Nora’s reporter’s intuition suddenly sprang to life. She’s hiding something. Maria’s lying to her. “Did you know he was a famous power broker from the war? At one time he was even considered Mussolini’s right hand man and a friend of Hitler’s.”
“Really? I was not aware of his connections,” Maria lied.
“Yes, he reportedly knew,” Nora said before correcting herself, “Knows a lot of very powerful people.”
“And what does Licio Gelitoni have to do with either the Vatican bank or myself?” Maria queried.
Nora had her right where she wanted. Time for the trap to spring shut. She smiled as she said: “I thought you would recognize a blood relative………..he is your uncle after all.”
CHAPTER 61
LUPITSCH, AUSTRIA
Jim had just driven through the town of Lupitsch, all seven houses and a post office, and was now a good two miles outside of town. Dan stared intently at the iPhone screen as its GPS app pinpointed the house’s address easy enough; its closest neighbor being ½ mile away.
“Talk about in the middle of nowhere,” Dan said, holding up the iPhone for Jim to view a line indicating the road they were driving on slicing through a screen of green. The area surrounding them, and for most of rural Austria for that matter, consisted of heavily forested lands marked with the occasional firebreak every half mile or so.
“Should be approaching on the right-hand side,” Dan said as he spied an opening in the trees. “There she blows.”
With no other vehicles on the road, Jim was able to drive slowly past the driveway for the address, almost to a point of stopping. Two, 50-gallon barrels blocked the entrance to the driveway; signs in German and English proclaiming No Trespassing were posted prominently on each. A quick glimpse afforded them a view of a weed-choked, narrow dirt driveway leading up to what appeared to be, from a distance, a dilapidated house nestled in a clearing no more than a quarter mile or so away.
They continued to drive past before Jim pulled off the road several hundred feet from the driveway. “Shall we move some barrels?” asked Jim with a mischievous grin.
Dan nodded. “What have we got to lose? We didn’t come all this way to have a couple of no trespassing signs scare us off.”
Jim promptly turned the car around and doubled back to the driveways entrance. He left the car running in the middle of the road as they exited the car, approaching the two barrels that stood in their path. Jim pushed one of the barrels back and forth to gauge its weight. “Looks like nothing more than a few gallons of water in these,” he said before easing it onto its side and rolling it to the edge of the drive. Dan followed suit with the second barrel.
“I see security is tight around here,” said Jim sarcastically.
Dan smiled. ‘Don’t underestimate old Nazi’s,” he said as he looked up the drive for anything out of the ordinary. Satisfied, they returned to the car. “I just can’t put my finger on it but something’s not right. You know that feeling?”
Jim nodded. “Kind of hits you in the gut but you don’t know why?”
“Bingo.”
“Are you kidding me? I had it a million times in the SEALs. Most of the time it was nothing but nerves.”
Dan stared straight ahead. “And then there’s the one time it’s not,” he said softly.
Jim placed the car in drive. “Here goes nothing.”
The narrow track dirt road appeared to have not seen any vehicles nor visitors in quite some time, matching the general appearance of the property as they drove up to the front of the house, the windows and front door boarded up.
“I’m going out on the limb here but I don’t think anybody’s home,” said Jim with a snicker, looking from side-to-side.
Dan tapped Jim on the arm, pointing over to what appeared to be a barns foundation with a large pile of rotting wood on its top, weeds and trees growing through its openings. “Doesn’t look to disturbed to me,” said Dan.
Jim parked the car by the houses front door. “The property looks abandon,” he said, as he exited the car and walked over to the pile of rotting wood, Dan on his heels. He kicks at a rather large board sticking out, the piece disintegrating to his touch.
“Don’t build them like they used to,” Dan said.
