Archangel of Sedona (28 page)

Epilogue

September 2, 2014, 2:30 p.m.

1908 Port Colony Way

Tampa, Florida

The afternoon sky was clear and bright. A weather front had passed through from the northeast, bringing rare cool temperatures to Tampa Bay. Taking advantage of this extraordinary gift in the late summer, Gretchen, John, Tim, and Heather Giordano decided to have the meeting with Yvette Grimes-Stone and her husband, Randy, at the wooden table, next to the pool on the lanai.

The presence of Margaritas would blur the somber nature of the gathering. The group sat around the big table on the lanai.

“What did your lawyer say about Judge Holiday’s ruling?” Tim asked his mom.

“What could he say? We lost,” Gretchen answered, as she sipped her drink.

“He didn’t rule against you, mom. He said he’d take your motion under advisement. The decision is without prejudice. Raise it again in six months,” John Giordano said.

“Johnny, I’ll be bankrupt in six months. I need the proceeds of dad’s life insurance policies now. Without his salary, I can’t pay the mortgage and maintain this house.”

“Mom, the judge granted the motion to make you the guardian of Dad’s Thrift Savings Account and the funds in his 401K. You can liquidate them, pay off the mortgage, and put the balance in CDs. If you don’t have a mortgage, you’ll be able to get by on what you’re making at the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

“Yeah. I suppose you’re right. But I counted on that money for retirement. I guess I’ll be working longer than I anticipated,” Gretchen concluded. “I wish Holiday had been more reasonable.”

“There was nothing he could do, Mom. It takes at least five years to get this relief,” Tim said.

“Right, Tim, unless you have strong evidence of death, the minimum waiting period for a judicial declaration is pretty clear,” John agreed. “Mom, why don’t you publish dad’s story? Might make some money from that.”

“Maybe. I need more details. DOJ and those Sheriff’s Offices in Arizona haven’t been much help. They claim that they have no evidence,” Gretchen said. “Yvette, you and Randy were the last people to see Tony, your dad, and the priest.”

“That’s right. We sat at the bottom of the hill and never saw or heard a thing after we watched the priest and his dog walk up the ramp.”

“Gretchen,” Randy began. “Nobody feels more impotent than I do. The whole episode is unsettling. There was no way that those three men and that dog met with foul play. There’s not one shred of physical evidence that suggests violence, mayhem, or kidnapping.”

“Gretchen, my dad and Tony were both armed. We know that they wouldn’t go without a big fight.” Yvette said.

“So are we supposed to believe that they disappeared into thin air?” Heather asked. “There has to be some explanation.”

“We brought in some of the best trackers and their dogs in the west. There was no trail with a scent from Tony, Eddie, the Irish priest, or the dog. None.”

“I don’t care what you didn’t find, Randy. My husband, your father-in-law, and that priest stumbled over a massive drug operation. The drug dealers lost tens of millions. They were bound to take revenge. You guys in Arizona know what happened,” Gretchen said.

“Gretchen, we don’t. Look, it’s true that Tony, Eddie, and Father O’Malley got crossways with the Santo Diablo cult. That’s why the three of you and your families are all under federal protection. We take that threat seriously. But they didn’t get the three missing men and the dog that night. It they had, there would have been a swath of destruction a hundred yards wide,” Randy said.

“Randy, I read where the manager of the gift shop at the chapel is also missing. This business gets more and more complicated every day,” John added.

“Yeah, that little tidbit is troubling. We’re looking into it. There’s some disturbing evidence about Mr. Wilson’s background. I can’t discuss it with you though.”

“You know, Mom, they could all be in WITSEC,” Heather offered. “The feds might put them in hiding and forbid them from contacting us. It would be for everybody’s protection. Randy and Yvette wouldn’t be able to discuss that with us.”

“Heather,” Yvette said. “If my dad were in WITSEC, I’d be overjoyed. I wouldn’t be able to give you details, but I’d never mislead you and leave you hanging. Neither would Randy.”

