Pike said, “Why would you do that? Why not just retake it and build the damn temple? Let it go up and then defuse the whole situation when the earth doesn’t split apart. Seems to me that location has been nothing but trouble since.”
She smiled and said, “Because it’s also the oldest religious building in Islam, created after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem way, way back when. Like in the first century. The dome was built long after the second temple fell, and according to Islam, it’s covering the location where Muhammed ascended into heaven. It’s the holiest site in all of Judaism, but it’s also the third holiest site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina. If we had taken it following the Six-Day War, we would have engendered a six-year war, and against all of Islam instead of a few pathetic armies. The nation of Israel would not have survived, so the leaders during that time took a pragmatic approach, but some in my country want to take it back very badly. As do some in your country.”
Pike shook his head and said, “What the hell does this have to do with Keta’ib Hezbollah and the killing of our diplomats? It makes no sense.”
Knuckles said, “Well, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to us, but it does to someone. Let’s just talk about what we know. They’re lying about the Croatian. We know that because we found his information from a sleazebag Syrian refugee in Switzerland tied into the killing of the Ramsad. We didn’t stumble onto the Croatian’s dead body after a wayward flight to see his ailing mother. We tracked it to Bahrain because he was bringing money to a terrorist cell. He’s a bad dude, no matter why he was doing it, and those assholes in that palace lied to us.”
Pike nodded slowly, then said, “So are we saying that a Catholic charitable organization that has been around since the Crusades is now killing Israeli and American diplomats? I just don’t see it. What’s the point?”
Shoshana said, “They want to bring about the second coming of Christ. And in so doing, destroy Israel. That’s the point.”
Knuckles said, “Hey, come on. Not everything is about destroying Israel.”
Shoshana flashed her eyes at him and said, “I only tell you what I see. I’m not spouting conspiracy theories. They are.”
Brett said, “But they’re Catholic. Knuckles is right. That’s not their thing. If it were an evangelical organization from the United States that danced with rattlesnakes and spoke in tongues, I could believe it, but a chivalric order from the Crusades under the control of the Catholic Church, with a seat at the United Nations? With the pope as their ultimate leader? That dog just don’t hunt.”
Shoshana squinted her eyes, saying, “I don’t know what you mean. These dogs are hunting.”
That caused all of the men at the table to laugh. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, not amused at being the butt of a joke.
Pike said, “Calm down, Carrie. We’re not laughing at you. It’s just an American saying, meaning you have a dog that’s supposed to flush prey for you to capture, but it refuses to do so, leaving you without meat on the table. Meaning your theory has no meat. It’s not correct.”
She took that in, nodded, then said, “I’m right. I feel it. It might not be the organization itself, but something inside of it is rotten.”
Pike said, “I can’t argue with that. Something is rotten. You two head back to the hotel. Aaron and Jennifer have our reservations. We’ll meet you there. We’ve got to make contact with the Taskforce in an hour, and then me and Shoshana have to go meet this inspector to see if she’s got anything we can use.”
Knuckles stood up and said, “You sure that’s a good use of our time? Why would the murder of a prostitute have anything to do with this?”
Pike just looked at Shoshana, letting her answer. She said, “It’s the best use of our time. Trust me. She’s tied into the killer just like we are. That dog will hunt.”
Chapter 42
Knuckles and Brett reentered the small parking area for the Knights of Malta, getting a little salute from the guard on the way. They retrieved the Acura sedan and began to exit when Brett said, “Hang on a second. Don’t leave the courtyard yet. The GPS needs to see the sky.”
Knuckles put on the brakes, waved at the guard, and reversed back into the courtyard until he was in the open. Brett put the hotel into the navigation system, saying, “Westin Excelsior sounds a bit excessive for us, but I’m not complaining.”
After a minute, the GPS gave them a route, and Knuckles began driving, saying, “That damn hotel is like a mile away as the crow flies. Look at that crazy route.”
Brett chuckled and said, “I guess they’re all one-way roads. Still only says six minutes.”
Knuckles began threading down the narrow lanes, taking directions from the female voice on the GPS. He said, “What did you make of all that Shoshana crap?”
Brett considered for a moment, then said, “On the one hand, I’d say it was crazy. On the other, she’s done a ton of crazy shit in the past that ended up being the right call. Hard to say, honestly.”
Knuckles looked at him and said, “Yeah, I’m the same way, but this is sort of a different level. This isn’t looking at someone and deciding that individual is bad. She’s looking at an entire ecosystem and declaring it all bad. Based on seeing a crime scene, which is a little nuts. I mean, I’m all about believing her in the heat of the moment, but I’m not sure about this. End of Days rants and the second coming of Christ is a bit much.”
Brett said, “I agree, but Pike believes her.”
Knuckles looked at him and said, “How do you know that?”
“Because I know. He just believes her. He plays a big game teasing her, but he’s always believed her. His Bible knowledge is for shit, but he thinks she’s real.”
They took another turn and Knuckles left the conversation alone, instead cursing the byzantine route the GPS was dictating.
“This is stupid. There has to be a better route than what we’re taking. Did you specify something like ‘only take small one-way roads’?”
Brett didn’t answer, his eyes glued to the rearview mirror. Knuckles said, “What’s up?”
Still looking, he said, “Our route has been one turn after another, and that scooter behind us has been following since a block away from the palace.”
Knuckles looked in the rearview mirror, seeing a small motorcycle with two people riding, both wearing full-face helmets. Which, in and of itself, was a little strange. Every other scooter rider wore a little skullcap helmet, but these two acted like they were about to race at Laguna Seca—or were trying to hide their faces.
They finally broke out of the cloistered alleys and on to an actual two-way road, the route taking them to a dead end with a hard right next to the gardens of Villa Medici, the home of the French Academy in Rome. An expansive greenspace, with acres of botanical gardens, it required Knuckles to basically conduct a U-turn, heading back in the direction he’d just traversed, but now on a different road called Via Sistina.
He watched behind him, seeing the motorcycle making the same turn. That was a bit much. The motorcycle accelerated until it was just off his back bumper, waited for a car in the other lane to pass, then goosed the throttle.