Chapter 23 Chapter 21 St. Mary's Church, 14 Concord Avenue

Crime scene analysts were at Santa Maria Church for the second time in a week.They wore casual clothes and tried their best to pretend that there was nothing serious about it, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the people and believers around them.Inside the church, as Paula yelled orders, talking back and forth into her cell phone and walkie-talkie, Anthony approached a UACV technician. "Has the site survey been completed?" "It's over, Father. We're going to move the body, and then start to inspect the sacristy." Anthony looked at Paula, a little worried.

"I'll go down with you." "you sure?" "I don't want to miss any details, what is that?" In his right hand the priest held a small black box. "This is the holy anointing oil, which is an anointing ceremony performed under special circumstances." "Will that help?" "Not much for the investigation. But for Pontillo, yes. He's a devout Catholic, isn't he?" "He is. That might do him a little good." "You shouldn't have said that, if you respect him." The two began to walk in cautiously, the words on the floor at the cellar door made them feel heavy.They hurried down the corridor to the edge of the chapel. UACV technicians installed two generators and the house is now lit.

Pondello's body, naked from the waist up, hangs between two pillars.Kaloski bound Pontello's hands to the stone with the same tape that Robaia had used.Pondello's eyes and tongue were pulled out, his face was horribly deformed, and the muscles of his chest were bloody exposed, which was really horrific. Antony gave Pontillo the last prayers, and Paula bowed her head.Anthony's black shoes were polished brightly, and he was stepping on a pool of blood that had gradually solidified.Paula swallowed hard and closed her eyes. "Pola." Paula opened her eyes, and Dante came down too.Anthony was over and ready to leave politely.

"Where are you going, Father?" "Upstairs. I don't want to bother you." "You didn't. If half of what they say about you is true, you can help us. They asked you to help us, right? Here to help." "Of course I would, Sergeant." Paula swallowed again before speaking. "Looks like Pondello came in through the sacristy door, apparently he knocked and the false priest opened it for him. Nothing special, Pondello talked to Karowski, then Karowski attacked killed him." "But where?" "It must be here. If it wasn't here, there would be a lot of blood upstairs."

"Why did he do this? Could it be that Pontillo felt something?" "I doubt it. I think it might be that Karowski sensed an opportunity, and he took it. I'm inclined to think that he told Pondello about the cellar on purpose, and that Pondello came down himself, and the murderer was behind him." "That sounds reasonable. Pontillo must have had no doubts about the fake Father Francisco. He is an old man and has trouble walking." "Because he's a clergyman. Pontillo never suspects a priest, does he? Poor fool," said Dante sadly. "Be careful with what you say, Dante."

Anthony glared at Dante, but the Vatican policeman looked the other way. "Sorry, Paula, please go ahead." "As soon as they came down, Karowski struck Pondello with a blunt object. We assumed it was a copper candlestick. UACV technicians took it for analysis. It lay on the floor next to the body. Then the killer tied Pondello, and then, you all saw it. That's what Pondello went through." Paula's voice cracked.Both men pretended not to hear.Paula coughed a few times, controlling her emotions and covering up the change in her voice. "A dark room, very dark. He's repeating his own childhood trauma. He was locked in a closet, wasn't he?"

"Probably. Did they find anything useful?" "Only the sentence upstairs: 'Vexilla regis prodeunt inferni'." "The banner of the King of Hell is near," the priest translated again. "What does that mean, Father?" Dante asked. "You should know." "If you want to see my jokes, it's no use." There was a longing gleam on Anthony's face. "I don't think of anything special. I'm just quoting from your ancestor, Dante Alighieri." "He's not my ancestor. My name is Dante and his is Dante. We have nothing to do with each other."

"I'm sorry. I thought every Italian would be willing to announce publicly that he was either Dante or Julius Caesar!" "Then at least we know where it came from." Anthony and Dante stood staring at each other when Paula interrupted them: "If you two are done arguing, we can continue." Anthony cleared his throat. "Like I said, 'Vexilla regis prodeun inferni' is a quote from the Divine Comedy, from where Dante and Virgil go to hell. That's Christian Another way of saying a prayer in Dante’s verse, except that the prayer is addressed to Satan rather than to God. Many people think this is teaching heresy, but what Dante means here is to scare the reader.”

"Is that what the murderer meant? Want to scare us?" "He wanted to tell us that hell was around the corner. I don't think Kaloski adapted that line to have a deeper meaning. He's not a very literate man, even though he pretends to be. Are there any other words left?" "Not on the body," Paula said. "He was scared when he knew we were coming, and it was my fault. Let him know we're coming. Because I've been calling Pontello." "Does the phone have a location?" "We contacted the phone company. Their tracking system found that Pontillo's cell phone was either off or out of service area. The last call from that cell phone was made from the top floor of the Atlanta Star Hotel, not far from where we stood Less than a thousand paces," replied Paula.