Jim notices something sticking out of the ground, glimmering in what little sunlight was able to penetrate through the surrounding trees. He leans down to touch it before hastily retreating, looking over to Dan. “We have a problem here,” he said, pointing down. He knew exactly what it was after serving for twenty years in the SEALs. “It’s a very sophisticated motion sensor. Not many people can afford something this high-end. Looking around he spots three more, each well-placed around the house and the barn’s perimeter.
“Son of a bitch,” Dan utters aloud. “We acted like a bunch of amateurs. We should have left the car on the road and walked through the woods to the rear of the property. That way we could have avoided the driveway and front of the house.”
“Too late now. I’d say we have five minutes tops, before the person who owns these,” pointing down to the sensor, “shows up.”
“I agree,” said Dan. “Let’s get a quick look around for anything out of the ordinary and then get the hell out of here.”
They separated, Jim walking around the barn’s old perimeter, Dan around the house. They had to act quickly. The town was two miles away and whoever placed the sensors was probably located there.
Jim used his well-trained eyes to scour the area looking for anything out of place. Maybe a hollow area indicating somebody had buried something long ago.
Dan was the first to find something of interest. “Jim, back here,” he called excitedly.
Jim hurried to the back of the house where Dan stood hovering over something evidently of importance. Dan was still carefully pushing some grass and leaves from its top when he turned to Jim, a grin from ear-to-ear upon his face. “Who did Perluci say was the Concentration Camp Commander?”
“Heber. S/S Colonel Manfred Heber,” Jim was quick to reply. “Why?”
Jim points down to a flat grave marker, one of two in the yard, each marker an inch or so below ground as if hidden at one time. “One of these markers is for a family of three.” He looks up to Jim, his grin still evident. “Remember what Perluci said? ‘A family of three were murdered at the farm at the end of the war. He thought it was done at the hands of Heber.’”
Jim nods. “Son of a bitch. Perluci’s story remains true.”
Dan smiles. ‘That’s not all.” He moves over three feet before using his shoe to push back some additional grass and leaves. “And wasn’t this person one of, if not the last man known to be alive with one, Manfred Heber?”
Jim looked down at a marker stating the name S/S Sergeant Johan Wenke. “Holy Shit,” was his shocked reply.
They both looked to the remains of the barn. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” At the same time they each said: “It’s still in there!”
Dan nodded. “And that’s the reason for the sensors. It’s still here.”
Sirens announced the swift presence of two Austrian National Police cars entering the dirt drive, hurtling up to the front of the house.
“We have company,” says Dan matter-of-factly.
Dan and Jim walked to the front of the house in time to eye four police officers exiting their vehicles, guns drawn.
Jim and Dan immediately placed their hands in the air not waiting for the police officers’ command. “We’re friendly,” shouted Jim as politely as he could.
“Americans?” responded the officer in-charge in impeccable English.
“Yes, sir,” replied Dan emphatically. “We mean no harm. My partner and I were just looking for some property to purchase in the area. We came across this, what appears to be, abandon property that looks to suit our purposes.”
The lead police officer holstered his weapon, indicating for his fellow officers to follow suit. He pointed back down the drive to the overturned barrels. “N
owhere does this property have a sign stating it’s for sale. Those signs say No Trespassing.”
“I must apologize,” said Dan. “The barrels were already overturned when we arrived,” he said straight-faced, lying the best he could. “We didn’t notice any No Trespassing signs or we would have avoided this area. We are real estate speculators looking for property deals. But while we were looking around the property we noticed graves in the back. Isn’t it unusual to have graves on private property in Austria? With the country mostly of Catholic persuasion, I thought everyone had to be buried in consecrated grounds?”
The lead police officer pointed back down the drive then to the barn and the house. “This is all Church property. They do what they want. And the graves you were looking at probably date back to the end of the war. From what my father told me, it was a horrible time in this area. We don’t like to focus attention on that particular period in our history. During the war bodies were buried near or where they were discovered. Those particular bodies were probably discovered here, on this farm.”
Jim looked to Dan, then the lead police officer. “Did I hear you say this is Church property?”
