God's Lions: The Secret Chapel (11 page)

Without speaking, Cardinal Lundahl took a purple surplice from one of the priests and placed it around his neck, kissing each end before letting it fall to the front of his cassock. He then took a small bottle of holy water and poured it on a silver cross before using it to anoint the forehead and hands of Father Morelli. The last rites of the dead had begun.

In truth, there really are no so-called last rites in the Catholic Church. What most people refer to as the last rites is actually the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. This sacrament is used for healing, both spiritual and physical, and is performed by a priest when a person requests divine intervention. It is meant to save souls here on earth before they cross over, for once they are dead, the soul is no longer here but with God and beyond a priest’s intervention. All that any priest can do at that point is offer prayers for the soul.

Following the ritual, the two priests covered the body in a white sheet and placed a plain wooden crucifix on his chest. Leo turned away from the door and gave a silent prayer for the gentle soul of his friend. Wiping the tears from his face, he stood in the hallway as Lundahl and the others exited the apartment. It was only then that Leo realized John was nowhere to be seen.

A strong hand clasped Leo’s shoulder from behind. He turned to see the cardinal looking at him with a mixture of questioning and sympathy. “I’m glad you could be here for him, Leopold. Our dear brother is now in heaven. We are all deeply saddened by the loss of such a good and noble man. I’m sorry that we could not allow you into the room, but it was a request from Father Morelli himself. He gave instructions that, in the event of his death, he didn’t want any of his friends to stand around and look down on his earthly body. I suppose he wanted to preserve your memory of him in life.”

“Thank you, Eminence.” Leo was touched by the apparent sincerity of the cardinal’s words. Lundahl clasped his hands together and stood silently for a moment before continuing. “Father Morelli was one of a kind. Out of all our classmates at seminary, he was the most intriguing, a true Renaissance man. I only wish the Church had more soldiers of the cross like him. I know we had our disagreements, but he was a special and valuable member of a dwindling community.”

Leo took a deep breath. “The Church is like a big family, Cardinal, and families sometimes disagree. I never felt that Father Morelli took your differing views personally.”

“You’re very wise, Leopold. I hope you will stay close to us in the days to come.”

“I plan to stay until after the funeral, Eminence, longer if you need me.”

The cardinal paused for a moment, looking down at the floor. He then lifted his gaze and fixed Leo with what could only be called a look of total exhaustion. “I fear I must cancel our lunch appointment today. I have something of a situation on my hands, and I’m sure you need some time for solitary reflection.”

Leo’s concern and curiosity was getting the best of him. “Can I be of any assistance, Eminence? I noticed all the security men around. Is everything alright?”

Lundahl’s look of exhaustion disappeared. “Oh...yes...of course. Coincidentally, Father Emilio was notified that some valuable historical papers went missing from the Vatican library last night and our security people are looking for them. Sometimes scholars studying manuscripts take them to their apartments by mistake.”

The stern-looking security man took the cardinal’s statement as his cue to speak. “Yes, it has nothing to do with the death of Father Morelli.”

Leo watched Lundahl stiffen noticeably. The cardinal was staring at the man with the expression one gives a child who is misbehaving in public. The security man immediately realized he had spoken out of turn and made a hasty retreat down the hall, where he began shouting orders to the guards searching the rooms.

Leo saw that the cardinal’s gaze had shifted back to him.

“Please give my secretary a call tomorrow, Leopold. I’ll instruct him to set up a lunch meeting for just the two of us. I need to talk with you about some matters of great importance. God bless you, and also Father Morelli.” With that, Lundahl turned and strode down the hall, his black and scarlet cassock flowing out behind him.

Father Leo exited the building into the din of early morning traffic. Crowds of tourists were streaming into the holy city. Most were heading toward the Sistine Chapel to view Michelangelo’s magnificent ceiling, while others circled Saint Peter’s Square, hoping for a glimpse of the pope. Distraught with the terrible news of Father Morelli’s death, Leo had no appetite for breakfast. What he really needed now was a drink. As a priest, a man of faith, he should feel joy for a soul now in heaven. But he was also a mortal man and, as such, was grieving for a friend he had known most of his adult life. Yes, what he needed now more than anything was a drink.

