Reciprosity

  It was my second marriage, and just as magical as the first. It was Virna’s first time at bat and she was radiant throughout the Catholic Mass. I am not Catholic. In fact I’m not anything when it comes to religion. But I was baptized as a child, so I was able to obtain official permission from the diocese to wed Virna. She comes from a long line of devout Catholics. Including her uncle Vito who made a generous donation to the diocese.

  Three weeks earlier, Vittorio had presided over the trial of Domhnall Christoph, in what the Roman’s once called the centumviràle court. There was nothing legal about it. It was about reciprocity. In this case, the surviving members of the forty-plus victims of Christoph’s army of Guardian Eagles found the former president of the United States guilty. He was then taken to an isolated section of Vittorio’s vineyards where he was executed. His remains were cremated and the ashes scattered to the wind.

  Vittorio was seated in the front pew. He looked up at Virna and me and smiled. Then he made the sign of the Creed. An acknowledgement that the dead had been honored.

  Ray, Della and Mark were present. And even Kate was here. Sitting beside them was our newest friend. Helena Claybourn Kincaid. A surviving member of the Genesis legacy. She and the eight women I found in Scotland were the last of a sisterhood birthed over 100-years ago, and still thriving today.

  Our new friends from Scotland sat a few pews back. Rory and Aila had successfully overseen the cleanup at Castle Christoph, and the medical transport of the eight Genesis ladies. Christoph had no heirs, so the castle that bore his family name for centuries was legally transferred to the national park system. It was renamed Castle Lomond.

  As for Virna and me. I have a couple of legal issues I have to deal with back in the states. Ray says there’s little to worry about. He also said that last year when he sent me to Paris to rescue Kate. In fact, he always says that when he asks me to do him a favor.

  While I’m away, Virna is going to hang those new drapes.

  OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

  The Genesis Legacy (new edition)

  Perfidy (Luke Cassine novel #1)

  Reciprocity (Luke Cassine novel #2)

  Judgment (Luke Cassine novel #3)

  A Canticle For Elvis

  Return To Eden (six volume graphic novel series)