he got back on track, “Okay, I’ll concede the point that Himmler survived the war, and that he might be a member of the this group called the Apostles. But what does it all mean … and where do we go from here?”
“It means that they were acting in concert. And I believe we’re going to Rhinebeck.”
“Any idea what this symbol might represent?”
Zach held up a piece of paper that he’d scribbled the symbol on during Maggie’s presentation. v^988v^ .
“I wish I knew. The images around the number look like horizontal lightning bolts—as you know, the SS symbol was double lightning bolts, so there might be a connection there. As far as the number, I’ve run numerous scenarios in my head, but have hit nothing but dead ends. Thanks to Ellen’s confession, we know that Bormann, Himmler, Hess, Müller, and Ellen were five of the twelve. I think we must figure out who the other seven were, and decipher what aliases they used, or are using, since the war—only then will the symbol be clear.”
That seemed like a pretty tall order to Zach, and one that was unlikely to be successful.
Veronica must have been thinking the same thing. “All these men must be dead by now. So even if they survived the war, what’s the difference?”
Youkelstein answered, “Think about what the original Apostles did. At the time of their deaths, Christianity still wasn’t a dominant religion by any means. But they had planted the seeds. And Constantine, the Roman Emperor, years later took the fruit of that tree and declared Christianity the law of the land. By learning the identity of the Apostles who planted the Nazi seeds, it will lead us to the modern-day Constantine. He or she will be the one who will execute their takeover plan … and is the one we must stop.”
“And where would we even start?” Zach wondered aloud. He looked back at Youkelstein, who answered Zach’s question with a sideways glance.
He looked at Maggie.
Chapter 17
Veronica pulled off to the side of the road. The sky was bleak and she even noticed a couple of snowflakes float by. It was as if it were a sign that she should turn the vehicle around and not stop until she was curled up beside a fire in her living room.
But Ellen had hooked her with the bait. The Raphael appeared authentic, and if it wasn’t, Ellen sure went through a lot of trouble to find a good knockoff. Not the work of your average dementia sufferer.
“I promised Oma that I wouldn’t discuss the memoir,” Maggie said, sounding like a prisoner of war.
Veronica realized the men were in over their heads in dealing with her daughter. So she took a deep breath and said, “Sweetie, Oma has gone to a better place, so nothing she told you can hurt her anymore. But if we don’t find out what is going on here, more people could get hurt, and that’s the last thing Oma would want.”
“Oma said the reason I can’t say anything is to protect her family, which if you haven’t forgotten, is also my family. We have to trust that she’s going to lead us in the right direction.”
Dead or not, Ellen Peterson was pissing Veronica off. “Trust a woman whose entire life was a lie? If she really wanted to protect her family then she wouldn’t have pulled this stunt!”
“It’s not a stunt. And so far everything she’s said has come true.”
Maggie had a point. But protecting her children was Veronica’s sole mission, and Ellen had compromised it.
Zach must have felt her angst spilling over because he stepped in, “Maggie, it’s very important we locate this memoir you worked on with her. It would help us a lot if you’d tell us where it is.”
“I don’t have it!”
“Maggie!” Veronica shouted out. “Where is the memoir!?”
“I swear I don’t have it,” Maggie squeaked and began to tear up. “There was only one copy and Oma didn’t tell me where it was. She even burned the computer I typed it on.”
The coffee pot fire. Crazy fox strikes again.
Veronica backed off, knowing that Maggie would just shut down if this turned into a screaming match.
Zach took over the questioning, assuming the good cop role, “I believe you, Maggie. But perhaps you remember some of the things she dictated to you when you typed it. Names, places … anything.”
“She didn’t use the real names. Or say what the plan was. And she left it open-ended; she said it would