The Medici Return (Cotton Malone #19)

Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

S TEFANO FINISHED HIS DINNER, A TENDER FILET OF S PANISH BEEF with some pasta. He was careful about what he ate and worked hard to maintain a lean physique. He stood tall but not overly so, with square shoulders, sinewy arms and hands, and a face sharp-featured, the eyes capable of being both piercingly astute and as na?ve as those of an innocent, depending on the situation. He was nearing forty and considered himself in his prime. For the past few months he’d been training hard for the Calcio with daily workouts. Those fifty-minute games, running on a soft carpet of sand, took a toll on the body. But he was in terrific shape, no ordinary priest. Not at all. He was a working intelligence officer who’d been dispatched to hot spots across the globe. Now he was entangled with something that struck close to the heart of the Holy See. The ongoing fraud trial had tested everyone’s nerves. Sure, there’d been scandals before. Plenty. But never had the Vatican publicly charged and tried the offenders for the world to see. Every member of the Curia was following the unfolding events. Especially Cardinal Ascolani, who’d taken a personal interest in the entire manner.

He knew all about the crusty Italian.

Ascolani was old school. Born south of Turin in the Piedmont to a rural family. His father had been both a tailor and a Christian Democrat in parliament, his mother a respected schoolteacher. He’d studied in Rome, obtaining a doctorate in theology, then trained as a diplomat at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. He had a special talent. Languages were easy for him. Ascolani spoke eight fluently. Which made him ideal for the diplomatic service. He finished his pastoral work in Italy before being moved overseas, serving in South America, Asia, and Africa. The current pope elevated him to secretary of state the day after the last conclave ended. Why? Pundits said it was payback for his help. Not unusual. Especially considering that Ascolani had been in the running for the papal tiara himself. But nonetheless odd since the new pope and Ascolani had never been considered friends. In fact, the new pontiff passed over several close associates to give the coveted second-in-command position to Ascolani.

Stefano paid his bill and left the restaurant, walking back to Vatican City. Ascolani had told him to stay close, and he’d followed that order. He crossed the narrow streets, squeezing between parked cars and finally entering St. Peter’s Square. A car passed by, its windows tinted dark, bearing the distinctive license plate of the Vatican state. Not many people out tonight enjoying the fountains and obelisks. He passed through the security checkpoint and reentered the restricted areas. Ascolani had sent another secure text telling him to come immediately to his official residence, which had necessitated the skipping of dessert. Which he’d not liked. Sweets were a soft spot and that restaurant made some terrific gelato.

Ascolani’s residence sat atop the Palazzina della Zecca, near the center of the Vatican. The building itself served as a hotel for visitors, along with accommodating several cardinals in residence. Stefano had visited before. The apartment seemed more something that a Forbes-list billionaire would enjoy than a home for a prelate pledged to austerity. Ascolani assumed control of the space right after his appointment, merging two flats into one, and had been steadily renovating ever since. About five hundred square meters, three times larger than the pope’s residence and a hundred times more opulent. The furniture was all imported pale wood—sleek, elegant, and modern. Ascolani’s spin on the project, and its expense, was that the apartment would henceforth serve as the official secretary of state’s residence. A place where holders of that office could impress and persuade emissaries. A stretch? Without a doubt. But no one had questioned the move. Not even the pope. Three nuns took care of all of the domestic work, and the interior was also furnished with an impressive array of antiques and other collectibles from the Vatican Museums’ extensive collection.

A Swiss Guardsman allowed him onto the private elevator, which took him straight to the top of the building. The car opened into a marble foyer that led to the front door, which Ascolani opened, inviting him inside and offering a seat. His boss was out of uniform. No black cassock or red robes. Just pants and an untucked shirt, slippers on his feet. The casualness reflected the level of trust being placed in him.

“This has been an eventful day,” Ascolani said. “More so than I ever imagined this morning when I woke. Cardinal Richter has been suspended and ordered to Munich until the trial is over. We, though, have an extremely delicate situation developing. We are going to have that much more detailed conversation now. One that, as you observed earlier, is troubling me.”

