The Keeper's Cup: A Controversial Archaeological Thriller

by Ken Fry

  The pope nodded.

  “Then you have an idea that we do not think it was accidental.”

  There was no change of expression from the pope.

  “Somebody here, in the Vatican, requested all the police evidence – forensic and otherwise. My superior, against all protocol, felt obliged to agree to that request. For some secret reason, I have not been informed who made the request and why.” He paused.

  Pope Adrian remained calm. “Inspector, it was I.”

  “It was you?” Rizzo was taken aback.

  “Don’t look so surprised, Inspector. I know my action seems out of character, but I, for one, never believed the wolf attack.”

  Rizzo was amazed. But he was never gentle in his interrogations, no matter who they were. The pope was no exception, and he let his annoyance show. “But, really, Your Holiness.” Rizzo’s voice was short, sharp, and unhappy. “Nobody should have access to those files. They are highly confidential. Sightings by unauthorised personnel have the potential of undermining our work and investigations. Frankly, I am astonished that you requested for them and even more so that you were allowed access.”

  Pope Adrian raised his hand in a conciliatory manner. “Don’t be too angry, Inspector. I apologise for what to you might seem a gross act of interference. I meant no harm. It is a long story. Let me explain and maybe you will understand why I took this most unusual action. But first, allow me to ask you a question.”

  Rizzo, still with the faint traces of a glower on his face, nodded.

  “Are you a man of God?”

  Rizzo’s immediate thought superseded all others. What the hell has that got to do with it? He supressed a sigh. “I’m not a religious man, Your Holiness. I have no idea if God exists or not. Organised religions say they have the answers, but after all, there is no concrete evidence. It is for the believers and those who have faith in such stories. For me, it’s shaky ground.”

  Pope Adrian relaxed. A wry smile lit up his face. “Inspector, a quote from the Psalms on faith: ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.’ We all have our roads to tread and yours, Inspector, is a fair answer. I see you are a man of plain speaking, and with that is often found honesty. I respect your comment.”

  He stopped for a moment to prod and wriggle his right ear vigorously with his index finger.

  Rizzo realised Pope Adrian had a hearing problem and was adjusting a concealed hearing aid.

  “Inspector, let me start from the beginning and explain to you everything I know. It will save you hosts of questions. Please take notes or recordings, whatever you normally do. The first part of this story may seem irrelevant to your inquiry, but you will soon see it is not, and why I asked for the forensic and police reports.”

  Rizzo started writing the time and date, and the usual details he included in police investigations. He also produced a pocket recorder and let it run for a few seconds before speaking. “Interview with His Holiness, Pope Adrian at a location within the Vatican – March 30, 2020. Present are two persons only: myself, Inspector Leonardo Rizzo of the Polizzia di Stato, and Pope Adrian.” He turned to the pope. “Please acknowledge out loud that this is correct, Your Holiness.”

  Pope Adrian acknowledged. His voice was firm and steady. With Rizzo’s assent, he began to talk. He explained his background and how he rose to the highest rank in Christendom. From there, he began to speak of doubts he had about certain aspects of Catholic beliefs and social positioning in a modern society. He named many.

  Rizzo remained impassive.

  In particular, he was dubious about the veneration of objects like The Shroud of Turin, which he said had clearly been defined by carbon dating and other disciplines, as early medieval. With not only this relic, but many other finds and discoveries, the Vatican’s archaeological unit, The Pontifical Academy, had deliberately supressed evidence and closed ranks and doors on any investigations that could puncture holes in any biblical relics or beliefs. “That is dishonest, is it not, Inspector?”

  Rizzo could only agree.

  The pope leant forward a little and his voice descended into that of a conspiratorial whisper. “To correct this imbalance, I formed a secret alternative archaeological society – SOTA, the Society of Truth in Archaeology. Before you ask, here is a folio and information on all our members.” He pushed a file across to a thankful Rizzo. “You will see that Bishop Vincent Fisher, like myself, a progressive and liberal Catholic, headed up the group and reported his finds to me.”

