Chapter 4 Chapter 2 St. Mary's Church, No. 14 Concord Avenue

Tuesday, April 5, 2005 at 10:41 am Detective Paula Di Candi stood at the door of the church. It was dark inside, and she closed her eyes for a moment to let them adjust to the darkness. It took Paula nearly half an hour to reach the crime scene.If Rome is always crowded with traffic, then when the Pope died, it became a motor vehicle hell.Tens of thousands of people come to this center of the religious world every day, hoping to say a final goodbye to the Pope, who is lying in St. Peter's Church.The pope went to another world. He had a good reputation during his lifetime. For the upcoming ceremony, people are already collecting signatures on the street.Every hour, 18,000 people walk past his remains.

Paula thought sarcastically: "This is catching up with our forensic work!" Paula lives with her mother.Before leaving the house, her mother warned Paula, "If you take Gaffer Road, there will be traffic jams. You take Queen's Road, and then turn to Lezzolo Road." I make porridge for my daughter every morning and have been doing it for 33 years. Paula didn't listen to her mother's advice, but went to Garver Road, which was delayed for a long time. The taste of wheat porridge still lingers in my mouth.That's the first food she eats every morning.When she was studying at FBI headquarters, she lived in Kundik, Virginia, and she wanted the porridge so badly that she thought it was crazy.As a result, she asked her mother to send her a large box of this porridge powder, which she could eat just by heating it in the microwave.She used the microwave oven in the cafeteria of the Behavioral Science Department to heat porridge. Although the taste of the porridge was different from that of her mother, it was still a great comfort to Paula who had been away from home for a year.It has been a very difficult and encouraging year for Paula.Paula grew up in Via Condotti.It was the most exclusive and exclusive street in the world, but her family was very poor.Before going to the United States, she had no concept of the world at all, where people use their own units of measurement to measure everything.She used to hate where she grew up, but when she came back from America, she was genuinely happy to be back home.

In Italy, the Violent Crime Analysis Unit (UACV) was created in 1995 to deal with serial killers. Incredibly, Italy ranks fifth in the world in terms of the number of psychopaths, but there has never been a dedicated department to study them until the Violent Crime Analysis Department was established in 1995.Now within this department, there is a special unit called the Behavior Analysis Laboratory, which was founded by Paula's mentor Burt.Burt died of a heart attack in early 2004. At that time, Paula had changed from a doctor to a police officer. Because of her training in the FBI and the evaluation of her mentor Bert, she became a behavior analysis experimenter. Head of Chambers in Rome.After Burt's death, the number of members of this laboratory dropped sharply, and now Paula is the only staff member.Nevertheless, the laboratory is still part of the Department of Violent Crime Analysis, where they have access to the best European forensic help and state-of-the-art technical support when cases arise.

That being said, behavioral analysis labs haven't really handled a single case until now.In Italy, 30 assassins are now unidentified and still at large.Of the 30 cases, nine were "hot" cases because they involved recent deaths.Not a single new body has been found since Paula became director of the behavioral lab.Due to the lack of obvious evidence and the pressure to solve the case, the only thing Paula can help the police find the criminal is her background in psychology.A "castle in the air," as Troy puts it, Troy is a physicist and mathematician, but now spends most of his time on the phone rather than in the lab.But Troy is the director of the Violent Crime Analysis Department and Paula's immediate boss. Every time they meet in the corridor, Troy always gives Paula a mocking look.When Troy and Paula were alone, his nickname for Paula was "my beautiful novelist."This became the most ironic symbol outside of Paula's archives.

Paula desperately wants her work to bear fruit so she can take on her boss, Troy.Troy is an old goat, and Paula has made a mistake once: She once gave in to Troy and had a one-night stand with him.At that time, due to long hours of work without any progress, her cordon was a little loose, and her heart was filled with endless emptiness.Then she and Troy had that once-in-a-lifetime emptiness, but in the morning she regretted it.Troy was a married man almost twice her age.This frustrates Paula.True, Troy was a gentleman, and never mentioned it again, and kept his distance carefully, but he never let Paula forget that he sometimes used some sexually provocative words in his speech.God, Paula really hated him.

