The Crimson Dagger - Vatican Knights Series 23 (2020), Rick Jones [free ebooks for android txt] 📗

But Shari did not worry for her welfare. She worried about this sudden inability to see Kimball’s dream come to fruition. In fact, she was blaming herself rather than to blame the unfortunate circumstances that were beyond her control.

After making appointments for an additional battery of tests, Shari left the office knowing that she was about to lose her ability to have children. Would it be a small price to pay should the procedure save her life? Would she feel whole? Would Kimball see her in a different light? She had so many questions and so few answers.

As the day pressed on, and as Shari sat on the wraparound deck of the cabin that overlooked the lake, she finally broke, the sobs coming hard and uncontrollable until she was drained. That evening, as she went to bed, she discovered that Kimball had left a message on her cellphone. Though the communication was brief, it was also impactful. He sounded happy and within his element. But it was his final words that cut her deep: I love you so much. Having believed that she had cried herself dry, Shari Cohen discovered otherwise as she openly sobbed while listening to the message over and over again:

. . . I love you so much . . .

. . . I love you so much . . .

. . . I love you so much . . .

CHAPTER SEVEN

The Kristallpalast

Vienna, Austria

Following Afternoon

The Kristallpalast was Vienna’s latest and greatest luxury hotel that served a clientele with expensive tastes and hefty bank accounts. It was a seventy-five-story tower located in the city’s luxury district that was not too far from the central and historic areas, with state-of-the-art comforts and operational wizardry that was provided by a mainframe unit that cost nearly as much as the construction cost of the hotel. The building was a glass structure with the windows actually solar units that did not have the cell construct of normal solar paneling. The glass plates appeared as normal windows that provided an unobstructed view when they actually accepted sunlight with absorption to power the rooms’ amenities. The solar power provided a myriad of functions such as to dim the window’s tinting to different levels of shading; voice commands to operate the TV; the shower; the coffee maker; to lock or unlock the door; to control the level of lighting, whether it be bright or dimmed to create a romantic mood; or to contact the main desk via telephone without lifting the receiver to make the call. And for those who could afford it, they would enjoy semi-heated glass-bottomed pools that hung off the room like a balcony on the seventieth floor. For those with prestige and deep wallets, there were the dual-level penthouse suites that were richly marbled with the finest stock from Italy and furnished with fixtures that were crafted from the best designers in Austria. After the hotel’s opening, politicians, celebrities, and esteemed principals from all over the globe had stayed at the Kristallpalast. And from its very inception, there hadn’t been this much excitement of an inaugural opening since the RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton in 1912.

On the sixty-fifth floor where the Convention Rooms were, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Antonio Favino, was in conversation with the Directorates of Safety and the local political leaders, regarding the pontiff’s impending visit to Vienna. Though the pope was considered to be the president of Vatican City, the duties of the Vatican’s Cardinal Secretary was to oversee all political and diplomatic functions of Vatican City and is often described as the prime minister of the Holy See. He was also a close confidante and loyalist to Pope Clement XV.

As Cardinal Favino spoke of the details of the pontiff’s pending arrival, he did so with an air of authority and pomposity. He was a pugnacious and overweight man who didn’t quite fit the mode of a pious individual because he often came off as overbearing.

When the arrangements were made and agreed upon, that the pontiff would be allowed every possible indulgence, a deal was struck: The Kristallpalast would become a venue along the pope’s European journey. Now that the arrangement was set and the day growing late, Cardinal Favino elected to stay at the hotel along with his valet team of three bishops, all who were members of the Holy See, to enjoy the upscale amenities, as well as to dine in a five-star restaurant courtesy of the Kristallpalast on the fiftieth floor.

Later, and from his balcony, Cardinal Favino watched the sun set over the most picturesque city outside of Prague. The view was magnificent. When darkness filled the sky and the lights of the city illumined, Favino considered how much the lights appeared like a cache of diamonds spread over black velvet. Nothing was more beautiful at the moment.

Knowing that morning would come quickly, Cardinal Favino chose to go to bed early. Tomorrow, he would travel to the city of Prague to make further arrangements, and then to Berlin.

Within moments, while leaving the drapes of his room parted so he could watch the star-glitter twinkle of city lights, Cardinal Favino fell asleep not knowing that he was about to become the central figure in an unimaginable upheaval.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Apostolic Palace

Vatican City

Late Evening/Early Morning Hours

Pope Clement XV was incensed when he heard that Kimball Hayden was back on campus. The presence of the man annoyed him to no end since the two were one step away from becoming mortal enemies. Most people kept their dirty little secrets inside their closets. But it was Kimball Hayden who opened the door and dragged the pontiff’s bare bones out for all to see.

Standing at the balcony that overlooked a vacant St. Peter’s Square, Pope Clement looked at the distant Colonnades that were steeped inside the evening shadows, then he ran his hand along the banister’s rail, almost lovingly, where he had shoved Pope Gregory over its edge.