Riccielli glanced up at Michelangelo's magnificent ceiling, at God's finger reaching out to give life to Adam. Were the cardinals reaching out to give life to a black pope? If so, what kind of creature were they creating?
And then the counting was finished. The first two scrutineers started adding up their totals. Cardinal Heffernan tied the ends of the thread and placed the stack of ballots into a box. Soon the right chemicals would be added—for black smoke or white, depending on the outcome; they would then be burned in the tiny stove in the corner, and in this primitive fashion the waiting world would learn the results of the ballot. When the scrutineers were done, the three revisers came over to check their work. All had to be in agreement. There could be no possibility of mistake or subterfuge, no claims of unfairness or error.
Cardinal Magee leaned over to Riccielli. "The witch doctor's got it," he murmured. "Quite a surprise, eh?"
"Oh, I knew it would be him all along," Riccielli joked lamely.
Magee laughed. "You and the Holy Spirit."
The scrutineers and revisers called up Agnello, the dean of the College of Cardinals. He conferred with them for a moment, and the chapel grew quiet. Then Agnello looked up and smiled. "Habemus papam," he said with a smile, and the conclave erupted in cheers.
Riccielli looked across at Valli. His expression hadn't changed.
Cardinal Agnello approached Gurdani.
* * *
Joseph Gurdani watched Agnello approach as if in a dream. Absurdly, he thought of one of his prison guards walking toward him. He had the same leaden sense of dread in his stomach. It is starting again, he would think as the guard approached. The one he was thinking of always had a smile on his face, much as the cardinal was smiling now. One of his front teeth was gold, so the prisoners called him Goldy. Goldy's boots always gleamed, and he never went anywhere without his rifle. And whenever he approached you, you could be sure that the butt of that rifle would end up in your stomach, the dread turning into a hard ball of pain.
It is starting again.
Giuseppe Agnello was a wizened but spry old man. He seemed to have difficulty being as solemn as his role demanded. He stopped in front of Gurdani and gazed at him, his gray eyes sparkling. "Hello, Joseph," he whispered in badly accented English, bending close.
"Ciao, Giuseppe," Gurdani replied, speaking the same words in badly accented Italian.
Then Agnello straightened and said aloud, "Do you accept your canonical election as Supreme Pontiff?"
You can turn them down, of course. It is not like going to prison—though in fact Gurdani had had a choice then, as well. It had been an easy one for him, though not for many others. Prison or freedom. Pain or pleasure. Good or evil. So many choices through a lifetime, leading to this moment, this ultimate decision.
He had no desire for the burden they wanted to place on him. But his decisions had always been made on a simple basis: What does God want of me? If God wanted him to take the rifle butt in the stomach with a smile and a prayer for his torturer, he would do so. Sometimes, of course, it is not easy to discern God's wishes; sometimes it is the height of pride and folly to assume you know them.
But not now, he realized. Not with the princes of the Church gazing at you, asking you to lead them. God had not brought him this far, only to see him turn into a coward.
"With deepest humility," Gurdani said in a clear voice, "with the realization that I am the least worthy among us, but with complete trust in God's wisdom and help, I accept."
There was loud applause. Agnello nodded cheerily. It was the correct answer. "By what name do you wish to be called?" he asked.
His first decision, Gurdani realized. The world would interpret it however it chose. He thought of his mother. Would she have been astonished, proud, overwhelmed at this moment? No, even this would not have caused her to bend. Of course you can do it, Joseph, he could hear her say, her eyes blazing with determination. You can be better than anyone. You just have to try harder. Think of your father. Think of what he would have wanted.
His father, dead of cholera when Gurdani was only two. Nothing more than a shadow in his memory—and possibly a false one at that, woven from his mother's stories and his own longings. Such a great man, Joseph. He loved learning. He loved Our Lord. He expected great things from you. You must not let him down.
Who, next to his mother, was more important in his life? Whom did he want more to honor?
His father, John Gurdani.
"I take the name John."
