The First Face of Janus by Valentine Phil

Author:Valentine, Phil [Valentine, Phil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxley Durchville Publishing
Published: 2017-07-12T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

Rosenfeld wondered if this was what it felt like when a teenager was two hours past his curfew. She was frightened and angry all at once. If she could just know he was OK, she would stop worrying. She hated not knowing. What she really hated was not being in control. He was brand new to all this, a novice off on a lark. He had no idea who he was dealing with. She tried to tell him. Everyone tried to tell him. He was careless. Reckless. Case in point, booking a room directly across from the Palace of the Popes. A bold move that would surely evoke a response if they were there. Anything could go wrong, and she would be responsible if something happened to him. She remembered the name of the priest. Father Simonin. She did an Internet search on Crow’s tablet and found it. Church of Saint-Agricol. She wondered if he’d think she was overreacting. Probably, but she always erred on the side of caution. In her line of work it was an asset. She reached for her phone and dialed Crow’s number again. As before, it went straight to voicemail. He had turned it off again to save his battery.

Father Simonin began the long slog up the wooden steps of the bell tower. He’d made that particular trek hundreds of times and paced himself to save his breath. He allotted ample time for the task. Inspecting the belfry was one of the necessary tasks in the upkeep of a structure dating back to the fourteenth century. He could’ve hired someone to do it, but he took pride in it. The truth is he enjoyed it, and he appreciated the exercise. He wanted to think it kept him young, but who was he fooling? He tired a little more easily with each trip these days. He wondered when he might have to give it up for good.

Rosenfeld felt vulnerable leaving the hotel by herself. There were dozens of other people around in broad daylight, but she had no way of knowing if that even mattered. The Custos Verbi had killed in more brazen circumstances. She checked the map on her phone, stepped out into the warmth of the morning, and followed the blue line.

The father stopped for a brief moment and looked down to the bottom of the tower through one of the openings placed at intervals along the stairway to allow maintenance workers to make repairs to the inner wall of the tower. He peered up the shaft and figured himself to be halfway there. He continued the climb.

Rosenfeld glanced up at the towering walls of the palace to her right. She turned left and continued to weave among the tourists, holding her phone out in front of her. Her anxiety increased with each step. She looked over her shoulder every few seconds.

Father Simonin stopped at another opening and looked up at the floor of the belfry. He could see the rope extending through a hole in the floor and followed it all the way down to the bottom.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.