The Archangel of a Black Feather. Al Crown
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on the monuments. “It is one of those cheap shirts you can purchase in Rome, along the Coliseum. You can see Saint Peter in Rome, Adrian’s Villa in Tivoli, and Villa D’Este, also in Tivoli,” he elucidated.
Isabel stammered, “Where is Tivoli? I never heard this town before. I did not know those monuments were there. You know, we think everything is in Rome!”
Claudio managed, ruling the guide game, “Most of the tourists dis- cover the province of Rome only when visiting the eternal city, it is normal anyway. My uncle lives there in Tivoli, close to a village named Vicovaro, where a suggestive monastery was built in the sixth century. Tourists who visited the cloister are impressed by the numerous crypts, vaults and caverns naturally formed along the cliff.”
Isabel… mesmerized by his tender voice, whispered, “You like this place very much. I mean the isolated monastery, how come?” He was silent for a while, and then said, “My mother used to go there almost every week. She attended services, helped with the charity, supported volunteering. We celebrated her funeral within that monastery’s chapel.” Isabel sympathized, “I am very sorry.”
Later, Claudio blushed before his father, “Don’t lie to me son! Did you meet a girl?”
A shiny full moon was up in the sky, mirroring the hills down the mountain trails.
The obscure shadow of our existence is within the shining light of life, as it is the eternal solitude concealed among us. Al Crown
CHAPTER IV
The Discovery
The next day, Michael and Claudio exchanged some ideas about cardio training. They wished to enhance their heart performance running faster and longer.
Claudio was always watching the mountain trails and could not wait any longer to go up there, discovering all the paths and lakes of the North Shore. He purchased a detailed map, studying all the areas.
“We should go up the trails before the end of September, I studied the map inch by inch and I discovered so many trails we could go running. We should start from the short ones at the beginning, adapting our muscles, challenging after the others. What do you think, Michael?” Said Claudio in a euphoric manner. “I think you studied too much! We do not need a map to go up there. We can find the paths just running randomly. There are signs and illustrations everywhere, and the trails are marked with different colors. By the way, I just want to remind you, Claudio, that in Vancouver until the end of October the weather is usually nice, and there is enough light for running.”
Claudio was bothered by his cousin’s arrogant bragging, “Do you know Michael, how many people got lost around those mountains, hiking without maps or GPS? Some did not survive the elements. I think your attitude in underestimating the serious circumstances will cause problems.”
The following long weekend was the best option, given that no games were scheduled. Michael was silent, wearing a look of disapproval toward his cousin’s reproach.
Weekend quickly arrived, and the team met at dawn. They warmed up before the trail became too steep, and when up halfway, they noticed few helicopters of the North Shore rescue flying above their heads. Some rescuers were coming down the hill, “Sorry guys, it is not possible to continue on this trail, someone got lost. Those guys up there are forensic police, they are investigating,” with a warning tone. Claudio, who was leading the group, questioned:
“What happened? Why are the forensic searching the area?” Insisting.
“I am sorry, but we are still working on it, and no information can be released. Turn immediately and run downward please?” The sun was nicely showing upon the horizon, and it was time for breakfast. The group met later for brunch at the restaurant down on 15th Street, across Marine Drive.
They were seated at the corner, listening to some people talking about the remains of a person who were found by a lost hiker the night before. The customers sounded concerned and surprised. One of them was an old man, who said, “Nowadays everything is possible here, this place was a safe place once and look now. Those remains are old perhaps, nobody noticed them before! We cannot even go up the hills
anymore. Police will close the whole area, I bet!”
Something serious had happened, and the next morning Claudio and his friends bought the newspaper, reading about the case.
“A guy went missing last night while hiking toward Cypress. He took a shortcut that was unmarked, pushing west. When he realized he was on the wrong path, he started panicking in fear because the sun was setting. The man later tried to come back, but lost orientation, wandering all night long. When the rescuers found him, he told them to go up there over the trail, where bones and a broken skull…”
“I think this man is hiding something. How come no hikers up the trails noticed those remains? What if he killed this person long time ago and concealed the remains, faking being lost and consequently creating a strong alibi?” Michael promptly reacted, countering: “Didn’t you read the article properly? They say the remains were found far out off the tracks, where he got seriously lost. That man risked his own life up there!”
Claudio wearing a discordant glance, “He is alive, anyway! Better than serving a life sentence in prison, don’t you think?” Michael inappropriately slipped the newspaper from his cousin’s hands, continuing to read in a loud voice: “The person was consumed and scared, telling the forensic police about distorted sounds coming from the forest overnight. He thought at first of wild animal fights…but when he saw the human remains, he rushed to find a concealed shelter.”
Few weeks later, TV news released the whole story, and Inspector Kevin Mesotti of the West Vancouver Police Department said in a conference that the bones found were those of Father Larry Murphy (an Irish Catholic Priest) disappeared six months earlier, in March. He was executed in a violent vicious way. Mesotti did not specify if Father Larry was killed by a wild animal or perhaps by a person; police did not possess such evidence. The community assumed that it was a robust strong creature. The inspector spoke with an experienced calm voice: “At the moment we cannot say how the victim died, we discovered his identity after forensic anthropologists studied and extracted his DNA from the remains. It was a really difficult process, really!” One of the journalists asked, “How did the forensics obtain the DNA? We know it is not always possible with bones!” Kevin replied, managing, “The B.C. forensic anthropologists were assisted by an expert tooth researcher, who was able to extract the DNA from the inner pulp of few teeth. The only way was to suck and conserve the pulp, finding with a complex process a good valuable DNA. We have a long list of missing people, and Larry was one of the last.”
The interview continued and curiosity was growing around the officer, he served the police for more than twenty-five years and knew a lot about forensics. Kevin answered all the questions regardless: “To be one hundred percent sure about our affirmation, we scanned the skull remains in a computer program, matching and comparing the external points with Larry’s pictures. The overlapping comparison determined it was Larry!”
The officer was facing the press chin-up…senseless of the flashes and confusion echoing in the conference room, he had lived those rushing moments a long time ago. He was sure, strong, and confident.
“When will you tell us if Larry was killed or not?” Questioned coldly a reporter from a local channel.
“As I told you a moment ago, we have our forensic expert working on the remains. From the skull and the bones, we will be able to determine how the cleric died. Let us do our job. Thank you all.”
After Larry’s disappearance the church was managed by Morris Harrison, the sacristan, and no religious services were conducted.
Every day Claudio read the news about this case, talking with his friends and family about the figure of Inspector Mesotti. “I like him, he is humble and at the same time very professional. He is a calm and thoughtful detective. He reminds me of an old investigator back in time,” said Claudio following the TV news.
Giacomo