"That's where I live now," Anthony said. "Really? I thought they'd put a priest in a hotel, you know, kind of a humbler lodging." Anthony ignored Dante's words. "Dante, my friend, at my age one enjoys the good side of life more, especially when Uncle Sam pays you. I've pitched a tent in front of stinking death several times." "I believe it, Father, absolutely." "What do you mean? Whatever you're trying to imply, could you please clarify?" "I'm not implying anything, I'm just saying it's the most disgusting place you've ever slept because of... your priesthood."

Dante's temper is worse than usual because of Anthony's presence.Paula didn't understand why he was doing this, but she realized that there was something the two needed to come face to face with. "Enough. Let's get out of here and get some fresh air." The two men followed Paula back to the church.Paula told the medical staff to handle Pontillo's body carefully, at which point UACV technicians came over to tell Paula what they had found.Paula nodded and turned to Anthony. "Can you concentrate, Father?" "certainly." "How about you, Dante?" "Why not?" "Well, here's what we found. In the rectory we found a set of professional makeup kits and a pile of ashes on the table, our opinion is that it was from a burnt passport. He poured a lot of alcohol on it. Then it was lit, so there's nothing left. The UACV team took the ashes to see if there was anything solid left. The only fingerprint in the house wasn't Kaloski's, which means we're going to see if Who stayed. Your job this afternoon, Dante, is to find out who Father Francisco really is and how long he has been here. Find out the general parishioners of the church." "Okay, I'll check on the older parishioners." "No kidding. Kaloski is playing us, but he's also nervous. He's in the shadows, and we won't hear from him for a while. If we don't find out what he's doing in the next few hours Where, maybe we can find out where he's going." Paula made a furtive gesture of success with her pocketed fingers, trying to believe what she had just said.The most serious and determined expressions were on the faces of the two men, and they were trying to convince themselves that the possibility of finding the murderer was very high, rather than just wishful thinking. Dante returned two hours later.He was accompanied by a middle-aged woman who repeated the story she had just told Dante: three years ago, when the original priest Dalilo died, Francisco came to take over the original priest's work.The woman has been helping him clean the church and his home since then.According to the women, Father Francisco was a typical humble Christian.He is very conscientious about his work and no one has a bad word to say about him. Putting it all together leads to a sweeping but confusing conclusion, but at least one fact is clear: Daliro died in November 2001.It also means that Kaloski entered the country at that time. "Dante, do me a favor, check what people in Carmel know about Francisco Toma?" "I'll make a few calls. But I doubt we'll get anything." Dante goes out the front, which is the direction to his Vatican police station.Anthony also walked out. "I'm going to the hotel to change clothes, see you later." "I'm going to the morgue." "You don't have to go." "I must go." They stood there a little uncomfortable and didn't say another word to each other.There was a hymn sung by a believer in the distance, who seemed to understand their silence at this time.The mobile crowd, one after another, slowly sang along, the sun was divided into two behind the mountain, and the city of Rome was slowly immersed in the long shadow of the afternoon.But the street lights on the street are still on. "Perhaps the last Pontillo heard was a hymn like this." Paula didn't answer.Anthony has seen too many criminal analysts go through too many situations before, after the death of a close partner, because of the job they have to go through.When things first started they would be immersed in their work, mixed with a sense of revenge.Then little by little, the person becomes more and more exhausted and depressed.They reminisce about previous situations with the victim, which intensifies the trauma they are experiencing now.Paula must have ended up in a state of numb grief, mingled with anger, remorse, and exasperation.Until Kaloski is caught or dead, the mood won't return to normal, and maybe it won't. Anthony wanted to put his hand on Paula's shoulder, but at the last second he dropped the idea.He was standing right behind Paula. Although Paula didn't see it, she must have felt something.She turned to look at Anthony with a worried look on her face. "Be careful, Father. He knows you're here. That might make a difference. Not only that, but we don't know what he looks like. He's smart, disguises himself, disguises himself." "What can he become in five years?" "I saw the picture of Karowski you gave me, and I saw 'Father Francisco' with my own eyes. They don't look alike at all." "It's extremely dark in the church, you can't pay much attention to that priest's appearance." "Trust me, I know how to read people. He may have some disguise, like a beard covering half his face, but he should still look like an old man, and that should be true. Kaloski knows how to hide himself , very skillful. And now he may have become something else." "That's fine, but I've seen him that close before. If he's walking the other way, I can recognize him. That's the end of his tricks." "Not just a gimmick. He now has a 9mm pistol with 30 rounds in his hand. Pontillo's pistol and magazines are gone."

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