“Sister, I’m Special Agent Sofia Markson of the FBI. Can I call you ‘Alice’?” The woman looked up from the file she had laid on the table and smiled warmly, meeting Alice’s gaze.
“That is my name, after all,” Alice said.
“Great.” Special Agent Markson leaned forward and rested her forearms on top of the open file and clasped her hands together, her friendly gaze firmly locked with Alice’s. “This is quite a situation we’ve got here, Alice.”
“Is it?”
Markson nodded. “Absolutely. How about you and I put our heads together and see what we can do about sorting it out?”
Alice watched Markson for a moment. The woman’s gaze never wavered. “Sorting it out?”
“Yes.”
“What is there in this situation that can be sorted out?”
Markson smiled at her again. “Well, for starters, if you can help me understand why you killed the Bishop, I can help you obtain a more favorable standing with the authorities.”
“Aren’t you the authorities?”
Markson shook her head ruefully. “No, I’m just the grunt that has to cajole you into acting in your best interests.”
“I see,” Alice said. “And what are my best interests?”
Markson looked confused and shrugged. “To reduce your sentence as much as possible? To mitigate the effect of your actions on your life?”
“By doing what?” Alice would have crossed her arms, but she knew Markson watched for any sign she was getting to her. Instead, she kept her hands clasped in her lap.
The woman shrugged again. “Spreading the joy around?”
“Spreading the joy?”
“Not taking the fall all by yourself.” She sat back. “Help me help you, Alice.”
Alice let her shoulders sag. “Oh child, you were doing so well.”
Markson furrowed her brow. “I don’t understand.”
Alice let her amusement show. “Help you help me?”
Markson smiled as she sat forward again. “Well, yes. You don’t have to go through this alone.”
“We are all alone, child.”
“I mean, you don’t have to be the only one who suffers for your crime. I can help you—”
Alice cut her off. It was time to end this charade. “Do you think me daft?”
“Excuse me?”
“Do you think me daft? It is a simple question, child.”
“I don’t—”
“Do you think I do not understand that your goal is not to help me?”
Markson pursed her lips and crossed her arms. “What’s my goal?”
“Come now, let us not be coy. We both know what your goal is.”
“Do we?”
“We do.”
Alice and Markson stared each other down across the table. Markson eventually dropped her eyes to the file and shuffled a couple of the papers around.
Alice watched her. When she looked up again and met Alice’s gaze, all the friendliness was gone.
“Fine. If that’s the way you want to play things, you got it. Who ordered—”
The person behind Alice cleared their throat. A man.
Markson looked over Alice’s shoulder and nodded. She closed the file and picked at the corner of it, just for a second. She raised her gaze from the file and took a deep breath like she was about to speak.
Alice met her gaze evenly. “So nice to speak with you, today, Special Agent Markson.”
*
Barely fifteen minutes later, the door opened again.
“Finally come to do the deed, yourself?” Her grin tugged at the corners of her mouth.
The man strode around the table and sat down. “You flustered two of my best agents. I could hardly take that lying down.”
“Or standing in the corner, as it were,” Alice added.
They studied each other.
Alice was surprised. He seemed very young.
“I’m Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Craig Talbot.”
Alice lifted her chin. “The Lord High Constable himself.”
Talbot smiled. “You have some staunch allies, Sister.”
“Do I?”
He nodded. “The Vatican has been inundating the President and the rest of the United States government with demands on your behalf. My phone has barely stopped ringing since you got here. That’s the main reason I’ve been standing in the corner. It got me away from the phone.”
“Somehow, I doubt that, Constable Talbot.”
“It also seems you have some detractors within the church. Those who believe you are a smear on the Vatican’s reputation.”
Alice raised her eyebrows. “It has been ever thus.”
“I have no doubt.”
“It is a cross we all must bear, Lord High Constable.”
“Well, I’d watch my back if I were you.”
“I shall keep that in mind after my release.”
“Both camps within the Vatican have kept us pretty busy with their demands. But I’m of a mind to ignore them and look at the evidence.”
“I see.”
“In that vein, there have been some...developments.”
“What sort of developments?”
Talbot squirmed on his chair. “Seems that no one can find that video.”
“Oh dear.” Alice shrugged.
“After investigating, it’s pretty clear the call that sold you and His Holiness out was made from within the Vatican.”
“That is hardly a surprise, Lord High Constable.”
“Mmm...all things considered.”
“Quite so.”
Again, they studied each other. Then Talbot took a deep breath. “Anyway...the President has restored diplomatic relations with the Vatican. As diplomatic immunity now applies, you’re free to go.”
“Very good, Lord High Constable Talbot. Thank you for your hospitality.” Alice stood.
“Your belongings will be returned to you shortly. We’ve called Detective Rafferty to come and pick you up. He should be downstairs in a few minutes.”
“Very well.” Alice nodded.
Talbot led her out the door. “Once we get your belongings, I’m required to escort you downstairs.”
*
They rode the elevator to the main floor in silence.
They stepped out together. Talbot’s hands were in his pockets, Alice’s bag hung in its familiar place on her elbow. Alice could feel the weight of the Tanfoglio inside it.
They strolled across the lobby to the bank of glass doors. Outside, they stepped onto the sunken plaza and into the bright sunlight. Alice looked up at the planters that edged the top of the plaza at sidewalk level, as they walked toward the street. She could see Rafferty’s cruiser parked at the top of the plaza. He sat in the driver’s seat, watching them approach.
She turned to Talbot. “Such a beautiful day, don’t you agree, Lord High Const—"
The bullet struck her in the right shoulder, knocking her to the ground. The crack of the shot echoed through the plaza.
