Which had to be important.
揌as there been any indication, prior to this, of Cathar activity in your diocese??Fuentes asked.
揃eyond rumor, gossip, and lore? Nothing. They are the things of legend, here for tourists. Occasionally, from time to time, we hear of their possible presence. But nothing definitive.?
揂nd what do you know of them??
揊orgive me, Eminence, but I do not concern myself with a religion that disappeared six hundred years ago.?
揇isappear is such a generous word. More like the church extinguished them.?
揟he church did that to a lot of people. We were quite proficient in the art of killing.?
No sense mincing words. History was clear. Cathars had been slaughtered by the tens of thousands. The Waldensians, and other religious groups across southern Europe and northern Italy, were murdered at the same time too. Maybe as many as a million overall. The Spanish Inquisition tortured and killed untold numbers. During the fifteenth century, Hussites were slain by the thousands. In 1572 Pius V ordered the death of twenty thousand Huguenots. Nearly 40 percent of the Protestant population of Germany was killed by Catholics during the Thirty Years?War. And the Jews. They抎 been murdered indiscriminately by Christians for two millennia.
揑 am aware of your master抯 thesis,?Fuentes said. 搼A Statistical Analysis on the Use of Deadly Force by the Holy Roman Church from AD 1000 to AD 1900.挃
He was impressed. But his personnel file within the Vatican would surely contain a copy. All part of his work history, which would soon come under sharp scrutiny with his consideration for elevation.
揧ou checked me out before calling??he asked.
揊orce of habit.?
More red flags started to wave.
揕es Vautours,?Fuentes said, 揳re a subject that interests me. When you mentioned them in your call earlier, my office was alerted. That is why you are speaking to me and not them.?
揂re they some sort of radical, clandestine group? Would they have killed Father Tallard??
揤ultures in nature do not kill,?Fuentes said. 揟he group who took their name practices the same principle. So no, they would not have harmed anyone.?
He wanted to know, 揥hy is this happening to me??
揑 am wondering the same thing. My first impression is that there are two separate, but not mutually exclusive, motivations here. The dead priest and the Cathar implications seem directed at you. The vulture reference seems directed somewhere else. Until today, there has not been any indication of their presence for nearly two hundred years.?
Now he was intrigued. 揅are to explain that last statement??
揥e have been actively searching for this group for a long time, particularly since the 1930s. Some here thought they existed in secret, apart from society, cloistered away. Others believe they are hiding in plain sight, under another name, as another entity, right before us.?
揑 had no idea.?
揑抦 sure you did not,?Fuentes said. 揃ut while the vultures may be a shadow, that priest抯 corpse is real. The video you received is real. Clearly you have an enemy.?
揑 would say we have an enemy. But that enemy just eliminated a big problem.?
揂nd recorded a confession on video first. Hence why I think there are differing motivations here. You do realize, if this information goes public, that red hat you seek will prove elusive.?
揧ou are well informed.?
揟hat I am.?
Fuentes was right. If that video was sent to the media the damage would be irreparable. No containment possible. True, everything he抎 done had been with Rome抯 assent. But that would never be admitted, and, to save himself, he抎 be forced to challenge them with the evidence he抎 kept. Of course, that would end his clerical career. He抎 lose his archdiocese and be forced off into oblivion.
No one won in that scenario.
But he did not want to be the fall guy either.
Thankfully, it could be a while before Tallard抯 body was found. The man had no family, no friends. The deal had been for Tallard to stay out of sight and allow time to work its magic. Perhaps the witnesses might recant, forget, or die. So far that had proven a sound course. The murder itself would surely be chalked up as some sort of revenge killing. But that assumed the recorded confession did not surface.
揑 called to inform you that I am coming to Toulouse. I will be there tomorrow. In the meantime, I want you to keep me personally posted on any further developments. Here is my mobile number.?
Vilamur jotted it down. He had a million questions, but realized their talk, for now, was over. He抎 save them all for tomorrow. 揑 shall keep you informed, Eminence.?
揂nd one more thing, Archbishop.?
He waited.
揑 will be anxious to hear why this blackmailer is focused on you.?