Leo walked out of Vatican City, numb to the brilliant sunshine and rows of multicolored flowers springing to life in nearby flowerbeds. His ears were deaf to the birds singing from the rooftops. He kept his head down, not wanting to acknowledge a smile from anyone crossing his path. He crossed the
Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II
over the river Tiber and continued along the
Via Giulia
, one of the first Renaissance streets to cut through Rome’s hodgepodge of medieval alleys. Turning left onto the
Via Del Pellegrino
, he walked slowly until he found himself in the
Piazza Campo de’ Fiori
. He crossed the piazza, finally coming to rest under one of several green umbrella-covered tables located in front of a traditional family-owned
trattoria
. Father Morelli and Leo had come here often. Together, they would share a bottle of wine and eat pasta in the afternoon, talking and laughing with friends and students about the day’s events.

Leo ordered a glass of wine and sat staring out into the piazza. The tables around him were full of customers bound together in the time-honored Roman tradition of people watching. This activity usually relaxed him when he was tense or stressed, but despite the pleasant surroundings, questions nagged at the periphery of his thoughts.

Why wasn’t John at the residence hall this morning? Were there really “evil forces” at work against them? If this were true, had something happened to John? Who were the archaeological priests who had uncovered the tunnel at the Mamertine Prison? And finally, why did Anthony summon him to Rome? He was pummeled by questions, like the punches he received years ago when he fought in high school boxing matches under the gaze of his father and brothers. Morelli could have found the chapel without his help, but he had wanted Leo to come to Rome for a reason, even if Leo still had no clear idea what the true motive really was. One thing he knew for sure: Father Morelli’s work was not finished, and time had run out for him. Whatever the rationale, Leo knew he was now committed to learning more about the code and the ancient chapel under the Vatican.

A waiter hustled around the table. “Another glass of wine, Father?”

“No,
grazie
.”

Opening his wallet, Leo saw that it was still empty and remembered that he had again forgotten to get cash.

“
Accettate carte di credito?
” Leo asked.

“
Si
, Father, we take cards.”

Leo began thumbing through his wallet when he felt a tap on the shoulder. Squinting up into the sunshine, he spied the unmistakable brown robe of a Franciscan brother.

“I’ve been looking all over for you,” John said, exasperation showing on his face. He threw some Euros on the table and grabbed Leo by the arm, practically lifting him from the chair.

“We have to go. Now, Father.”

Leo pushed back his chair. “What’s the hurry, John?”

“Do you know what the security guys were looking for?”

“Not really. Some stolen church documents, according to Cardinal Lundahl.”

“Wrong,” John said. “They were looking for this.” He shoved a small, blue plastic object in front of Leo’s face. “This is what they are looking for, and we really must go.”

Looking around the piazza, John slid the object under his robe and into his pants pocket. Whatever was going on, Leo instinctively knew that, at this moment, he should follow John and ask questions later.

Racing across the piazza, the two men entered a side street, where Leo saw Father Morelli’s bright red car parked along the curb with the top down. John opened the trunk and threw his brown monk’s robe inside next to the backpack holding the ancient stone brick. Wearing only jeans, a white T-shirt, and sandals, he jumped into the driver’s seat and motioned for Leo to get in. Leo hesitated for a moment, feeling slightly uncomfortable about getting into Morelli’s beloved sports car.

“Let’s go, Father. We have to hurry.”

Leo opened the door and slid into the passenger seat while John fumbled with the gear shift. After finding first gear, he gunned the engine and lurched the car into the maze of side streets.

