The Templar Reprisals (The Best Thrillers Book 3) James Best (best books to read all time .txt) 📖

and wandered down to the lobby about ten minutes after the appointed time. Lewis had waited for him, dressed as if he was heading for the greens. Evarts wore denims, a black tee, and light windbreaker. The Galls Agent shell had been cut to conceal his gun. After being caught weaponless on Pont Neuf, Evarts carried wherever legally allowed.

“Sorry, I’m late. Had to call my wife.”

“No problem,” Lewis answered amiably. “How far is Arlington?”

“A little under two miles. Counting the walk around the cemetery, probably five miles, round trip. Still up for it?”

“Absolutely.” He again rubbed his stomach like it was a great trophy. “Let’s walk off some of this blubber.”

The weather was perfect. Sunny, but no more than seventy degrees. Fall weather in late summer.

After some pleasantries, Lewis asked questions about the Santa Barbara lodge, and offered corresponding information of his own lodge in Maryland. He was especially interested in their success rate in recruiting new members. He said his lodge had become an old men’s club. Younger people had shown little interest in the Masons. Evarts concurred.

“Why haven’t you sought a Master Mason degree?” Lewis asked.

“Who says I haven’t?”

“Logic. You’ve been a fellow long enough.”

“Maybe I pissed off some members.”

“You’re chief of police. That position requires a hell of a lot more tact than being a Mason.” He laughed. “We’re a forgiving bunch.”

Evarts wondered if he should continue to allow Lewis to direct the conversation or jump over the small talk to get to the point. He suspected they both knew the other was aware where this conversation would eventually lead. As a detective, he had gotten the best results with an unexpected, shocking question.

“What’s your degree?” Evarts asked.

“Master Mason.”

“Not fourth degree.”

Lewis laughed easily. “There is no fourth degree … unless you take the Scottish thirty-three steps.”

“The fourth degree is Templar Knight.” Evarts waited a moment and when Lewis said nothing, he added, “Are you a Templar?”

Lewis walked at least ten paces before responding. “Is that why you’re here in D.C?”

“What do you think?”

“I think …” His voice trailed off. He decided to be as direct as Evarts. “How much do you know?”

“How much do you know?” Evarts responded.

Now, no hesitation. “We know about Pont Neuf. Very impressive. You’re a Freemason Fellow. We know that in the army, you worked Intelligence, specifically highly technical and highly classified electronic surveillance. You’ve demonstrated impressive leadership capabilities as police chief. In sum, you represent the whole package, so we decided to take a risk and approach you directly.”

“This accidental meeting and walk are what you call direct? I can see we’re not going to get along.”

“We’re a secret society … this is very direct for us.”

“Are you talking about Freemasons?”

“It’s complicated. I can’t explain right now.”

“Because you’re not trying to recruit me, you’ve been assigned to assess me.”

“Correct.”

“Then you might as well return to the hotel. Not interested. I’m a LEO, not a vigilante.”

“We’re not vigilantes,” Lewis said insistently.

“Do you take justice into your own hands?”

“How much do you know about Templars?”

“Just what I saw in Paris.”

“I meant historically.”

“The broad lines,” Evarts said. “Why is that relevant?”

“The Templars were more than warriors. They were a religious order of monks who conformed to a strict rule, what today we might call a code of honor. The hallmarks were chastity, obedience, and poverty. They grew from an order assigned to protect Christian pilgrims while traveling in the Holy Land to a pan-European enterprise of almost unimaginable magnitude. They were the sole international bankers of the era, advised monarchs, and even ran the French financial operations. They had landholdings in every European country. Large, impressive holdings. Not fallow ground either, working farms. Highly profitable farms. They owned many castles in the Holy Land and throughout Europe. They operated huge fleets of ships to take pilgrims to the Holy Land and to provide transport for their import/export businesses. The Pope and kings had assigned tithes from many churches to the Templars. In short, the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon were a large multi-national organization that was tightly managed and extremely wealthy. The Pope and Kings were beholden to them. Only the church had greater pan-European political influence … and that’s questionable.”

“Again, how is that relevant?”

“You asked if we took justice into our own hands.” Lewis quit walking until Evarts stopped and turned to face him. “Governments are societal creations to maintain social order. The Templars are—and have always been—a creation of society to maintain social order.”

Evarts was shocked. “Are you claiming the authority of a nation-state?”

“I am … and with better credentials than most governments.”

Chapter 18

Evarts started walking again. He quickened his pace. He seethed. How could any secret society believe they had greater authority than nation-states? He and Trish had faced a secret society once before and shut it down. Or at least imprisoned its leaders. He could only assume that the society had withered away, but with the nature of secret societies, who knew for certain.

After a few more angry steps, Evarts demanded, “What the hell are you talking about? What credentials?”

“In 1128, Pope Honorius II granted a papal sanction to the military order known as the Knights Templar. He declared us an army of God.”

Evarts grew increasingly testy. “If that’s your highfalutin credentials, they were rescinded by a later Pope.”

“Yes, Pope Clement V dissolved the Knights Templar in 1312. But documents released by the Vatican in 2007 show that he didn’t believe the Templars had actually committed heresy.”

“He disbanded them, just the same.”

“Clement V had the authority to revoke the papal sanction, but he didn’t have the power to disband the Templars. The Poor Fellow-Soldier of Christ and the Temple Solomon existed prior to the sanction and had a right to exist after it was revoked. But King Philip IV of France used the revocation to propagate the idea that the Templars had committed heresy. A weak-willed Clement V abetted the king by remaining silent. It was Philip IV who had the necessary soldiers