Chapter 21 Chapter 19 Vatican City

Paula shows Robaia's photo to Dante and Antony.It was a very close-up shot of the cardinal grinning with open mouth, his eyes gleaming behind large tortoiseshell lenses.At first Dante stared at the photo, but saw nothing else. "Glasses, Dante, those are the missing glasses!" Paula took out her mobile phone, dialed the phone and rushed to the door like crazy.Summerrow was stunned as she flew away from the butler. "Glasses! Those are Father Carmel's glasses!" shouted Paula, who had reached the corridor. Dante understood. "Go, Anthony!" Dante hurriedly said goodbye to Summerlo, and then went after Paula with Anthony.

Paula had stopped dialing the number.She was furious because Pontillo wouldn't answer the phone.He must have turned off his phone.Paula rushed down the stairs and out into the street.She even wanted to run all the way from the provincial capital building, when a small SCV mini car drove up from the opposite side.On it sat three nuns.Paula waved them hastily to stop, and she sprang toward the car.The driver braked so hard that the fender almost touched Paula's knee. "Holy Mary! Are you mad, miss?" Paula rushed to the driver, arms outstretched, her police badge in hand. "Please do me a favor, I don't have time to explain, I must get to the Santa Ana gate immediately."

The three nuns looked at Paula like a madman.Paula had climbed into the back of the car, behind the driver's seat. "You can't get there from here, you'll have to walk across Gothic Street," said the nun who was driving. "If you like, I can get you as close as you can to the Rue Sainte-Place, which is now the quickest way out of here. For Election of Pope, Swiss security guards are setting up roadblocks to ensure traffic safety." "Whatever, anyway, just get out of here quickly!" Mammy immediately stepped on the accelerator, ready to go full speed, but suddenly the car was forced to stop again.

"Has the whole world gone mad?" said a nun. Anthony and Dante were standing right in front of the car, both hands clutching the hood.As soon as the car stopped, the two of them went around the front of the car and squeezed into the car.Sitting in the front of the car, the nuns in the back squeezed hard to make room for them. "Yes, Mammy, in Christ's name let us go!" The car moved 1/4 of a mile in more than 20 seconds, still far from their destination.The nanny who was driving clearly showed that she wanted to get rid of these uninvited guests as soon as possible. This is really inappropriate and embarrassing "cargo".On St. Plaza Street, before she could hit the brakes, Paula jumped out and ran towards a large black iron gate.That was the entrance to the protected Vatican, and Paula still had her cell phone in her hand, and she was calling the police when she heard the operator's voice.

"I'm Officer Pola Di Candi. Code 13897. Right now we have an agent in danger. Repeat, an agent in danger. Detective Pondello at the Church of Santa Maria, 14 Avenue Concorde, Please send people there immediately, the more the better. The murder suspect may be there, be vigilant!" Paula ran, her coat billowing in the wind, shouting into her cell phone, drawing a gun, looking like a devil.The two Swiss security guards at the door glanced at Paula and calmly blocked her way.One of them grabbed Paula's coat, and Paula threw her arm so hard that her phone flew out and fell to the floor.The security guard grabbed Paula's coat and glared at her.At this time Dante arrived at full speed, and he showed his Vatican police ID card.

"Let her in, we're together." Anthony followed close behind, and he stooped to pick up Paula's phone, which cost him a few seconds.Paula decided to take the shortest way, passing directly through St. Peter's Square. Compared with the super crowded place when they came just now, St. Peter's Square was relatively less crowded because of the police fortification.Paula held her police badge aloft, avoiding the police in her way.They passed the Bernini Hotel and a flat road without much resistance, and when they reached the Avenue de la Concorde, they were out of breath.There were so many people here that Paula held the gun to her chest and shielded it with her left arm to avoid being seen.She moved closer to the church, wishing to rush in at once.Dante was a few paces behind her.His arm and elbow were simple but effective gavels to push through the crowd, with Anthony on his heels.

It took them 10 minutes to reach the door of Santa Maria Church.Two agents are already waiting for them here.Been ringing the doorbell.Panting and sweating profusely, with her pistol holster sticking out and her hair shining, the two officers looked at her as if they had seen a ghost, and were about to ignore her when they saw her. Pull the UACV badge. "We have your alarm. No answer inside. Four other police officers are at the gate." "Why haven't you gone in yet? Don't you know that a police officer may be trapped inside!" Two police officers looked at their shoes.

"Sheriff Troy told us to be careful. Lots of people watching us, Sheriff." Paula leaned against the door and took five seconds to regain her strength. "Damn it! I hope we're not too late," she said to herself. "Have you got the master key?" A policeman pointed to his waist, where a protruding pocket held a handful of steel bars with teeth on one end.People began to notice a few of them, and some people gathered here to watch the play.Paula waved at the cop with the lockpicking tool. "Give me your walkie-talkie." The policeman handed Paula the walkie-talkie with its cord attached to his waist.Paula gave short, precise orders to the police guarding the church gate.She ordered that no one should move without permission until she entered, and of course no one should be allowed in or out of the church.

"Can someone explain to me what's going on?" Anthony asked, panting. "We presume the suspect is inside. Now I can speak more slowly, and for newcomers, I want you to stay outside and wait," Paula said. Anthony returned the mobile phone he picked up from the ground to Paula, "This is yours." "Thank you, Father." She shook her head and pointed at those who were walking towards them. "When we break in, you must try to divert the attention of this group of people. I hope we can arrive in time." Anthony nodded.He looked around for a high spot where he could stand in front of the crowd.There were no cars here, and the streets were closed, so there was no time to waste.There was a crowd in front of him, so he decided to use them as cover!At this moment a tall, rugged-looking Puritan, who must have been six feet tall, stepped out of the nearby crowd.

