God's Spy

  Table of Contents

  About the Author

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  APOSTOLIC PALACE - Saturday, April 2, 2005, 9:37 P.M.

  CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA IN TRASPONTINA - Via della Conciliazione, 14 Tuesday, ...

  THE SAINT MATTHEW INSTITUTE - Sachem Pike, Maryland August 1994

  CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA IN TRASPONTINA - Via della Conciliazione, 14 Tuesday, ...

  THE SAINT MATTHEW INSTITUTE - Sachem Pike, Maryland September 1994

  MUNICIPAL MORGUE - Tuesday, April 5, 2005, 8:32 P.M.

  UACV HEADQUARTERS - Via Lamarmora, 3 Tuesday, April 5, 2005, 10:32 P.M.

  ARTICLE REPRINTED FROM THE DAILY MARYLAND GAZETTE - July 29, 1999, Page 7

  UACV HEADQUARTERS - Via Lamarmora, 3 Tuesday, April 5, 2005, 11:14 P.M.

  CORRESPONDENCE FROM EDWARD DRESSLER, PSYCHIATRIST TO CARDINAL FRANCIS CASEY - [Excerpts]

  UACV HEADQUARTERS - Via Lamarmora, 3 Wednesday, April 6, 2005, 12:03 A.M.

  REPORT ON THE SYNTHETIC PROGESTATIONAL HORMONE 1789 - (injectable progestin ...

  UACV HEADQUARTERS - Via Lamarmora, 3 Wednesday, April 6, 2005, 1:25 A.M.

  DICANTI FAMILY APARTMENT - Via della Croce, 12 Wednesday, April 6, 2005, 1:59 A.M.

  CORRESPONDENCE FROM CARDINAL FRANCIS CASEY TO MRS. EDWINA MACDOUGAL

  THE SAINT MATTHEW INSTITUTE - Sachem Pike, Maryland November 1995

  PALAZZO DEL GOVERNATORATO - Vatican City Wednesday, April 6, 2005, 10:34 A.M.

  CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA IN TRASPONTINA - Via della Conciliazione, 14 Wednesday, ...

  PALAZZO DEL GOVERNATORATO - Vatican City Wednesday, April 6, 2005, 1:31 P.M.

  THE SAINT MATTHEW INSTITUTE - Sachem Pike, Maryland January 1996

  CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA IN TRASPONTINA - Via della Conciliazione, 14 Wednesday, ...

  MUNICIPAL MORGUE - Thursday, April 7, 2005, 1:32 A.M.

  UACV HEADQUARTERS - Via Lamarmora, 3 Thursday, April 7, 2005, 8:15 A.M.

  THE SAINT MATTHEW INSTITUTE - Sachem Pike, Maryland April 1997

  UACV HEADQUARTERS - Via Lamarmora, 3 Thursday, April 7, 2005, 8:32 A.M.

  UACV HEADQUARTERS - Via Lamarmora, 3 Thursday, April 7, 2005, 9:15 A.M.

  THE SAINT MATTHEW INSTITUTE - Sachem Pike, Maryland May 1998

  HOTEL RAPHAEL - Largo Febo, 2 Thursday, April 7, 2005, 2:45 P.M.

  DOMUS SANCTAE MARTHAE - Piazza Santa Marta, 1 Thursday, April 7, 2005, 4:14 P.M.

  DOMUS SANCTAE MARTHAE - Piazza Santa Marta, 1 Thursday, April 7, 2005, 4:31 P.M.

  DOMUS SANCTAE MARTHAE - Piazza Marta, 1 Thursday, April 7, 2005, 4:31 P.M.

  DOMUS SANCTAE MARTHAE - Piazza Santa Marta, 1 Thursday, April 7, 2005, 5:15 P.M.

  FBI ACADEMY - Quantico, Virginia August 22, 1999

  DOMUS SANCTAE MARTHAE - Piazza Santa Marta, 1 Thursday, April 7, 2005, 5:49 P.M.

  DOMUS SANCTAE MARTHAE - Piazza Santa Marta, 1 Thursday, April 7, 2005, 6:37 P.M.

  MUNICIPAL MORGUE - Friday, April 8, 2005, 1:25 A.M.

