Chapter 29

Maddock marveled at the grandeur of St. Peter’s Basilica. All around him were sights so magnificent he felt he could scarcely take them in: intricately carved wood and marble, magnificent paintings and mosaics, exquisite stained-glass, and gleaming precious metals. As he, Bones, and Dima made their way up the stairs, he reflected on the centuries of history contained in this place. One could probably spend a lifetime exploring the Vatican and still not unlock all its mysteries.

“It’s pretty cool,” Bones said, looking around, “but don’t you think they could sell some of this stuff and, I don’t know, feed hungry people?”

“You can’t sell history,” Maddock said.

“I suppose.” Bones made a sudden move and in a flash he held a thin, swarthy man by the wrists. The man struggled and cursed him in a variety of languages. “Don’t waste your time,” Bones said. “Just hand me back the wallet.” The man pleaded ignorance in broken English, but Bones squeezed his wrist until he changed his tune.

“I will give it back. It is in my left pocket.”

Maddock retrieved the wallet, opened it, and frowned. “There’s only a couple of dollars American in here. Where’s everything else?”

The pickpocket gaped at Maddock. “I didn’t… I mean, I don’t…”

Bones let out a harsh laugh. “It’s a decoy wallet, genius. Now, how about I rip your arms out of their sockets so you can’t steal anymore?” He began to twist the man’s arms.

“No, please! I will leave right now,” the man begged, his brown eyes wide with terror. Maddock reckoned the man had never been faced with so frightening a sight as the huge, angry native.

“See that you do.” Bones released him and gave him a hard shove that sent him falling down hard on his backside. He spared one frightened glance at Bones before springing to his feet and hurrying down the stairs.

“Do you think that’ll teach him a lesson?” Dima asked

“Probably not, but it felt good.”

At the top of the dome they paused to take in the magnificent view. The city lay spread out below them, a living monument to one of the greatest civilizations the world had ever known, and the religion it single-handedly spread across much of the world. It was truly a remarkable site.

“It’s something else, isn’t it?” A tall, lean man with brown hair and sharp eyes sidled up to them.

Maddock nodded. “It’s my first visit here, so everything is pretty impressive.”

“If you like the view from up top, you should see what’s down below,” the man said.

That was a signal. Maddock smiled. “I’m Maddock, this is Bones and Dima.”

“Gavin Stone.” Stone didn’t offer to shake hands. Instead, he got right down to business. “Remember, you are tourists taking the Scavi tour, the same tour your friend Robert booked a spot on, and I’m your guide. Follow my lead. We have a tight window so let’s not dawdle.”

Stone led them back down the stairs and through the main level of the Basilica. From here, beneath a sign that read “Sepulcrum Sancti Petri Apostoli,” a tourist could get a limited view of the area designated as the tomb of Saint Peter, but Maddock and his friends were going to get a much closer look.

“We will first make our way down to the Vatican grotto,” Stone said in a perfect tour guide voice, “which lies one level above the remains of St. Peter.”

They descended an ornate staircase and passed through marble-lined hallways. As they walked, Maddock thought he could understand Bones’ discomfort with the obscene displays of wealth. Then again, such magnificence seemed fitting for what was essentially the capital city of one of the world’s major religions. When they descended into the lowest level, their surroundings changed. Here the walls were brick and stone and showed signs of great age.

Stone continued to play his role, speaking in a voice intended to carry to anyone within earshot. “The lowest level, called the Vatican Scavi, is sixteen-hundred years old. Also known as the Vatican Necropolis, the Tomb of the Dead, or St. Peter’s Tomb, this area was discovered in the 1940s when excavations were carried out in preparation for the burial of Pope Pius IX. Though this place had been long reputed to be the resting place of St. Peter, no one expected to find anything down here.”

