The Order (Gabriel Allon #20) - Daniel Silva Page 0,34

Guard. It made no mention of the fact that Janson was on duty outside the papal apartments the night of the Holy Father’s death. Nor did it explain why he was in Florence while his comrades were working overtime in preparation for the conclave.

“It’s a masterpiece of curial doublespeak,” said Donati. “On its face, the statement is entirely accurate. But the lies of omission are glaring. Clearly, Cardinal Albanese has no intention of allowing Niklaus’s murder to delay the opening of the conclave.”

“Perhaps we can convince him to see the error of his ways.”

“With what? A tawdry tale of sex and secretive religious orders, told by a woman who was bitter over the dissolution of her engagement to a handsome young Swiss Guard?”

“You don’t believe her story?”

“I believe every word of it. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s pure hearsay, or that every element can be denied.”

“Except for this.” Gabriel displayed the envelope. The high-quality cream-colored envelope embossed with the private papal armorial of His Holiness Pope Paul VII. “Do you really expect me to believe you didn’t know what was in this letter?”

“I didn’t.”

Gabriel removed the three sheets of stationery from the envelope. The letter had been composed in pale blue ink. The salutation was informal. First name only. Dear Gabriel … There were no preliminaries or pleasantries.

While researching in the Vatican Secret Archives, I came upon a most remarkable book …

The book, he continued, had been given to him by a member of the Archives staff, without the knowledge of the prefetto. It was stored in what was known as the collezione, a secret archive within the Secret Archives, located on the lower level of the Manuscript Depository. The material in the collezione was highly sensitive. Some of the books and files were political and administrative in nature. Others were doctrinal. None were referenced in the one thousand directories and catalogues housed in the Index Room. Indeed, nowhere within the Archives was there a written inventory of the material. The knowledge was passed down through the centuries verbally, prefetto to prefetto.

The letter did not identify the book in question, only that it had been suppressed by the Church during the Middle Ages and had circulated secretly until the Renaissance, when it was finally hunted out of existence. The copy contained in the Secret Archives was thought to be the last. The Holy Father had concluded it was authentic and accurate in its depiction of an important historical event. It was his intention to place the book in Gabriel’s hands at the earliest possible date. Gabriel would be free to do with it as he pleased. His Holiness asked only that he treat the material with the utmost sensitivity. The book would ignite a global sensation. Its unveiling would have to be carefully managed. Otherwise, the Holy Father warned, it would be dismissed as a hoax.

The letter was unfinished. The final sentence was a fragment, the last word incomplete. Archi … Gabriel reckoned the Holy Father had been interrupted midsentence by the appearance of his killer. Donati did not disagree. His prime suspect was Cardinal Camerlengo Domenico Albanese, prefetto of the Vatican Secret Archives. Gabriel politely informed Donati that he was mistaken.

“Then why did Albanese lie to me about his earlier visit to the appartamento?”

“I’m not saying he wasn’t involved in the Holy Father’s murder. But he wasn’t the actual killer. He was only the bagman.” Gabriel held up the letter. “Can we stipulate that the existence of this letter in Stefani Hoffmann’s home is proof that Niklaus Janson did not tell her everything that happened that night?”

“So stipulated.”

Gabriel lowered the letter. “When Albanese arrived at nine thirty, the Holy Father was already dead. That’s when he removed the book from the papal study. He came back to the papal apartments at ten o’clock and carried the Holy Father’s body from the study into the bedroom.”

“But why didn’t he remove the letter when he removed the book?”

“Because it wasn’t there. It was in Niklaus Janson’s pocket. He removed it before Albanese arrived the first time.”

“Why?”

“If I had to guess, Niklaus was feeling guilty about letting the murderer into the papal apartments. After the killer left, he went inside to investigate. That was when he found the Holy Father dead and an unfinished letter lying on the desk blotter.”

“Why would Niklaus Janson have let a murderer into the papal apartments? He loved the Holy Father.”

“That’s the easy part. The killer was someone he knew. Someone he trusted.” Gabriel