Agnello beamed, as if this were the very name he himself would have chosen. And then he led Gurdani down to the altar. The scrutineers' table had been removed and an ornate carved wooden chair put in its place. "Now it's time for us to pledge our obedience to you," Agnello explained, seating him in the chair. "I will be honored to be the first."
The old man got down on his knees. "Your Holiness," he began...
This won't do, Gurdani thought. He arose from the chair and helped the cardinal to his feet. "Please, Giuseppe, there is no need," he said.
"Not from me, perhaps," Agnello murmured, "but from some of these fellows, you'll want to get all the promises you can."
Gurdani laughed and embraced him. "If they're as bad as you suggest, no amount of promises will help," he pointed out.
And then the other cardinals approached, one by one. Many of them Gurdani scarcely knew—just a name, a reputation. Others, like Agnello, were his friends and allies. And he knew that Agnello was right: some of the men who were greeting him and promising their loyalty and obedience were his enemies, though he could only guess who. The Curial cardinals, presumably; some of the Americans. Perhaps the defeated candidates and their backers. One in particular was important to him.
"Cardinal Valli," he said when the man was in front of him, "you would have been a far worthier choice than I."
Valli inclined his head. "Your Holiness is very kind."
Valli had been the old pope's cardinal secretary of state. He knew everyone and everything. Eminently papabile. In other times, perhaps, he would have been the natural successor to the papal throne. Now they were looking for someone new and different, apparently, and Gurdani had been the man who fit the bill. "This is a very heavy burden that has been placed on me," he went on. "I will need your help."
"All I have, all I am, is at your disposal," Valli responded, with another small bow.
Gurdani reached out and shook the Italian cardinal's hand warmly. "That is very good news," he said. "We will talk."
"I look forward to it, Your Holiness."
When the new pope had finished with the cardinals, it was time to meet the world. But first he had to dress for the part.
He was escorted to the small scarlet-walled sacristy off the chapel. "This is called the Room of Tears," Agnello said. "I can't imagine why."
"Perhaps one can guess," Gurdani replied.
In it were three simple white cassocks—small, medium, and large. A tailor stood by with safety pins, ready to fit him. The small cassock would do, of course. He removed his elaborate red and white cardinal's robes and stared down at his scrawny body. Such a frail vessel. He put on the cassock. The tailor fussed with it until he apparently deemed it sufficiently papal, and then retired. Gurdani doubted that he ever would look papal, to some at least. A small black man with grey hair and a squint. A head that habitually bent to one side, like a bird's. A back that was no longer quite straight, due to events he did not wish to dwell on just now. To some he would look quite ridiculous, he was sure. Worse, an insult to the Church, a disgrace to the throne of Saint Peter.
Abruptly he sat down on a small bench. Was he supposed to cry now, in the Room of Tears? Well, he wouldn't, he decided after a moment. He wasn't worthy, but then, no one was, no one could be.
He slid from the bench and knelt stiffly on the tiled floor. He was certain that many of his predecessors had knelt here like this, praying for the strength to do the impossible. It was all you could do—ask for some of G
od's strength, so that you could carry out His will.
After a while he got to his feet and left the room. Again he was escorted, this time outside, to the loggia overlooking Saint Peter's Square, filled now with a writhing, jostling, banner-waving throng. Agnello presented him to the multitudes waiting there in the twilight, clearly delighted at the opportunity to shock them. And Gurdani could hear—no, he could feel—the gasp as people caught their first glimpse of the small black figure who was now the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
He approached the microphone and paused, waiting for silence. "I don't speak Italian well," he began finally. "But I promise I will learn. There is so much I need to learn. I need your help—I need the world's help—to do this job. But most of all I need God's help. I ask you to pray for me, and for our Holy Mother the Church. And in return I will give every ounce of my strength to this role that has been thrust upon me."
And then he sketched a blessing in the chilly air while the crowd cheered.
