‘In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,’ the priest began, Bruni crossing himself in time.
The priest read a brief passage from scripture that emphasized the love in which God held all people, then invited Bruni to talk. In the modern Church, the sacrament evolved from rote formula into a more substantive conversation.
‘Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been one week since my last confession,’ Bruni began. ‘Father, while I am seeking absolution from my sins, I voluntarily omit some of what I am about to tell you from the seal of confession. What you decide to do with this information I leave to your conscience, but for the sake of my own soul I feel I must give you that opportunity. The matter I wish to discuss is a serious one.’
‘I understand,’ the priest said calmly, his voice belying the concern he felt.
‘I am a leader of the Camorra. I and other men of my profession are seeking to influence the selection of the next Pope. The cardinal we support is a good man and will serve the Church faithfully, but we also believe his selection will serve our interests as well. Two nights ago, we received information that Pope Leo, God rest his soul, sent some men into China to break a Bishop out of jail and get him out of that country.’
The priest’s eyes narrowed. What remained of his warm smile melted into a thin straight line.
‘Your face says you don’t believe me.’
‘I’m sorry,’ the priest stammered, trying to regain a sense of neutrality.
Bruni smiled. ‘Not necessary. I had the same look on my face two nights ago. This Bishop has been in jail a very long time — the Chinese do not approve of the Church — and the Pope wanted him out. The Camerlengo, Cardinal Donoher, is in charge of this mission. My associates and I had no problem with this until we learned that Pope Leo secretly named this Bishop a cardinal and has asked the conclave to consider him for the papacy. After the first vote, this Chinese Bishop has emerged as a viable candidate.’
‘How did you acquire this information?’ the priest asked, shocked by the detailed revelation.
‘We have a source.’
‘Inside the conclave?’
Bruni shrugged. ‘The introduction of this Chinese Bishop to the conclave was viewed by my associates as a potential threat to our plans. We do a great deal of business with the Chinese, so we informed them of our concerns and asked them to take care of the problem.’
‘What do you want me to do about this?’
‘I do not like the idea of killing a priest. Get word to Cardinal Donoher. Warn him that the Chinese know what he’s up to. The rest is up to him.’
48
Liu leaned against the corridor wall outside the interrogation room, eyes closed, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, his body exhausted beyond anything he could remember. More than forty-eight hours had passed since Tian ordered him to Chifeng to end Yin Daoming’s life. His knee ached, and the bruise on his head compounded the sensation of a spike being driven up into the base of his skull.
Technicians from the coroner’s office rolled a gurney down the corridor and parked it next to where Liu stood, narrowing the passage to half its width. They were dressed in white, and each man had smeared a strong aromatic balm across his upper lip as a defense against the stench of death that awaited them inside. Liu masked the smell with his unfiltered cigarettes.
Liu heard a rattling sound moving down the corridor toward him. At once, he knew it was Peng.
‘Do you have to make so damn much noise?’ Liu asked.
‘The officer up front asked me to bring you these.’ Peng tossed him the bottle. ‘Headache?’
‘What do you think? Cao! My skull is splitting. These cultists will drive me mad.’
Liu poured out a pair of tablets and swallowed them dry, eager for relief. Peng stepped aside as the technicians emerged from the interrogation room with a white plastic body bag. The underside dripped as they carried it out, though with what Peng didn’t want to know. As they laid the bag on the gurney, he could tell it contained a body that was small and light.
‘That’s the last one,’ the technician said, handing Liu a clipboard of paperwork.
Liu signed the release forms allowing the bodies to be cremated and disposed of — there were no next of kin. He returned the clipboard, then leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.
‘Did they tell you anything?’ Peng asked.
‘Just religious nonsense, nothing of use.’ Liu snorted a laugh. ‘You know what the old man said before he died? He forgave me. Do you believe that? The criminal forgave me. Upside-down world and you wonder why I have a headache.’
‘The cure for your headache is rest and good news.’
‘You have either?’
‘A promising lead. An Air Force officer was returning to Base 20 near Jiuquan last night when the bus he was riding on broke down. As they changed the tire, he and the other passengers saw three objects fly overhead. They had large wings, scalloped like those of a bat.’
‘Maybe they were bats.’
‘Bats do not have engines.’
Liu’s eyes opened. ‘Continue.’
‘The officer could not see the aircraft clearly, but each had an engine that was powering their flight. They were no more than eighty meters off the ground, and he estimates their speed at one hundred kilometers per hour. When the officer returned to his base, he reported what he saw and inquired about any experimental aircraft being tested at night. Fortunately, his superior officer was aware of our investigation and made the connection.’
‘Gansu, eh?’ Liu pondered.
‘The use of light aircraft capable of night flight fits perfectly with the needs of their mission. And we know Kilkenny and at least one accomplice arrived in Mongolia — this answers how they crossed into China. The question is, Why did they not return the way they came?’
‘Because they are being aided by these cultists,’ Liu replied, the answer painfully obvious to him. ‘They were kept in hiding until dark and warned to avoid the border.’
Peng nodded. ‘Based on the time of the sighting and the officer’s estimate of speed, we believe they are covering between one thousand and twelve hundred kilometers per night. And always over sparsely populated areas.’
‘Which is easier to do the farther west they go. That still leaves a large border to protect.’
‘Yes,’ Peng agreed, ‘but now we know what we’re looking for.’
49
The sounds of Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra greeted Donoher as he entered the catacombs workroom, the jazz legend’s seductive voice dancing with Oscar Peterson’s piano through ‘These Foolish Things.’ Grin sat at his workstation eating a croissant, a steaming cup of espresso nearby. His freshly laundered cassock hung from a coathook near the door.
‘All’s quiet on the eastern front,’ the computer guru said before the Camerlengo could ask the question foremost on his mind.
Donoher pulled up a chair and sat down. ‘I heartily approve of your choice of music this morning.’
‘I’m weak when it comes to a woman with a great set of pipes, and few can deliver raw emotion like Lady Day.’
‘That lovely woman had more than her share of pain to draw upon,’ Donoher agreed. ‘Have you learned anything from Velu’s BlackBerry?’
‘He was telling the truth. Since arriving in Rome, he’s corresponded only with his brother — all updates on mother Velu’s condition. Some very depressing reading.’