  Rizzo nodded again as he flicked through the portfolio. His detective’s brain was already finding possibilities re: the bishop’s murder. A conflict of interests with possible murderous results.

  “What I’m to tell you next, as far as I know, only a handful of others are aware of. Please do not speak of it unless your criminal investigations compel you to do so.”

  “As best I can, Your Holiness.” Rizzo was warming to Pope Adrian. What he heard next shook him. He was given an account of the further writings of Thomas and Philip found by SOTA. Close to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were originally discovered.

  “Contained in these writings are two separate accounts. Both are almost identical and both, astonishingly, tell how Jesus survived his crucifixion. They also state that with Mary Magdalene, his wife, they fled to France, and the two disciples were with them during their journey. Later, without the apostles, the family travelled on to Britain. They had one young son and another child not yet born. The Magdalene supposedly had in her possession a cup containing Christ’s water and blood, which she used to heal the sick and dying. It was said that no matter how many times she used it, the cup remained full. SOTA was attempting to locate the truth of this story, and principally, for evidence that the family lived in Britain.” He looked up at a wide-eyed Rizzo.

  “Farfetched eh, Inspector? If any of it is true, then the Catholic Church would be in difficulties. Imagine the tantalising prospect of such an artefact… and its implications.”

  “Some story, Your Holiness.” Rizzo chewed the top end of his cheap biro. “I can see all manner of possibilities here. I will need to see more people, especially those on your list of SOTA members. My obvious question, Your Holiness, is why anyone would want to slaughter a bishop because he and his group were looking for evidence?”

  “I was hoping you might have been able to answer that question by now, Inspector. I have no idea. I believe I have enemies in various places within our Church. Obviously, in most churches, there are differences of opinions, but none that would warrant an execution… I hope. If any of SOTA’s finds are made public, or discovered to be true, then our Church would face difficult times indeed. Some people would prevent this from happening, I have no doubt. If, however, this miraculous cup was found and authenticated, then the opposite effect could ensue. Do I make myself clear, Inspector?”

  “Perfectly, Your Holiness. I see the horns of a dilemma here. Tell me, did the bishop have any known enemies?”

  “None that I know of.”

  “What role does Cardinal Nicholas play in all this?”

  “Cardinal Nicholas, as you know, now heads up the group. Between you and I, a poor choice on my part.”

  Rizzo raised an eyebrow.

  “I have my informants. In my position, it would be foolish not to. I have since discovered he is suspected of leading a society of ultra-right-wing clergies. They have a Latin identity, Ordinis Sancti et Sanctae Crucis et Gladio or The Order of the Holy Cross and Sword. I have here, and don’t ask me how it’s in my possession, a sample of their headed notepaper for your investigations.” He slid the sheet across to Rizzo.

  The point the pope had made about them being a possible source of inquiry was not lost on Rizzo. Highly significant, was his first thought.

  Pope Adrian paused to take a sip of water. He had begun to perspire.

  “Our cardinal has sent an overseer to monitor what the British team is doing – a priest by the name of Father Vincenzo. The archaeolog
ical team are well suited for the task, and apparently, know the locations well. I have therefore formed a clandestine alliance with their team leader, Professor Fergal Lars Christie, who, whilst supplying the cardinal with progress reports, also informs me directly about all of their discoveries. The cardinal is required to share all details of the excavations to me, but I am aware that he could possibly supress information. Through the professor, I would know what has been found, and if the cardinal is being less than forthcoming.”

  God, thought Rizzo, this place is a hive of intrigue and suspicions. So much for sweet, peaceful religion.

  “You don’t trust the cardinal?”

  “Since my discovery of his possible involvement in a secret society… no, I do not. The team have had two astonishing discoveries that could authenticate the truth of what Philip and Thomas wrote of.” He pushed a bulky folder over to Rizzo. “It’s all in there. Their discovery is remarkable and strongly indicates that some of this story may be true. Read it at your leisure, Inspector. I found it breathtaking.”

