The Girl in Black

Chapter 9

“It is better to leave a few pilgrims outside than to put the Holy Father unnecessarily in danger.”

The Pope looked at Gabriel. “Do you have any concrete evidence that the terrorists will attack tomorrow?”

“No, Your Holiness. Such intelligence is difficult to verify.”

“If we move the worshipers into the auditorium, and deny the worthy people to attend the ceremony, that means the terrorists have won, right?”

"Sometimes it"s better to let the terrorists win small victories than we suffer major defeats."

“Your people are known for living in the face of terrorist threats.”

“We are still taking precautions,” Gabriel said. "For example, no one can go to a public place without being searched."

“Then search the pilgrims and take the necessary precautions,” replied the Pope. “But I will be at St Peter"s Square tomorrow afternoon, where I will do my duty. It"s your responsibility to make sure nothing happens."

The clock was past ten o"clock when Donati led Gabriel down the steps that led from the Holy See to Via Belverdere. The light mist is falling; Gabriel zipped up his jacket and slung his travel bag over his shoulder. Donati wasn"t wearing a coat, he didn"t seem to feel cold. His eyes fell on the paving stones as they passed the Vatican"s central post office toward St. Anne"s gate.

"Are you sure you don"t need me to give you a ride?"

“Until this morning I still thought I would never set foot in this place again. I want to use this opportunity to go for a walk.”

“If the Italian police arrest you before you get to the apartment, tell them to call me. The Holy Father will guarantee your safety.” They walked in silence for a moment. "Why don"t you come back here too?"

“Back to Italy? I"m afraid Shamron has other plans for me."

“We miss you,” Donati said. "So is Tiepolo".

Francesco Tiepolo, a friend of the Pope and Donati, is the owner of the most successful painting restoration company in Veneto. Gabriel restored two of Bellini"s most famous back-altar paintings for him. Almost two, he thought. Tiepolo had to finish San Giovanni Crisostomo himself after Gabriel had to leave Venice.

"I knew Tiepolo would live without me."

“What about Chiara?”

Gabriel, with his emotional silence, secretly implied that he did not want to discuss with the Pope"s personal secretary his complicated love affairs. Donati cleverly changed the subject.

“I"m sorry if you feel the Pope is causing you trouble. I"m afraid you don"t have as much patience as you used to. All popes are like that after a few years in power. When someone is elected pope, it"s hard not to get angry."

“The Holy Father is still the same tenderhearted man I met three years ago, Luigi. Just a little older.”

“When he was elected he was no longer a young man. The cardinals want to elect a Pope to govern the Vatican, someone to keep St Peter"s throne warm while reformers and radical conservatives settle disagreements. The Pope was never meant to be just ruler, you know that. He has a lot of work to do before he closes his eyes - things that may not satisfy conservatives. Obviously we don"t want the pope"s term to end any time soon."

"Me too".

"That"s why I want you to be the one standing by his side at tomorrow"s ceremony."

“The Swiss Guard and the Carabinieri are better able to protect the Pope.”

"Maybe, but they"ve never experienced a real terrorist attack."

Gabriel said. "Usually no one is alive to tell how the attack happened."

Donati looked at Gabriel. "I"ve been through it," he said. “You were on the side of the terrorists. He also saw the eyes when he was about to press the detonation button."

They stopped a few yards from Saint Anne"s gate. To the left is the butter-colored round church of St. Anne, the parish church of Vatican City; To their right was the entrance to the barracks of the Swiss Guard. A guard guard stood guard just inside the gate, wearing a simple blue night uniform.

“What do you want me to do, Luigi?”

“I leave everything in your talented hands. Find the problem yourself. When you see something wrong, fix it yourself."

"Based on what right?"

“My right,” said Donati firmly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin card, handing it to Gabriel. This is a Vatican ID card stamped by the security office. “This card will allow you to enter anywhere in the Vatican - except, of course, in the Archives. I"m afraid I can"t let you rummage in there."

“I did,” Gabriel said, then dropped the card in his coat pocket and walked out into the street. Donati waited at St. Anne"s gate until Gabriel disappeared into the night before turning back to the Holy See. He surprised himself when he found himself mumbling the words of Hail Mary as he walked.

Gabriel crosses the Tiber River on the Umberto Bridge. On the other side he turned left and walked towards the Piaaza de Spagna. The square was empty then, and the Spanish steps gleamed in the light like polished wood. On the twenty-eighth step sat a girl. Her hair resembled Chiara"s, and for a moment Gabriel thought it was really her. But as he climbed higher he realized it was just Nurit, the irritable postman from the Rome station. She gave him the keys to the safe, and in Old Hebrew, told him that behind the tins in the cupboard he would find a loaded Beretta and a spare magazine.

He walked the rest of the steps up to the Trinità dei Monti church. The apartment is about 50 yards from the church, on Via Gregoriana. The apartment has two bedrooms and a small terrace. Gabriel took the g*n from his hip and entered the larger bedroom. The phone, like the phones in other secure apartments, doesn"t ring but just a flashing red light that indicates an incoming call. Gabriel lay on his bed in his suit to meet the Prime Minister, picking up his earphones and dialing a phone number in Venice. A female voice answered. "What"s wrong?" she asked in Italian. Then, when no one answered, she cursed and hung up the phone - so hard that Gabriel snatched the receiver from her ear before gently putting it back down.