The lead police officer nodded. “Well, Vatican property to be exact. They bought it at the end of the war.”
They had their confirmation. It was still here.
CHAPTER 62
ROME , ITALY
Maria sat at her desk dumbfounded. She looked about her office as her mind began to race. “I don’t know what you mean,” she responded. “My uncle? That’s absurd! I don’t know where you’re getting your information from but I’m afraid your source is nothing more than a liar!”
This wasn’t Nora first rodeo. She had had everyone from sitting presidents to priests lie directly to her face. After a while she just accepted it all as part of the game. She dug through her briefcase and removed yet another folder, searching through it contents until she located the one piece of paper she required, placing it in front of Maria. “I did a little on-line research. That document you have in front of you is from the Naples census taken back in the nineteen twenties. If you look at the two names I highlighted for you towards the bottom of the page you will notice something familiar.”
Maria looks down at the document, casually scanning through it. “No, nothing jumps out at me,” she replies sarcastically.
Nora expected as much. She continued. “Well, the two names I highlighted just happen to be your father and Licio, listing them as brothers. Now, maybe the Italian government is a little screwed up on its record keeping……… or he’s your uncle. Me, I’m going with uncle.”
Maria stood up menacingly, leaning over her desk, now pointing her finger at Nora. “You print that and I will sue you for slander. I will own your newspaper.”
Nora leaned back in her chair; she had Maria right where she wanted her. “Believe it or not but you’re the second person over the course of the past two days to say those very same words. I must be hitting pretty close to the mark if I’m being threatened like this.”
A knock on the door broke the tension in the air.
“Leave us alone, please,” Maria said to the unknown person before sitting back down.
The door opens slowly.
Maria was furious. “I said to leave us alone,” she demanded.
“My apologies,” said Antoinette Collini of the Italian State Police, her motioning for Miguel to follow her as they barged into Maria’s office. “State Police,” announced Antoinette, as she walked over to Marias desk, producing her badge for her to inspect. “I hate to interrupt your business here but this is urgent.”
Maria’s mouth was agape as she looked to Miguel then Antoinette’s badge. “You have no authority here,” she said confidently. “This is Vatican property. Your badge means nothing.”
“You look as though you saw a ghost,” said Antoinette, her looking from Maria to Miguel than back to Maria. “I’m guessing you didn’t expect to see this man alive?”
Maria shook her head. “No, no, nothing like that. I’m just having a bad day.”
Antoinette smiles as she nods. “Unfortunately, it’s about to get worse,” she replied. Antoinette points over to Miguel. “This man was almost killed today by two assassins. Men he claims were sent by you to kill him because of some documents he saw today; your banking documents. So, in regards to my having no authority on Vatican territory, well, in the event of a murder we have a multi-jurisdiction agreement between Italy and the Vatican that says otherwise.”
Maria’s face went white with fear. “But this man is lying. His accusation is completely absurd,” Maria shot back. “Assassins? Because of some document he saw? Somebody has a vivid imagination. If I wanted to get rid of Miguel all I had to do was simply fire him.”
Nora leaned over to make sure she was still recording. As a newspaper reporter, this was Christmas, New Years and her birthday all wrapped up into one.
Miguel shook his head. “Bullshit,” he said. “You told me the documents I saw today could get me killed because I saw the names, account numbers, and some dollar figures.”
“That’s absurd,” she responded. “Your imagination has always tended to run wild. This, I must say, is the wildest.”
“You told me right here in your office that I was in danger. And then three hours latter two men tried to kill me. They told me it was all your doing. That you wanted me dead!”
Antoinette raised her hands to calm them both down. “This is the second time today I heard your name, Maria Celnoleni. The first was when a man named, Licio Gelitoni, died in my arms. He also stated your name to me. And now this happens. This is all too coincidental for me.”