  Pope Adrian reached out for the large tissue box strategically placed on his desk, pulled out three and mopped his damp brow. He continued. “There is just one other disturbing development. My latest report from the British team reveals that the archaeologists were indirectly attacked whilst researching in the location of where Jesus was alleged to have lived. It seemed more of a warning or a prank than a deliberate attempt to harm.”

  “That, Holy Father, should be a matter for the UK police. We can’t get involved at this stage. Would you in any way suspect that the cardinal could be involved in that?”

  “No. As you know, Inspector, he is here in Rome. I do not know what to say.”

  Rizzo’s knew what the pope was telling him had propelled the case forward several notches. Could the murder and the UK shooting be linked?

  “Your Holiness, I need not remind you what forensics found on and around the remains of the bishop.”

  Pope Adrian nodded, made the sign of the cross, and momentarily bowed his head.

  “Just between you and me, there were unidentified DNA samples found on the bishop’s remains, and as you now know, none were animal. They were identified as human. Now, don’t be shocked, but I managed to obtain a sample of DNA from a cigarette stub discarded by Cardinal Nicholas. To my astonishment, Your Holiness, it was a partial match.” Rizzo’s information cut the air like a lightning bolt.

  “What!” Pope Adrian’s face paled

  Rizzo continued. “With today’s technologies, partial matches are not reliable, nor a guarantee of involvement, nor are they evidence of any foul play. I believe the two had met prior to the bishop’s death. They could have had conversations. That could explain the presence of the cardinal’s DNA on Bishop Fisher.”

  “Why did you feel it necessary to secretly obtain a sample of the cardinal’s DNA? I’m sure that if you had asked, he would have obliged.” Pope Adrian looked agitated.

  I will have to allow him his naivety. “Holy Father, murder investigations are like a game of poker. You never give anything away unless you wish to wrong foot an opponent. I’ve worked in crime for most of my working life, and we don’t often do things like politely ask for samples. That gives too much away. It’s often best if the person concerned knows nothing of what we are doing. Nobody is above suspicion. We operate a dragnet that becomes tighter and tighter as time passes, expelling the innocent one by one until only the guilty remain.”

  Pope Adrian pulled another handful of tissues and once more mopped his brow.

  “So, Inspector, you are saying that our cardinal is a suspect?” He raised an eyebrow, leant back into his upholstered chair, and again fiddled with the hearing aid.

  “Until we find the murderer, Holy Father, everyone connected to the bishop is a suspect.”

  “Inspector, I wish you to find whoever was responsible for this dreadful act as swiftly as possible. I find it hard to believe that a cardinal of our church could possibly be a suspect. From your remarks, I must consider myself included on your suspect list. Would you like a sample of my DNA or have you acquired it already?”

  The pope’s gentle but pointed sarcasm was not lost on Rizzo. He says he finds it hard to believe, but he believes in a God he’s never seen or makes any sense at all. He gave a short chuckle. “I think we can safely say, Holy Father, that you are ruled out of our lines of inquiry.”

  “What next, Inspector? I believe Cardinal Nicholas will be making frequent trips to the UK to gauge progress. You would like to be kept informed?”

  Rizzo’s liking for Pope Adrian grew a little more. “Why not? That would be most welcome. There is one thing, Your Holiness… should I need to speak to you again, I would prefer that only you and I know of it. Can this be done?”

  “Of course. Firstly, give me your contact details.” Pope Adrian opened a teak desk drawer and pulled out a dark leather wallet. Inside were a number of small envelopes. He handed one to Rizzo. “The information in there is highly confidential. It contains where and how I may be contacted. It is identical to the information I provided Professor Fergal Lars Christie.”

  25

  Something had happened. It was inexplicable and beyond scientific reasoning. Such things were not allowed, dismissed as fantasy and wishful thinking. To talk of such things would cause her to be a laughingstock in her field and in the same loony league as the presenters of the TV documentary programme, Ancient Aliens. That, she could not allow to happen.

