CS 01 The Grail Conspiracy (42 page)

The room was so quiet that Cotten could hear the rustle of her
crisp gray suit against her stockings as she walked alone up the aisle.
Ahead, on a platform riser, stood a solitary man-the newly consecrated bishop and papal appointed prelate of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology-John Tyler. Her eyes fastened on hisstill the bluest she'd ever known.

Suddenly, she felt a knot in her stomach-a pang of dread that a
chapter in her life was ending-a door was closing forever. Seeing
John in the purple cassock of his new office confirmed it.

But everything she needed to know was all there in his eyes.

"Hello, Cotten Stone," John said softly, extending his hand as she
came to stand before him.

"Hello, John Tyler," she said so only he could hear. Accepting his
hand, they stood in silence for a moment.

The Hall of Constantine erupted in applause, becoming awash in
flashes and the brilliance of video camera lights.

Then she let go of him for the last time.

Cotten held the silver case out to John. "Your Excellency, I have
the honor of presenting to the Universal Church, this blessed relic
known as the Cup of the Last Supper, the Cup of the Crucifixion, the
Cup of Christ, the Holy Grail."

Lynn Sholes (Florida) leads fiction workshops and trains educators in
teaching writing. Her extensive work with the Broward County Archaeology Society sparked the idea for The Grail Conspiracy, her seventh
novel. More information can be found at www.grailconspiracy.com and
www.satellitenews.org.

Joe Moore (Florida) is a marketing executive with twenty-five years'
experience in the television postproduction industry. As a senior audio
engineer, he received two regional Emmy awards for individual achievement in audio mixing. He drew from four years of theological seminary
training to write this book. The Grail Conspiracy is his second work of
fiction.