CHAPTER 41

CHAPTER 41

— YOU'RE NOT GOING to see the Pope? — Gregory Evans teased. Nicole glared at him, but remained silent. — Well — the detective continued smiling — then another saying will come true:

He went to Rome and did not see the Pope!

— We don't always get to do what we want to do… but… I've been looking at the tourist maps this morning. The statue of Moses is in the Church San Pietro in vincoli, the three of us will be able to go there.

— Nick — the priest interjected. — Why don't you and Gregory take a walk while I get some rest. There are many tourism alternatives in Rome. Later we will see the statue of Michelangelo.

GREG AND NICOLE LEFT THE HOTEL and walked along the famous Via Condotti, arriving at the Café Grego, the oldest and most famous in Rome. They chose a table that allowed the sun to bathe them all over. A cheerful clerk approached with a menu. Her choices made, she returned later with a tasty coffee and pecan pie.

Nicole sighed as she contemplated the beauty of the century-old buildings: in how many stories, dramas and joys would they not have been accomplices and, in silence, witnessed?

— What happened, Nick? — Asked Gregory affectionately. Are you homesick?

Nicole looked tenderly in his direction, touched by this sudden display of affection.

— I miss my grandfather, he was the only person in the whole family who understood me, since my father was killed in a car accident in Germany.

— Is this how your mother got into a wheelchair?

She nodded.

— Your grandfather was a wonderful person — observed the detective, and Nicole smiled.

— He said I was his princess! — He adored me, we were very attached to each other and that made up for my father's absence.

— How was that?

— My grandfather told me they were extremely close, hand in hand. Although my father was a rebel, my grandfather loved him. My parents were on a motorway near Munich, Bavaria, when a runaway truck threw them down a hill.

— We can say it's a miracle your mother is alive.

The memories brought the same pain as that moment.

— I still remember that afternoon. I was at school waiting for them to pick me up. It was the saddest day of my life. I spent a few days at a children's shelter, while my mother was hospitalized, my grandfather finally showed up a few days later.

— That's pretty sad, but you and your mom still have each other. And they seem to get along very well.

Nicole laughed again.

AFTERNOON FAILED QUICKLY. On their ride they came to Capitol Hill. Nicole marveled at the three buildings that lined the square: the New Palace, the Conservative Palace and the Senate Palace, which had a symmetrical harmony in its facades, richly adorned with balusters and statues.

In the center of the square they came across the beautiful equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

On their way back, they passed Via Vittorio Veneto, known simply as Via Veneto, after Federico Felini's film:

"La Dolce Vita".

— What church is that? — Nicole asked.

Gregory Evans looked at the tour guide he was carrying:

— Hmm! It is the Church of Santa Maria da Conceição, of the Capuchin friars.

And he completed it, while his hands in the air took the form of claws, and with his face he made a frightening grimace: and in it there is a crypt full of bones!

— How horrible! Nicole said, laughing and pretending to be scared.

— ARE YOU BACK?

— It's a good time to see Michelangelo's work.

— There's no reason for us to postpone this.

— Let's go then...

THE THREE STOOD BEFORE the imposing statue of Moses, in the Church of São Pedro.

— And now? — asked Gregory Evans — where's the next clue? There's nothing written on it, just a gigantic bearded man, holding what appears to be some boards...

— The tablets of the law! — Completed Nicole.

Victoria looked at her incessantly as if looking for some detail, something that would indicate the path to follow in search of the Golden Book. Then he turned to Nicole:

— Gregory is right, I don't see anything that points us in the right direction!

Nicole kept looking and photographing every detail, examining the statue from every angle:

— There must be something we're missing because it's so obvious, but that might be key to our search...