Now there is finally a case for Paula to show her talents. This is her first chance after being promoted to the director of the laboratory.She can take full responsibility from scratch herself, and gather some evidence from those bumbling cops.Paula got the call in the middle of breakfast, and she went back to the house immediately to change.She combed her long black hair into a bun, and she took off the jeans she was going to the office to put on an elegant suit and a black coat over it.The phone call just now made her a little confused: because the phone didn't give any details, except that the case was in line with her expertise and the laboratory work she was in charge of, they asked her to rush to St. Maria Church.

Now she is standing in front of the church gate.There was a crowd behind her, all the way to the Vittorio Emanuele II Bridge.Paula looked at the situation with some concern.People stand here for a night, but they don't know what they want to see, and it has exceeded expectations.The pilgrims saw two gendarmes standing solemnly at the door of the church, and the police told people in diplomatic terms that it was because the church was undergoing renovations. Paula took a deep breath, stepped over the threshold, and entered the dark church.The church has a nave surrounded by five chapels.The air inside was old and musty.The lights were very dim, and it was not easy to find a body in such a dark place.Paula remembered the motto Troy used to say: "Let's see how he does it."

Paula looked around, trying to make out something in the darkness.Two men were talking in low voices behind the church, their backs to Paula.A friar was nervously reciting the Rosary at the baptistery, and he kept his eyes on Paula as she inspected the scene. "Beautiful, isn't it? Mademoiselle. It's dated 1566. Built by Bellucci, these chapels..." Paula interrupted him with a smile: "I don't think I'm interested in the art here now. I'm Detective Paula Di Candi. Are you the parish priest?" "Yes, the body I found. I know you're more interested in that. May God bless a day like this...a saint is taken by the devil!"

This priest looks very old.He wears tortoiseshell glasses with thick lenses, a traditional brown cassock with a clerical tunic tied at the waist, and a white beard that covers his face densely.He took a few steps by the pool so Paula could see that he was stooped and slightly limping.His fingers nervously moved the prayer beads in his hand, and his body would shake uncontrollably from time to time. "Relax, what's your name?" "Francisco Toma. Constable." "Tell me what happened today in your own words? I know you've said it six or seven times, but there's no way, you have to say it again."

The priest exhaled. "There's really not much to say. As well as running the parish, I'm also in charge of church affairs. I live in a small room behind the sacristy. As usual, I wake up at 6 am, wash my face and put on my robe. Go through the collection I walked in through a small door at the entrance of the church. This small door is at the foot of the great altar. It is a secret door. I went to the Chapel of Our Lady, where I pray every day. I found a candle burning at the door of the Chapel of St. Thomas. I was very surprised because when I got back to my room last night there were no candles. So I went to check, and there I saw the dead body. I immediately ran to the collection room, terrified. Because maybe at that time The killer was still inside the church. I called 113."

