Chapter 1
Once the men entered Steele’s house, Julius showed Steele a photo of a gold ring sitting on top of a white sheet of paper the size of a 3x5 card. There was a phone number written in the bottom left corner. At the top of the picture in the background was a copy of the Philadelphia Inquirer dated last week.
After giving him a few moments to examine the image, he asked, “Mr. Steele, are you familiar with this ring?”
Steele nodded that he was not. Julius paused then spoke in a somber voice, “this is the Anello Piscatorio, the Ring of the Fishermen,” he explained. “To be more precise, this ring belonged to Pope John Paul I. A new gold ring is cast with each new pope’s Latin name inscribed in raised letters around the upper rim. John Paul’s papacy ended abruptly in September 1978 after serving only 33 days. There are those among us who suspect foul play.
The ring is also used as a seal, a notary of sorts. It is a potent symbol. If it were to fall into the wrong hands, the damage to the Papacy could be significant. If word of this ever got out….” Julius DiBona slowly shook his head.
“Under normal circumstances for obvious reasons, the Camerlengo crushes the ring in the presence of other Cardinals.”
Steele pointed to the picture. “Who sent you the photo, and how much is he asking for the ring?”
DiBona hunched his shoulders; “I don’t know who or where he is. When I called the number on the photo, the man on the phone didn’t want to give his name. He said his life was in danger because of the ring. All he would tell me is that he brought it from a man name Nickolas D’Angelo.”
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