Fanatics

if you could catch them in the right mood. Anyway, that’s what I’ve learned so far. Savonarola is in Bologna, studying to be a good Dominican preacher.”

“It sounds like this Girolamo didn’t get enough attention as a child.”

“People at the time thought he was holy.”

Raphaella scoffed.

“Anyway, the food’s all gone,” I pointed out. “Want to take a walk?”

“Let’s take the dishes inside first.”

II

WE DIDN’T GET FAR-just along the shore a ways, near the spot where I’d found the GPS-before we sprawled on the grass in the shade of a willow at the edge of the water. White butterflies fluttered in the hot air, and the lake lay calm and green under a cloudless sky. Raphaella reclined on her back, and I lounged beside her, propped up on one elbow.

“How’s the prof’s manuscript?” I asked lazily.

“Not as academic as I thought it would be.”

“That’s a surprise.”

“Yeah. He says in the preface it’s for a general audience. But it’s a little dry.”

“As in ‘boring’?”

“Not at all. It’s slow going, though. Very intellectual. And theoretical. His central thesis is-”

“In just a few hours you’ve read enough to work out his thesis?”

“It was pretty easy,” Raphaella replied nonchalantly. “I just read the paragraph in his preface that begins, ‘The thesis I hope to demonstrate in this book is…’ ”

“Oh.”

“The prof says that two similar trends in the modern world have led to a number of theocratic governments, and that this type of regime is the enemy of democracy and tolerance.”

“Ah.”

“Or words to that effect.”

“I see.” I didn’t see at all.

“Not exactly light reading,” Raphaella remarked, “even if the book is for the general public.”

“Speaking as a member of that public, I’d say there are quite a few heavy-duty polysyllabics in that thesis.”

“The key one is theocracy-government by priests or ayatollahs or the equivalent who claim to rule according to God’s laws. The prof claims theocracies are dangerous. It works like this: God wants us to live according to his laws, which have been written down as Holy Scripture like the Qur’an, the Torah, the New Testament, whatever. God inspired the Scriptures, so what they say is true.”

“But people have been arguing for centuries over interpretations of those books.”

“Exactly. In a theocratic government there’s always someone, or a small number of men-and it’s always men-who claim special knowledge. They’re usually priests, or the equivalent- imams, rabbis, the Council of Seven. They-and only they-have the correct interpretation. So they say. To go against them is therefore to go against the will of God. There’s no room for disagreement by ordinary people.”

“So there’s no real democracy,” I said. “The average citizen is left out.”

Raphaella nodded. “And no tolerance. If there’s only one divinely inspired holy book, there’s only one ‘true’ religion. And if the laws are based on the book, they’re infallible.”

I stated the logical conclusion. “And if you oppose the government, you’re going against God. I can see why the prof was worried enough to write a big thick book.”

“He was distressed, that’s for sure.”

“I’m reading one of the prof’s books. It’s called Savonarolan Theocracy.”

Raphaella sat up. “In the manuscript, the prof devotes a whole section, which I haven’t read yet, to your Dog of God monk.”

“I think I can guess what he’ll say.”

“Ready for a couple more polysyllabics?” Raphaella asked.

“Fire away.”

“Okay. Throughout history two related movements occur, then fade, then emerge again, in a sort of cycle- puritanism and fundamentalism.”

“Aha! That fits with another of the prof’s books, Puritanism, Fundamentalism, and Theocracy. I’m familiar with both terms. Puritans are the American Thanksgiving guys in their black suits and funny hats, right? And fundamentalists are the ones who rant against movies and books that have too much sex.”

“Um, not exactly.”

“I knew it couldn’t be that simple.”

“Originally, ‘puritan’ meant someone who thought his religion had wandered off track. Puritans wanted to go back to the basics in their worship and doctrines. There was the feeling that this purity had been lost somewhere along the way. A fundamentalist was very similar. He was afraid his religion had become watered down or corrupted, and he wanted to get back to the fundamentals of his faith. In both cases, these people take their holy books literally. They tighten up on the so-called interpretations and say there’s nothing to interpret. It’s the words of God coming through the prophets, or the Prophet. It means what it says. Period.

“The prof wrote that history shows these movements usually shift toward theocracy. What started off as an attempt to improve the religion ends as an intolerant and undemocratic form of government, like in Salem, Massachusetts, where witches were burned, or like today’s Islamist political movements or governments.”

“Everything I’ve read about Savonarola so far suggests he was a puritan.”

We were silent for a moment, each of us fitting ideas together, attempting to make a clear picture from the bits we had discovered so far. Raphaella’s eyes suddenly widened.

“Do you get the impression that the Corbizzi mansion is a battleground between the long-dead monk and the recently dead professor?”

I nodded. “And we’re standing between them.”

I looked out over the lake, suddenly overwhelmed by what I had gotten us into.

“Raphaella, I wish I had never gone to the Half Moon that morning and talked to Marco. I wish I hadn’t come to this place and made that agreement with Mrs. Stoppini.”

“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.”

“I’m sorry I dragged you into all this,” I said.

Raphaella lifted her face to the sky, removed her barrettes, and shook her hair free, allowing it to tumble over her shoulders and down her back, as if she was preparing herself for a challenge. Then she turned to me and smiled.

“I go where you go, Garnet.”

Four

I

WE STROLLED SLOWLY back to the house, our energy drained by the soft summer afternoon, the drone of bees