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.His name was Miguel Desayer.”“A cardinal?” said Stella.“I bet that threw you.”“Yes it did,” said Cronin.“And what he told me threw me even more.He explained that he was looking for an assistant to help him with some research, and that I fitted his requirements.I explained that my forte was more in tactical manoeuvres, but he ignored the comment.He produced a dossier and said that he knew all about me.He had everything in there, right from nursery school onwards.I couldn’t believe it.“He told me more about myself than even I knew.He said he had been drawn to me because I was a disillusioned Catholic.I told him that there was no point trying to convert me back, and he replied by telling me he didn’t want to.In fact he wanted the opposite.”“So, let me get this straight,” said Stella.“He wanted to rally you against Catholicism?”“Effectively, yes,” said Cronin.“Desayer’s story was quite amazing to me.His parents were killed at an early age and he was brought up in an orphanage.He and his friend Abdullah were set apart from the other children by one of the carers, a man named Gabriel.He looked after them well, and educated them far beyond their impecunious surroundings.The day they were to leave he called them into his study and let them into a great secret.He told them a story about Jesus surviving the crucifixion and how he had left a legacy to mankind—”“The box!” exclaimed Stella, unable to help herself.“The symbols!”“Ah,” said Cronin, with a grin.“So you do know.”Stella immediately realized she had given too much away.Cronin smiled kindly.“Don’t worry,” he said.“I’m not going to push you for information.Shall I carry on?”Stella nodded.“Well then,” he continued.“Gabriel told them about the box and the symbols, and how they had been lost during the Second World War.They disappeared whilst being transported from one temple to another for safety.He told them of his concerns that the knowledge could fall into the wrong hands.He said that there were factions within both the Catholic Church and Islam that knew about the symbols and had been trying to find them for centuries.If either of them got hold of this knowledge the consequences for mankind would be catastrophic.Whoever found them first would use the symbols to create their own Messiah, and announce themselves as the only true religion, thus establishing them as the ultimate power in the world.”“So where did the two boys come into it?” asked Stella.“I was just coming to that,” said Cronin.“During their time at the orphanage they had both been given an excellent grounding in various religions, particularly Catholicism and Islam.Gabriel’s request was that Miguel and Abdullah place themselves in these faiths and look for signs of the rogue factions within them, and make sure that they never got hold of the knowledge.”“And Miguel managed to rise all the way to cardinal,” said Stella.“That’s quite something for a non-Catholic.What about Abdullah?”“He was a great Islamic scholar and imam.”“Was?”“Yes, unfortunately he was killed the other day.Murdered.He sent me a note from his hospital bed warning me that the Muslims were on the trail of the box.”“Oh, I’m sorry,” Stella sympathized.“It must have hit Miguel badly.”“Yes, I’m sure it has.But there is no time to dwell.”“You know what,” said Stella.“You’re story’s remarkably similar to Alonso’s.”“I dare say it is.I would expect him to twist it to suit his purposes.But believe me, his sole aim is to get hold of that box and those symbols for the Church.It’s my job to stop them.”“So you say.But how do I know which one of you to believe?”“You don’t.But I expect you’ve already made your mind up.”“Just one more question,” she said, lighting another cigarette.“Why did you become a priest?”“In short, I had to – to allay any suspicion of my appointment as Desayer’s assistant.”“Makes sense I suppose,” she agreed.“As much as anything does in this sorry business.I don’t understand why you had to lie to me though?”“I had to check you out – see where you were coming from.See if you could be trusted or not.And also, I had no idea for certain that my theory was right.”“What theory was that?”“The theory that brought me here in the first place,” said Cronin.“The idea that your boyfriend had been resurrected.The idea that the symbols had resurfaced.To be honest I still don’t know for sure.I need your cooperation for that.”Stella looked into Cronin’s eyes trying to gauge his intention.A part of her was screaming not to trust anybody; but way down deep, beneath the hurt, the betrayals, and the lies, something told her this man was good, and that letting him in was the only possible way forward.“Well?” said Cronin.Chapter 65Stone raced to the side of the bridge and stared down into the Thames.The lights of Westminster gave an adequate view of the rain stinging the surface, but there was no sign of Jennings.A crowd started to gather, leaning over as far as they dared, trying to get a glimpse of what they assumed was a dangerous fugitive.The gunfire hadn’t scared them at all.Davis tried to shuffle them along.“Nothing to see here!” he shouted, prising a gawky teenager away from the balustrade.Stone grabbed his arm.“Listen,” he whispered.“Leave them.We need as many eyes as we can get.I want him found.”Davis changed his tack.“Okay then!” he hollered.“If anybody sees anything then just shout.”Stone assembled his team.“Right then,” he said.“I want all available police launches out there patrolling under the bridge; and I want officers on both banks.I want a net around this area, we can’t let him get away!”He and Davis walked across the road to the left side of the bridge.They looked over at the long riverside pontoon and peered inside for signs of the runaway.“Where the hell is he?” muttered Stone.“Probably underneath,” said Davis.“Taking cover in the arches.That’s what I’d do.”Stone nodded.“Or he could have drowned,” Davis added.“The currents down there are all over the place.Doesn’t matter how good a swimmer you are, if the undertow gets you you’re fucked.”A patrol boat pulled up beneath them and chugged slowly along parallel to the bridge, its blinding light scouring the arches for signs of life.Stone watched nervously.“Don’t worry mate,” said Davis.“There’s no way that he’s going to escape from this.We’ve got everything covered so tightly even the algae will find it hard to float through.”“I know,” said Stone.“But Jennings is a survivor [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]