CHAPTER 59

CHAPTER 59

— IT'S ABOUT MARIO GRETZ — Nicole said as she opened the e-mail Greg had requested. — Interpol just gave us the full report.

— Give me the report, Nick, let's see what Interpol has got.

— Here you are, Greg! — Apparently, after he was expelled from the Vatican, he was hired by a traditional family in the city of Florence, the Saldini family.

— Hired by the Saldini? — asked Roman Green. — That seems rather strange to me!

— Why strange, Father? — He must have been hired as a security guard...

— That's the problem, Nick! The Saldini clan is one of the most traditional in northern Italy, its origins are even older than those of the Medici. However, unlike that other very famous clan in Florence, the Saldini never hid an iron antipathy against foreigners, mainly military personnel.

— Why?

— For a historical reason. When Emperor Charles V's troops invaded Italy and sacked Rome, one of the emperor's army chiefs was in Florence and kidnapped the patriarch of the Saldini family, demanding a heavy ransom in gold for his release. As the sum demanded was too large and the period of eight days too short, the patriarch's family was unable to raise the entire amount demanded, giving the kidnapper only half of the stipulated gold. The Spanish commander then determined that only half of their patriarch's body should be returned to the Saldini.

— That explains why they hate foreigners!

— Yes, that's where the problem is. What would be the explanation for hiring a Swiss?

Before they could answer, Antoine opened the door and walked in with Victoria.

— Did you miss you?

— WHAT DID YOU THINK of the Vatican Secretary General's proposal? — asked Roman Green.

— I still don't know — Victoria replied. This, however, is a matter of time. We'll soon find out when we find the book. Now the big question is whether we should hand it over to the Vatican or destroy it.

— Second and third parts of the golden book?

Victoria nodded.

— That surprised me at first too, but it makes much more sense for this artifact to have been split into three, given the three sons of Nimrod.

Nicole did a quick Google search and found it.

— Eliezer, Hunor, and Magor.

She confirmed the answer.

— First of all, Victoria, we must find him — Nicole said, bringing them back to reality — only then can we decide what to do with him. And, by the way, do we already have the Senator's response?

— Victoria... — said Antoine. — We just received the Senator's reply...

— So — the woman asked, a twinkle in her eye — our friends in America found the book?

— Here she is — replied Gregory Evans, holding out a fax paper.

— What do you mean here she is? — Asked the apprehensive woman — didn't they call, saying they found the book?... What is this? — He said looking at the fax, trying to understand what he had in his hands.

— The Senator called and said that in the vault at the New York Stock Exchange there was just that, that they didn't find any books — continued Gregory Evans.

Roman Green approached curiously.

— Let me see, Victoria.

The priest then took the fax, examining it quickly.

— This... this is a copy of a bank statement! — Said the religious without understanding anything.

— A bank statement? — Nicole's eyes darted to the paper — but why would my grandfather keep a bank statement in the vault at the Stock Exchange?

— And it's not an ordinary bank statement — Green smiled, trying to hide his disappointment — it's a Crédit Suisse bank statement, drawn up on 09/18/1948!

— And worth nearly five hundred thousand pounds! — Gregory observed, not hiding his enthusiasm. A deposit made over sixty years ago! If we add up the interest accrued from forty-eight to date, heavens! you have now become incredibly rich!

— Victoria is already rich! — Antoine observed, as if censuring the detective's elation.

— My God! — Exclaimed the woman — could my father have gone mad? Why would he have made us walk all this way to, in the end, arrive at the indication of a secret deposit in pounds, made in Switzerland?

— Perhaps it's one more clue — concluded Gregory Evans — another step to be deciphered in the quest for the Golden Book!

— Don't entertain any illusions, Greg! — How could a bank statement integrate my father's riddles to hide the book?

— This is not an illusion — interfered the priest — I believe that Greg is right. It doesn't seem likely to me that your father made all this up just to point you to a large sum of money!

— But how could this bank statement lead us to the Golden Book?

— That's the point — Nicole continued — there must be something in that extract that brings us even closer to the book hidden by my grandfather.

— I'd like to believe that, Nick, but how could a simple bank statement bring us closer to the Golden Book? See, it completely clashes with the previous puzzles he created.

— Besides, he's a complete stranger! — Only four deposits were made — Gregory Evans confirmed by analyzing the bare facts — one for £150,348, made on March 15, 1948; and another three, made respectively on the following days, March 16th, 17th and 18th, all of them for the same amount: 110,927 pounds!

— I confess it is strange, Father Green, but I still believe that something in this extract points us to the Golden Book.

— Perhaps Dr. Hulmann concealed the Golden Book in some private safe at the Crédite Nacionale Suicé, as he concealed this extract in the Custody Bank of the New York Stock Exchange — ventured Antoine.

— I don't think so — Green replied — that would be too explicit... And it would completely clash with the ingenuity of the previous riddles worked out by Hulmann.

— Or — concluded Greg — he's even more elaborate, and the fact that he's different from the rest tells us something! — But what? asked an uneasy Gregory Evans.

Greg was looking at the bank statement.

— It is a significant sum, considering that interest rates have been accruing for so long. Now, it is curious that the date of the first deposit coincides exactly with the amount deposited!

— Like this? Green asked.

— Look! — showed Greg handing him the statement — the first deposit was made on 15/03/48, in the amount of 150,348 pounds. If we separate the value into two digits, we will have exactly the date of your first deposit: 03/15/48!

— Impressive! — Green exclaimed — But the other amounts cannot coincide with the date of their deposits. Your numbers are different.

— Let me see — Nicole said. — Hmm, Grandpa's creativity is really impressive. See the riddle!

— It couldn't be more illuminating — said Greg — whatever your father wanted us to know, Victoria, it happened on September 11, 1927!

— What? Where did you get that date? — asked Nicole's mother, overcome with curiosity.

— Not me, mother! — It was actually Greg who found the date and ended up cracking the riddle! Because the amount of the bank deposit coincides with the date it was deposited!

— Yes, but so what?

— Hence the other three subsequent deposits were made on the 16th, 17th and 18th of March 1948 — said the detective — but all in the amount of 110,927. As far as I can see, the fact that the first deposit was made in the same amount as on its date is an indication for our attention to turn to the other three deposits, whose values are repeated in the three subsequent days. If we disregard these days and keep our attention only to their value, we will see that it points to 09/11/27!

— Magnificent, Greg, you're a genius! Green was overjoyed.

— So what Professor Hulmann is pointing us to is exactly this: the date 9/11/1927. The big question is: what happened on that date?

Suddenly, Greg's cell phone rings, he hears it and then hangs up.

— Did something happen, Greg?

— That's what we're going to see, there's a friend of mine waiting for me downstairs, I'll be back soon.