Free Echoes Through the Vatican: A Paranormal Mystery (The Echoes Quartet Book 2) by K. Francis Ryan Page A

murder, larceny and betrayal, the rich and the powerful, the famous, the infamous, and the unknown powers behind the throne of St. Peter. It was a story of money – what it could buy, who it could enrich and who it could destroy. And the innocent. Always the innocent and always it was they who suffered.
    The professor traced a course that took the story from ancient Rome to the ends of the modern world. One fact had led to another. One rumor led to another fact. On and on throughout history, innuendo led to rumor, led to fact, led inexorably to a darker truth.
    The older man looked off into the distance as he spoke. He had done the research. He knew the story by heart and had no need to consult notes or look for validation or even acknowledgement from Julian.
    “And that is the present state of my research. Sadly, there is far more I do not know than I do. I can tell you, I do not like this. There are parts of the story I have had to fill in based on a stew made up of facts, fables and insinuation. I like this even less. To me this is a puzzle and now it has taken hold so I must solve it. The pieces are here. I have yet to draw it all together. There is something missing.
    “So, Mr. Blessing, what have you to say?” The professor smiled as he came back into himself. He was a professional realist. He was resigned that the past created the present and that the present created future histories. He was happy in history and saddened by the present and despaired for the future.
    Julian thought for a moment. “A question, a clarification really.”
    The professor’s eyebrows shot up and he leaned forward. “There was something about which I was unclear? I have made some error?” It wasn’t a question, but a statement of incredulity.
    “Not at all,” Julian said. “It is not your ability to teach, but my inability to understand. Rather my not wanting to believe. Nothing more.”
    Mollified, the professor snorted, “In that case, please ask your question.”
    “Are you saying the Roman coins, the ones that never left Rome, were the seed money for an organization still in existence today? To believe that, changes the world. Professor, it is my sincere hope you will tell me how wrong I am.” Julian’s face was tight and his gray eyes sharp and penetrating.
    The professor nodded his head slightly and only once. “I can only tell you what the research shows. Although we wish to believe otherwise, the study of history is not a science. Still, we do our best and follow the evidence where it takes us,” the professor said.
    “I can say,” he continued, “we don’t always follow willingly. Some historical facts lead me to conclusions that are simply awkward. Some are nearly impossible to accept. By its nature, much of my research contradicts what we have previously known. In this case, you have stated the case accurately.
    “If this has answered your question, please tell me what you have learned.” The professor sat back in his chair, watched Julian carefully and waited. The look said he was prepared to wait a very long time.
    Julian sighed deeply before answering. “Well, in a way, what we have is the most complex money laundering and organized crime operation in the history of, well, history.”
    The professor’s smile was a challenge. “And that is all?”
    “There is an secret organization operating today that has been in existence at least as long as the Catholic church and perhaps longer.” Brows laced together, mouth set, eyes cold and hard, Julian let out a noisy breath.
    “You are a good student, Mr. Blessing. You are willing to accept as possible what you are unwilling to believe is true,” the professor said. “In this, you are a better student than I am an historian.
    “I did not want to believe,” the professor said. “I discounted out of hand the idea an organization could operate unseen for millennia. I rejected the idea even though all of the evidence pointed to that being the case.
    “I