“What’s the problem now?” Clancy asked, permitting Cardinal Hetre’s determined prodding to take effect.
“How am I to deal with Cardinal Gemme? I have received permission to visit him next week.” He moved his bony hands through the air as if clutching for something he alone could see. “He and I have always disagreed, but now we find ourselves in agreement. Yet he is confined for doing what I have lacked the courage to do. I have to know what is expected of me.”
“You and Mister Greene will decide that between you,” said Clancy, feeling grateful that he would not have to deal with any of those negotiations. “In the meantime, I’m going to do a little snooping around the College of Cardinals, to find out if it’s true about Dellegos. If he has been part of one plot, he might want to join another.”
“Or he might seek to betray us,” said Cardinal Hetre with contempt. “What can you expect of such a man as Dellegos? We would be more sensible to ask someone of the stature of Cardinal Ochoa or Cardinal Bakony. Both those men have political as well as religious reasons to support the discrediting of the Chinese woman. You ought to talk with them.”
“I might, if Dellegos doesn’t turn out. And there are advantages to someone like Dellegos, because he isn’t obvious.” Clancy sat on the corner of the luncheon table. “That’s my work, Eminence.”
“But Dellegos has been part of a plot, or so it appears. Whatever his role, he was aware of danger to the Pope and said nothing, that would appear to be certain. He will be reluctant to be drawn into another one after what has become of Cardinal Gemme.” It was the only thing Hetre thought would penetrate the wall of skepticism that so completely isolated him.
“That he might, if he knew what I was asking and why. But if he still believes that the Church ought to be rid of Pope An, then there may be a way for us to enroll him.” He sighed once. “I suppose I’ll have to use poor old Uncle Neddy again. No wonder he went into a monastery, and a silent one at that.”
“Does it bother you that your uncle will not see you?” asked Cardinal Hetre suddenly.
“It did, but not any more,” said Clancy, unperturbed by the question. “I used to think that he didn’t see me because he wanted to break with the family. But after all the lunacy of the last couple of years, I guess what Uncle Neddy wants to be free of is the whole world. He found the only way he could to shut it out. Poor old fart.” He paid no attention to the shock in Cardinal Hetre’s face. “I told my cousins who worry about him that he doesn’t like publicity.”
Cardinal Hetre was about to chastise Clancy for this irreverent attitude toward so important a member of his family, then thought better of it. Rufus Greene was about to arrive and it would not be wise to greet him with disagreement. He decided that it would be best to keep to a matter that was important to them both. It went against every principle he knew, but Cardinal Hetre was learning to deal with these worldly men. “You’ll have a better understanding of this than I do,” he said to flatter Clancy’s vanity. “And to tell the truth, I haven’t been following the papers very closely, not about Cardinal Gemme. The only thing I know is that he is being held at a hospital while his mental state is evaluated. What has the press said about the likelihood of Cardinal Gemme’s standing trial?”
“It doesn’t sound real likely.” Clancy was not very surprised that the whole Cardinal Gemme mess was being kept under wraps. “No one wants him to talk very much. The psychiatrists are debating over the legal responsibility of his actions, and there’s the medical question of the injury to his shoulder and back. From what the hospital has released, Cardinal Gemme might have lost some mobility from the penetration of the shoe-heel.”
“What damage?” asked Cardinal Hetre, holding still so that his headache would not make him feel dizzy.
“Apparently there might be some nerve damage. She drove that heel in pretty deep and it got near the spine. According to the scans they did, one of the nerves was unsheathed. That’s all the report said. There’s been no discussion of a prognosis. They aren’t saying much about his mental state yet, just hedging their bets.” He hitched his shoulders. “And between the regular doctors and the head doctors, I don’t think Cardinal Gemme will ever see the inside of a courtroom. They’ll probably arrange for close, personal attention at a hospital somewhere in Switzerland, or Sweden or another of the neutral countries. He’ll be taken good care of, and kept away from the public. And if he isn’t nuts now, he will be after a couple years of that kind of treatment. No mess, no publicity, no embarrassment. That ought to satisfy everyone.”
