TWENTY-SIX

NOW, FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF THE VAULT, TEDESCO WAS BEING CALLED TO A MEETING REQUESTING A FORMAL AUDIT. The meeting was to be held in the large conference room at Domus Sanctae Marthae, the official Vatican guesthouse. When Tedesco arrived, he was greeted by the cardinals’ secretary, Mr. Castillo, who took his coat and led him into the conference room. All five cardinals were already seated, talking to each other and looking over stacks of paper, as Tedesco took his seat to the right of the fifth cardinal. On the table in front of him was a file. He opened it, and inside was a copy of a letter addressed to the pope by the heads of state for Poland, Hungry, Romania, and Prague on behalf of the Czech Republic. Before he could read the letter, a horn sounded announcing the entrance of the pope. All stood as the pope entered the room.

The pope gestured for everyone to sit after he took his place at the front of the podium. “Good morning, everyone. I am glad you were all able to come at such short notice. In front of each of you is a file that contains a letter by several countries, requesting repatriation of any and all art, property, and gold taken from them and secured by the Vatican during Hitler’s regime. The Church has always sought to return all property that was secured during the war to the rightful owners. Several years ago we requested Monsignor Tedesco to audit each of the locations where the Church had stored property on behalf of these countries and people. I have asked all of you to come today so we can discuss completing the repatriation of whatever is left. In past years the Church has always believed the gold was nothing more than a rumor. However, in recent days it has come to the attention of the Institute that there could be some truth to those rumors. According to our head accountant, Monsignor Tedesco, we still have secure locations that contain works of art, property, and even possibly gold.”

Cardinal James, one of the only American cardinals at the Vatican, stood to address the pope. “Holy Father, I agree with returning all of what was held for safekeeping, but I am confused, as I thought everything had been returned decades ago. Even if some items were not returned, how do we determine their rightful owners?”

The pope gestured toward Tedesco. “Would you like to address the cardinals, Monsignor?”

Tedesco stood up to address the group. “When I first became the Vatican accountant several years ago, I did an audit of a few—if you will—‘safe locations’ around northern Europe. It was during this audit that I did, in fact, find art and property, as well as what appeared to be gold bars and coins. As of today, all remains secure and has not been moved or touched in decades.”

The cardinals sat quietly, soaking in the information. Tedesco continued to speak. “The problem with returning the property is that we have no way of knowing who the proper owners are anymore. The owners of personal property and art should be easier to determine, but the gold bars and coins will be more difficult. And given the length of time that has passed, it’s very possible the owners are no long alive. The question now becomes: To whom do we entrust this property and money?”

The Holy Father arose from his seat. He was visibly angry but understood the accountant’s concern. “I want the property and gold inventoried, and the Institute will return to the countries everything it has safeguarded. It is not our place, and has never been our purpose, to find and locate each and every person who had property and money stolen from them! We know the destruction—the world knows the destruction that occurred under the Nazi occupation. The Vatican will entrust the repatriation to the countries, and they will determine how it is to be given back to the people. We cannot continue to hold it for safekeeping, seventy years after it was taken, for it now looks as if the Vatican is profiting from the pain of others! I am ordering an immediate inventory of each secure location, and once we have the inventories, we will invite a representative from each country to the Vatican. We will provide a list of the inventories to each country, and once it is decided how to divide the property and gold, we will arrange transportation for the items to be delivered to each country. In the meantime, I want all the contents of each location delivered to the Institute!”

Tedesco stood to address the pope. “Holy Father, do you have a specific time frame in mind for this? There is a total of five secure locations; each one is several hundred miles apart. Some are in rather remote areas and can only be reached by driving.”

“I would like the audit completed before the start of the new year. Once it is complete we will reconvene to decide how best to move forward with contacting the countries. I will compose a letter in response to the request for repatriation, informing them of today’s decision and assuring an outcome that will satisfy their request.” The Holy Father did not wait for any questions and quickly left the conference room. For a brief moment the cardinals were quiet, and then all at once started asking Tedesco questions.

Once the meeting was over, Tedesco made his way back to his office. He needed to call Brad, but this call would require absolute privacy. His office was not the place to make this call. He finished with the day’s work, walked to his home, and checked to ensure his house staff had left for the day. Once his privacy was assured, he called Brad.

Since his initial discovery of the gold under the church in Nykøbing Mors, he had been slowly removing the gold and other treasures. He had hired Brad, and eventually Eric, to fly the gold out of Europe and into the United States, and then to the Caymans. He had never turned in an accurate inventory of the contents of any of the locations. This next delivery would be the last.