Raphael's Dragon

Chapter 1: A Meadowlark Sings

Thomas Paine Square, New York City. Thursday, April 14, 2005.

The meadowlark sings on the window ledge.

Neal Caffrey ducked out of the Federal Building and crossed the street. His destination was Thomas Paine Park, a small island of trees and grass a block away.

Why couldn't Mozzie have simply called? Normally he didn't pull Neal away from work. Mozzie was a shadow-dweller, a man who sought dim retreats in secluded locations. What made him brave the glare of the morning sun in the heart of the civic center?

Not that Neal complained when he got Mozzie's text message. Nothing compelling was going on at work, and the daily briefing wasn't due to start for a half-hour. An excuse to be outside in springtime was not to be missed. The ginkgo trees were starting to bud out. It was warm enough that women had emerged from the protective cocoons of their coats. Their dresses were colorful splashes against the backdrop of gray concrete sidewalks.

A street guitarist was strumming ballads at the entrance to the park. Many of the steel benches were occupied by New Yorkers taking their morning coffee outside. By midday, all the benches would be filled. Neal found Mozzie absorbed in reading a thick, well-worn paperback.

Neal sat down next to him and glanced at the book cover. "Dante's Divine Comedy?"

"I find it surprisingly relevant to life in New York City." Neal waited for him to explain why he thought the seven circles of Hell had something in common with New York, but enlightenment was not to come. Instead, Mozzie's mind wandered off in an unexpected direction. "It must have been cosmic fate that dictated the suit dub me Dante. He has his moments of perspicacity."

"Yes, he does." Neal smiled at the memory. Over a year ago, Mozzie had called Neal's hotel room in St. Louis, not realizing that FBI agent Peter Burke was also in the room. Neal was zoned out with cold medicine so Peter answered his cell phone. He'd never met Mozzie but after talking with him, Peter feared he was a bad influence and nicknamed him Dante. Peter once called him the devil on Neal's shoulder. Mozzie sometimes referred to himself as Neal's guardian angel. Which one was on the bench this morning?

"In honor of my namesake, I've decided to expand my manuscript collection. Do you know where I could acquire The Divine Comedy?"

"I hope you're not looking for an original manuscript. None has survived," Neal pointed out.

"I know that—although I suspect somewhere deep within the recesses of an old monastery in Italy, pages in the master's handwriting may be found. Or perhaps in the Vatican Secret Archives. You know, we really need to plan a trip to Italy once your application for the PhD program is approved. In the meantime, I'm willing to settle for one of the manuscript copies from the fourteenth century."

Neal shrugged. "You're a little late. I'd stolen a manuscript but it's been returned to the owner."

Mozzie's groan of disappointment was loud enough to make the pigeons feeding on the sidewalk fly off in a panic. "How could you?"

"I didn't know you were interested in it," Neal said helplessly. "It was one of the crimes I confessed to as part of my agreement to join the FBI. I picked items that could be easily restored and where I didn't like the current owners. I stole the Barberino manuscript in Milan for Klaus Mansfeld."

"Ah yes, the Leopard. What a genius he was. A man of exquisite refinement, or so I'm told. I regret never having met him. He was the ideal choice to act as your mentor in Europe. Dante had Virgil serving as his guide. You had the Leopard."

This was becoming uncomfortable. Mozzie wasn't aware that Neal had worked undercover in an operation to capture Klaus, and he knew nothing about how Klaus died. It was one of the few secrets Neal kept from Mozzie. To change the subject, Neal launched into a description of the manuscript. "The theft had been a commission job. The buyer was an ex-KGB officer living in London. I had no regrets about telling the FBI about him. The manuscript was recovered and restored to the Milan Library."