by Tony Peluso
“OK.”
“Something strange happened to me a couple of days ago in D.C. I opened the drawer to my desk at work and found a small envelope,” Tim said.
Both John and Gretchen stopped cold and looked at Tim in the strangest way. It was like they anticipated his next words. Randy and Yvette looked at each other and nodded.
“Inside the envelope was this item,” Tim said as he held up a small golden object that looked like a triangular piece from a round medallion. “It’s approximately one third the size of a large St. Michael’s Medal.”
“Where did it come from?” Gretchen asked in cold tone.
“I don’t know. When I looked at it, I saw that it was part of a St. Michael’s Medal and had writing in Latin around the edge. I had it translated. It’s the beginning of a quote from the Old Testament, Genesis 31:49. On the edge of my coin it says: Mizpah! May the Good Lord watch. That’s all, though. On the back of the medal, there is an engraved human eye, a heart, the capital letter U, and the Roman numeral II.”
“Do you know what that means?” Gretchen asked.
“I think that it means: I love you too,” Tim said. “Remember, Dad always would point to his eye, make a heart with his hand, then a U, and then signal two fingers. He called it our gang sign.”
“That’s wild.” Gretchen said. “Someone is playing a cruel joke.”
Randy reached over and gave his new bride’s hand an affectionate pat.
“I don’t think so, Mom,” John said. “I got one of those envelopes too, about three days ago. It was in the top drawer of my dresser at home.”
“Do you have it?” Tim asked.
“Yep,” John admitted. “It’s right here.”
John held up his gold piece and Tim put his next to it. They fit together perfectly—two pieces of a three-part puzzle.
“What does your part say?” Tim asked.
“Translated from my high school Latin, it says: out for me and thee, when we are apart, John said. “I also have the eye, heart, letter U, and Roman numeral on the reverse.”
“Two thirds of the translation is “Mizpah: May the Good Lord watch out for me and thee when we are apart,” Tim said.
“That’s right,” John agreed.
“I looked it up. The rest of the words on the missing piece will be one from the other, Tim said.
“Mom, do you have the missing piece?” Heather asked, watching Gretchen.
“No. I don’t. I have no idea where those things came from or what they mean.”
“I think they’re from Dad,” John said. “He’s sending these to us. It’s a sign of how much he loves us. Since you don’t have the missing piece, he must.”
“Mom, are you sure that you don’t have anything like this?” Tim asked as he held up the two gold pieces.
“No, nothing like that.”
“Yvette had a similar unexplained visitation,” Randy said. “Yvette found a golden cameo on the counter in the bathroom.”
“What does the Cameo depict?” Tim asked.
“My mother, Mary!” Yvette said, tears in her eyes. On the back is a little code from Poppa. It’s a depiction of a fist striking a breast like in a mea culpa. Poppa and I would make that sign when we parted. It showed we loved each other. I think it means that Poppa has found my mother.”
“This is not possible,” Gretchen said, as she covered her face in her hands.
“Mom, what do you have? You have something. I can tell.” Tim said.
Without another word, Gretchen got up from the table, walked inside, rummaged through her purse on the kitchen table, picked out an envelope, and returned to the lanai. She removed a thin, flat golden sheet, about six inches long and five inches wide from the envelope. She handed the gold sheet to Tim.
Tim examined the sheet for a few moments and passed it to John. John’s eyebrows went up, as he read the words on the sheet.
“What do you make of it? I don’t read Latin,” Gretchen admitted.
“It’s not all in Latin, but the numbers are Roman numerals,” John claimed.
“What do you think?” Tim asked.
“It’s a boarding pass.”
“For whom, what airline, where?” Gretchen asked.
“Tim pull out your laptop and run these numbers; it’ll be quicker,”
“Can do,” Tim said.
“Who’s it for?” Gretchen asked.
“You. Your name is right here. See, Gretchen Giordano.”
“Oh my God!” Heather said. “It looks identical to your name on the box with the stuffed animals.”
“What’s this about a box?” Randy said.
Gretchen got up again, disappeared into the house, and returned three minutes later. She showed Randy and Yvette the box from her high school days. She explained that she put her name on it next to the Giordano logo ten years before she ever met Tony Giordano.
“Now, I’ve seen everything,” Yvette said.
“That is amazing.” Randy agreed. “Is there any other revelation on that boarding pass?”
“Yeah, John. What airline am I supposed to take?” Gretchen asked.
“Can’t tell. That’s some form of writing I’ve never seen.” John said, as he tried to read the golden sheet.
“Me either,” Tim agreed, as he looked over John’s shoulder.
“Where’s the departure?” Gretchen asked.