“But what of Cardinal Gemme? Won’t there be any official testimony at all? Won’t he be permitted to make an official statement, at least to the Church?” In spite of his determination not to be shocked, Cardinal Hetre was just that. “There will be no opportunity for Cardinal Gemme to explain his actions, and no test of them. How could it be allowed to happen.”
“Allowed? It’ll be encouraged. And most everyone will think it’s a great idea. Except the Pope, I’d bet, and some of the police,” said Clancy at his most charming and cynical.
Cardinal Hetre again suppressed the urge to dispute Clancy’s statement. He was determined not to make himself appear as demented as Cardinal Gemme had clearly become. He folded his arms, pressing inward so that he might lessen the urge to vomit. “Isn’t Mister Greene supposed to be here?”
“That he is,” said Clancy, wishing that Greene would come through the door and take Cardinal Hetre off his hands. “I guess International Vision, Ltd. has more to tell him than usual.”
“Who are they, do you know?” asked Cardinal Hetre.
“You mean other than connected somehow to the American Reverend Robert Williamson and all his various enterprises? No, I don’t know who they are. I find it best not to ask such questions, Cardinal.” He scribbled Williamson on the pad and surrounded it with question marks. “People who want to stay hidden—it’s best if that’s the way it’s done. So long as they’re on our side, we accept what they offer and don’t get drawn into their workings. You uncover too much, and you’ll be covered over.” He laughed at his observation. “They aren’t afraid of Cardinals, Cardinal. They aren’t afraid of anything but exposure.”
“Reverend Williamson has been gaining many, many…followers.”
“Converts?” suggested Clancy, and felt relief as the first short rap on the door announced the arrival of Mister Rufus Greene.
He came into the room, anonymous and dapper as ever, his very neatness giving him a kind of invisibility. He looked from Clancy to Cardinal Hetre and felt the animosity between them as if there were thunder in the air. He twitched a minuscule smile to both of them, then gestured to the three settees in the center of the room. “Why don’t we all be comfortable?” he suggested, giving a quick glance toward Clancy.
“How can we do that?” asked Cardinal Hetre even as he sank down on the tapestry-upholstered cushions. “How can anyone be comfortable in such a world?”
“Why, one learns how the world works,” said Greene in his usual unruffled way. “And when one knows that, one goes with the workings rather than against them. You can accomplish more when you are not fighting all the current. It is the principle of aikido.” He put his carrying case down. “Please. Let me show you what I have brought with me.”
“What have you brought?” asked Clancy, by way of encouragement.
“I have obtained—it would not be discreet for me to say how—a copy of the statement provided by the Eurocops assigned to this case. Never mind how they came into my hands. I have it on excellent authority that this is what is being submitted to Vatican Security. It makes very interesting reading.” As he spoke he drew out a large bundle of printouts. “Italian first, then French, and then English translation. You may find it interesting to pay special attention to the comments I have highlighted.”
Clancy picked up one of the long sheets and skimmed through it, whistling once as he came upon something that interested him. “It isn’t over y
et.”
“How do you mean that?” Cardinal Hetre was reading much more slowly, as much to be sure he grasped all the significance of the statement as because his headache was increasing steadily.
“Well, if half of what Cardinal Gemme has said is true, we will have no difficulty in finding others to help us,” Clancy said, pointing to a reference to Cardinal Llanos of Managua. “Most of the Latin Americans are having a great deal of trouble. You don’t read about it very much in the papers, and lots of it isn’t reported at all. The upper churchmen are conservative, most of them, all tied into the political regimes, one way or another. They are trying to stave off changes. But a great many of the priests and monks and nuns are solidly on the side of the Pope’s reforms.”
