Shoshana began pacing, rubbing her hands together. She said, “This is going to be good.”
I said, “Not yet. It might be good, but not yet. Don’t force this.”
She looked at me with a little bit of venom, then said, “He’s there, and he’s mine.”
I said, “Shoshana, if you screw this up, you’re not in the wedding. I mean it.”
Jennifer glared at me, and honestly, I couldn’t believe that had slipped out of my mouth. It was cruel, but it was the only thing I had. Threatening her with an ass-beating would have only been a challenge. Jennifer was right about her. She wanted to be a bridesmaid, and so I said it.
Shoshana looked at Jennifer, then at me. Jennifer said, “He doesn’t mean that.”
Shoshana said, “Okay, Pike. I’ll follow your lead right up until that lead doesn’t work. Agreed?”
I smiled and said, “Carrie, if my lead doesn’t work, you can kill whoever you want.”
She squinted her eyes at my sarcasm, and Lia finally exited, wearing jeans and a simple blouse, her face now cleaned up, looking as attractive as she did when we first met. I saw Knuckles take notice and thought, Oh, boy.
I said, “You ready?”
“What’s your plan?”
“Basically, it’s this: You’re going to be the face of the operation. We’re going to be the muscle. You get us in to the palace, then locate the guy with your Italian and your badge, and we’ll take him down. We’ll exit the building with him, and then it’s over. When it’s done, they need to think it’s an Italian operation all the way through.”
“But what are you going to do with him once we have him? He’s a serial killer here in Italy, and he deserves justice.”
I smiled and said, “Honestly, that’s two steps ahead. I haven’t thought that far yet, but we’re going to find out about his killing spree all over the world and why he was doing that. Once we’re done, you can have him. If he’s still alive.”
She didn’t like the sound of that and paused. Shoshana said, “He’s getting justice. That’s all that matters.”
She nodded and picked up her purse. I said, “We’re good?”
She looked at the screenshot on the table, seeing him holding his penis in his hands, her eyes wide open in fear. She said, “Yes. We’re good.”
Chapter 52
We exited the building and went down to our cars. Lia tried to enter Knuckles’s car and I said, “He’s not coming with us. You need to get in ours.”
She said, “You’ve got four people already in that car. Why cram into one?”
“He’s already been there under a different name. It’s just us going in because they’ll know he’s not Italian police. He’ll be nearby for backup.”
She glanced at him and he said, “Hey, you get this done and I’ll take you to dinner. Paid for by the U.S. government. You pick the most expensive restaurant here in Rome, and I’ll pay the bill.”
For the first time, I saw a smile that was genuine. And thought, What is it with that asshole?
We left, Lia giving directions, and within twelve minutes were outside the Magisterial Palace of the Knights of Malta. We rolled up to the gate, and the guard blocked our advance. She showed her badge, then said, “Let us in.”
He did so.
We parked and I left Jennifer behind the wheel, telling her to coordinate with Knuckles and Brett for support because we might be coming out in a run.
Shoshana, Lia, Aaron, and I entered the complex, getting stopped immediately by a secretary behind an ornate desk that looked like it had been used by Christopher Columbus. I realized we were dealing with an organization that was older than our entire country. And that this was going to be very delicate.
The secretary said something in Italian, and Lia flashed her badge, then showed her a close-up of the killer’s face, without the penis or Lia in the picture. She rattled off a bunch of Italian, and the two had a conversation, the rest of us just standing there like we understood what the hell was going on.
Eventually, I saw Lia hold up a hand, waving it back and forth as if the conversation was over, like she was telling the woman she was sorry for the intrusion. She flicked her head to the door and began walking, confusing the hell out of us. We followed her outside and back in the car.
I said, “What happened?”
“His name is Garrett and he’s some sort of protection detail for the Knights. He’s known as the leader of a group of Croatians called the Ninja Turtles. Basically, he’s the internal security for the Grand Master and other order activities. He’s an American”—she looked at Shoshana—“as you suspected. But he’s not here.”
Shoshana said, “Where is he?”
“He left this morning. Apparently, there’s a big ceremony happening in Israel in two days, and the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta is representing the Catholic contingent. The Vatican didn’t think it prudent to send an official delegation, so they sent him. He is, after all, considered a head of state.”
Aaron perked up and said, “Israel? He’s going to Israel?”
Lia nodded and said, “Yes. The prime minister is giving some speech at an archeological dig in Israel, and he’s invited a slew of Christian organizations to attend. Most are from the United States, probably because he’s trying to curry favor, but the Knights of Malta are going from Italy on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church.”
I slapped the dash and said, “So he now knows we’re looking for him? What if she calls him? He’ll be in the wind.”
She said, “No, I told her that he was not a suspect for anything. I said the picture was a surveillance camera footage from a robbery at a jewelry store across the street and we were talking to anyone who might have been nearby. She doesn’t think we were hunting him for a crime. It’s why I ended the interview. I didn’t want her to alert him.”
I said, “Good. Good. When is he coming back?”
“Four days. We can return in four days and just take him quietly, without upsetting the applecart of the Vatican and Italy.”
Shoshana said, “Where in Israel is this event happening?”
“Megiddo. It’s apparently an ancient archeological site. They’ve found something there that Israel wants to celebrate. Something from the Bible, to give a reason for Christians and Israelis to bond.”
Shoshana sucked in a breath, then said, “Pike, we can’t wait for him to return. This is it. We need to figure out what he’s doing, right now.”
“What do you mean ‘this is it’? Why can’t we wait?”
“Megiddo is an ancient city, one of the oldest in the world. Lia’s right. It’s in the Bible over and over, right up until the end.”
I didn’t know why she was getting so upset. “The end of what?”
“The end of the Bible. Revelation. The End of Days. It speaks about a climactic battle between the forces of good and evil right there in that city.”
I still didn’t get it. Megiddo? Who the hell cares about that?
She said, “Don’t you see? It’s what he’s been trying to do all along.”