“Would the author of Mark have known of its existence?”

“Possibly. It’s also possible that the author of the Gospel of Pilate knew of Mark’s existence. But the more relevant question is, why was Mark canonized and the Gospel of Pilate ruthlessly suppressed?”

“And the answer?”

“Because the Gospel of Pilate offers a completely different account of Jesus’ final days in Jerusalem, one that contradicts Church doctrine and dogma.” Father Jordan paused. “Now ask the next obvious question, Luigi.”

“If the Gospel of Pilate was suppressed and hunted out of existence by the Church, how do you know about it?”

“Ah, yes,” said Father Jordan. “That’s the truly interesting part of the story.”

29

ABBEY OF ST. PETER, ASSISI

TO TELL THE STORY OF how he had learned of the existence of the Gospel of Pilate, Father Jordan first had to explain how the book was disseminated, and how it was suppressed. It was written for the first time, he said, in the same fashion as the canonical Gospels, on papyrus, though in Latin rather than Greek. He reckoned it was copied and recopied perhaps a hundred times in this fragile, unstable form and that it circulated among the Latin-literate portion of the early Church. Around the dawn of the second millennium it was produced in book form for the first time, almost certainly at a monastery on the Italian peninsula. Like the Acta Pilati, the Gospel of Pilate was read widely during the Renaissance.

“The Acta was translated into several languages and circulated throughout the Christian world. But the Gospel of Pilate was never translated out of its original Latin. Therefore, its readership was far more elite.”

“For example?” asked Donati.

“Artists, intellectuals, noblemen, and the daring priest or monk who was willing to risk Rome’s wrath.”

Before Donati could pose his next question, his phone pinged with an incoming text message.

Father Jordan glared at him with reproach. “Those things aren’t allowed in here.”

“Forgive me, Robert, but I’m afraid I live in the real world.” Donati read the message, expressionless. Then he switched off the phone and asked Father Jordan when the Gospel of Pilate was suppressed.

“Not until the thirteenth century, when Pope Gregory IX launched the Inquisition. He was more concerned about the threat to orthodoxy posed by the Cathars and Waldensians, but the Gospel of Pilate was high on his list of heresies. I found three references to the book in the files of the Inquisition. No one seems to have noticed them but me.”

“I suppose His Holiness gave the job to the Dominicans.”

“Who else?”

“Did they happen to keep any copies?”

“Trust me, I asked.”

“And?”

Father Jordan laid his hand on the page. “In all likelihood, this is the last one. But at the time, I was convinced there had to be another copy out there somewhere, probably hidden away in the library or archives of a noble family. I wandered the length and breadth of Italy for years, knocking on the doors of crumbling old palazzi, sipping espresso and wine with faded counts and countesses, even the odd prince and principessa. And then, late one afternoon, in the leaky cellar of a once-grand palace in Trastevere, I found it.”

“The book?”

“A letter,” said Father Jordan. “It was written by a man called Tedeschi. He went into considerable detail about an interesting book he had just read, a book called the Gospel of Pilate. There were direct quotes, including a passage regarding the decision to execute a man named Jesus of Nazareth, a troublesome Galilean who had ignited a disturbance in the Royal Portico of the Temple during Passover.”

“Did the family let you keep it?”

“I didn’t bother to ask.”

“Robert …”

Father Jordan gave a mischievous smile.

“Where is it now?”

“The letter? Somewhere safe, I assure you.”

“I want it.”

“You can’t have it. Besides, I’ve told you everything you need to know. The Gospel of Pilate calls into question the New Testament’s account of the seminal event in Christianity. For that reason, it is a most dangerous book.”

The Benedictine appeared in the doorway.

“I’m afraid I have kitchen duty tonight,” said Father Jordan.

“What’s on the menu?”

“Stone soup, I believe.”

Donati smiled. “My favorite.”

“It’s the specialty of the house. You’re welcome to join us, if you like.”

“Perhaps another time.”

Father Jordan rose. “It was wonderful to see you again, Luigi. If you ever want to get away from it all, I’ll put in a good word with the abbot.”

“My world is out there, Robert.”

Father Jordan smiled. “Spoken like a true liberation theologian.”

DONATI WAITED UNTIL THEY WERE outside the walls of the abbey before switching on his phone. Several unread text messages flowed onto the screen. All were from the same person: Alessandro Ricci, the Vatican correspondent for La Repubblica.

“He’s the one who texted me while we were talking to Father Jordan.”

“About what?”

“He didn’t say, but apparently it’s urgent. We should probably hear what he has to say. Ricci knows more about the inner workings of the Church than any reporter in the world.”

“Have you forgotten that I’m the director-general of the Israeli secret intelligence service?” Donati didn’t answer. He was typing furiously on his phone. “He was lying, you know.”

“Alessandro Ricci?” asked Donati absently.

“Father Jordan. He knows more about the Gospel of Pilate than he told us.”

“You can tell when someone is lying?”

“Always.”

“How do you go through life that way?”

“It isn’t easy,” said Gabriel.

“He was telling the truth about at least one thing.”

“What’s that?”

Donati looked up from his phone. “There’s no one named Father Joshua who works at the Secret Archives.”

30

VIA DELLA PAGLIA, ROME

ALESSANDRO RICCI LIVED AT THE quiet end of the Via della Paglia, in a small rose-colored apartment building. His name did not appear on the intercom panel. Ricci’s work had earned him a long list of enemies, some of whom wanted him dead.

Donati pressed the correct button, and they were admitted at once. Ricci was waiting on the second-floor landing, dressed entirely in black. His fashionable spectacles were black, too. They were propped on his bald head, which was polished to a high gloss. His gaze was fixed not on the tall, handsome man wearing the cassock of an archbishop but on the leather-jacketed figure of medium height standing next to him.

“Dear God, it’s you! The great Gabriel Allon, savior of Il Papa.”

He drew them into the apartment. No one would have mistaken it for the home of anyone but a writer, and a divorced one at that. There wasn’t a single flat surface that wasn’t piled with books and papers. Ricci apologized for the clutter. He had spent much of the day on the BBC, where his elegantly accented English was much in demand. He had to be back at the Vatican in two hours for an appearance on CNN. He hadn’t much time to talk.