Free Trifariam, The Lost Codex (2012) by Diego Rodriguez

“From what I was able to read, the document was an attempt to stop Philip the Fair from ordering the execution of the Grand Master Jacques de Molay and the other Templar leaders.”
    Richard Matheson was of average height, around five feet seven, with green eyes and a prominent nose. He changed the style of his light brown hair more often than he did his shirts; at that moment it was completely gelled back so as to give as modern a look as possible. Richard took great care of himself and his physical appearance, which is why he got so angry when someone suggested he should lose a few pounds. He normally deceived himself, telling himself that his weight was ever so slightly above average but he wasn’t fat and that, for the time being, his 202lb frame didn’t worry him at all. Then he cursed under his breath, wondering if people were stupid and how they didn’t realize how much it took for him to maintain his weight and not put any more on, and that if he hadn’t slimmed down it was because he couldn’t and not because he didn’t want to. As if it were that easy! he said to himself over and over, controlling his urge cast a few choice words in his unjust critic’s direction.
    “What else did you discover there?” asked one of the women opposite him.
    Richard remained thoughtful for a few seconds while he stroked the dimple on his chin and nibbled on his lower lip. He looked at her until she blushed. She was wearing a very elegant dress, which made her seem a couple of years younger than she was. Perhaps if they had been alone he would have told her one of his secrets to try and sweet-talk her. However, with all these people here, it was impossible. “I’m sorry, Rose. You’ll have to keep writing your letters to the Vatican until they grant you access. If I told you, I would have to kill you and it would be difficult to take the life of someone so beautiful.”
    Rose turned beet red when she saw the roguish glint in her friend’s eye. She knew how attentive he was, and how he didn’t get embarrassed easily, so she thought it best to quickly change the subject before he was encouraged to joke around again.
    However, before Rose could say anything, Richard’s phone vibrated on the table causing a sudden silence.
    He looked who was calling and it shocked him. “Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, if you would be so kind as to allow me to take this call. Some green professor needs my wise words of advice.”
    Slight smiles broke out on the faces of some of his companions as he stood up and left through the side corridor of the restaurant. Once outside, he sat on an old wooden sixteenth-century bench which had been recently restored, and he answered the phone with an irritated tone of voice. After all, he had been disturbed at the most delicate of times - when he was trying to pick up a woman.
    “How are you, James? You have as much bad timing as ever, I see. It’s your fault that I’ll be sleeping alone tonight.”
    James Oldrich couldn’t help but chuckle like a little boy on the other end of the phone. “Of course, Richard. You like women more than a kid loves candy. How is everything going at university?”
    There was a long, almost uncomfortable silence. Then Richard spoke. “It seems that the five times I told you that I would be absent from the faculty this week weren’t enough. In future I’ll tell you a hundred times until it sinks in. Don’t you remember that PG members are having a meeting in Rome?”
    James swallowed hard - he had completely forgotten. Richard was one of the most important members of the PG, or the Paleographic Group as they preferred to be called. They met once a year to discuss the most important matters which had arisen in the previous twelve months regarding paleography and extinct languages. They were the absolute experts in this field - around twenty people from five continents. This time, Rome was the chosen location for the meeting.
    “I’m sorry, Richard. It’s been a