The Confessor

Landau, it is now safe to conclude that the Israeli secret service does not believe the murder of their former operative was carried out by a neo-Nazi extremist."
    "Which brings us back to my original suggestion," Pucci interrupted. "Why don't you just kill him?"
    "This is not the Italian service that I'm talking about, Don Pucci. This is the Israeli service. As director of security, it is my job to protect the Institute. In my opinion, it would be a grave mistake to involve us in a shooting war with the Israeli secret service. They have assassins of their own--assassins who have killed on the streets of Rome and slipped away without a trace." Casagrande looked across the cardinal toward Pucci. "Assassins who could penetrate the walls of this old abbey, Don Pucci."
    Cardinal Brindisi played the role of the mediator. "Then how do you suggest we proceed, Carlo?"
    "Carefully, Eminence. If he is truly an agent of Israeli intelligence, then we can use our friends in the European security services to make life very uncomfortable for him. In the meantime, we must make sure there's nothing else for him to find." Casagrande paused, then added: "I'm afraid we have one loose end remaining. After examining
    the material taken from Professor Stern's apartment, I've come to the conclusion he was working with a collaborator--a man who's given us problems in the past."
    A look of annoyance rippled over the cardinal's face--a stone cast into a calm pond at sunrise--then his features regained their composure. "And the other aspects of your inquiry, Carlo? Are you any closer to identifying the brethren who leaked these documents to Professor Stern in the first place?"
    Casagrande gave a frustrated shake of his head. How many hours had he spent sifting the material taken from the flat in Munich? Notebooks, computer files, address books--Casagrande had gone over everything, looking for clues to the identity of the individuals or group who'd given the information to the professor. Thus far he'd found nothing. The professor had covered his tracks well. It was as if the documents had been handed to him by a ghost.
    "I'm afraid that element of the case remains a mystery, Eminence. If this act of treachery was perpetrated by someone inside the Vatican, we may never know the truth. The Curia happens to be good training ground for intrigues of this sort."
    This remark elicited a flicker of a smile from Brindisi. They walked in silence for a moment. The cardinal's eyes were down.
    "Two days ago, I had lunch with the Holy Father," he said finally. "As we suspected, His Holiness intends to go forward with his program of reconciliation with the Jews. I tried to dissuade him, but it was useless. He's going to the Great Synagogue of Rome next week."
    Roberto Pucci spat at the ground. Carlo Casagrande exhaled heavily. He was not surprised by the cardinal's news. Casagrande and Brindisi had a source on the Holy Father's staff, a secretary who was a member of the brotherhood and kept them apprised of developments
    inside the appartamento. He had been warning for weeks that something like this was coming.
    "He is a caretaker pope," Pucci snapped. "He needs to learn his place."
    Casagrande held his breath, waiting for Pucci to suggest his favorite solution to a problem, but not even Pucci would consider such an option.
    "The Holy Father is not content simply to issue another statement of remorse over our past differences with the Jews. He intends to throw open the Secret Archives as well."
    "He can't be serious," said Casagrande.
    "I'm afraid he's very serious. The question is, if he throws open the archives, will the historians find anything?"
    "The Archives have been purged of all references to the meeting at the convent. As for the witnesses, they've been dealt with and their personnel files destroyed. If the Holy Father insists on commissioning a new study, the Archives will yield no new damaging information whatsoever. Unless, of course, the Israeli manages to reconstruct the work of Professor Stern. If that happens--"
    "--then the Church, and the Institute, will find itself in very difficult straits," said the Cardinal, finishing Casagrande's sentence for him. "For the greater good of the Church and all those who believe in her, the secret of the covenant must remain just that, a secret."
    "Yes, Eminence."
    Roberto Pucci lit a cigarette. "Perhaps our friend in the apparta-mento can advise the Holy Father to see the error of his ways,