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FORTY-SIX
LISBON
3:30 PM
MALONE STARED AT THE MONASTERY OF SANTA MARIA DE Belem He, Pam, and Jimmy McCollum had flown from London to Lisbon then taken a cab from the airport to the waterfront
Lisbon sat perched on a broad switchback of hills that overlooked the sea-like Tejo estuary, a place of wide symmetrical boulevards and handsorandest suspension bridges spanned thestatue of Christ, arms outstretched, which embraced the city from the eastern shore Malone had visited many times and was always reminded of San Francisco, both in physical makeup and in the city’s propensity for earthquakes Several had left their ypt, the pyraland, West to the cabdriver on the ride froal, national pride came from the abbey that sprawled out before hier than a football field, aged like old ivory, and combined Moorish, Byzantine, and French Gothic in an exuberance of decorations that see walls
People crowded everywhere A ca parade streamed in and out from the entrances Across a busy boulevard and train tracks that fronted the iled line, like ships n informed visitors of how the abbey was first erected in 1500 to satisfy a proin Mary and was built on the site of an old mariners’ hospice first constructed by Prince Henry the Navigator Coluellan had all prayed here before their journeys Through the centuries the ious house, a retiree Site, restored to lory
"The church and abbey are dedicated to St Jerouides say to a crowd in Italian "Symbolic in that both Jerome and this monastery represented new points of departure for Christianity Ships left here to discover the New World and bring them Christ Jerome translated the ancient Bible into Latin, so more could discover its wonder" He could tell that McCollum understood the woes?" he asked
"I know enough"
"A man of many talents"
"Whatever’s necessary"
He caught the surly attitude "So what’s next in this quest?"
McCollum produced another slip of paper upon which ritten some of the first excerpt and more of the cryptic phrases
It is a mystery, but visit the chapel beside the Tejo, in Bethlehein the journey in the shadows and co star finds a rose, pierces a wooden cross, and converts silver to gold Find the place that forms an address with no place, where is found an other place Then, like the shepherds of the painter Poussin, puzzled by the enight of inspiration
He handed the sheet to Pam and said, "Okay Let’s take a visit and see what’s there"
They followed a thick swarn indicated that admission to the church was free, but a ticket was required for the rest of the buildings
Inside the church, in as identified as the lower choir, the groined ceiling looloom To his left stood the cenotaph of Vasco da Gama Simple and solemn, it abounded with nautical symbols Another toht along with a baptismal font Bare walls in both niches added to both the austerity and the grandeur People crowded the alcoves Canificance of the dead
Malone strolled into the nave and the initial diht wonder Six slender columns, each a profusion of ornamentation twined with carved flowers, stretched skyward The late-afternoon sun poured through a series of stained-glass s Rays and shadows chased one another across the lie The vaulted roof resembled a sheaf of ribs, the colu in place like a ship’s rigging Malone felt the presence of Saracens who once ruled Lisbon, and noticed Byzantine fancies A thousand details multiplied around him without repetition
Reiven that ancientso round
Wooden pews that once accommodated monks now held only the inquisitive A low murmur of voices echoed across the nave, periodically overshadowed by a calh a public address systees Malone located the source of the admonition A priest before a microphone, at the people’s altar, in the center of the cross-shaped interior Nobody seeuides, who continued on with their paid discourses
"This place is n out front said it closes at five We need tickets to the rest"
"I’ll go get them," McCollum said "But doesn’t the clue lead us only here, to the church?"
"I have no idea To be sure, let’s have a look at whatever else there is"
McColluh the clot of people to the portico
"What do you think?" Pa the sheet of paper
"About him or the quest?"
"Both are a probleht But as for the quest, "Soin the journey in the shadows and coht The entrance does that nicely Like a baseht attic"
The priest again quietly adnored hih job," Pa names when the teacher leaves the room"
"Okay, Mr Genius," she said "What about where a retreating star finds a rose, pierces a wooden cross, and converts silver to gold Find the place that forms an address with no place, where is found another place"
He was already thinking about that and his attention was drawn forward, to the chancel, where a rectangular floor plan led to a concave wall backdropping the high altar, all topped with a combination of he Ionic and Corinthian pillars rose sy vaulted stone chas wrapped the concave wall, everything drawing the eye to the majestic baroque sacrariuh altar
He wove his way around loitering tourists to the far side of the people’s altar Velvet ropes blocked any entrance to the chancel A placard informed him that the sacrariuoldsmith João de Sousa between 1674 and 1678 Even from fifty feet away the ornate repository, full of detail, appeared h the nave, past the pillars and pews, to the lower choir, where they’d entered
Then he saw it In the upper choir, past a thick stone balustrade, fifty feet above the church floor High in the farthest exterior wall, a huge eye glared down at him The circularstretched ten feet or more in diameter Mullions and traceries radiated fro path back toward it and seee la the church’s interior
A common adornment to many medieval churches Named after its fanciful shape
Rose
Facing due west Late in the day Blazing like the sun
But there was more
At the center of the upper choir’s balustrade stood a large cross He stepped forward and noticed that the cross fit perfectly into the round of the , the brilliant rays flooding past it into the nave
Where a retreating star finds a rose, pierces a wooden cross, and converts silver to gold
Seems they’d found the place
FORTY-SEVEN
VIENNA
4:30 PM
THORVALDSEN ADMIRED ALFRED HERMANN’S SPECTACLE OF flowers, water, and enerations Shady walks wound out frolades, the brick paths lined with statues, bas-reliefs, and fountains Every so often French influences yielded to a clear taste for Italy
"Who are the people n this place?" Gary asked
"The Her in Austria, just as my family is in Denmark Quite wealthy and powerful"
"Is he your friend?"
