Liz had a different view altogether. She did not look at the situation from a political perspective. To her, it was a question of creating what she called a "higher drama zone." The Brush Vipers needed that.
"They can't use the same scenario twice," Liz insisted.
"Psychologically, to simply abduct another clergyman from the tourist center is equivalent to standing still. That would be viewed as yesterday's soup warmed over."
"A one-note repertoire," Plummer said.
"Right," Liz agreed.
"Maybe they'll just kill him," Herbert said.
"I don't think so," Liz said.
"That goes back to what you were saying before about white magic?" Hood asked.
Liz nodded.
"What does the method matter, if they move closer to ousting the Church?" Herbert asked.
"It matters to their own sense of self," Liz said.
"Yeah, assuming these guys will think it through the way you have," Herbert said.
'This isn't something you necessarily think about," Liz said. "It's something you just do. Dhamballa and his people have shown good psychological instincts so far. Don't forget, their faith includes aspects of mind control that have been refined over ten thousand years. If they are true Vodunists, they know a great deal about human nature."
"If you're right," Hood said, "the Brush Vipers will have to hit the bishop before he reaches the church."
"Yes," Liz said. "If they don't strike quickly, if they have to follow him back to the church, then they will be forced to do something more dramatic than abduction."
That last statement was still hanging in the air when the phone rang. It was Mike Rodgers. Hood put the call on speakerphone. Rodgers gave Hood the information about the assassination just as Maria had given it to him. He told the group about Maria's immediate plans.
"Mike, this is your operation now," Hood had replied. "You want to tell Darrell?"
"Yeah," Rodgers had said. "Got another call to make first. Meanwhile, you've got to let Lowell Coffey know what's going on. If there were security cameras, I don't want Maria Corneja exposed to any legal fallout from leaving^the scene or pursuing Leon Seronga."
"Good point," Hood said.
Hood told Rodgers that he would call Edgar Kline in New York.
The news about the assassination stunned everyone but Liz Gordon and Bob Herbert.
"Is that dramatic enough for you?" Herbert asked Liz.
She did not need to reply.
The others left the room so Hood could phone Kline. As Bugs Benet placed the call, Hood's reaction was deep frustration. All four of them had been wrong about the next step.
Or had they?
Hood and Liz had agreed that the Brush Vipers were not likely to be involved in an assassination attempt. The way Maria described it, someone other than Seronga had shot the bishop. Perhaps it was someone who was not associated with the Vodunists. Hood found that even more troubling. Time and energy would be wasted pursuing the Brush Vipers when the real adversary was elsewhere. Perhaps the enemy was attached to Beaudin and Genet in some way.
But why would the Europeans have been supporting Dhamballa until now? Hood wondered. To ensure that he would take the blame for this killing? How did Beaudin benefit from that?
Hood hoped that Edgar Kline would have some insights. As Hood waited to be put through to Kline, he wondered if the Vatican security operative had expected an ambush. He also wondered if that would benefit Rome in some way. The situation in Botswana was religion on the outside but politics in the center. It was a struggle for control of the nation's soul. In politics, death was a tool like any other. A martyr could help the Church get back into Botswana. Or perhaps the Vatican felt that if the Brush Vipers attacked an American, the United States would be drawn into the struggle on the side of the Vatican.
There were many possibilities. Unfortunately, there was not yet sufficient intelligence to support any of them.
Edgar Kline was in an office of the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York. Hood was not surprised to learn that he already knew what had happened at the airfield in Maun. Kline said that the leader of the Spanish group had informed him. He added that he was about to phone Bob Herbert when Hood called.
"I was extremely sorry to hear about the shooting," Hood said.
"We were all caught off guard," Kline replied. "No one expected the kidnappers to ratchet things up like this. Now we have to accept that they may have killed Father Bradbury as well."
"Not necessarily," Hood said. "No one here believed that the Brush Vipers would kill Bishop Max. I'm not convinced they're behind this."
"Who else could it be?" Kline asked.
"I don't know," Hood admitted. "Let's talk about that."
"Botswana has never been on anyone's list of security risks," Kline pointed out. "The government prides itself on the nation's stability. Everyone who wants a job has one."
"Obviously, Dhamballa and his followers feel there's room for change," Hood said.
"Economy masquerading as religion," Kline said.
"What do you mean?"
"Botswana's greatest asset is its diamonds," Kline said. "They produce two hundred million dollars' worth each year. No outside entity is going to stir things up for that. They'd go after drugs or weapons-grade uranium, something that could net them billions."
"What makes you think Dhamballa and the Brush Vipers are after the diamond mines?" Hood asked.
"Someone is," Kline remarked. "Otherwise, Dhamballa could have started this crusade in a nation with a much higher rate of indigenous religious affiliation. Mozambique, for example. Angola is half Christian, but even they have a smaller Roman Catholic population than Botswana. The fact is, no one wants to corner the cashew or banana markets.", Kline had a point. But Hood could not help but think this was about more than diamonds. He was not the only one who thought so. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs thought so as well.
"Were the Spanish soldiers at the site?" Hood asked.
"They were there," Kline said. "At a discreet distance."
"Were the soldiers able to give you any insight into what happened?" Hood asked.
"Nothing," Kline replied. "They did not see very much. They had positioned themselves well away from the tarmac. They didn't want to seem like bodyguards. They weren't supposed to be there."
Which possibly cost the bishop his life, Hood thought. He wondered if the Spanish soldiers might somehow have been involved with the assassination. Or at least been aware of it.
"Where are the soldiers now?" Hood asked.
"The ones who were at the airport are still there," Kline replied.
"Incognito?" Hood asked.
"No," Kline said. "We wanted to be able to recover the body. Get a look at the bullet. See if it can give us any leads. The soldiers have identified themselves as special Vatican envoys and are talking with police. They are trying to get some background on the dead guard. Also, there is some confusion about the identity of the deacons who were waiting at the airport. Apparently, they were black men. The only black men who worked with Father Bradbury had already left Botswana and are in Cape Town now. What about your people?" Kline went on. "Were any of them there?"
"Yes," Hood told him. "Maria Corneja."
"Where was she?" Kline asked.
"Close enough to have made a tentative identification of one of those 'deacons,' " Hood said. "She believes that the man she saw was the leader of the Brush Vipers."
"Leon Seronga?"
"Yes," Hood said.
"What else did she tell you?" Kline demanded. "Does she know where he went?"