A. I. Evolution: The Coming of Christopher

Chapter 54

Commander Smit makes sure that everybody is safely moved to a secure location before returning to join his team that is searching the study for anything out of the ordinary. He is convinced that they will not find anything, but it is the first part of the process, before expanding the search outward from the crime scene.

The head of the small forensics team for the Swiss Guard at the Vatican, a Mr. Val Swarts steps up to Smit. "We have not come up with anything here in the study that would indicate any involvement from somebody close to Christopher. Although we have an approximate origin for the bullet that struck his excellency, judging by the trajectory.

Smit follows him to the window of the Popes study and looks down on St. Peters Square, where the crowds are moving quietly to the entrance of St. Peter's Basilica and the body of their Saint, that is laid out for them. The Guards are searching each person that moves through the doorway for any concealed weapon. Smit smiles, as he remembers Henri's suggestion for keeping the crowd in the square, so they can search them with very little fuss. He said it had come from Jane, Saint Christopher's Partner, but he had his doubts about that. How could a woman whose life partner had just been violently shot, come up with such a perfect plan? He shakes his head to expel the feeling of wrongness and pulls his thoughts back to Val standing beside him.

Smit looks around at the buildings that can be seen from the famous window, realizing that there are very few that are positioned just right. Val points to a new looking structure directly across the Square at about the same height as the Study window. It is a building that had been given a new face lift about three years before. The workers had installed new windows and replaced the stone blocks on the outside facing the square that had started to crumble from the sheer age of the structure. The new face had a perfectly smooth surface that was only marred by a few windows for the offices inside.

The point that Val was describing did not make any sense though, because there were no windows at that point on the outer wall. He looks to Val, who puts up his hands. "I know what you are going to say, but first, you should have a closer look at the exact spot."

Val hands him a pair of binoculars and points to the building. Smit brings them up to his eyes and peers through the lenses. Val directs his search. "OK, you see the window on the top corner? There is a line right under the window where the stone is mortared to the next one. Follow it down to the third block and then look closely at the very center of the one above the line, and you should be able to see it."

Smit is dubious about what he could be looking for but follows Val's directions till he sees a darker spot in the center of the block. He slowly adjusts the focus of the binoculars till the image he is looking at becomes as clear as possible. He stares at it, not quite believing what he is seeing. He pulls the device from his face and turns to Val. "Are you telling me, that small hole is where the bullet came from? From the center of that solid stone block?"

"I agree that it sounds impossible, but the elevation is perfect, and the bullet passing directly through Saint Christopher into James behind him, gave us the exact spot it came from. And it is that hole in the stone over there," adds Val.

Smit turns to Val sharply. "Cardinal James was hit by the bullet? I was not aware of that."

"Neither was he, till after Saint Christopher was taken away, and he stood up. His robes were covered in blood and he thought it was the Saint's, who had fallen back into him. The shock of the incident had caused James to temporarily forget the pain of the bullet entering him, associating it with the weight of Saint Christopher hitting him, and driving him to his knees where he cradled him till he passed away."

Smit shakes his head. "But Cardinal James seemed fine when he left here a moment ago."

Val extends his hand, and sitting in the center of his open palm, nestled in a white handkerchief, is the bullet that killed Saint Christopher. "It barely broke the skin on his chest but was just enough to cause some bleeding. The bullet itself was tangled in his robes. So, because of that, we were able to determine the exact trajectory back to the source."

Smit looks out the window for a second before turning back to Val. "I assume you have sent men over to that building."

"Yes, a team is sealing it off right now, so we can go over it with a fine-toothed comb. I am sure that we will be able to get some information fairly quickly on how it was done."

Smit nods his head. "I hope so, because the press is already demanding answers, so they can be the first to reveal the person or party behind this attack. The only thing that bothers me is how did they get into place so quickly. It has been barely twenty-four hours since Pope Pius even met Saint Christopher."

Val can only nod his head at the truth of Smit's statement, before turning back to the window picking up the binoculars to see if there is any movement at the building across the square behind the curved columns that surround St. Peter's Square.

Smit moves to the doorway, stepping gingerly over the blood and evidence markers that have been placed on the floor. He is just about to exit when another Guard enters out of breath, one that is designated as a runner, because tradition states that they have a group dedicated to carrying word to the leaders of the Guard. Smit thinks it is about time they entered the new age of policing and dispel with some of the older traditions, but he meets opposition every time he suggests such measures. "Commander Smit, there has been another death, just outside of St. Peters Square."

"Where?" demands Smit, afraid that he already knows.

"In the small Square behind the newly refaced building that houses the financial offices," blurts out the runner, still slightly exhausted from the run.

Smit is about to exit with the runner, but turns to Val. "I recall that there was a siren heading in the general direction of that building that the shot came from. Can you find out what that was all about?"

The runner speaks up. "It was a fire truck responding to a fire in the square I was telling you about."

"A fire? I thought you said that there was a death in the square?"

"There was. The fire was intentional, and the man burned to death before a crowd of people. The fire fighters could only put out the fire, they could not save the man."

"Do we know who he was?"

"Not by the time I left to come get you, but the guards were questioning the people who witnessed it when I left."

"OK, let's go see if this has any bearing on the assassination of Saint Christopher."

"Was he truly a Saint sent from God?" asks the young runner.

"Pope Pius introduced him to the world as one. So, yes, he was a Saint."