His host poured two generous measures of whiskey into tumblers and offered one to him.

“If you would indulge me,” Ascolani said. “I need to tell you a story that will help place things in context.”

In 1542 the growing Protestant Reformation made Catholic authorities more suspect than ever of new ideas. Eliminating heretics became complicated by the politics of Protestant powers, especially those in Northern Europe. The Catholic Church could no longer do as it pleased, especially in lands that had officially adopted Protestantism. So Pope Paul III established the Congregation of the Holy Office of the Inquisition to maintain and defend the integrity of the faith from all enemies. A Dominican named Miguel Ghislieri was summoned to Rome and charged with collecting information the Inquisition might need. Ghislieri lived a simple life in poverty and moved about on foot. His irreproachable conduct and uncompromising attitude were well known. Within a year over twelve hundred people were judged by Inquisitorial courts, more than two hundred of them being tortured, found guilty, and executed. In 1551 Ghislieri was promoted to head of the Inquisition. He quickly set about reorganizing the office and assembling a network of spies. Little to nothing happened in Rome, or within the Vatican, without him knowing. In 1557 Ghislieri was made a cardinal. By then he possessed so much confidential information on so many that no one challenged him.

Not even popes.

His “black monks” wreaked havoc.

But when Paul IV died suddenly in 1559, the cardinals became emboldened, hunting down Ghislieri’s spies and killing them all. The masses even attacked the palace where the Inquisition held its trials. Cardinal Ghislieri barely escaped with his life. Peace returned on Christmas Day 1559 when Cardinal Giovanni Angelo de’ Medici was elected pope as Pius IV. He was intent on purging all that had occurred through the Inquisition, so his first order of business was to send Ghislieri into exile and dissolve his network of black monks. Ghislieri took refuge in a Carthusian monastery, Santa Maria di Castello, and stayed there for six years until Pius IV died in 1565.

On January 7, 1566, Ghislieri was elected pope.

He chose the name Pius V.

By then everyone had grown terrified of the Protestant Reformation and wanted a pope who could take on the movement. Ghislieri’s experience at heading the Inquisition made him perfect for the job. He promptly created the Holy Alliance, the first official papal intelligence service, and turned it loose on the world. Pius V reigned for only six years, dying in 1572.

His war on Protestantism failed.

But the Holy Alliance lived on.

Ascolani reached for a pack of cigarettes on a side table and slipped one between his lips. He lit it and exhaled the smoke quickly, as if ridding himself of something unpleasant. “An odd name, wouldn’t you say? The Entity. I have no idea how that came about. Of course, since we never officially acknowledge it even exists, I suppose we could call it whatever we desire.”

Stefano was wondering why he was here. Most of what Ascolani had just said he knew. But he also knew to keep quiet and listen.

“I need you to find something for me,” Ascolani said.

Okay. Progress.

“When Giovanni Angelo de’ Medici was elected as Pius IV and banished Cardinal Ghislieri into exile, Ghislieri took with him all of the records of the Inquisition.”

He’d not known that.

Ascolani finished the cigarette and stubbed out the butt in a crystal ashtray, while exhaling a stream of blue smoke. “It has long been thought that Ghislieri took other documents, unrelated to the Inquisition, with him too. Especially those that a Medici pope might find important.” The older man assumed a deliberately casual and unconcerned pose. “Are you loyal, Father Giumenta? To the church? The pope? Me?”

He noticed the drop in tone, and the omission of God . Definitely an odd question. But add it to the list when dealing with this man, whom he regarded with a mixture of apprehension and admiration.

“I don’t think my loyalty to any of those you mentioned has ever been questioned.”

“We are about to embark on something that has far-reaching implications. Much farther than Eric Casaburi and his current political ambitions, though they remain a growing concern. Thankfully, though, the mission I am about to assign to you should resolve both matters.”

“I am at your disposal.”

“Yes, you are. So listen carefully.”