Day Of Confession

'I'm sorry. I have no information… It's late, you understand…' Scala said quietly and hung up.

131

10:50 p.m.

They sat at the kitchen table, listening to Da

'Here is the goal. Here is the mission,' Da

'The tower is here, the railroad station here.'

Once more Da

'A high wall here,' he continued, 'runs southeast along a narrow paved road leading from the tower for maybe sixty yards. Then it ends. On the right is the main wall' – abruptly, Da

'At the end of the wall, there's a gravel path through the trees that will bring you to Viale del Collegio Etiopico, the boulevard of the Ethiopian College. A right there and you are at a low wall and almost on top of the station.

'Everything keys to the timing. We can't try to get Marsciano out too soon, or we'll give them time to swarm the place. But we have to be out of the tower and inside the railroad car before they open the gates at eleven to let the engine in. That means he has to be out of the tower at ten-forty-five and inside the railroad car by ten-fifty-five, no later, because by then the stationmaster or one or two of his men will be coming out to make sure the gates are opening properly.

'Now' – Da

Once again Da

'I have to pee,' Hercules said, and standing, gathered his crutches and swung off out of the room.

This was hardly a time to smile, but Harry did. It was Hercules' way. Brusque, fu

And soberly, in front of Da

For the longest moment Hercules had remained stone faced, staring at nothing. And then his eyes had gone around the room. Looking from one to the other to the other. Finally his face slowly twisted into an enormous grin.

'What life?' he'd said loudly, his eyes gleaming. And in that moment, he'd become one of them.

132

11:30 p.m.

Scala came out of his apartment, glanced briefly around, then crossed to an unmarked white Fiat. Looking around once more, he got in, started the engine, and drove off.

A moment later a dark green Ford pulled away from the curb a half block down. Eaton was behind the wheel, Adria

'He's not taking any chances about being followed…' Eaton dropped the Ford behind a silver Opel, keeping a guarded distance between himself and Scala's Fiat.

For the Italian detective to suddenly refuse Adria

Eaton and Adria

The abrupt return of Roscani, Scala, and Castelletti to Rome from Milan.

The murder early this morning of Marsciano's personal aide, Father Bardoni. Not yet a

Also this morning – Harry Addison's terse calls, traced to public telephones near the Vatican, alerting them to the situation in China. To which they had responded immediately, and which within hours resulted in the clandestine arrest and interrogation of a government water-quality inspector named Li Wen.

And again this morning – the surprising a

Suddenly Scala took a sharp left ahead of them, turning right after a half block, and then making a quick left and accelerating off. Adria

'The police are going to make it difficult.' Eaton slowed. Ahead of them Scala made a sharp right down a darkened residential street.

Adria