Nora certainly perked up upon hearing Licio’s name, and them confirming that he was, indeed, dead. As if it weren’t enough of a story already.
Antoinette wasn’t finished. “Miguel, you mentioned to me several of the names you saw on the list. Each of whom had rather large sums of monies listed beside their names.”
Maria looked ready to bolt, sweat now appearing above her brow. All eyes were on her.
Antoinette continued. “Can you state those names for us again?”
Miguel nodded. ”Yes, the first two names on the list I could never forget. History will never allow us no matter how long we live. They were Adolf Hitler and Martin Bormann.”
CHAPTER 63
ROME, ITALY
Nora watched in astonishment as Antoinette Collini ushered Maria from her office in handcuffs, no doubt escorting Maria to the offices of the State Police for further questioning in the attempted murder of her assistant, Miguel.
Maria screamed at Antoinette that she had diplomatic immunity due to her job for the Vatican Bank.
Antoinette laughed aloud as she roughly pushed Maria into the hallway. “But you committed the crime in Italy. I have authority to arrest you for an attempted murder on Italian soil. The only immunity you have is from our investigating your banking ledgers.”
Antoinette held her badge aloft as she escorted Maria from the bank.
With Maria’s office now empty, Nora hastily collected her papers that lay on Maria’s desk. As she did, she uncovered a notepad with the names of James Myers and Mikel Drunz under them, their cell numbers listed beside them. An annotation below the names said in big bold letters, ‘Must call today. Move money from Gem Accounts.’
Nora stared at the names for several seconds. Of course, James Myers, she knew. But Drunz, where did she see that name before? Then it hit her. The banker from WWII. He had something to do with Hitler and the Vatican Bank monies. She cautiously removed the notepad and placed it in her briefcase, hastily departing Maria’s office and then the bank. Not that anyone noticed her exit, all of it employees were too busy milling about, talking about their boss being lead off by the State Police in handcuffs.
As Nora passed through the gates of Vatican City, she quickly dialed Jim Dieter’s cell number reaching him on the third ring. “Jim, it’s Nora,” she began excitedly
. “I hope you’re ready to leave Austria because we have to move quickly on the Perluci job.”
It was perfect timing. “Almost finished up here,” he replied, trying to contain his own excitement.
“I have news….,” Nora barely uttered out.
Jim cut her off. “But we have something really juicy here. Are you ready for this? We found two graves on the property. One of the graves contained a family of three murdered at the end of the war. Exactly what Perluci said happened. Okay, here’s where it gets real interesting. The other grave contains the remains of S/S Sergeant Johan Wenke. This guy was one of S/S Colonel Manfred Heber loyal troops and one of the last to be with him before Heber disappeared.”
The phone almost slipped out of Nora’s hand. “Are you kidding me?”
Jim smiled. “That’s not all. Guess who owns the property?”
Nora shrugged her shoulders. “Hitler’s ghost?””
Jim laughed aloud. “That would be the response expected from a newspaper columnist. Close, but no cigar. Hold on to your hat for this one. The Vatican owns the property. They’ve owned it since the end of the war.”
“Holy shit! It’s all coming together,” replied Nora. “Everything is falling into place.”
Jim abruptly cut her off. “But don’t you see? Half of the treasure is here; buried under a couple tons of wood and debris.”
She paused. “Licio Gelitoni is died,” she announced. “He was murdered.”
It was Jim’s turn to almost drop his phone. “Are you sure?” he said trying to contain his enthusiasm. “Licio was the biggest power broker in Europe. Somebody high up had to make the decision to remove him.”
“I agree. But that’s not all,” she said excitedly. “The Vatican Bank President, Maria Celnoleni, is under police investigation for an attempted murder of her assistant. And I found out that Licio Gelitoni and Maria Celnoleni are related. Licio’s her uncle.”
To Jim, now it was all making sense. “Somebody’s cleaning house,” he said. “They are trying to get rid of anyone in the know.”
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