Mister Greene nodded emphatically. “Yes, an excellent point. Many of those Cardinals have a great deal to lose if the reforms are permitted to take hold. Their people have not yet learned how sweeping those reforms are, and so they are confused; and they do not necessarily support the Pope because they dislike Orientals.” He folded his hands over his watch-fob and vest. “Don’t you think we can turn this to advantage?”
“Yes, if we make sure not to permit the same kinds of mistakes that Cardinal Gemme and his group have made,” said Clancy. He set the printouts aside. “There are times when you have to leave things to professionals.”
Rufus Greene leaned back on his heels. “I don’t know if it’s been on the news yet, but there was a major food riot in Rio de Janeiro last night. It has nothing to do with the Church specifically but the unrest and uncertainty brought about by all these changes have increased the instability in Brazil to the point that the government might well be compromised.” He looked from Clancy to Cardinal Hetre, his face wreathed in smiles. “Don’t you see? The Latin Americans will be the key to this.”
“But what makes you think this will happen?” asked Cardinal Hetre, wanting to shake Greene and set him straight about the Latin American Cardinals, who were as diverse in their politics as they were in social origin. Three of these Cardinals had survived bloody revolutions in the last five years, and all three of them had made peace in different ways.
“It will happen because they are already closer to the edge,” said Mister Greene, adding, “I know you don’t believe me, Cardinal Hetre. But as you have your areas of expertise, so I have mine, and this is one of them. You may know the inner workings of the College of Cardinals, but I have a body of information about the Church and its position in the world today, particularly in Third World countries. I wouldn’t say what I have if I didn’t actually believe that I am correct.” He swung around to look at Clancy. “We will review the possibilities later. For the time being, we must learn all that we can from Cardinal Hetre. Without his knowledge we are lost.”
Cardinal Hetre did not actually preen as he heard this, but he stood a little straighter and he made a motion as if he were polishing the lapels of his dark business suit, and his lapel pins. Most of the time both Greene and McEllton seemed to have no regard for his expertise and his opinion, but at last they were beginning to appreciate him. “I am pleased to help in any way I can,” he said, making it clear that he considered his contribution more crucial than what the other two had to offer.
* * *
“I wish you would be more candid with me, Sergeant,” said Pope An as she handed back the report Axel Maetrich had submitted to Vatican Security and to her. “You are at such pains to keep from shocking me.”
In his priest’s clothing, Maetrich appeared five years younger than he did in standard street clothing. He stood very straight. “Madame, it isn’t my intention to misrepresent the danger, but I don’t want to make it appear that you are at greater risk than we have reason to believe you are.”
“Oh, very good,” she approved. “Saying two things at once, and so well.” She rose and came around the end of her desk. “If you were appearing before me as a Magistrate and not in this office, you know I would not accept what you have said. Here you believe you must couch your language carefully. I am not one of those creatures who retreated from life into the Church, I am someone who came here at invitation, when I was a widow with many responsibilities. Do me the courtesy to remember that. And remember I was the one Cardinal Gemme attempted to kill, not you.” She watched him flush, and remained silent while her rebuke sunk in. “I may have been the one intended to die when Cardinal Tayibha was poisoned.”
“You’re right,” he admitted after several long seconds. “I have been attempting to shield you from what we’ve found out. You must realize I find it difficult to think of you as I might think of another woman.”
“Think of me as another Magistrate and I will be pleased,” said Pope An. “Now, then, let us review what you have brought to me. You tell me that there were four Cardinals who conspired against me. The four were Ruhig, Sinclair, Dellegos, and Bellau. Also, of course, Gemme. Gemme was given the opportunity to kill me because the four believed he had the greatest likelihood to be in my company and to be near me without suspicion, and in that they were right.” She looked at Maetrich. “Am I in line with your thought thus far?”
“Yes, Your Hol—” He broke off and began again. “Yes, Pope An.”
She was not distracted by his slip. “It was agreed that Cardinal Gemme would have the greatest opportunity to kill me at the reception Dame Leonie gave, because the security was to be handled by Vatican Security instead of the Eurocops. Apparently they reckoned the various devices used by the Eurocops for such occasions as diplomatic functions and airport clearances would not be used here.”