"Did you touch something live?" "No, no. I'm terrified, God forgive me." "You didn't manage to save the victim either?" "He is obviously beyond our world." A figure walked towards the two of them from the other end of the corridor.It was Inspector Murize Pontillo.He was also in the Violent Crime Analysis Unit, Paula's partner. "Come on, Paula. They're about to turn on the lights." "Wait a minute. Hold this, here's my business card. My mobile number is at the bottom. Call me if you remember anything." "I will. A present for you." Friar Francisco handed Pola a small, brightly colored card. "Holy Mary. Carry it with you wherever you go. It will help you find your way in these uncertain times." "Thank you." Paula took the card from the old monk's hand, and put it into his coat pocket without looking at it for a second time. Paula followed Pontello through the corridor to the third chapel on the left, which had been partitioned off by the Criminal Analysis Department with a red and white tape. "You are late," said Pontillo, approaching Paula. "The traffic jam is terrible. It's like a big circus in the street." "You should take the Lezzorro road." Although according to the hierarchy of the Italian police, Paula's position is higher than that of Pondello, but he is an agent of the Violent Crime Analysis Department and is responsible for on-site investigations. Because of this, his position does not follow that of other researchers in the laboratory. Class division.Although Paula is the director of the laboratory, he cannot compare with Pontillo's level.Pontillo, 51, is well-manicured but has a bad temper.His face was like an old raisin, wrinkled with age.It was clear to Paula that Pontello liked her, but he tried not to show it. As Paula was about to pass through the line of guards, Pondello blocked her with his arm. "Wait a minute, Paula. I guarantee you have never seen such a scene, it is very perverted, I warn you." His voice trembled. "I think I can handle it, but thank you, Pontillo." She went into the chapel.A Violent Crime Unit technician had arrived early and was taking pictures.At the back of the chapel, facing the wall, there is a small altar with a picture of Saint Thomas putting his finger on the wound of Jesus. The body is just below the painting. "Oh God!" "I warned you." It's like the picture of hell in Dante's pen.The dead man is leaning against the altar, his eyes have been gouged out, leaving two holes, and the blood has been drained.The mouth was gaping horribly, and a grey-brown object fell out of it.The camera flashed suddenly, and Paula saw the most horrific sight: the victim's hands were twisted and chopped off, the blood had been wiped clean, and the hands were bound together with linen.On one hand is a large ring. The dead man wore a black robe with red shoulder straps, the attire of a cardinal. Paula's eyes widened. "Pontilo, don't tell me it's a cardinal who died." "We don't know yet, Paula. We are investigating. Although there is nothing left on the face, we have not moved, waiting for you to come, maybe you can tell from this place if it is the first scene." "Where are the rest of the crime scene analysis team?" The Crime Scene Analysis Team is the most important unit of the Violent Crime Analysis Department.All members of the team are top pathologists, specializing in recovering traces of the scene, analyzing footprints, hair, and everything that criminals may have left behind.Although every crime scene is different, the general principle of analysis remains the same: the criminal takes something and leaves something behind. "They're on their way. Their van is stuck on Canfor Road." "They should take the Via Lezoro," suggested the technician who took the picture. "No one asked you." Paula choked him sharply. The photographer walked out of the chapel with a grunt, evidently displeased with Paula's attitude. "You should control your temper." "For God's sake, why didn't you call me earlier, Ponteiro?" Paula asked, ignoring him. "It's a serious case. Whoever did it must have been crazy." "Is this your professional analysis, doctor?" Troy walked in and gave Paula a mocking look.When he came in, he had disbelief written all over his face.Paula remembered that he was one of the two men who had just spoken behind the church.It annoyed Paula a little to let him see that she wasn't ready.Another person who was talking to Troy just now was standing beside the director, but he has not spoken since he came in. "No, my career analysis will be placed on your desk as soon as it is finished. I just feel through observation now, what else can we say about this kind of criminal, he must be mentally ill." Just as Troy was about to say something, the lights in the room came on.Several people saw at the same time what none of them had noticed before: on the church floor, near the dead man, there were several very large letters: EGOT EABSOLVO "Looks like it's written in blood," Pontillo said, while the others wondered. A "Hallelujah" chorus came from someone's cell phone.The other three all turned their eyes to the man standing beside Troy.The man looked very serious, and he took out his mobile phone from his coat pocket to answer it.But he hardly said a word, just a few "ah, ah, oh". After he hung up the phone, he looked at Troy and nodded. "That's exactly what we're worried about." Troy said, "Pola, Pondello, you know without explanation that this is a very sensitive case. This corpse is Cardinal Emiro Robaya from Argentina. If we say If the assassination of a cardinal in Rome is an unspeakable tragedy, now is the most sensitive time. The deceased was one of the 115 cardinals who came to the Papal Conclave. The next pope is to be elected. The situation has become Extraordinarily delicate, this case cannot reach the ears of any media outlet, for whatever reason. Imagine if the headline on the front page read: 'Serial Killer Infiltrated Pope's Election Site.' I can't even imagine What will happen." "Wait a minute Director. A serial killer, you say? Is there anything else we don't know?" Troy cleared his throat and looked at the mysterious man who came in with him. "Pola, Ponteiro, let me introduce Camero Serin, Commander-in-Chief of the Vatican National Police." Sellin nodded and took a few steps towards everyone.When he spoke, he was very forceful, and it seemed that he didn't like saying it very much. "We believe this individual is the second victim."

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