“That’s in Roman Numerals. Tim, run those through. Let’s see what they mean.
“OK, that’s 34.83196 and 111.76654,” Tim said.
“Hmmm. GPS? Tim, run the numbers through the site that translates digital longitude and latitude,” John suggested.
“OK. I put the map in the satellite mode. It’s showing a site in north central Arizona. I’ll hit the plus sign and see how close I can get. Holy Shit. You’re not going to believe this,” Tim promised. “The longitude and latitude match up with the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona.” Tim said.
“Wow, unbelievable!” Randy said, as he looked at Yvette.
“OK. I’m supposed to believe that I’m going somewhere from that chapel. It won’t happen. I’ll never go there again. After what happened to your dad, it’ll be a cold day in hell. I swear.”
“Mom this is an advanced booking. You’re not expected there for some time. You may change your mind,” Tim said as he examined the gold sheet.
“What are you talking about?” Gretchen demanded.
“Your trip is scheduled for September 2, 2034,” Tim said.
“If I find out who’s behind this, I’ll shoot the son of a bitch. What a sick joke to play on us,” Gretchen swore.
“Mom, I don’t think this is a joke. Look at the destination,” John said as he passed the gold boarding pass back to his mother.
“Where is the destination?” She asked.
“There, in the bottom corner,” Tim said.
Gretchen examined the sheet. She wrinkled her pretty nose and shook her head.
“It doesn’t mean anything to me. What does the number eight signify?” Gretchen asked.
“You have it sideways, mom. Turn it ninety degrees. See, that’s not the number eight, it’s the sign for infinity,” John explained.
“Oh my. OK, Tony! Play your sick little tricks. I’m still not converting.” Gretchen yelled, looking at the sky. “And what’s the fucking significance of 2034?” Gretchen shouted.
“Mom,” John said. “You’re ten years younger than dad now, right?”
“Yes, so what?” Gretchen asked.
“Einstein theory of relativity says that—if you wait until 2034 and use this boarding pass from the chapel to infinity—you’ll be ten years older than him, when next you meet,” John estimated.
“Tony, you’re a bastard!” Gretchen spat, as she looked heavenward, her face morphing into a loving smile.
About the Author
Tony Peluso is a retired Army Airborne Lieutenant Colonel, who—ov
er 23 years—worked his way up from buck private. During the great adventure that has been his life, he attended a Jesuit Prep in Phoenix, ASU in Tempe, proudly served with the fighting 173rd Airborne in Vietnam, and then earned two separate law degrees. He’s practiced law for 40 years, including long stints as a Judge Advocate in the Army, Assistant United States Attorney, and Chief Counsel for the local Sheriff. He retired as an HCSO Major and is currently in private practice.
Archangel of Sedona is Tony’s second novel. His friends at WPG published Waggoners Gap—historical fiction inspired by the life of a great hero and mentor—in 2012.
Though Archangel is also a work of fiction, most of the episodes and vignettes described in the story, including Tony’s experiences on September 2, 1966, and the mystery of the missing Christ figure, are absolutely true and accurate in every detail. He’s changed names, merged characters, and adjusted small details to protect privacy. There is no serendipity.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The cover is an illustration by Gerry Kissell, which he created, in part, from a photographic image produced by artist Ami Parikh, and which was provided to the author under license from Shutterstock.com.
Copyright © 2014 by Tony Peluso
Cover art copyright © 2014 by Gerry Kissell (gerrykissell.com)
Interior illustrations copyright © 2014 by Julia D. Dye, Ph.D.
978-1-4976-9437-8
Warriors Publishing Group
16129 Tupper Street
North Hills, California 91343
www.warriorspublishing.com
Distributed by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
EBOOKS BY TONY PELUSO
FROM WARRIORS PUBLISHING GROUP
AND OPEN ROAD MEDIA
Available wherever ebooks are sold
WARRIORS PUBLISHING GROUP
War stories need to be published, distributed and consumed if we are to understand the mentality and motivation of military people. And we must do that to appreciate their service and sacrifice on behalf of this nation and our people. That's what our band of authors and editors is dedicated to at Warriors Publishing Group.
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.WARRIORSPUBLISHING.COM
Warriors Publishing Group is one of a select group of
publishing partners of Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
Open Road Integrated Media is a digital publisher and multimedia content company. Open Road creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing its ebooks through a new proprietary online platform, which uses premium video content and social media.
Videos, Archival Documents, and New Releases
Sign up for the Open Road Media newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign up now at
www.openroadmedia.com/newsletters
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.OPENROADMEDIA.COM
FOLLOW US:
@openroadmedia and
Facebook.com/OpenRoadMedia