Anthony walked up to him and said, "Do you think you can lift me on your shoulders?" The young man raised his hand to indicate that he did not understand Italian.Anthony still used the same language with gestures and gestures, telling him his purpose.After trying this a few times, the young man understood.He knelt down on one leg and lifted Anthony up.There was a big smile on his face.As they made their way to the crowd, Anthony began to sing a requiem shared by various churches. The crowd began to turn to the singing, and Anthony directed his "horse" toward the center of the street, away from Paula and the others.Several priests of the diocese who were full of confidence sang along with Anthony, seeing off the recently deceased pope.It is for this Pope that they have stood and walked for hours.

Taking advantage of the distraction of the crowd, two policemen were able to pry open the storage room door with steel bars, and they slipped in without anyone noticing. "Listen, one of our officers is inside, stand up!" They entered in single file, and Paula practically flew in, gun in hand.She had two policemen search the sacristy while she herself entered the nave.She did a quick search of St. Matthew's Chapel, which was empty and surrounded by crime scene tape put up by the UACV.Paula checked the chapel on the left again, finger on the trigger.Meanwhile Dante was checking the other side of the corridor, and he searched every chapel.Paula gestured to him, and the hallway was lined with statues of saints, their faces looking ghostly in the flickering candlelight reflected on the walls.Paula and Dante meet in the center of the corridor. "Didn't find anything?" Dante shook his head: No. Suddenly, they discovered a line of writing on the floor near the gate at the same time.That was written on the ground at the bottom of the baptistery.It's Latin, red, big, italic: Vexilla Regis Prodeunt Inferni "The banner of the King of Hell is approaching." A voice intoned, coming from behind the two. Startled, the two turned around at the same time.Anthony is approaching.He led the hymn outside, then slipped into the church. "I think I told you to stay outside." "Forget it." Dante interrupted Paula.His attention was drawn to the words on the floor. "I'll call the rest of you over here." Paula looks a bit unhinged.Her heart told her she should go down immediately, but she dared not go into the darkness.Dante ran to the gate and unlocked it.Two agents walked in, and two more stayed at the door to guard.A detective took a flashlight from his belt and handed it to Dante. Paula grabbed it and walked down.Her back was leaning against the steps, her whole body tensed, the pistol pointed straight ahead.Anthony didn't follow, he stayed on top and said a short prayer softly. In a few moments Paula burst out of the darkness, rushing out of the church as soon as she climbed the stairs.Dante walked up slowly step by step, he glanced at Anthony and shook his head. Paula stood in the street, tears streaming down her face.She stayed away from the door as much as possible, and then started spitting out everything in her stomach.Several young people from foreign countries saw her and kindly came over to ask Paula if she needed help. Paula waved them away.Anthony came up and handed her his handkerchief.Paula took it and wiped her tears and spit.She felt her head spinning.Impossible, Pontillo cannot be that, that bloody pile tied to a pole!Muriz Pontillo is a good guy, mean, always full of surprise and compassion, with some vicious humor.He was a brother, a friend, a partner.He's a good colleague and always pays for the coffee because he's always there.He had been with Paula for so many years, and Paula couldn't believe he was gone.He has lost a lot of pounds from being a big guy.Paula tried to wipe what she had just seen from her eyes, and her hands were hard over her eyes. Then her cell phone rang.She took out her mobile phone from her pocket, hating the interruption at this moment.Paula stood there numb.The number displayed on the phone screen was Pontillo's. Paula almost fainted, Anthony looked at her with confusion in his eyes. "Who?" "Good afternoon, Detective, how are you feeling?" "Who are you?" "Forget it, Detective, you said I'd call you if I thought of something that would help! And I just remembered I'm going to get your co-workers out. I'm so sorry he's in my way .” "We'll catch you, Francesco, or shall I call you Carloski?" Pola uttered each word viciously, her eyes still full of tears, trying to keep her composure as she spoke, managing to hit the The opponent is critical.That way she knew the murderer's mask had been torn off. The other end was silent for a while, but only for a short while.Paula didn't surprise the other party too much. "Then you already know who I am. Well, say hello to Father Fowler for me. He's lost quite a bit of hair since I last saw him. And you look very pale." Paula's eyes widened. "Where are you? You sick bastard!" "Don't you know? I'm right behind you!" Paula watched the crowds of thousands of people in the street, some in straw hats and some in baseball caps, all waving little flags, drinking water, praying and singing. "Why don't you come here, Father, we can talk!" "No, Detective, I think I'd better keep my distance from you a little longer. But don't think you're going to make any progress knowing I'm not that good old Francesco. The old man's life goes on as normal. I let him go in the end. Don't worry, you'll hear from me again soon. Then it won't be as troublesome as it was when we first met. I forgive you, you mean a lot to me." After speaking, Kaloski hung up the phone. Paula rushed into the crowd, grabbing one person after another, aimlessly.When she saw someone who was about the same height, she grabbed that person's arm, and when she saw someone who was facing in another direction, she went up to take off his hat.People came together and parted, and Paula was running through the crowd like crazy, her eyes looking lost.Even so she figured she'd be ready to check everyone in this way if necessary. Anthony pushed his way through the crowd, grabbed Paula by the arm, and pulled her out. "That's not okay." "Take your hands away!" "Let's go, Paula, he's not here." Paula began to cry.Anthony put his arms around her.The crowd around them walked slowly past them like snakes, towards the place where John Paul II's remains were paid respects.And in this snake-like flow of people, somewhere, there is a killer hidden.

---

Notes: