this third key is merely legend. No map, no gold, no artifacts, nothing at all. They think that the entire concept was invented by di Sangro as a ruse to anger the Vatican in revenge for ruining his name, and to keep them from finding the treasure.”
And here was that di Sangro prince again. “What do you believe?”
“You were with me when I found the first key in the very columbarium that I know for a fact was searched and ransacked before, including by the Vatican in the 1700s. They were searching for the first key back then. How can I not believe?”
Griffin pushed his chair back, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. “How do you know that what you found in the columbarium was the first key, if you found no second key at the crypt? And why is it so important?”
“It’s difficult to explain.”
“Try.”
“Di Sangro ensured that without all three keys, if someone tries to remove this map, that person will be killed.”
“This has something to do with a so-called curse at the tomb of the Valley of the Kings?” Griffin asked, thinking of what Tasha had told him when she’d first returned from the dig in Egypt.
“That’s a separate curse entirely, and, as most of the Egyptian curses go, a fable to ward off grave robbers. What di Sangro constructed in his own crypt is no curse. It will kill you.”
“What was di Sangro’s motive?”
“Familial duty. The city of San Severo, his birthright, was owned by the Knights Templar. Add to that that di Sangro was the first Grand Master of the Freemasons in Naples in the 1700s, it explains why some scholars believe he was also an appointed guardian of part of the Templar treasure.”
“Why waste time searching through these long-forgotten chambers of death for keys that may or may not exist? What’s to prevent someone from just going in and taking the damned map?”
“According to my research, historians believe he constructed his crypt to fall upon itself if anything is moved without benefit of the three keys.”
“And you believe this?”
“Di Sangro was considered the Leonardo da Vinci of the eighteenth century, and his job was to ensure that this map did not fall into the wrong hands—which makes perfect sense if, in fact, it does lead to something as deadly as a biblical plague and that plague could be used at will to kill one’s enemies. If someone should discover where this map had been hidden, then tried to remove it, death would be imminent.”
“Can we get past the curses and legends?” Griffin asked. “There’s got to be something more substantial.”
Giustino shook his head. “For Americans, legends are difficile to believe, probably because your country is so very young.”
“Giustino?” Griffin said.
“You want me to be silent?”
“Anything,” he said, fast losing his temper, “that will allow her to finish her story in a timely manner.”
“That,” Francesca said, “could take hours. You don’t understand—”
“You don’t understand,” he said, deciding the hell with keeping his cool. “We have less than twenty-four hours. I’ll give you five damned minutes to tell me what is going on.” He looked at his watch.
Francesca bit her lip, and looked around the room, as though trying to decide whether he was serious. No one moved, no one said a word. “I can’t possibly give you any more than a very rudimentary explanation in such a short time.”
“Not a problem,” Sydney said. “He’s a rudimentary kind of guy.”
Griffin made a show of consulting his watch. “You have four minutes and thirty seconds.”
“Fine. As I explained, Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero, first Grand Master in Naples, was imprisoned and ordered by the King of Naples and the Vatican to reveal the names of each and every member of the lodge. Their ultimate goal was to learn who was in the inner circle and who might have knowledge of this fabled treasure, which had been hidden by the original Templar guardians when King Philip of France had every Templar in France imprisoned to take control of that treasure in 1307. The Templars went underground and were never heard from again—until the Freemasons emerged in the 1700s.”
“I don’t want a damned history lesson.”
“Then you don’t want the damned map, do you? Now if I might continue?” When he said nothing, she proceeded. “Di Sangro was brought in by the Vatican, questioned about his ties to Freemasonry, and forced to reveal the names of other Masons. Worried that his fellow Masons might give