Shout in the Dark (12 page)

"
And who exactly would it have been stolen from, young
man?"

Marco laughed. The answer seemed obvious.
"The Vatican, I imagine."

Father Reinhardt shook his head. "The
bronze head destroyed at TV Roma was the only one our Cardinal will
admit to the Church ever owning. He has even prepared a press
statement for release today, denying we ever had any
other."

"
Could TV Roma claim it was stolen from them?"

"
It was only on loan to them, so they could make no
claim."

Marco tried again. "What about the
monastery who once owned it?"

"
I have no idea where it is."

"
Canon Angelo would have known..."

"
Angelo Levi has been dead for eighteen years, Marco.
Certainly no monastery has ever complained that they lost such a
precious relic."

"
Okay," agreed Marco, "so who
does
own it?"

"
I would think that the person who possesses it has a better
title than anyone else. The eventual owners in Berlin -- if this
fascist group succeeds in its plans -- could easily disassociate
themselves from the violence at TV Roma. The political wing of a
terrorist group never takes the blame for terrorist atrocities. The
fascists could say a renegade group committed the crime, and claim
that they now own the genuine head. And who could take legal action
against them?"

Marco laughed. "Most of the Nazis would be
too old to know what to do with it."

Josef Reinhardt sighed softly. "Do not
think of today's neo-Nazis as a group of tired old men listening to
Wagner, while trying to relive the so-called glory days. That sort
of thing only happens in films. These people are young and
powerful, Marco."

Marco raised his eyebrows. "Who are
they?"

"
Clever politicians with ambitions for a new Reich, a new
empire. They want to cleanse Germany -- cleanse Europe."

Marco was on his feet.
"
Cleanse?
Like
they did with the Jews?"

Father Josef held up his hands as though
to restrain Marco. "That would be
their
view. It is probably their sole aim. Many people throughout
Europe in the Nazi years had good reason to fear for their lives.
It was not only Jews who were eliminated. Homosexuals. Gypsies. The
congenitally infirm. Communists. Himmler set up a center of the
occult at Castle Wewelsburg with his twelve disciples. He thought
Christian relics could control the future. Religion is a powerful
force."

"
It was a long time ago."

"
There are over two billion people in the world today who
belong to various branches of the Christian faith. Two thousand
million. Many of them would be thrown into confusion by a skillful
mix of Christianity and the occult. Many would expect such a relic
to have mystical properties, and the neo-Nazis would be quick to
exploit this expectation. Control even one part of the Church, and
you could control hundreds of millions of followers. It is not an
impossible dream for the fascist movement, even in today's secular
society. You can forget about old Nazis wanting to revive the Third
Reich. There will be new conversions, new beginnings. 'See,' the
people will say, 'here is Christ, so this teaching must be part of
the truth.'"

"
The Church leaders would react immediately," insisted
Marco.

Father Josef shook his head. "As they did
in the thirties? Oh, I have many regrets for the small part I
played as a youth in assisting the Nazi system in the war. But this
will go beyond the Church, Marco. Non-believers will be caught up.
The face of Christ would be of historical as well as religious
interest.
A
rallying place for the pure?
What does that mean? Can you imagine the division if there
is a selection process for those entitled to see the face? The
humiliation of those denied access, and the pride of those
admitted. Divide, weaken, destroy. The Third Reich managed to do it
successfully with the Christian Church in Germany."

"
Then it's a good thing the neo-Nazis don't have the relic."
Marco attempted a laugh.

The old priest stared disconcertingly. "Do
you really think they have given up their search?"

Marco passed the note back to Father
Josef. "I think the person who wrote this is mad."

"
Mad, possibly." Father Josef replaced it in the file. "But
it is a compelling form of madness, and it could easily reignite
the flames of Nazism throughout Europe. I have seen it happen
before. The Church and the Nazis in tacit union. It is an
obscenity."

Marco frowned. "I don't understand
the
Eternal
Leaders
bit. Jesus and
Hitler?"

"
In confidence I can tell you that there are fascist plans
to reconstruct the head of Hitler, using clay and fragments of his
skull. Those of us in Germany in the last war remember hailing the
man as our eternal leader, forming an eternal kingdom. It is
strange how many memories those words have stirred up within
me."

"
Why eternal? Hitler is long dead."

"
The man, but not his influence. There are untold numbers of
his followers -- mostly young ones who never knew him -- who
believe that a new world is within their reach."

"
How do they hope to do that?"

"
Purge Germany of foreign workers and refugees. Purge Europe
of everyone they see as undesirable. Give power to a master race,
with financial supremacy. The Führer may be gone, but his teachings
and the teachings of his disciples live on."

"
It's not just Europe," said Marco, his memories now
stirred. "Doesn't America have a strong neo-Nazi
movement?"

"
Indeed it does. Ten years ago, eighty-five percent of the
illegal neo-Nazi literature circulating in Germany came from the
United States. Russia, too, has massive support for fascism among
the young, with groups like RNE, Russian National
Unity."

Marco found the old priest's anxieties
contagious. "You say you were in Germany in the war. Does that mean
you admit to being a Nazi?"

Father Reinhardt turned his face away. "I
am German, and yes, I was a young member of the National Socialist
Party. You seem surprised." Slowly he turned to face Marco again.
"For much of my working life I lived in England, the country that
gave me refuge in nineteen forty-four. I quickly learned to love
the English people."

