Chasing Tomorrow

“IT’S HARDLY SURPRISING.”

Professor Domingo Muñoz sat opposite Jeff over dinner at the Alfonso.

“You don’t give your name, you call up with these wild accusations, and you offer no proof. Why should they listen to you?”

“Dmitri’s a buffoon,” grumbled Jeff. “The classic big fish in a little pond. I shouldn’t think he’s listened to anyone about anything since 1976. Arrogant prick.”

“Señora Prieto’s supposed to be very good. Thorough and tough. You have to be to make it to her position as a woman, especially in Spain.”

“Well, she’s not thorough enough. I don’t know about this other guy, but Cooper’s a machine. You don’t know what thorough is until you’ve seen him operate.”

“You outsmarted him, though, didn’t you? You and Tracy? For years. He can’t be that good.”

Jeff sat back in his chair. A contemplative look came over his face. Professor Domingo Muñoz could practically see his mind working.

“What?” he asked nervously. “What are you thinking, Jeff?”

“If the police and the museum authorities won’t save the Shroud from Daniel Cooper, then maybe we need a plan B. Like you say, I’ve outsmarted Cooper before.”

Domingo frowned. “You’re not going to try to steal it yourself?”

Jeff looked up at him and grinned.

“SEÑORA PRIETO. THANK GOD you’re here. You need to see this.”

Magdalena Prieto had just arrived at work. Her half-drunk coffee was still in her hand and her dark hair was still wet from the light spring rain that had been falling all morning. The look on her deputy’s face told her at once that what she “needed to see” wasn’t good.

“What is it, Miguel?”

“The Sábana Santa. There’s been a security breach.”

Magdalena Prieto’s blood ran cold. She thought immediately of the mysterious phone call she’d received two days earlier. “Someone is planning to steal the Sábana Santa.”

Why didn’t I take it seriously?

If anything had happened to the Shroud on Magdalena Prieto’s watch, her career would be over and her reputation shredded. Following her deputy at a run toward the central room where the Shroud was housed, the American caller’s voice drifted back to her, taunting her.

“I know your security systems . . .

“They’re good, but Daniel Cooper’s better.”

Magdalena felt physically sick. As she turned the corner, her knees practically gave way with relief. It’s still there. Thank God!

The Shroud was housed in a case of reinforced, bulletproof glass, laid flat on an aluminum support stand, mimicking the conditions in which it had been kept in Turin. Infrared alarms protected it, both inside and outside the case, which could only be opened after entering an elaborate series of codes. Within the glass, the temperature was carefully controlled in order to protect the delicate and priceless fabric. Magdalena checked the dials on the control panel. Everything seemed normal. No alarm had been triggered. The temperature and humidity remained at the correct levels, as did the argon and oxygen levels (at 99.5 and 0.5 percent, respectively). If anyone had broken into the case, the readings would have gone haywire.

Magdalena Prieto turned to her deputy. “I don’t get it. What’s the problem?”

He pointed. There, at the base of the aluminum stand, propped up casually like a hand-delivered Christmas card, was a white envelope. It was addressed simply: Señora Prieto.

Magdalena’s voice was a whisper. “Call the police.”

“THIS IS A DISASTER.”

Felipe Agosto, the mayor of Seville, paced the room melodramatically. “If Seville were to lose the Shroud, or allow it to be damaged in any way, it would bring shame on our entire city. On the whole of Spain!”

“Yes, but the Shroud hasn’t been lost, or damaged.” Magdalena Prieto spoke with a calmness she did not feel. Along with Mayor Agosto and Comisario Dmitri, she had gathered in Dmitri’s office to discuss the security breach at the Sábana Santa exhibition. “This letter was a warning. A friendly warning. I’m not saying we shouldn’t take it seriously but—”

“There’s nothing ‘friendly’ about breaking and entering and endangering a priceless relic, señora.” Comisario Dmitri interrupted her rudely. “Whoever did this is a criminal, pure and simple. He must be caught and punished severely.”