Domine, non sum dignus, Gurdani thought as he gazed out at the sea of faces. Lord, I am not worthy. You just have to try harder, his mother's voice echoed in his mind. There would be no tears. What would his father have said? He thought of Goldy—dead of AIDS, he had heard. He thought of all who had shaped him, for good or ill. And his blessing was for them, as well as for this crowd filled with the curious and the devout, and the billion Catholics whose leader he had just become.
God is in us all, he thought. The evil and the good. The torturer and the tortured. Let us come together in His spirit, to do His will.
And thus began the reign of Pope John the Twenty-Fourth.
Chapter 3
It started with Tiffany O'Doul's acne.
Tiffany looked after Erin McKee when Erin's mother had to do errands, or just get out of the house for a while when everything got to be too much for her. Tiffany was a good kid. She had babysat Erin before the accident, and would have looked after her now for free, but Sandra McKee insisted on paying her. Sandra didn't want favors; she felt guilty enough leaving her daughter with someone else, even when she had to.
Tiffany was a sophomore in high school, and she had beautiful long brown hair and a nice figure that Sandra would have killed for, but her complexion was a mess. It made Sandra cringe a little whenever she saw her. She wanted to tell the teenager to wash more often, to lay off fried foods, to wear less of the hideous makeup she used to try to hide her problem. But Sandra knew what it was like to be a sensitive teenage girl. Tiffany didn't need advice; she just needed to grow up.
The day that it began, Tiffany came over after school so Sandra could do the grocery shopping. Sometimes Erin minded when her mother left, and that ripped Sandra's heart out, but she usually didn't fuss much when Tiffany was there. "Don't worry, Mrs. McKee," Tiffany said, "we'll be fine."
Sandra leaned over to kiss Erin in her wheelchair. Erin smiled a gap-toothed smile, and for a moment she looked like any other seven-year-old girl. But seven-year-olds know how to say good-bye, and all that came out of Erin's lips was a kind of high-pitched grunt. Sandra left quickly, grateful that there were no tears.
She went to the Stop 'n' Shop. She wore a pager whenever she left the house in case anything went wrong, but nothing ever did while Tiffany was with Erin. So she let herself dawdle, leafing through magazines and studying unit prices. It wasn't right, but killing time in the supermarket made her feel less guilty than driving around aimlessly and smoking cigarettes, which is what she sometimes did when things started getting to her. But eventually Sandra was done, and it was time to return. When she got home, she announced her arrival and lugged the bags in from the Caravan. Tiffany came out into the kitchen as she was putting the groceries away.
"How was she?" Sandra asked as she searched for room in the refrigerator.
"Oh, fine. We watched cartoons and played patty-cake. I don't think she got the idea exactly, but we had fun."
Sandra smiled and searched in her wallet for the money to pay Tiffany. It was when she went to hand the money to her that she finally noticed the babysitter's face. If she had thought about it she might not have said anything, but she was so surprised that she didn't think; she just blurted out, "Tiffany, your complexion!"
The teenager blushed, and her hand went reflexively to her face.
"No, Tiffany—it looks great! Funny I didn't notice before. Have you been using a new medication or something?"
Without removing her hand, Tiffany shook her head, looking miserable.
"Come on," Sandra said, leading her into the downstairs bathroom. "Take a look."
They stood together in the tiny bathroom as Tiffany stared into the mirror above the sink. And Sandra watched as Tiffany's hand dropped away from her cheek and her mouth opened wide. "Oh my God," she whispered, and then she just stared at herself, at the smooth healthy skin that a few hours ago had been covered with craters and whiteheads and angry red blotches. Then her eyes filled, and tears streaked the glowing skin.
"Nothing," Tiffany said, as if finally answering Sandra's question. "I haven't—I didn't—" And then she stopped, put her hand on her cheek once more, and walked quickly out of the bathroom.
Sandra followed her into the family room, where Erin was still watching TV, her scruffy teddy bear under her arm. Her eyes followed the cartoon figures with pleasure but, Sandra knew, with precious little understanding. Tiffany was staring down at the child. "Erin, hon?" she said.
