely a word of protest from the Holy See.
“The Archives are regarded as the personal property of the papacy,” Donati continued. “Which means a pope is allowed to see anything he wants. The same is not true for his private secretary. In fact, I wasn’t always allowed to know the nature of the documents he was reviewing.”
“Where did he do his reading?”
“Sometimes theprefettowould bring documents to the papal apartments. But if they were too fragile or sensitive, the Holy Father would review them in a special room inside the Archives, with theprefettostanding just outside the door. Perhaps you’ve heard of him. His name is—”
“Cardinal Domenico Albanese.”
Donati nodded.
“So Albanese was aware of every document that passed through the Holy Father’s hands?”
“Not necessarily.” An unrepentant smoker, Donati removed a cigarette from an elegant gold case and tapped it against the cover before lighting it with a matching gold lighter. “As you might recall, His Holiness developed serious sleeping problems late in his papacy. He was always in bed at the same time each evening, about half past ten, but he rarely stayed there long. On occasion he was known to visit the Secret Archives for a bit of nocturnal reading.”
“How did he get documents in the middle of the night?”
“He had a secret source.” Donati’s eye was caught by something over Gabriel’s shoulder. “My God, is that—”
“Yes, it is.”
“Why doesn’t she join us?”
“She’s busy.”
“Watching your back?”
“And yours.” Gabriel asked about the missing Swiss Guard.
“His name is Niklaus Janson. He recently completed his required two-year term of service, but at my request he agreed to remain for an additional year.”
“You liked him?”