Stone paused, but picked up the narrative almost immediately as two men in the multi-colored, striped uniform of the Swiss Guard strode past. To his credit, Bones did not so much as crack a smile. He knew as well as Maddock did that despite the absurd-looking uniform, these men were trained soldiers. Neither Maddock nor the others made eye contact with the guards, not wanting to be remembered should things go awry.

“As they dug, the archaeologists found a burial ground that dated back to the fourth century. They found the temporal of Emperor Constantine, and even ancient graffiti that translated to the phrase ‘Peter is here.’ Initially, the remains they found were not promising. Of the three human skeletons they located, the only one that was of appropriate age and build to be the apostle turned out to be the skeleton of a woman. They also found animal bones mixed in with those of humans.

“Eventually, a new set of remains was found in a hollow niche in the wall upon which the graffiti was written. These bones were determined to be of a robust man sixty to seventy years of age. The skeleton included bones from all parts of the body except for the feet, which would be consistent with the way a crucified body was treated, since it was common practice, after the victim expired, to cut the feet off when taking the body down from the cross. Furthermore, the bones were covered in Imperial Roman purple dye, which was typically reserved for the emperor and other high-ranking men. Finally they discovered a section of the wall near the place where the bones were found on which ‘Peter is within’ was inscribed in Greek.”

Stone paused, took a moment to listen, and then nodded. “Okay, enough of that. If we hear anyone coming I’ll start doing the tour guide stuff again.” He glanced at his watch. “We’ve got about forty minutes until we’re expected to be out of here, but I’d hate to cut it that close.”

“Agreed,” Maddock said. He turned to Dima. “Where do we start?”

“At the place where the bones of St. Peter were found,” she said. “At least, that’s what the legends say, for whatever that’s worth.”

Maddock and Bones had seen enough in their lives that they no longer automatically doubted legends. They stepped aside as Dima bent to examine the niche where the bones of the apostle had been found. She ran her fingers all over the wall, examining every inch. After a few minutes she stood and took a step back.

“I don’t see anything.”

“Maybe it’s in the floor,” Bones said. He knelt to examine the spot beneath the niche.

“It’s solid rock,” Stone said.

Bones brushed the ground at the base of the wall, frowned, and leaned in close until his nose was inches from the spot where the wall met the floor. He let out a puff of breath and then another. Next, he traced an invisible square with his fingernail, and then blew again.

“There’s something here. It’s hard to see but there’s definitely something.” He began working at the spot. Seconds passed, and then a minute. Stone kept checking his watch and looking around. Finally, Bones shook his head. “Screw this.” He drove the heel of his palm into the spot he’d been working. With a crack, a square section of rock came free. Bones looked up with a smile. “Sometimes you just need the proper tool to do the job right.” He removed the square and shone his Maglite into the opening. “Whoa. Check this out.”

Everyone moved closer and knelt down for a better look. Embedded in the wall of the dark recess was something that looked like a child’s puzzle. It was a rectangle containing three rows of tiles. Letters were carved into 15 of the tiles and two more were blank, leaving one empty space so that the squares could be rearranged.

“Like we really have time to do a puzzle,” Bones said.

“Lucky for you, I sort of have a knack for puzzles. It’s one of the reasons Tam hired me. Let me take a look.” Stone switched spots with Bones. He examined the puzzle for a minute and then a sly smile crept across his face. “It’s Latin, he said, “and since this is the tomb of Peter, let’s try this.” He reached inside and began shuffling the tiles, spelling out ‘super hanc petram.’ “Upon this rock,” he said as he slid the last tile into place.

There was no time to wonder if Stone’s solution was the correct one. The room began to shake. Maddock felt the floor move beneath his feet and he grabbed Dima and leaped back. Bones and Stone moved to the side and the four of them watched as a manhole sized circle, its edge invisible until this moment, slowly turned and descended, revealing an opening in the floor.

“I guess that was it,” Stone said.

“Nice job on the puzzle,” Maddock replied. “Now, let’s see what’s down there.”

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