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PART ONE—BEGINNINGS

Chapter One

Evangeline Morrissey sank down on the rock wall, hot, dusty, sweaty, and tired Her legs ached fro the hills beyond the tiny Tuscan town of Cabrisi—she’d underesti It was early afternoon but the sun was bright overhead on this hot spring day, and she leaned forward and rubbed her sore calves

She frowned at the sturdy sandals she’d worn Usually they served her well, but right now her feet hurt, and she just wanted to find a place to curl up and sleep for a little while, just a fifteen- sun

Fortunately she knew just where to find such a sanctuary

The church of St Anselmo was rarely used, a sixteenth-century remnant of a once denser population in these hills Surely no one would object to her presence; as usual she wore a knee-length denim skirt rather than shorts, wrapped a shirt around her waist that she used to cover her arms, and had a kerchief on her head to keep her ridiculously curly reddish-brown hair in place It was her standard costuuaranteed to appease even the most fundamental of clerics no matter what their faith, and had served her in Spanish ues While she’d been working on her advanced degree in Medieval Religious Architecture, she’d naturally ended up spending time in a lot of places of worship, and she’d kept the uniform ever since She simply had to remember which places required her to cover her head and which didn’t

The last bit of road approaching the church was steep, and her calves were in agony by the time she topped the rise She stopped, momentarily startled

She’d never seen a vehicle in this place, never passed anyone other than Father Francisco as he glumly paced the empty aisles This time there were three cars parked beside the small church—a Bentley, a smaller, more discreet black Lexus, and a humble Fi

at Were so about the fate of the church? Would they abandon such a beauty, allow it to be ruined by vandals, its stained glass s shattered by the Italian equivalent of street punks? Surely not There was nothing particularly remarkable about the church or its architecture—she barely had a page of notes on the place—but it was a sanctuary of peace and respite on a hot day, and she was a pilgrim of sorts, wasn’t she?

She crossed the graveled area that could barely hold more cars than were already there, stepped into the cool darkness of the narthex, the traditional front entrance hall of the church, and blinked at the dense shadows lit only by the sun bealassat the far end of the nave She could see one man in the pews, his head bent in prayer, and with surprise she recognized the balding pate of Signore Corsini, the friendly Italian businessn of the priest or whoever had co into the shadows The tiny chapel off to one side would provide the private respite she needed, and she paused to light a candle and put an offering in the box before heading in She always lit a candle, never sure who God for money or success in her profession see else in her life seemed in decent shape, so she’d co it forward, at least in terms of prayer, and she was happy with that

She sank into the last of the five rows of pews in the chapel, sighing with relief She’d overestiy; the reht, and she orn out She’d trained her body to nap efficiently: fifteen ized She put her hands on the pew in front of her, rested her forehead on them, and fell asleep immediately

The sound woke her She jerked awake, blinking at the darkness, before she reer than she should have, or not long enough—she felt disoriented, confused, and she shook her head, as if the physical act could toss off the cobwebs

She tried to recall the sound that had startled her It had been a strange, unexpected noise, almost hu rong

Pushing herself up, she quickly crossed herself, wondering as usual if she was doing it backwards, and stepped back out into the narthex, co to an abrupt halt as she sao people enshrined by the bright sunlight pouring in the outer doors

The wo rather than a beautiful face She was exquisite, as so eline had learned long ago not to feel inadequate, but for some reason those lessons vanished in her sleep-fuzzed brain, and she knew she was a grubby mess