  SAINT PETER’S SQUARE - Vatican City Friday, April 8, 2005, 10:15 A.M.

  VATICAN PRESSROOM - Friday, April 8, 2005, 6:25 P.M.

  UACV HEADQUARTERS - Via Lamarmora, 3 Saturday, April 9, 2005, 1:05 A.M.

  UACV HEADQUARTERS - Via Lamarmora, 3 Saturday, April 9, 2005, 1:25 A.M.

  BASTINA FAMILY RESIDENCE - Via Palestro, 31 Saturday, April 9, 2005, 2:02 A.M.

  AN APARTMENT SOMEWHERE IN ROME - Saturday, April 9, 2005, 2:48 A.M.

  HOTEL RAPHAEL - Largo Febo, 2 Saturday, April 9, 2005, 3:17 A.M.

  HOTEL RAPHAEL - Largo Febo, 2 Saturday, April 9, 2005, 7:58 A.M.

  HOTEL RAPHAEL - Largo Febo, 2 Saturday, April 9, 2005, 9:14 A.M.

  UACV HEADQUARTERS - Via Lamarmora, 3 Saturday, April 9, 2005, 1:25 P.M.

  THE SAINT MATTHEW INSTITUTE - Sachem Pike, Maryland December 1999

  DICANTI FAMILY APARTMENT - Via della Croce, 12 Saturday, April 9, 2005, 11:46 P.M.

  PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE OF A SERIAL KILLER

  DICANTI FAMILY APARTMENT - Via della Croce, 12 Sunday, April 10, 2005, 1:45 A.M.

  THE SAINT MATTHEW INSTITUTE - Sachem Pike, Maryland August 1999

  DICANTI FAMILY APARTMENT - Via della Croce, 12 Sunday, April 10, 2005, 2:14 A.M.

  DICANTI FAMILY APARTMENT - Via della Croce, 12 Sunday, April 10, 2005, 8:41 A.M.

  AP NEWS FEED - April 10, 2005, 08:12 GMT

  THE SACRISTY, SAINT PETER’S BASILICA - Sunday, April 10, 2005, 11:08 A.M.

  SAINT PETER’S SQUARE - Sunday, April 10, 2005, 11:16 A.M.

  THE SACRISTY, SAINT PETER’S BASILICA - Sunday, April 10, 2005, 11:31 A.M.

  JUST OUTSIDE THE DOOR OF THE SANT’UFFIZIO - Sunday, April 10, 2005, 11:31 A.M.

  THE SACRISTY, SAINT PETER’S BASILICA - Sunday, April 10, 2005, 11:42 A.M.

  RATZINGER IS CHOSEN NEW POPE, ALMOST WITHOUT OPPOSITION - by Andrea Otero ...

  EPILOGUE

  Acknowledgements

  AUTHOR’S FINAL NOTE

  A PLUME BOOK

  GOD’S SPY

  JUAN GÓMEZ-JURADO is an award-winning journalist who has worked in radio and television. Published in more than thirty-five countries worldwide, God’s Spy is his first novel. He lives with his wife and daughter in Spain.

  “Impressive.” —The Tampa Tribune

  “Juan Gómez-Jurado is the new pope of Vatican intrigue.”

  —Qué Leer (Spain)

  PLUME

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. • Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Published by Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Previously published in a Dutton edition.

  First Plume Printing, March 2008

  Translation copyright © Juan Gómez-Jurado, 2007

  All rights reserved

  Originally published in Spain as Espia de dios by Roca Editorial.

  Map by Jeffrey L. Ward

  REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

  The Library of Congress has catalogued the Dutton edition as follows:

  Gómez-Jurado, Juan.

  [Espía de Dios. English]

  God’s spy / by Juan Gómez-Jurado ; translated by James Graham.

  p. cm.

  eISBN : 978-1-4406-3202-0

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The scanning, upload
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  http://us.penguingroup.com

  FOR KATU, LIGHT OF MY LIFE

  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven . . .

  —Matthew 16:19

  PROLOGUE

  THE SAINT MATTHEW INSTITUTE

  (center for the rehabilitation of Catholic priests with a history of sexual abuse)

  Sachem Pike, Maryland

  July 1999

  Father Selznick awoke in the middle of the night, a fish knife pressed against his throat. Victor Karosky had come into possession of the knife by mysteriousmeans, and he made use of the endless nights in solitary confinement to sharpen it on the edge of a tile he pried loose from the floor of his cell.

