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  "Yes," she said, although she heard the tired sigh in her own voice. He was right, and she knew that in her head, but her heart still grieved. "We can win. But at what price? At what price?"

  Epilogue

  Steve Lorenzo looked across the café at the striking blond woman whose eyes bespoke so much pain. Beside him, as if reading his thoughts, Miguel nodded.

  "Sí, Padre. She has seen too much."

  "Yes," Steve said.

  The woman's eyes reminded him of another woman, on a night that seemed a lifetime ago, after that woman had helped to protect the villagers of Dos Ojos. It was the same haunted look he had seen in Miriam Anson's eyes. Did he have the same look? Was it the look borne by anyone who tried to stand up to the evil around him?

  Jules Soult's eyes did not have that look. Instead, Steve realized, Soult had the look of a man who had just won a championship. Proud. Jubilant. Victorious. Not the look of a hero at all.

  "He is no hero," Miguel said, nodding toward the TV. "His eyes betray him."

  "Ahh, there you are!" Guiseppi Veltroni said, making his way to their table. "I apologize for my tardiness."

  Steve rose to shake his hand. "There is no need for apologies, Monsignor."

  Veltroni took the hand briefly, then drew Steve into a tight embrace. "I am so happy to see you, my friend. I feared that I had sent you to your death."

  "Quite the contrary," Steve said. "You sent me to my life, Monsignor. Please, join us. This is my friend, Miguel, who came with me from Guatemala."

  "You have come a long way," Veltroni said, shaking Miguel's hand.

  "And we have a long way yet to go," Steve said, leaning close. "There is much that I must tell you. And we will need to act quickly."

  * * *

  Renate watched idly as a monsignor entered and embraced a priest across the room. Now, as the monsignor sat, she noticed for the first time the young man who sat with them. The face was familiar, and for a few moments she struggled to remember it. Then she turned to Lawton.

  "To our left, third table from the back. The young man with the two priests."

  "I think I recognize the face," Lawton said, scratching his head. "But I can't remember who he is. Was he on one of our watch lists?"

  She shrugged and returned her gaze to Lawton. "I'm not sure."

  Lawton looked at the young man a moment longer. "We should check him out. But why would he be with two priests?"

  Renate's expression suggested that he should stop being so naive.

  "It never ends," she said. "It never ends."

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-8365-1

  THE CRIMSON CODE

  Copyright © 2006 by Susan Civil-Brown.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, MIRA Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  MIRA and the Star Colophon are trademarks used under license and registered in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

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  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  31

  32

  33

  34

  35

  Epilogue