Private Rome

Chapter 84

It was one minute after ten when I arrived at the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, a magnificent place of worship less than a mile from the Colosseum. Situated at the heart of a large piazza, the grand building, described as the Mother of All Churches, stood more than four stories high. Thick marble columns supported a portico adorned with statues of the saints.

I walked beyond the metal railings that were used for crowd control during the day and went through an open gate to access the portico. The sign by the main entrance said the church should be long closed, but the door gave under my touch. When I entered, I found the interior was illuminated by lights set into the stone cornicing halfway up the magnificently decorated walls. The floor was as beautiful as any I’d ever seen, an intricate black-and-white pearlescent tile pattern, and the ceiling was embossed with gold reliefs. Marble statues set in arched niches lined the walls. Beyond the pews, directly in line with the main entrance, stood the high altar.

I crossed the grand floor and moved down the central aisle, unable to shake the feeling I was being watched, though I saw nothing untoward as I scanned the ancient church to left and right of me. I made my way to the altar, but there was no sign of Altmer seated in the nearby pews or hidden in the shadows farther away.

When I was within a few feet of the first row, I heard a distinctive sound that chilled me. I ran forward to find him lying on his back, blood pooling on the tiled floor around him, the hilt of an old-fashioned steel dagger sticking out of his chest. He was pawing at it weakly, but his eyes shifted and focused on me when I rushed to his side.

He gasped and moaned in pain. As I checked his pulse and tried to overcome my shock at finding him this way, I realized he was trying to speak.

I’ll never forget the choking, gurgling noises he made as he frantically sucked air into lungs that sounded as if they were full of fluid. Finally he managed to say, “I... tried... to... do... right... Matteo... is... lying.”

His eyes went blank. I tried mouth-to-mouth but it was no use. He was gone.

I couldn’t believe another man had died in front of me. And that, with his dying breath, he had warned me not to trust my latest Private recruit. I’d managed to convince myself of Matteo’s innocence, but could I continue to do so now?

“Jack Morgan, we know you’re inside. Surrender immediately!”

I recognized the voice of Inspector Mia Esposito. She was talking through a bullhorn.

I’d been completely set up and had no doubt this death would be pinned on me too. I heard movement around the church, the tramp of boots, the catch and lock of weapons being checked, radios crackling to life with terse commands.

There was no way I was fighting my way out of here or escaping unscathed.

I got to my feet and walked toward the main entrance with a sense of weary resignation.

When I opened the door, I saw Esposito had brought what looked like half of Rome’s police officers with her. Many were armed and had their weapons trained on me.

They needn’t have bothered. I put up no resistance when Esposito climbed the steps and turned me around.

“Jack Morgan, you are under arrest,” she said as she put me in handcuffs.