  She had never previously given much thought to Kelvin. She had guessed that there was something deep and different about hm. She felt a closeness, but what it was remained indefinable. He was simply a fellow diver, a weirdo sort of Druid, and the finder of a very startling tablet.

  Miriam could not explain what he seemed to know about her. Her vision had been indistinct, but he said it would become clearer. How did he know all these things? There has to be an explanation.

  He had known, without being told, that something had happened to her. It was an experience that had the potential of changing her life. Her vision caused her sleepless nights as she attempted to recreate the experience, although deep inside, she knew that would not work.

  She didn’t know what to do next. Should she share this with Fergy, or indeed, anybody else? Hell! It’s deeply personal and it’s my truth and nobody else’s. That thought didn’t include Kelvin, who already knew.

  Miriam got dressed at speed. She wanted another chance to talk with Kelvin, but that would have to wait until later. Today, the hi-tech equipment would arrive. Who knows what they find using it? Fergy would be in his element, that’s for sure. There was nothing he enjoyed more than using sophisticated equipment. It saved them so much time and labour.

  SOTA, via the professor, had already gained permission to use it. Having the pope’s personal signature to the request was an amazing door opener, and a bonus few excavations ever got.

  They had all agreed to meet at the bottom of the Tor where the equipment was to be delivered. She drove over to Glastonbury in the Land Rover and could see the goods had already arrived. There were a few people moving around and she spotted the professor making notes on a large clipboard.

  He looked up as she revved the engine before switching off. With a cheery wave, he strode over, brimming with excitement and enthusiasm. “Hi Toots! You won’t believe the gear we’ve got here. Absolutely stunning!” He gave an expansive wave at an array of expensive and sophisticated looking equipment. “We’ve also got some extra help from a few archaeology students, keen to see how this all works. By the way, I let Vincenzo know what we’re doing, as late as possible. So if he wants to turn up, that’s up to him. C’mon, let me show you what we’ve got.”

  She clambered out of the vehicle and was surprised to see Kelvin standing close by. He gave her a polite nod and a quiet smile.

  “Now, just look at this,” Fergy gushed. “We have everything we need here and more.” Like a child with a new toy, he pulled her a
long the array of equipment. “Look at this!” He pointed to the first in the row. “These are infra- red, thermo-imaging cameras that employ virtual reality shots of what’s beneath us. They use a magnetometer GPS system. When we link these up with the laser scanning drone… Presto! a hidden world is revealed. The drone pictures are then stitched together electronically to form a composite image. So we’ll know almost precisely what we’re looking at.” He beamed. “With these, they have recently discovered more ancient carvings of huge historical interest, and written centuries BC in Egypt, close to the pyramids. They operate by recording data as a 3D print. With this stuff, we could cover the entire complex in a week rather than several months, and that is without doing any ‘dig and hope’ style digging. No Indiana Jones, his hat or his whip around here.” He was unable to prevent himself from laughing. He was almost ecstatic.

  Miriam pulled him to a stop in front of the last piece of equipment. “Gosh! A LIDAR scanner. How did you manage that?”

  Fergy turned to Kelvin and the two students who were walking in close attendance. “This is our ace card, Kelvin. LIDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging. It uses laser technology to map the contours of surfaces. It basically involves shooting millions of laser beams at a surface, such as the surface of the ground or the vertical face of an excavated wall. Then it calculates how long it takes for the laser beam to bounce back. This thing is revolutionising our work. There have been some amazing discoveries using this system. Bournemouth University located sixteen roundhouses that were part of Duropolis, a home settlement for part of the Celtic Durotriges tribe. They dated the find from the first century BC. That location, dear listeners, is not too far from where we’re standing right now. They could be significant to the work we’re doing here. Again, this equipment has, within the last few weeks, discovered several Knights Templar treasure tunnels buried directly beneath Acre and the city of Jerusalem. So, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we might be so similarly fortunate.”