  That was the second time he had successfully squeezed out of his wretched little six-by-ten-foot cell, letting himself down by a chain that he fastened to the wall with the cartridge of a ballpoint pen.

  Selznick had insulted him. He had to pay.

  “Don’t try to talk, Peter.”

  Karosky’s firm, gentle hand covered Selznick’s mouth while the knife caressed the fresh stubble on the face of his priestly brother. Up and down it went in a macabre parody of shaving. Selznick watched him, paralyzed with terror, his eyes wide open, his fingers clutching the edge of the sheet, feeling the other man’s weight pressing upon him.

  “You know why I have come, don’t you, Peter? Blink once for yes and twice for no.”

  Selznick had no reaction until he saw the fish knife stop in midair.

  He blinked twice.

  “Your ignorance is the only thing I find more infuriating than your utter rudeness, Peter. I have come to hear your confession.”

  A faint glimmer of relief passed over Selnick’s face.

  “Do you repent for your abuse of innocent children?”

  Selznick blinked once.

  “Do you repent for the stain you laid on your priestly ministry?”

  A single blink.

  “Do you repent for having scandalized so many souls, defrauding our Holy Mother Church?”

  Another blink.

  “And last but not least do you repent for interrupting me during group therapy three weeks ago, an act that considerably set back my social reintegrationand my eventual return to serving God?”

  A strong, unwavering blink.

  “I am happy to see you repent. For the first three sins, I impose a penitenceof six Our Fathers and six Hail Marys. For the last sin . . .”

  The expression in Karosky’s cold, gray eyes was unwavering as he lifted the knife and inserted it between the lips of his terrified victim.

  “Peter, you have no idea how I am going to enjoy this.”

  Selznick took almost forty-five minutes to die, and he did it without making a sound, without alerting the watchmen who stood guard a hundredfeet away. Karosky let himself back into his cell and shut the door. That was where the Institute’s petrified director found him sitting the next morning, covered in dried blood. But that was not what most disturbed the elderly priest.

  What completely unhinged him was the absolute indifference, cold and very believable, with which Karosky asked for a towel and a washbasin. “I’ve spilled something on myself” was all he said.

  DRAMATIS PERSONAE

  PRIESTS

  ANTHONY FOWLER, former officer in U.S. Air Force Intelligence, American

  VICTOR KAROSKY, priest and serial killer, American

  CANICE CONROY, former director of the Saint Matthew Institute, deceased, American

  SENIOR CIVILIAN OFFICIALS IN THE VATICAN

  JOAQUÍN BALCELLS, Vatican spokesman, Spanish

  GIANLUIGI VARONE, the sole judge in Vatican City, Italian

  CARDINALS

  EDUARDO GONZÁLEZ SAMALO, camerlengo, the pope’s chamberlain, Spanish

  FRANCIS CASEY, American

  EMILIO ROBAYRA, Argentine

  ENRICO PORTINI, Italian

  GERALDO CLAUDIO CARDOSO, Brazilian

  The 110 other cardinals present for the conclave

  MEMBERS OF RELIGIOUS ORDERS

  Brother FRANCESCO TOMA, Carmelite, Parish of Santa Maria in Traspontina

  Sister HELENA TOBINA, director of Saint Martha’s House, Polish CORPO DI VIGILANZA, THE VATICAN POLICE FORCE

  CAMILO CIRIN, inspector general

  FABIO DANTE, deputy inspector

  ITALIAN POLICE

  Unità per l’Analisi del Crimine Violento (UACV, or Department for the Analysis of Violent Crime)

  PAOLA DICANTI, inspector and psychiatrist, head of the Laboratorio per l’Analisi del Comportamento (LAC, or Laboratory for Behavioral Analysis)

  CARLO TROI, director general of UACV, Paola Dicanti’s boss

  MAURIZIO PONTIERO, detective

  ANGELO BIFFI, forensic sculptor and digital image expert

  CIVILIANS

  ANDREA OTERO, freelance reporter writing for El Globo, the Spanish daily newspaper

  GIUSEPPE BASTINA, courier for Tevere Express, Italian

  SOME PERTINENT FACTS ABOUT VATICAN CITY

  (taken from The CIA World Factbook)

  Surface area: .17 square miles (the smallest country in the world).

