The Malta Exchange (Cotton Malone 14)

Relief.

“Archbishop Spagna, for all of his failings, always defended the church,” Stamm said. “As do I.”

Cotton imagined that men like Stamm had been making hard decisions for centuries. Each one thinking he was doing the right thing. Each one wrong. A piece of history had just been destroyed. A piece that could have shed a different light on things.

“What about the flash drive?” Stephanie asked.

“I’ll deal with those offenders. In my own way.”

He could only imagine what that would entail. Most likely lots of private meetings, then hasty resignations.

“I’ll tell the world the truth,” Gallo said. “You can’t burn that away. This is not over, Cardinal. There’ll be a trial. I’ll see you, and all of the other hypocrites in scarlet, exposed for what you are. I’ll make sure the world knows what was on that parchment.”

Stamm said nothing.

But Cotton realized that without the document all Gallo had was talk.

Stamm stepped close to the bars. “You underestimate me. Defending the faith with the spilling of blood is a duty we must never abandon.”

He could see that Gallo caught the significance of the words.

“That’s what Constantine wrote,” Stamm said. “All part of his gift. The freedom to kill while defending the faith. The church truly took that one to heart. We’ve killed millions.”

Gallo said nothing.

“What are you saying?” Hahn said from the other cell.

Stamm stepped back so both prisoners could see him. “Neither one of you will leave here alive. There will be atonement for your heinous crimes. Two more will die in defense of the faith.”

“What did I do?” Hahn asked.

“You had Laura Price murdered,” Luke said.

“Along with Monsignor Roy,” Stamm added. “You are as complicit as your co-conspirator.”

And Stamm pointed to Gallo.

Then he gestured that they all should walk away.

“Malone,” Gallo hollered. “You can’t let him do this.”

Luke opened the iron door.

“Malone. For God’s sake. You can’t allow this. We’re entitled to a trial. This is murder.”

They all stepped out.

But not before he heard one last loud plea.

“Malone.”

He kept walking, but something from the Bible flashed through his mind.

Romans 12:19.

Vengeance is mine.

I will repay, saith the Lord.

WRITER’S NOTE

The travel for this novel involved some of the best trips Elizabeth and I have ever taken. First, we visited Lake Como and all of the sites associated with Mussolini’s failed escape attempt and ultimate execution. What a spectacular corner of the world. Next, we twice ventured to Malta, which is truly an amazing place. Rome and the Vatican were locales we’ve explored several times before.

Now it’s time to separate fact from fiction.

Mussolini’s escape from Milan, in an attempt to flee to Switzerland, as recounted in the prologue, happened. Claretta Petacci died with him, both of them executed by partisans (chapters 1 and 40). To this day no one knows for sure who pulled the trigger. Many have claimed the honor, though. Most of what Mussolini says in the prologue is taken from his actual words, uttered near the end of his life but not at the villa. The addition of a representative from the Knights of Malta was my invention. Mussolini brought with him gold, currency, and two satchels full of documents (chapter 3). Only a tiny amount of the gold was ever found in Lake Como by local fishermen. The vast majority of the cache (including the documents) has never been seen since. There was an Italian trial in the 1950s where several defendants were accused of theft, but it ended abruptly, without resolution, and no further investigation was ever undertaken (chapter 19). The connection of the judge in that trial with the villa owner in the prologue is fabricated.

This story spans a multitude of fascinating locales. Lake Como, the site of Mussolini’s execution, and the Four Seasons in Milan are faithfully described. In Rome the Foro Mussolini (which became the Foro Italico), the Hotel d’Inghilterra, the Palazzo di Malta, and the Villa del Priorato di Malta are there as described. I wanted this novel to showcase Malta, so a special effort was made to include as many locations as possible. Valletta, the co-cathedral, the grand master’s palace, the Grand Harbor, the Madliena and Lippija Towers, Marsaskala, St. Paul’s Bay, Mdina, the Pwales Valley, the grottoes along the south shore, the tunnels beneath Valletta built by the knights (chapter 17), and the Westin Dragonara are all real. Parasailing is a popular activity off Malta (chapter 4), one I (like Luke) enjoyed. Only the Church of St. Louise Magyar’s (chapter 49) is fictional, but the maiden’s legend I associated with it is accurate (chapter 32). Its inner chapel is modeled after the Church of Piedigrotta in Pizzo, Italy.

The fasces (chapter 3) is an ancient Roman symbol, and the Italian National Fascists took their name from it.

Mussolini did indeed leave a mark on Rome. Many of his building projects and grand roadways still exist (chapter 29). Inside the Foro Italico (once the Foro Mussolini) stands the obelisk described in the story. It’s true that the Codex Fori Mussolini was sealed inside it in the 1930s, a manifesto to the greatness of fascism and its leader (chapters 28, 29, 34, and 36). We know this because its text was printed in Italian newspapers at the time. Unlike in this novel, though, the codex remains sealed inside. The medal commemorating the obelisk Luke examines in chapter 29 is real.