Erin looked up at her.
"You touched me, right? On the cheeks. We were playin' patty-cake, and you suddenly reached out and put your hands on my cheeks." Tiffany reached down, grasped Erin's hands, and brought them up to her face. "And there was this look on your face—right, hon? It was so beautiful, like—like you knew something wonderful that you wanted to tell me. Do you remember?"
Erin smiled at her.
Tiffany looked over at Sandra. "It was then," she said. "I know it happened then."
"Don't be silly," Sandra replied, shaking her head violently. It hadn't happened. It couldn't happen.
"Mrs. McKee, there's something very special inside Erin. Don't you feel it sometimes? When she looks at you with that way she has—like, she really knows, even if she can't say anything?"
Sandra gazed at her daughter: snub nose, blue eyes, golden hair. No. Beautiful, sweet, wonderful. But not special. Sandra didn't just think it: she willed it.
But there was Tiffany with her glowing skin, smiling tearfully at Erin.
"She's just a little girl," Sandra insisted. "Just a little girl."
But Tiffany wasn't paying attention. She was on her knees now next to Erin, holding her hand. "Thank you, sweetie," she said. "Thank you so much. You knew, didn't you? You knew this was all I wanted. And you gave it to me. You sweet, sweet girl."
Erin, clutching her teddy, just smiled her gap-toothed smile at her babysitter.
"Just a little girl," her mother kept repeating, now weeping like Tiffany. "My little girl."
* * *
And of course the word got out. How could Tiffany keep it secret, when everyone who knew her could simply look at her face and realize that something amazing had happened? Looking back, Sandra realized she should have sworn Tiffany to secrecy, should have paid her money to lie, should have done anything to keep the babysitter from spreading her story. But she had been too upset. And even if she had thought of something, would it have made a difference? Even in those first moments, Sandra had somehow intuited the inevitability of what was to come and her utter powerlessness in the face of it. She was a skier trying to outrace an avalanche. She was doomed.
First it was Mary Beth Halloran on the phone. Mary Beth was in Tiffany's homeroom. "I'm so sorry to bother you, Mrs. McKee, but, like, I was talking to Tiffany O'Doul? And she said, you know, Erin, like, cleared up her complexion? And I was wondering, I know this is kind of weird, but, I've got this really bad case of acne too? So if I could just see Erin for a minute? It's just that Tiffany looks so great and, you kn
ow, who knows?"
And then there was Tiffany's mom, Nancy O'Doul, gushing over what had happened and what a special child Erin was. Not special, Sandra fumed to herself. Not special at all. And Nancy was saying, "Sandra, I know what an imposition this is, but I have this cousin Patty—I don't think you've met her? She lives in New Hampshire with her husband Al and well, anyway, she's always had this problem with eczema, and I was wondering..."
When Mike got home, Sandra had to unload on him—who else did she have? As usual, he got his can of Coors out of the refrigerator, seated Erin on his lap, and listened, stolidly taking it all in.
"It's crazy," was his opinion when she finished. "A coincidence. Or some kind of mind-body thing with Tiffany. Teenage hormones."
"Okay, but people aren't going to believe that, Mike. They're going to believe it's Erin. And they're going to want to... get at her. Make her touch them. Like she's some kind of freak."
Sandra could feel herself losing control. When Mike was home, she gave herself permission to do that. He didn't deserve it, but she couldn't help herself. She just couldn't.
He sat there at the kitchen table with Erin on his lap, wearing that long-suffering expression of his that seemed to say, "Hit me again. I can take it." She wanted sympathy, love, understanding, but she knew that it was beyond Mike's capacity to give her all she needed. "We don't have to let anyone get at Erin that we don't want to," he pointed out, holding their daughter more tightly.
"Then you answer the phone. You take the blame when everyone in Waltham thinks you're keeping them from curing their acne or their cousin's eczema or whatever. Let them call you selfish and heartless and—"
Pontiff (A Thriller) Page 2