揟hank you,?the older woman said. 揘ow please return to the convent immediately. Your services here are no longer required.?
She knew the correct reply. 揧es, ma抋m.?
揑s there a password required to access this machine??
She nodded.
揑 need it.?
She provided the information.
The older woman turned to leave, then hesitated and looked back. 揑抦 sorry this happened to you. Please know that I抦 doing what I can to make this difficult situation right. I hope you understand.?
She nodded.
And the prioress left.
She watched as the woman headed for the cathedral抯 main doors and exited, the laptop tucked safely under one arm. A moment later Nick walked over. He抎 been watching it all from another corner in the cathedral. She kept her eyes locked on the doors in the distance.
揧ou were right. She抯 connected to the Maidens of Saint-Michael.?And she told him everything, then said, 揝he sold me out. She sold the Just Judges out. She told the maidens about the images and where to find them. The only thing she didn抰 know was about you.?
揝he ask about copies??
She nodded. 揑 lied.?
Which had been difficult, but necessary. Hopefully, God would understand. Nick had suspected that the leak was close to home. The curator and Monsieur de Foix had both requested copies of the images, so it made no sense that either would have harmed the panel. That narrowed the leak down to the only other person who knew of her discovery. So they抎 uploaded a copy of the images to a CLIO server, safe behind a firewall and password-protected file, then erased them from the laptop. Nick had also activated the Find My Computer option, so they were now able to track the laptop抯 journey.
She turned and faced him. 揥hat抯 going on here??
揟hat抯 hard to say. But I think we抮e on the right path to finding out.?
Chapter 25
Toulouse
Archbishop Vilamur was back in his residence. He抎 fled the farmhouse, leaving Father Tallard抯 body for others to find. He抎 been extremely careful inside, touching nothing other than the two crosses, which he抎 brought back with him. No way he was going to leave those for the authorities to find. Bad enough that a pedophile priest had been strapped down and murdered, he could not afford the sensationalism that either one of those artifacts would generate in the media. Adding to his misery a new text message had come through his phone as he was driving back. From an Unknown Number. He抎 pulled over to the side of the highway and tapped the screen.
Beware. Les Vautours still live. As do the Cathars.
Les Vautours?
The vultures. What in the world were they?
He抎 never heard of them.
He decided that he had no intention of taking this heat by himself. Every single thing he抎 done regarding Father Tallard had been approved by the Vatican, and he had the emails to prove it. Not once had he made a decision independent of them. He抎 followed Rome抯 orders to the letter. So he reached for the rectory抯 landline and dialed Italy. After a staff member in the Vatican took his call, he explained the situation, in abbreviated form, expressed a desire to talk with the presiding official, and hung up.
Twenty minutes later the phone rang.
揟his is Hector Cardinal Fuentes,?the voice said in English, laced with Spanish inflection. 揑 understand you have a problem.?
He was taken aback. He抎 called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the department within the Curia that dealt with clergy sex abuse complaints. Fuentes had nothing to do with that. Instead, he headed the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology. Pius IX created the commission in 1852 to care for the Roman catacombs and conduct explorations, research and study so as to safeguard all of the oldest mementos from the early Christian church. Talk about broad. That could pretty much include anything and everything. He only knew of Fuentes thanks to his own interest in church archaeology.
揑 don抰 have a problem, Eminence. We have a problem. But what does that have to do with your area of expertise? And how are you even aware of the situation??
揑 received a call from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. They apprised me of your communication.?
揟hat answers one of my inquiries. What of the other??
揧ou mentioned les Vautours. Do you know what that is??
揑 have not the faintest idea. Could you enlighten me??
揑 can. But I choose not to at the moment, and I would ask your patience.?
He realized he had no choice. 揙f course, Eminence. I am at your disposal.?
Another smart play. He knew that Fuentes was part of the pope抯 inner circle. One of half a dozen cardinals who acted as an unofficial papal cabinet. Angering or irritating him would not be smart. The man had involved himself in this quagmire for a reason.