揥hat does it say??he whispered to Kelsey.
揑n the fifty-second year after the birth of our Lord, this tomb is in honor of Mary, the Mother of God.?
The song ended. Silence reigned for a few seconds.
揥elcome,?he heard the abbess say.
And the older woman stood and turned.
As did the others in gray smocks, who divided themselves to one side, allowing him and Kelsey to step forward, close to the plinth.
揟his is the Chapel of the Maidens,?the abbess said.
He was beginning to understand. 揥hat just happened was all a dog-and-pony show. Theater. To convince Fuentes that he got what he came for.?
揚roverbs is instructive,?the abbess said. 揕ike a dog that returns to its vomit, is a fool who reverts to his folly.?
He grinned. 揂nd a fool he was.?
揟he quickest way to acquire a person抯 confidence,?the abbess said, 搃s by seemingly trusting them with what they think is your secret.?
Her expression seemed easy and calm, but she was intent on him, studying, judging. He stared around at the room. Everything had assumed a strange quality of unreality. 揌ow old is this place??
揑t was completed in 1204, right before the Albigensian Crusade,?the abbess said. 揟here was a real danger to us then. The pope sent an army to this region not only for the Cathars, but for us too. We were unsure what might happen, so the maidens of that time devised a clever plan. We kept the original tomb, as it was created in the first century, but replaced the bones with those of a maiden who抎 died hundreds of years before. She抎 rested in our cemetery. But, even in death, she was able to guard the Virgin. This room was forged out of an old cellar and the bones were brought and placed in that ossuary. Thankfully, the crusaders never came to this plateau. We escaped them entirely. But we were ready, just in case.?
He stepped close and saw an inscription on the ossuary抯 exterior. Faint in the stone, but still there.
揋reek for 慽tself to itself,挃 Claire said. 揟hose words were carved into the hollow of the original tomb. It was an epitaph, chosen at the time of Mary抯 death, that says it all. She lived and died and returned to dust, as all humans do. Of course, the women who left that were not interested in elevating Mary to any godlike status.?
揘one of which makes her any less holy,?Kelsey added. 揃ut it does make the men who made her into something more look foolish.?
揟hat it does,?the abbess said. 揥e are a place on a hill to which the world never comes. We would like to stay that way.?
The abbess pointed at the ossuary.
Below the epitaph was a symbol cut into the limestone.
揙mega,?the abbess said. 揑n the original tomb it was used as a way to covertly identify the occupant. For them, Mary was Omega. The end. The last vestige of Christ that remained on this earth. When this chapel was conceived, we created a plan, based on deception, playing off the wants and fears of those who might come here in search. It became our armor against failure. Twice before it was almost implemented. Today, it was finally used. We called it Omega.?
揑t was ingenious,?he said. 揂nd well played.?
揗aidens,?the abbess said. 揚lease excuse us. I need you to bring things to a close and secure the premises back to normal.?
All of the other women, except for Sister Claire, left the chamber and headed back up to ground level.
He entered the shallow apse and admired the wall niche where the urn rested.
揟hat抯 the other maiden,?Claire said. 揓oan. Brought here in 1431. Unfortunately, she抯 proven a bit of a problem. She抯 the reason all of this happened.?
揓an van Eyck,?the abbess said, 搘as the last person, not of this order, who knew some of our actions. He did not know a thing about the Blessed Virgin, but he helped us secure the ashes of the woman who came to be known as Joan of Arc. Then, for some inexplicable reason, he left a way for the world to find those ashes. We effectively hid that path for centuries, making moves on the Ghent Altarpiece, from time to time, through the centuries. But our luck ran out with the two of you. So we抳e decided to take you both into our confidence. Please do not make us regret it.?
He knew the comment was directed straight at him. He was the official eyes and ears in the room, and they were surely wondering what he was going to do. But he抎 already decided. 揑 won抰 say a word about any of this to anyone. It never happened.?
He caught the relief in both the abbess?and Claire抯 eyes.
Kelsey抯 too, and she mouthed, Thank you.
He still had some issues with the Ghent police in the matter of stealing a body. Hopefully, Reynaldo would handle that. But he was going to take a hit, especially after he told his boss there抎 been nothing to find.