"
I know England. I was at Oxford last summer," interrupted
Marco, moving so as to sit upright in his chair. "I have a friend
from school who works there in a science laboratory. He's involved
with developing DNA testing techniques." He grinned. "Too technical
and boring for me."

The old priest smiled back. "The City of
Spires. I sometimes dream I am back at Oxford."

"
Would you live your life very differently if you had
another chance?" asked Marco.

The smile disappeared. "I have many
regrets, Marco. Of course I do. Lost opportunities that torment me
still. Sins of omission. Sins of commission." Josef Reinhardt's
eyes seemed to penetrate Marco. "Perhaps you will be able to make
good some of my omissions."

Marco felt uncomfortable. "In what
way?"

"
By learning from me. I have always maintained an interest
in the extreme right wing in Europe."

Marco jumped from his chair. "You're
not
still
a
Nazi?"

"
Indeed I am not. Sit down, young man. I am definitely an
ex-Nazi, an anti-Nazi. Hitler was presented to us as a man of great
compassion, as having divine insight, divine capabilities. He
seduced me, but many of us who were under his spell have
subsequently seen the light. Like you, Marco, I am now an unworthy
follower of a new Master. Conversion is an apt word."

Marco breathed out heavily and sat down
again. "For a moment you had me wondering what sort of secret body
was recruiting me."

Father Josef glanced at the closed file.
"I must repeat what I said earlier. I showed you the note in
absolute confidence. It will not be released to the public until
the affair is closed -- if at all. I am convinced that the genuine
relic is still around. Amendola has chosen to take the official
view that it no longer exists, and that is what he is telling the
press."

"
The Cardinal seems to be very much on the
defensive."

"
Amendola has objected publicly to the relic being shown on
TV. He said it was a forgery as soon as it came to light in the
Archives last month."

"
But..."

"
He was right, it was a forgery. But somewhere there must be
the genuine object. It was seen a couple of hundred years after
Eusebius wrote about the statue. Since then there has been silence.
Caesarea Philippi was the scene of much fighting in the Crusades.
If the relic went to Constantinople it would surely have become
known by now. Our brothers in the Eastern Church do not keep
secrets of that nature from us any longer. The writer of this note
knows something about it."

"
Who is the writer?"

"
It could be anyone, Marco. It is a computer printout, so no
handwriting clues there. Our language experts suggest the choice of
words and the grammar point to a German origin, apart from the
German font, which anyone could use on a computer A German origin
is of course what the note implies. However, I trust
nobody."

"
Not even the
carabinieri
?"

"
Especially not the
carabinieri
. The right wing doctrines are pernicious, and are being
accepted by many in authority. There is a growing backlash in Italy
against the Communism of earlier decades. The power of the
communist unions in Italy is blamed by many for our present
economic problems. And there are the issues caused by migrant
workers. They are accused of stealing the jobs to which Italian
families say they are entitled. Resentment is a breeding ground for
hatred."

Marco looked up. A large cross swung
gently on Father Josef's black clerical jacket. Many hours would be
spent in prayer while handling that sacred silver object with its
worn, dark rosewood center. A comforting thought.

Father Josef must have observed the
glance. "There is power there, Marco, but it exists for those who
can see beyond the wood and the silver. It is certainly not a lucky
charm. You must seek the power of the risen Lord and feel it for
yourself. I am mindful of words the Holy Father shared with me last
night, from the letter Saint Paul wrote to the Church in
Ephesus.
Be
strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full Armour
of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers..."

"
... Against the authorities, against the powers of
this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly realms
,"
finished Marco, glad of the rote learning of Sister
Maria.

"
Indeed, yes. The Epistle to the Ephesians." A bell sounded
deep within the green-shuttered house on the edge of the Piazza di
Santa Maria Maggiore. Father Josef raised a finger. "The sisters
are telling us that our lunch is ready. There is much work to be
done, so today I will forgo my
siesta
."

As they left the room, Marco's earlier
question was suddenly answered.

"
Marco, you asked if the writings of Eusebius are reliable?
There is, I contend, independent evidence for the existence of the
statue. Within a few minutes' drive of here, in the catacomb of
Santo Pietro and Marcellinus, I have seen a fresco that I believe
shows the very same statue of our Lord, with the woman he
healed."

"
I've seen it too." Marco started down the marble stairs,
while behind him Father Josef took a firm grip of the brass
handrail ready for his descent. "But I didn't realize it showed a
statue. I thought it was just a picture of Jesus healing the woman.
You could be right." He turned. He had to ask, although the answer
was obvious. "Father Josef, I imagine I'm not a practicing priest
any more. Is that so?"

"
Hurry along, my son, we must not keep the sisters waiting.
To my eyes a man of God is always a man of God, and that is what
you most certainly are. You cannot have your priesthood simply
taken away by a cardinal and his panel, but you have certainly been
prevented from taking up your duties in your first
parish."

Marco walked ahead slowly. He knew that in
the short-term he must reconcile himself to a new life. This could
even be the last day for wearing his suit of clerical black. At
least he could stop cleaning his best shoes. He turned again to
speak. "What exactly do you want me to do, to help?"