“Something bad has happened to your Dad. We’ll never see him again,” Gretchen said, as she began to cry. “It’s worse because that fucker, Don Hansen, has prospered in this crisis. Why hasn’t someone investigated him?”

“Gretchen, he is a subject of our investigation. To be honest, he has excellent alibis. He has no known connection to the Santo Diablos. I’ll admit that there are half-a-dozen jealous husbands who’d like to do him in. We don’t prosecute that kind of scandalous behavior,” Randy said.

“Mom, you’re going to be pissed. I read in the Drudge Report that they’re going to do a reality TV show based on Hansen and his Reiki counseling. He’s going to L.A. He’s opening up a New Age center in Santa Monica,” Tim said.

“For goodness sake. He’s such a sleaze. Who’d watch his show?”

“You know what P.T. Barnum said: ‘…nobody ever lost a dollar underestimating the taste of the American public.’ He’ll be a big hit.” John said.

“There’s no justice!” Gretchen said.

“Mom, I want to change the subject. I think this is the time and place. You guys are the people for this discussion,” Tim said.

“OK.”

“Something strange happened to me a couple of days ago in D.C. I opened the drawer to my desk at work and found a small envelope,” Tim said.

Both John and Gretchen stopped cold and looked at Tim in the strangest way. It was like they anticipated his next words. Randy and Yvette looked at each other and nodded.

“Inside the envelope was this item,” Tim said as he held up a small golden object that looked like a triangular piece from a round medallion. “It’s approximately one third the size of a large St. Michael’s Medal.”

“Where did it come from?” Gretchen asked in cold tone.

“I don’t know. When I looked at it, I saw that it was part of a St. Michael’s Medal and had writing in Latin around the edge. I had it translated. It’s the beginning of a quote from the Old Testament, Genesis 31:49. On the edge of my coin it says:
Mizpah! May the Good Lord watch.
That’s all, though. On the back of the medal, there is an engraved human eye, a heart, the capital letter U, and the Roman numeral II.”

“Do you know what that means?” Gretchen asked.

“I think that it means: I love you too,” Tim said. “Remember, Dad always would point to his eye, make a heart with his hand, then a U, and then signal two fingers. He called it our gang sign.”

“That’s wild.” Gretchen said. “Someone is playing a cruel joke.”

Randy reached over and gave his new bride’s hand an affectionate pat.

“I don’t think so, Mom,” John said. “I got one of those envelopes too, about three days ago. It was in the top drawer of my dresser at home.”

“Do you have it?” Tim asked.

“Yep,” John admitted. “It’s right here.”

John held up his gold piece and Tim put his next to it. They fit together perfectly—two pieces of a three-part puzzle.

“What does your part say?” Tim asked.

“Translated from my high school Latin, it says:
out for me and thee, when we are apart,
John said. “I also have the eye, heart, letter U, and Roman numeral on the reverse.”

“Two thirds of the translation is “Mizpah: May the Good Lord watch out for me and thee when we are apart,” Tim said.

“That’s right,” John agreed.

“I looked it up. The rest of the words on the missing piece will be
one from the other
, Tim said.

“Mom, do you have the missing piece?” Heather asked, watching Gretchen.

“No. I don’t. I have no idea where those things came from or what they mean.”

“I think they’re from Dad,” John said. “He’s sending these to us. It’s a sign of how much he loves us. Since you don’t have the missing piece, he must.”

“Mom, are you sure that you don’t have anything like this?” Tim asked as he held up the two gold pieces.

“No, nothing like that.”

“Yvette had a similar unexplained visitation,” Randy said. “Yvette found a golden cameo on the counter in the bathroom.”

“What does the Cameo depict?” Tim asked.

“My mother, Mary!” Yvette said, tears in her eyes. On the back is a little code from Poppa. It’s a depiction of a fist striking a breast like in a
mea culpa
. Poppa and I would make that sign when we parted. It showed we loved each other. I think it means that Poppa has found my mother.”

