Page 85 of The Order

“That was the plan.”

“What changed?”

“The old man found a book in the Secret Archives,” said Estermann. “And then he tried to give it to you.”

42

Munich

It was inearly October, after the Holy Father’s return from a long weekend at Castel Gandolfo, that the Order realized it had a problem. His health failing, perhaps sensing that the end was near, he had embarked on a review of the Vatican’s most sensitive documents, especially those related to the early Church and the Gospels. Of particular interest to His Holiness were the apocryphal gospels, books the Church Fathers had excluded from the New Testament.

Cardinal Domenico Albanese, theprefettoof the Secret Archives, carefully curated the Holy Father’s reading list, hiding material he did not want the pontiff to see. But quite by chance, while visiting the papal study with several other curial cardinals, he noticed a small book, several centuries old, bound in cracked red leather, lying on the table next to the Holy Father’sdesk. It was an apocryphal piece of early Christian writing that was supposed to be locked in thecollezione. When Albanese asked the Holy Father how he had obtained the book, His Holiness replied that it had been given to him by a certain Father Joshua, a name Albanese did not recognize.

Alarmed, Albanese immediately informed his superior general, Bishop Hans Richter, who in turn contacted the Order’s chief of security and intelligence, Andreas Estermann. Several weeks later, in mid-November, Estermann learned the Holy Father had begun work on a letter—a letter he intended to give to the man who had saved his life during the attack on the Vatican.

“And thus,” said Estermann, “his fate was sealed.”

“How did you know about the letter?”

“I planted a transmitter in the papal study years ago. I heard the Holy Father telling Donati that he was writing to you.”

“But Lucchesi didn’t tell Donatiwhyhe was writing to me.”

“I heard the pope tell someone else. I was never able to determine who he was talking to. In fact, I couldn’t hear the other person’s voice.”

“Why was the Order so worried about the prospect of Lucchesi giving me the book?”

“Let me count the ways.”

“You were afraid it called into question the historical accuracy of the Gospels.”

“Obviously.”

“But you were also concerned about the book’s provenance. It was given to the Order in 1938 by a wealthy Roman Jew named Emanuele Giordano, along with a large sum of cash and several works of art. Signore Giordano did not make this contribution out of the goodness of his heart. The Order was running quitean extortion racket in the thirties. It targeted wealthy Jews, who were promised protection and lifesaving baptismal certificates in exchange for cash and valuables. That money was the venture capital for the Wolf Group.” Gabriel paused. “All of which I would have exposed if Lucchesi had placed the book in my hands.”

“Not bad, Allon. I always heard you were good.”

“How did the Gospel of Pilate end up in the Secret Archives?”

“Father Schiller turned it over to Pius the Twelfth in 1954. His Holiness should have burned it. He buried it in the Archives instead. If Father Joshua hadn’t found it, Lucchesi would still be alive.”

“How did Father Graf kill him?”

The question surprised Estermann. After a moment’s hesitation he held up the first two fingers of his right hand and moved his thumb as though squeezing the plunger of a syringe.

“What was in it?”

“Fentanyl. Apparently, the old man put up quite a fight. Father Graf gave him the injection through his soutane and held his hand over his mouth as he was dying. One of the tasks of the camerlengo is to supervise the preparation of the Holy Father’s body for burial. Albanese made certain no one noticed the small hole in his right thigh.”

“I think I’ll put a hole in Father Graf the next time I see him.” Gabriel laid a photograph on the table. A man in a motorcycle helmet on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, right arm extended, a gun in his hand. “He’s a rather good shot.”

“I trained him myself.”

“Did Niklaus let him into the papal apartments the night of the murder?”

Estermann nodded.

“Did he know what Father Graf was planning to do?”