“It’s possible, but I don’t think so.” She zoomed back out and pointed at the right side of the image. “See all those other drawers? This is a big facility with high-end equipment. We don’t have anything that expensive at UT or anywhere else I’ve visited. I’m guessing this is one of the big museums or the private collection of a very wealthy individual.”
“Or perhaps a government archive,” Carmen suggested.
Amanda turned toward her with wide eyes. “That’s it.”
“That’s what?”
“An archive. This drawer is in an archive, and I’m pretty sure I know which one.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“The Vatican?” Carmen asked after Amanda gave them the answer.
“Are you sure?” Zane asked.
“Give me a minute.” Amanda stood, walked over to her luggage, and pulled out a tablet.
Perhaps the pieces were finally coming together. First, Carmen overheard a cryptic reference to the Vatican. In addition, they found the image of a relic on Pauling’s hard drive Amanda believed might be housed at the Vatican. But what was the connection? Perhaps the group that killed Richard Pauling was trying to get their hands on both the map and the relic. At this point, that was a reasonable conclusion.
“Here.” Amanda offered Carmen the tablet. “Take a look.”
Zane looked over her shoulder. Displayed on the screen was an article about the Vatican Secret Archives. Academics, reporters, and a few members of the general public were being allowed to tour the facility for a limited time. But it was the image at the top of the article Amanda wanted them to see. The photograph depicted a man crouching in an aisle of the Secret Archives. He was pulling out a drawer that looked just like the one in Pauling’s JPEG.
“Mystery solved,” Zane said.
“They call them the Secret Archives,” Carmen said. “I guess they’re not so secret after all.”
“Oh, they’re still very secret,” Amanda said. “The journalists were only allowed into a small, controlled area. This is a wild guess, but I’d say they probably saw less than one percent of the Vatican’s collection. And you can rest assured they didn’t see the things the Vatican wants hidden. Most of the critical documents and artifacts are housed in an underground vault.”
“Maybe that’s where the relic is being kept. And perhaps this group is going to try to break in and get their hands on it,” Carmen suggested.
“Good luck with that,” Zane said. “Vatican City is protected by the Swiss Guard, so unless they’re bringing a small army, an attempt like that would be suicidal.”
Amanda’s brow furrowed. “The Swiss Guard? Those guys in the colorful clown suits?”
While Zane had a great deal of respect for the Swiss Guard, he understood why some might underestimate their capabilities. After all, their traditional renaissance outfits with puffy sleeves and rainbow of colors didn’t exactly exude power and strength. But the image was misleading. “Don’t let the uniforms fool you. They’re a fierce fighting force. Their soldiers are as tough as any out there. I can assure you they’d quickly put down a group of common street thugs trying to punch through and take one of their relics.”
“And how would they do that?” Amanda asked. “With swords?”
“You’re too focused on what the tourists see,” Carmen said. “Being Italian, I know a little bit about them. If you want to start something, they’ll bring some pretty heavy firepower to the fight. Try venturing into an unauthorized area, and you’ll likely be staring down the barrel of a Heckler and Koch MP-Five or MP-Seven.”
“Okay, let’s assume you’re right. That means this won’t be a smash-and-grab operation.” Amanda looked at Zane. “So what then?”
“Based on what Carmen overheard tonight, it’s possible this group has someone inside the U.S. government. And if that’s true, why not the Holy See?”
“An inside job.” Carmen bit her lower lip and nodded. “That might be the only way to steal anything from the Vatican.”
Zane looked at Amanda. “Let’s go back to the relic. Any idea what it might be?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. So far, I haven’t come up with anything.”
Carmen’s eyes narrowed. “What about the tag attached to it? Would that give us any important information?”
“It’s possible,” Amanda answered. “Unfortunately, I zoomed in as much as possible. It’s too blurry. We’re going to need some photo-enhancement software to figure it out.”
“We’ll forward it to Brett and have him start working on that.” Zane nodded at the picture on the screen. “How would you even categorize the relic?”
Amanda tapped her lips with a finger for a few seconds. “You want my honest answer? I don’t have a clue. I’m very familiar with artifacts of the Near East, but this doesn’t resemble anything I’ve ever seen before. If someone held a gun to my head, I’d say it was a decorative piece, but at this point, it’s all complete conjecture.”
“Maybe we should just send the image to the Vatican and ask them what it is,” Carmen said. “They would know. Wouldn’t they?”
“Not necessarily. You have to remember the Secret Archives holds millions of documents and thousands upon thousands of artifacts, relics, and other religious objects. Unless this is something very important to the Catholic Church, I’d say it’s unlikely any of them will know what it is, even the curators. They’re going to need that number.”
A look of frustration spread over Carmen’s face. Zane shared her frustration, and yet, he also realized they were closer to the truth than they were before. Brett should be able to enhance the image, and once he did, it would simply be a matter of getting the number to the Vatican authorities.
“Even before we get the number, we need to contact the Vatican and let them know what might be coming their way,” Carmen added.
“I agree. I’m going to contact Ross tonight and let him go through the proper channels.”
“Why don’t we call them directly? This operation — whatever it is — could be going on right now.”
“Because they probably wouldn’t take my call.”
“I have a close friend who is a priest at Vatican City. I’m sure he could get us the number of the Swiss Guard.”
Zane shared her urgency but preferred they remain out of sight until the powers that be approved a meeting of some kind.
“Let’s see if I can reach Ross first. If he can’t get through tonight, we’ll call your friend.”
“Fair enough.”
Zane dialed the Oracle’s number on the burner phone. He answered on the first ring. “I’m at dinner with the director, Watson. Is this important, or can I call you in an hour?”
“We need to talk now if you can.”
“I understand. Just a moment.”
Zane heard muffled movement in the background. About thirty seconds later, the Oracle came back on. “Okay, I stepped outside.”
“Carmen and Amanda are with me. I’m going to put you on speaker.”
“Certainly.”
Zane set the phone on the table. “Can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear. Did something happen after we last spoke?”
Zane had called him an hour before to deliver the shocking news they’d found and rescued Emily Pauling. He’d also given him a brief sketch of the events at the mountain villa, from the finding of the laptop to the arrival of the gunmen.
As the Oracle listened, Zane brought him up to date on the relic and its possible connection to the Vatican.
After Zane finished, the Oracle asked, “This relic, the stone circle… Amanda doesn’t know what it is?”
She leaned toward the phone. “Dr. Ross, I’ve never seen anything like it. At this point, I can’t even categorize the object, much less identify it.”