The tale about the croissant’s origins (chapter 12) is one of those delightful fables nobody really knows is true. Charlemagne’s symbol, as depicted in chapter 12, was his signature. I dealt with this extensively in The Charlemagne Pursuit. It’s a fact that anyone can be elected pope (chapter 10), but the last time that happened was 1379. Tal-lira clocks are all over Malta (chapter 30), as are the colorful dghajsa boats (chapter 32). And the legend of Skinned Tom that Luke recalls in chapter 60 is popular in east Tennessee.

The Hospitallers, now known as the Sovereign Military Hospitallers Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta, or more simply the Knights of Malta, have existed for nine hundred years. The eight-pointed Maltese cross (chapter 7) has long been their symbol. All of the history attributed to the knights (chapters 4, 12, and 16), and the laws quoted in chapter 44, are accurate. Today the knights are a highly successful humanitarian organization. The Secreti once existed within them. Whether the group still does today is unknown, since the inner workings of the order are closely guarded. My reconstituted Secreti are purely imaginary.

The two villas in Rome—Palazzo di Malta and the Villa del Priorato di Malta—together form the smallest sovereign nation in the world (chapter 16). The Villa Pagana, at Rapallo, serves as the grand master’s summer residence (chapter 19). A nearby archive (chapter 21) is my invention. Guvas once dotted Malta, the underground prisons unique to the knights (chapter 14). Now only one remains, at Fort St. Angelo in Valletta. I created two more. The keyhole on Aventine Hill, at the Villa del Priorato di Malta, does offer an amazing view of St. Peter’s Basilica (chapter 28). Whether that was intentional, or merely fortuitous, is unknown.

The Nostra Trinità (chapter 26) is totally my creation, but two of its elements, the Pie Postulatio Voluntatis and the Ad Providam, are actual documents. The Constitutum Constantini is all mine, as is its backstory (chapter 48), though the concepts it explores—that religion is a creation of man, and the Catholic Church formulated its core doctrine for survival—are real (chapters 62, 63, and 64). Religious historians have long explored that subject in minute detail.

The co-cathedral in Valletta (chapter 40) is magnificent, especially the floor, which is consumed by over four hundred marble tombs. Each one is unique and magnificent. All of the ones used in the novel exist (chapters 41, 43, and 44), including the tomb of Bartolomeo Tommasi di Cortona (chapter 45) that contains three symbols, one of them the Chi Rho that is closely associat

ed with Constantine. There’s a clock depicted on that tomb, but a real manifestation of that clock inside the cathedral is my creation (chapter 46).

Malta was besieged in 1565 by the Turks (chapter 8), but the knights resisted the invasion. That victory did in fact halt a Turkish advance across the Mediterranean and save Europe. Afterward, the island was ringed by a series of thirteen watchtowers that still stand. All of the ones mentioned in the novel exist. It was fun to incorporate them into the treasure hunt, even more fortunate that eight of them, when joined, formed a cross (chapters 47 and 48). The Apostle Paul did in fact visit Malta, bringing Christianity to the island, his exploits expressly depicted in the Bible (chapter 13).

All of the Vatican locales are accurately portrayed, including the Sistine Chapel, Apostolic Palace, museums, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Vatican Gardens, and train station (chapters 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, and 71). The position of prefect of the Apostolic Signatura (chapter 5), which Kastor Gallo holds, is one of long standing.

The legal and political distinction between the Vatican City State and the Holy See (chapter 13) came into existence thanks to the 1929 Lateran Treaty. The curia (chapter 15) manages both, with the pope in sole command. The problem of trying to contain the curia is one of long standing. Sadly, all of the corruption detailed from Spagna’s flash drive (chapters 15 and 18) is taken from actual scandals that have rocked the Holy See for the past decade. A good discussion on this subject can be found in Merchants in the Temple and Ratzinger Was Afraid, both by Gianluigi Nuzzi. The Vatican continues to deny there are any scandals or internal problems, but Nuzzi makes a good case to the contrary.

The Entity is real. It dates back five hundred years and is the world’s oldest intelligence agency. The Vatican has never acknowledged that the organization exists, but its history is long and storied (chapter 20). There is also a pope’s spymaster whose identity is kept secret. My label of Domino Suo is fictional. A terrific history on this subject is The Entity, by Eric Frattini.

The Churchill–Mussolini letters described in the story are a matter of legend, rumored to exist, but never seen. Mussolini having them with him when he tried to flee Italy in 1945 is my addition to their story. The letters quoted in chapter 9 are my creations, but I drew heavily on Churchill and Mussolini’s own words. Churchill’s signature is real. Upon assuming the office of prime minister, Churchill wanted to use Malta as a bargaining chip to keep Italy from aligning with Germany. But the British War Cabinet rejected the notion. Ultimately, Malta became critical and held out a multiyear siege by Germany and Italy, the entire country earning the George’s Cross (chapter 9).