Chapter the Third

A Connection and a Plan



He looked back at the oak door. The solution, he felt, lay behind that portal and in the hands of Monsignor Schrattenbach. If he had learned one thing from this visit, it was that the Bishop's secretary intended to settle this matter himself and not let it become a matter for the police. That at least was something. But if anything that made Brother Matthew's task harder, for Josef Schrattenbach was, if anything, less amenable to persuasion than Brother Timothy.

A missing book; the whole incident revolved around a book that was taken. Returning the book had not solved anything; it was the act of taking it that was important. Written words, poems, a musical score, a simple set of hand written pages ... Brother Matthew's head began to spin, and ... as had happened to Brother Gregory and Brother Timothy the day before ... a connection was made in Brother Matthew's head as the stress of the situation forced it into his mind. At first he refused to believe the conjunction of ideas that had just come together in his whirling brain. It was monstrous. But ... it was also the only idea he had, and it seemed like the only plan that would work if he was to defeat Brother Timothy and foil his schemes. If the Freikinder program was to be saved, Brother Gregory absolved of blame and Brother Timothy thwarted in his ambitions, then Brother Matthew would have to do something completely ... well ... outside the normal realm of his duties - and that was putting it mildly!

He got to his feet slowly and, trying not to make it look obvious, examined the door into Monsignor Schrattenbach's office. He found what he was looking for, so he turned and walked down the main hallway to the smaller corridor through which he had seen the food being delivered and served. Off this corridor was a staging room where food from the kitchen was put on fancy plates and silver salvers for delivery to the dining area. Some of the kitchen staff were still in the room as Brother Matthew poked his head around the door, but he wasn't interested in them, only the geography of the room.

Around all four walls stood massive pine shelves piled high with plates and other dishes. In the center of the room was a large serving table where the pots of food were placed after being brought from the kitchen. The only light came from a set of tiny windows high up on the back wall. These windows were so small and so high off the ground that they were left permanently open so as to allow the heat of the room to escape, even in the depth of winter. Standing in the doorway, Brother Matthew concentrated his attention on these windows until he was noticed by one of the kitchen staff, whereupon he gave a weak smile and went to collect his coat.

Outside the Bishop's Palace Brother Matthew took a walk around the perimeter, paying special attention to small, square windows. It took him several circuits before he found what he was looking for in a greasy alley off Jostova Street. Okno, thought Brother Matthew, - 'window' - that was the answer, but those windows were too small. Only a bird could get in there. Only small birds could get in there.
It was time to pay his final visit.