揂nd who is we??
揑 am of the Dominicans,?Dwight said. 揟he insult the mother superior hurled, her reference to hounds, draws on the story that Saint Dominic抯 mother, while pregnant with him, had a vision of a black-and-white dog with a torch in its mouth. Supposedly, wherever the dog went, it set fire to the earth. That vision was fulfilled when Dominic, and his followers, went forth, clad in black and white, setting fire to the earth with the Gospel. A hound is loyal, and we Dominicans have a reputation as obedient servants of the faith.?
揂nd the cross around your neck??
揙ur symbol. Revealed here,?Dwight said, 搒o the maidens understand that we are not a fraud.?
He抎 already underestimated one religious group, and he wasn抰 about to make the same mistake twice. So he calmly asked, 揥here are the other maidens??
Dwight motioned toward the corridor leading out of the foyer.
He headed in that direction, assuming that the others were in the hall he抎 spotted during his first visit. Some sort of dining room and gathering spot. He entered and saw more of the older women, two he recognized from the hotel along with the two younger ones. All of them wore the same gray smocks and veils. Another man, with a cross around his neck too, watched over them.
揝atisfied??Dwight asked him. 揥hat did you think? They were in some sort of danger? I am a friar of the church, not a thug.?
揟hat抯 open to debate,?one of the younger maidens said, the one with the bruised face.
Dwight pointed a finger her way. 揧ou should watch your words.?
Actually, Nick thought, you should watch yours. That woman can hurt you.
揥hat are you doing here??he asked Dwight.
揑抳e been sent to conduct an investigation.?
Now he was intrigued. 揃y who??
揟he Vatican,?the mother superior quickly said.
And he saw the concerned faces of the other maidens. This was apparently not a good thing.
揟hat抯 correct,?Dwight said. 揗y mission is one of long standing. Perhaps, finally, we may know the truth, the life. Veritas Vita.?
揑s that supposed to mean something??he asked.
揟o you? No. But to these maidens. Absolutely.?
Something major was happening here.
And bad.
揟hese women say you know where the laptop computer they managed to steal last night is located,?Dwight said. 揙ne of their own was killed by the police in the process.?
This guy had some good intel. The question was, how much did he really know?
Nick tried to recall what he could about Dominicans from his grade-school exposure, as a Protestant, to Catholicism. Founded in the early thirteenth century by a Spanish priest named F閘ix de Guzm醤， who came to be known as Brother Dominic. The order preached the Gospel, opposed heresy, and served as teachers at the forefront of medieval intellectual life. Some called them black friars because of the black cloak they wore over white habits. Also, they抎 once sported a distinctive hairstyle. A tonsure. The scalp shaved smooth to a perfect bald cap. In books and movies they were always the scary ones in the dark robes who did all sorts of sinister things.
But that was fiction. Right?
Dwight reached into his pocket and found a cell phone. He tapped the screen then displayed it to him. On it he saw an image he recognized.
揟hat was taken from the left shoulder of the dead woman from last night,?Dwight said.
揂nd how did you gain access to the body??he asked.
揟he church has many friends in Ghent,?one of the friars said with an annoying grin.
揇o you know its significance??Dwight asked.
揘ot a clue.?
揚erhaps I should be asking that question to the maidens here in the room.?Dwight held the image up and displayed it to them. 揇o you recognize this??
No one spoke.
揑 wouldn抰 think you抎 admit to a thing,?Dwight said. Then he motioned and the two other friars grabbed the younger maiden with the bruised face, the one who抎 insulted Dwight. Nick and the other maidens moved to help, but Dwight displayed a gun, aimed straight at them.
They froze.
揑s that standard issue at the monastery??he asked Dwight.
揑t is today. Now, all of you, step away.?
No one moved.
And he brought the gun level to make his point clearer, cocking the hammer back into place.
揇o as he says,?Nick urged the women, and they collectively retreated.
But Nick held his ground.
揧ou too,?Dwight said.
揥hat are you doing with her??he asked.
揊inding out the truth.?
Dwight kept the gun aimed and stepped toward the younger maiden. He grabbed her smock, pulling it back across her left shoulder, ripping buttons away and exposing the skin and bra strap. The other maidens gasped at the violation. But there, tattooed, like on the dead woman from last night, was a vulture.