Robert stood there, troubled. A man suffering a nervous breakdown was not going to be much help. “I see. Thank you very much.”
The hospital was an unpretentious one-storey building, near the outskirts of the city. He parked the car and walked into the small lobby. There was a nurse behind the reception desk.
“Good morning,” Robert said. “I would like to see Father Patrini.”
“Mi scusi, ma … that is impossible. He cannot speak with anyone.”
Robert was determined not to be stopped now. He had to follow up the lead Professor Schmidt had given him. “You don’t understand,” Robert said smoothly. “Father Patrini asked to see me. I’ve come to Orvieto at his request.”
“He asked to see you?”
“Yes. He wrote to me in America. I’ve come all this way just to see him.”
The nurse hesitated. “I do not know what to say. He is very ill. Molto.”
“I’m sure it would cheer him up to see me.”
“The doctor is not here …” She made a decision. “Very well. You may go into his room, signore, but you may only stay a few minutes.”
“That’s all I’ll need,” Robert said.
“This way, per piacere.”
They walked down a short corridor with small, neat rooms on either side. The nurse led Robert to one of the doors.
“Only a few minutes, signore.”
“Grazie.”
Robert entered the little room. The man in the bed looked like a pale shadow lying on the white sheets. Robert approached him and said softly, “Father …”
The priest turned to look up at him and Robert had never seen such agony in a man’s eyes.
“Father, my name is …”
He grabbed Robert’s arm. “Help me,” the priest mumbled. “You must help me. My faith is gone. All my life I have preached of God and the Holy Spirit and now I know that there is no God. There is only the devil and he has come for us …”
“Father, if you …”
“I saw it with my own eyes. There were two of them in the devil’s chariot, but, oh, there will be more! Others will come! Wait and see. We are all doomed to hell.”
“Father – listen to me. What you saw was not the devil. It was a space vehicle that …”
The priest let go of Robert and looked at him with sudden clarity. “Who are you? What do you want?”
Robert said, “I’m a friend. I came here to ask you about the bus trip you took in Switzerland.”
“The bus. I wish I had never gone near it.” The priest was becoming agitated again.
Robert hated to press him, but he had no choice.
“You sat next to a man on that bus. A Texan. You had a long conversation with him, remember?”
“A conversation. The Texan. Yes, I remember.”
“Did he mention where he lived in Texas?”
“Yes, I remember him. He was from America.”
“Yes. From Texas. Did he tell you where his home was?”
“Yes, yes. He told me.”
“Where, Father? Where is his home?”
“Texas. He talked of Texas.”
Robert nodded encouragingly. “That’s right.”
“I saw them with my own eyes. I wish God had blinded me. I …”
“Father – the man from Texas. Did he say where he was from? Did he mention a name?”
“Texas, yes. The Ponderosa.”
Robert tried again. “That’s on television. This was a real man. He sat next to you on …”
The priest was becoming delirious again. “They’re coming! Armageddon is here. The Bible lies! It is the devil who will invade the earth.” He was shouting loudly now. “Look out! Look out! I can see them!”
The nurse came hurrying in. She looked at Robert reprovingly. “You will have to leave, signore.”
“I need just one more minute …”
“No, signore. Adesso!”
Robert took one last look at the priest. He was raving incoherently. Robert turned to go. There was nothing further he could do. He had gambled on the priest giving him a lead to the Texan, and he had lost.
Robert returned to his car and headed back toward Rome. It was finally over. The only clues he had left – if they could be called clues – were the mention of a Russian woman, a Texan, and a Hungarian. But there was no way to pursue them any further. Check and checkmate. It was frustrating to have come this far and then to be stopped. If only the priest had remained coherent long enough to give him the information he needed! He had been so close. What was it the priest had said? The Ponderosa. The old priest had been watching too much television, and in his delirium, he had obviously associated Texas with the once popular TV show, Bonanza. The Ponderosa, where the mythical Cartwright family lived. The Ponderosa. Robert slowed the car, and pulled over to the side of the road, his mind racing. He made a U-turn and sped back toward Orvieto.
Half an hour later, Robert was talking to the bartender in a small trattoria in the Piazza della Republica. “You have a beautiful town here,” Robert said. “It’s very peaceful.”
“Oh, si, signore, we are quite content here. Have you visited Italy before?”
“I spent part of my honeymoon in Rome.” You make all my dreams come true, Robert. I’ve wanted to see Rome ever since I was a little girl.
“Ah, Rome. Too big. Too noisy.”