An interesting question, considering his suspicions "Up until a few days ago, I believed that to be the case But now I’m not so sure"
He was pleased with the boy’s inquisitiveness He knew about Gary’s parentage When he’d returned fro Gary back home after their summer visit, Malone had told hinorance when he’d first seen her a few nights ago, though he’d instantly known her identity Her presence in his house, with Malone, signaled trouble, which hy he’d stationed Jesper outside the study door Pa Luckily she’d calia by now Instead, the caller from Tel Aviv had said, Seems Malone and his ex-wife are presently on their way to Lisbon
What was happening? Why go there? And where was the Talons of the Eagle?
"We’ve come here," he said to Gary, "to help your father"
"Dad never said anything about us leaving He told me to stay put and be careful"
"But he also said for you to do as I say"
"So when he yells at rinned "With pleasure"
"You ever seen a person shot?"
He knew Tuesday’s , no matter how brave the lad wanted to be "Several times"
"Dad shot the man dead But you knohat? I didn’t care"
He shook his head at the bravado "Careful, Gary Don’t ever beco No matter how much someone may deserve it"
"I didn’t mean it that way It’s only, he was a bad man He threatened to kill Mom"
They passed a marble column surmounted by a statue of Diana A breeze caressed the trees and tre turf "Your father did what he had to do He didn’t like it He just did it"
"And I would have, too"
Genetics be dah the boy was but fifteen, his indignation could certainly be aroused-just like his father’s-especially if a loved one was threatened Gary knew his parents had traveled to London, but he didn’t know his mother was still involved He deserved the truth
"Your mother and father are on their way to Lisbon"
"That’s what the call in the room was about?"
He nodded and smiled at the decisive manner in which the boy handled news
"Why is Mo when she called last night They don’t get along"
"I have no idea We’ll have to wait until one of theain" But he desperately wanted to know the answer to that question, too
Ahead, he spotted their destination A circular pavilion of colored ilded iron Its open balustrade overlooked a crystalline lake, the silvery surface quiet in the shade
They entered and he approached a railing
Massive vases packed with aromatic flowers dotted the interior As always, Hermann had made sure the estate was a showpiece
"So," Gary said
He did not look back He didn’t have to He saw her in hisloudly as she walked He kept his gaze toward the lake and enjoyed the sweet srass, flowers, and experience
"Is she co fast?"
"How did you know it’s a woman?"
"You’ll learn, Gary, that you cannot win a fight if your enemy is not, in some ways, predictable"
"It’s Mr Herhter"
He continued to ad a fa to her about anything Listen, but speak little That’s how you discover what you need to know"
He heard soles slapping the pavilion’s stone flooring and turned as Margarete marched close
"They told me in the house that you’d come here," she said "And I remembered this was one of your favorite places"
He smiled at her evident satisfaction "It has privacy So far from the chateau The trees provide tranquility I do like this spot A favorite of your mother’s, if I recall"
"Father built it specially for her She spent her last day alive here"
"YouSo ere never close But Father misses her"
"You don’t h the boy had violated what he’d been cautioned, Thorvaldsen didn’t mind the inquiry He was actually curious, too
"Of course I miss her It’s sihter"
"You seem to have acquired an interest in the family businesses and the Order"
He watched as thoughts dialed into her ed Austrian looks than her mother’s Prussian beauty Not a particularly attractive woh nose But as he to judge, considering his crooked spine, bushy hair, and weathered skin? He wondered about suitors, but decided this woive herself to anyone She was a taker
"I’m the only Hermann left" And she added a s, but instead flashed with annoyance
"Does that mean you will inherit all this?"
"Of course Why wouldn’t I?"
He shrugged "I have no idea what your father thinks I have found, though, that there are no guarantees in this world"
He saw that she did not like his iave her no time to react and asked, "Why did your father try to harm this boy?"
His sudden inquiry inspired a baffled look She clearly wasn’t a master of the stoic, either-not like her father
"I have no idea what you’re talking about"
He wondered Maybe Hermann had kept his plans from her
"Then you have no idea what die Klauen der Adler is doing?"
"He’s not ht herself
"Not to worry, my dear I know of him I only wondered if you did"
"That man is a proble Too ree But as you say, neither of us has any responsibility for him Only the Circle"
"I was unaware the s I’ That, too, is a problem"
She seemed to catch the conviction in his tone Her chubby face flashed a nervous smile "Remember where you are, Henrik This is Hermann land We command what happens here So you shouldn’t concern yourself"
"That’s an interesting observation One I’ll try not to forget"
"I think, perhaps, you and Father need to finish this conversation"
She turned to leave, and as she did he raised an aresture
Froe, three ues They trotted forward and arrived just as Margarete stepped frorabbed her
One clamped a hand over her mouth
She resisted
"Henrik," Gary said "What’s Jesper doing here?"
The third man was his chamberlain, who’d flown in earlier and infiltrated the estate Froarete’s boast-that the heaviest security was confined to the house The re hundreds of acres were neither fenced nor patrolled
"Stand still," he said to her
She stopped struggling
"You’re going with these gentlemen"
Her head shook violently
He’d expected her to be difficult So he nodded and the hand over her h anesthetic to induce a deep sleep Only a few seconds were required for the vapors to work Her body went li?" Gary asked "Why are you hurting her?"