  Borders: 1.99 miles (with Italy).

  Lowest point of elevation: Saint Peter’s Square, 62.34 feet above sea level.

  Highest point: Vatican gardens, 246.06 feet above sea level.

  Climate: Moderate, rainy winters from September to mid-May; hot, dry summers from May to September.

  Land use: 100% urban area. Cultivated land, 0%.

  Natural resources: None.

  Population: 911 citizens with passport. 3,000 workers during the day.

  System of government: Ecclesiastic, absolute monarchy.

  Rate of birth: 0%. No births at any time in the course of its history.

  Economy: Based on charitable donations and the sale of stamps, postcards, prints, and the management of its banks and finances.

  Communications: 2,200 phone lines, 7 radio stations, 1 television channel

  Annual income: $242,000,000 (in dollars).

  Annual expenses: $272,000,000 (same).

  Legal system: Based on the Code of Canon Law. Although it has not been officially applied since 1868, the death penalty remains in effect.

  Special considerations: The Holy Father has tremendous influence over the lives of more than 1,086,000,000 believers around the world.

  APOSTOLIC PALACE

  Saturday, April 2, 2005, 9:37 P.M.

  The bedridden man was no longer breathing. His personal secretary, Monsignor Stanislaw Dwisicz, who had spent the last thirty-six hours clinging to the dying man’s right hand, burst into tears. The doctors on duty had had to use force to pull Dwisicz away during the hour they spent trying to bring the old man back to life. Their efforts went above and beyond. As they undertook one and then another attempt to preserve the man’s life, the doctors knew they had to do everything in their power, if only for the sake of their own consciences.

  The supreme pontiff’s private apartment would have surprised more than one uninformed observer. The ruler before whom the world’s leaders respectfully bowed their heads lived in conditions of utter simplicity. His private quarters were inexplicably austere, the walls bare except for a crucifix, the furniture no more than a chair, a table, and the hospital roll-away that, in the last few months of his illness, had replaced the bed. Stationed around it, the doctors did everything they could in the effort to revive him, while large drops of sweat
fell onto the immaculate white sheets. Four Polish nuns changed the sheets three times a day.

  Dr. Silvio Renato, the pope’s personal physician, put an end to their pointless efforts. Waving his hand, he ordered the nurses to cover the timeworn face with a white veil. He asked everyone to leave, remaining alone with Dwisicz. He wrote up the death certificate then and there. The cause of death was obvious: the man’s heart had collapsed, as had his circulatory system, both of which were further aggravated by inflammation of the larynx. He wavered when it came to filling in the elderly man’s name, although finally, to avoid confusion, he chose the name the man had been given at birth.

  Once he had filled out and signed the document, the doctor handed it to Cardinal Samalo, the pope’s chamberlain, who just then entered the room. The cardinal, dressed in his red robes, had the distressing task of certifying the death officially.

  “Thank you, Doctor. With your permission, I will proceed.”

  “It’s all yours, Your Eminence.”

  “No, Doctor. From here on in, God is in charge.”

  Samalo slowly drew close to the deceased man’s bed. At seventy-eight years of age he had many times prayed to God not to have to witness this scene. He was a tranquil man, one not likely to lose his head, and yet he was well aware of the heavy load, the multiple responsibilities and duties, that now descended upon his shoulders.

  Samalo examined the body carefully. The man had arrived at eighty-four years of age, in the course of which he had overcome a bullet to the chest, a colon tumor, and a complicated appendicitis. Parkinson’s had worn him down a little bit every day, leaving him so weak his heart finally gave out.

  From the window on the third floor of the Palace, the cardinal could see nearly two hundred thousand people spilling into Saint Peter’s Square. The rooftops of the surrounding buildings were overflowing with antennas and television cameras. In just a short while there will be even more, Samalo thought. What’s coming will overwhelm us. The people adored him; they admired his sacrifice, his iron will. It is a hard blow, even if everyone has been expecting it since January . . . and more than a few prayed for it. And then we have another problem to deal with.