“This is not possible,” Gretchen said, as she covered her face in her hands.

“Mom, what do you have? You have something. I can tell.” Tim said.

Without another word, Gretchen got up from the table, walked inside, rummaged through her purse on the kitchen table, picked out an envelope, and returned to the lanai. She removed a thin, flat golden sheet, about six inches long and five inches wide from the envelope. She handed the gold sheet to Tim.

Tim examined the sheet for a few moments and passed it to John. John’s eyebrows went up, as he read the words on the sheet.

“What do you make of it? I don’t read Latin,” Gretchen admitted.

“It’s not all in Latin, but the numbers are Roman numerals,” John claimed.

“What do you think?” Tim asked.

“It’s a boarding pass.”

“For whom, what airline, where?” Gretchen asked.

“Tim pull out your laptop and run these numbers; it’ll be quicker,”

“Can do,” Tim said.

“Who’s it for?” Gretchen asked.

“You. Your name is right here. See,
Gretchen
Giordano
.”

“Oh my God!” Heather said. “It looks identical to your name on the box with the stuffed animals.”

“What’s this about a box?” Randy said.

Gretchen got up again, disappeared into the house, and returned three minutes later. She showed Randy and Yvette the box from her high school days. She explained that she put her name on it next to the Giordano logo ten years before she ever met Tony Giordano.

“Now, I’ve seen everything,” Yvette said.

“That is amazing.” Randy agreed. “Is there any other revelation on that boarding pass?”

“Yeah, John. What airline am I supposed to take?” Gretchen asked.

“Can’t tell. That’s some form of writing I’ve never seen.” John said, as he tried to read the golden sheet.

“Me either,” Tim agreed, as he looked over John’s shoulder.

“Where’s the departure?” Gretchen asked.

“That’s in Roman Numerals. Tim, run those through. Let’s see what they mean.

“OK, that’s 34.83196 and 111.76654,” Tim said.

“Hmmm. GPS? Tim, run the numbers through the site that translates digital longitude and latitude,” John suggested.

“OK. I put the map in the satellite mode. It’s showing a site in north central Arizona. I’ll hit the plus sign and see how close I can get. Holy Shit. You’re not going to believe this,” Tim promised. “The longitude and latitude match up with the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona.” Tim said.

“Wow, unbelievable!” Randy said, as he looked at Yvette.

“OK. I’m supposed to believe that I’m going somewhere from that chapel. It won’t happen. I’ll never go there again. After what happened to your dad, it’ll be a cold day in hell. I swear.”

“Mom this is an advanced booking. You’re not expected there for some time. You may change your mind,” Tim said as he examined the gold sheet.

“What are you talking about?” Gretchen demanded.

“Your trip is scheduled for September 2, 2034,” Tim said.

“If I find out who’s behind this, I’ll shoot the son of a bitch. What a sick joke to play on us,” Gretchen swore.

“Mom, I don’t think this is a joke. Look at the destination,” John said as he passed the gold boarding pass back to his mother.

“Where is the destination?” She asked.

“There, in the bottom corner,” Tim said.

Gretchen examined the sheet. She wrinkled her pretty nose and shook her head.

“It doesn’t mean anything to me. What does the number eight signify?” Gretchen asked.

“You have it sideways, mom. Turn it ninety degrees. See, that’s not the number eight, it’s the sign for infinity,” John explained.

“Oh my. OK, Tony! Play your sick little tricks. I’m still not converting.” Gretchen yelled, looking at the sky. “And what’s the fucking significance of 2034?” Gretchen shouted.

“Mom,” John said. “You’re ten years younger than dad now, right?”

“Yes, so what?” Gretchen asked.

“Einstein theory of relativity says that—if you wait until 2034 and use this boarding pass from the chapel to infinity—you’ll be ten years older than him, when next you meet,” John estimated.

“Tony, you’re a bastard!” Gretchen spat, as she looked heavenward, her face morphing into a loving smile.

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