“Apparently, or they assumed that Cardinal Gemme would not be subjected to any inspection,” said Maetrich. He wanted very badly to sit down and have a drink of water, but neither of these things seemed possible.
“Because of Dionigi Stelo, he was able to enter without any check,” said Pope An. “Yes, that has been established. And he wanted to martyr himself to the preservation of the Church, or something of the sort? Yes, that must be it.” She nodded. “Chinese people do not give themselves up to that kind of religion, but we have often followed leaders in the way this Cardinal Gemme has given himself to his purpose.” She strolled along the office floor. “Have I failed to grasp the situation? At least in regard to Cardinal Gemme?”
“Yes, most definitely,” said Maetrich stiffly. He wanted to tell her to set guards around her day and night, to make certain she was constantly observed and protected, but he knew she would have none of it.
“And the other men? What is to be done about them?” She grasped her left elbow with her right hand. “Or hasn’t that been decided yet?”
Once again Maetrich flushed. “There are…jurisdictional complications. We can’t simply arrest them on the word of Cardinal Gemme until it is decided that his word will stand up in court.”
“And it is not likely that will happen, is it?” She said it pleasantly enough, but there was something rather hard in her eyes. “No one wants any more embarrassment, and they are counting on the shame of the other men to be sufficient to keep them away from similar plots. Yes, the Church is not so different from the government of Premier Zuo. Always one must save face, no matter how dangerous such vanity may be. I would assume that the Eurocops are prepared to place those Cardinals under surveillance, if they haven’t done so already?”
“They have been watched by Vatican Security and the Eurocops, and will continue to be watched for at least another three or four months, longer if there seems to be reason to continue. For example, if we discover the identity of Cardinal Tayibha’s killer,” Maetrich conceded. “You’ve done an excellent job, Pope An. You sum up very capably, and you grasp the essentials. I wish some of my men could do as well.” It was a sincere compliment and not just an attempt to return to her good opinion. “In future I won’t try to keep the worst from you.”
“Thank you. I will be most grateful.” She bowed to him, and saw that he was nonplused. “You may bow, if that would ease you.”
He imitated her actions. “Thank you.” As he straightened up he saw that she was smiling. “What is it?”
“Nothing, Sergeant.” She hesitated, then explained. “I was just thinking that you are the fifth person here who is willing to observe the forms I find most comfortable. I have tried to learn the proper way for Rome, but I miss my Chinese manners. Dame Leonie, Willie Foot, Cardinal Mendosa, and Cardinal Cadini are the only ones who have shown me that courtesy thus far.”
“Would you like me to do this for you?” Sergeant Maetrich was aghast at himself for suggesting such an unpardonable familiarity.
Her smile grew. “Oh, that would be quite wonderful.”
* * *
“I can’t take much more of this,” murmured Dame Leonie from behind her menu. She pinched the edge of the beautiful Florentine stock on which the fare was printed, trying not to grip the paper too tightly and give herself away. She bit the inside of her cheeks and made herself read the dishes offered this evening. From tables all around the elegant restaurant diners were turning inquisitive and speculative eyes on her.
“Would you like to leave?” Willie asked, concerned because he saw the strain in her eyes. “I’ll take care of the bill and we can slip out the back.”
She shook her head defiantly. “I’m a diplomat. I have to stick it out or I’ll never be able to do my job, will I?”
“You mean like getting back on a horse when it’s thrown you?” He wanted to reach out his hand to her, but held his impulse in check. “I don’t think this is quite the same thing.”
“Oh, yes it is,” said Dame Leonie. “It’s exactly the same thing. One of the reasons you get back on the horse is to convince the horse you can, and the other reason is to convince yourself,” she said with quiet determination. “I’ve been able to deal with everything Arthur has thrown at me. I have to deal with this as well.”
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