John pulled an envelope from under his T-shirt and handed it to Leo. “I went to Father Morelli’s room this morning before dawn. He didn’t answer the door, so I went back to my room. Someone had slipped that envelope under my door with your name written on it. Then the phone rang, and a Vatican security officer told me that Father Morelli had died. At first, I didn’t know what to do. Father Morelli told me that, if anything ever happened to him, I was to go to his office and mail his laptop to Lev Wasserman in Jerusalem. I express mailed it to Israel after I phoned you this morning. Here, take this.” John pulled the blue plastic object from the pocket of his jeans. “I’m sure this is what they were searching for.”

“What is it?” Leo asked.

“It’s a computer flash drive. On it is all our research up to now on the hidden chapel. There are also some private records with details of Father Morelli’s financial assets, including his bank pass codes. After I finished mailing the laptop, I went straight to his apartment to meet up with you. When I saw that the cardinal and all the security men were still around, I just kept walking down the hallway past his room. They were frantically searching the building for something, and I put two and two together.”

Leo took the flash drive from John and studied it for a moment. “You think they were looking for this?”

“I’m pretty sure of it. Father Morelli was very suspicious of elements within the church that he felt were working against us. They would love to have the information on that flash drive.”

Leo pulled a lever under his seat and pushed it back as far as it would go to straighten out his legs. “Where did you find this?”

“Father Morelli insisted that I keep it. He was always misplacing it and knew that, if anyone was looking for it, they wouldn’t think to look in my apartment. I had it in my pocket when I walked past the security men and right out the front door. I saw you enter the building and decided to get Father Morelli’s car and wait for you in front of your hotel. When you didn’t return, I started looking for you in all the cafés close to the Vatican. I kind of figured you needed a drink at that point. That’s when I remembered Father Morelli said you and he always went to that café back there when you were in Rome. It was one of his favorite places.”

The BMW sped under the Farnese archway designed by Michelangelo on the
Via Giulia
. Leo noticed they were heading back toward the Vatican. “Where are we going?”

“We’re on our way back to your hotel. You need to change clothes, pack your stuff, and check out. Don’t forget your passport in the hotel safe. You need to ditch that Roman collar too, right now.”

“What in the world are you talking about, John? Are you losing it? Maybe we should stop the car right now. I think I need to walk for a while and clear my head.”

“You might want to read that letter from Father Morelli before you do.”

Leo studied the expression on John’s face. He knew that this young man had been extremely loyal and devoted to Father Morelli and that, at this moment, he was totally panicked by something. Leo removed the letter from the envelope and began to read.

     
To Leopold Amodeo, my dear brother in Christ,

I am writing to you tonight in the hope you will join with a special group of friends in Israel on a holy mission of critical importance. I have just spoken with Lev Wasserman about our discovery under the Basilica today. He and his team have discovered more information about the chapel in a completely different section of the Bible from the one we had been looking in. The chapel we discovered is very special. Apparently, it was built to receive something. The code specifies only that, whatever this object is, it must be delivered by you to the chapel. You must work with Professor Wasserman and his team. They will guide you in your search. Your name was discovered encoded in the Bible in conjunction with the chapel and as an instrument in a battle between good and evil. You are part of God’s plan to save humanity from Satan himself.

At this time, we have no idea exactly what we are looking for or its connection with the ancient chapel under the Vatican. All we know at this point is that the object is located in the Holy Land, and you are tasked by God to find it. You are mentioned by name as a leader in the quest. If you truly believe that the code is a message from God, you must devote yourself entirely to this search. I believe that you have seen for yourself the power of the code to reveal things that have been hidden for millennia. It led us to the hidden chapel and will continue to guide you.

This is a holy quest for the truth and for the salvation of all our brothers and sisters around the world, nothing less. I believe your name was spelled out in the code because you are incorruptible and possess a strong faith in God. Leo means lion, my friend, and you are now God’s lion. He has a plan for you and you must follow it through to the end.

Sadly, my name does not appear in the code along with yours, so even though I want more than anything else to be a part of this great adventure, I have decided it is best for me to remain here in Rome.