Father da Costa went up the central aisle, flashing the spot before him. The area in front of the altar where the tower and roof had come down together was a mountain of bricks and mortar.
The spot picked out something inside. It could have been a face, he wasn’t sure. There seemed to be a tunnel of sorts. He got down on his hands and knees and started to crawl through, holding the spot before him.
He found Fallon at the end of the tunnel, only his head and shoulders exposed. The figure of Christ on the cross, the large one which had stood by the altar, had fallen across him protectingly, at least for the moment.
Father da Costa crouched beside him and the great cross sagged under the weight it was holding and dust descended on his head.
“Martin?” he said. “Can you hear me?”
There was a scraping sound behind him as Miller arrived. “For God’s sake, Father/ he said, “We must get out of here. The whole damn lot might come down at any moment.”
Father da Costa ignored him. “Martin?”
Fallon opened his eyes. “Did you get Anna out?”
“I did, Martin.”
“That’s all right, then. I’m sorry. Sorry for everything.”
The cross sagged a little more, stones and rubble cascaded over Father da Costa’s back and he leaned across Fallon to protect him.
“Martin.” he said. “Can you hear me?” Fallon opened his eyes. “I want you to make an act of contrition. Say after me: my God, who art infinitely good in Thyself…”
“O my God,” Martin Fallon said and died.
There was a long silence. Even that mass of rubble and debris seemed to have stopped moving. For some strange reason Miller suddenly felt as if he didn’t belong, as if he had no right to be there. He turned and started to crawl out.
Behind him, Father Michael da Costa got down on his knees, head bowed beneath that frail roof, and started to pray for the soul of the man who had called himself Martin Fallon.
The End
Praise, for Jack Higgins and his bestselling novels…
THE PRESIDENT’S DAUGHTER
“All of Higgins’s skill in weaving together a tight story with plenty of action, appealing heroes and dastardly villains is exhibited in The President’s Daughter, making it another worthy addition to his prolific repertoire.”
-Chattanooga Free Press
NIGHT JUDGEMENT AT SINOS
On the prison island of Sinos, one man holds the fate of thousands in his hands…
“This is one you won’t put down.”
-The New York Times
DRINK WITH THE DEVIL
The blockbuster New York Times bestseller— two adversaries search for stolen gold in a deadly treasure hunt with worldwide consequences….
“A most intoxicating thriller”
-Associated Press
“It is Dillon’s likability and the author’s adroitness in giving his character the room he needs that make Higgins’s novels so readable.”
-Washington Times
YEAR OF THE TIGER
Higgins’s novel of Cold War espionage and blistering suspense. A scientist holding the key to the Space Race becomes the object of a worldwide manhunt…
“Higgins spins as mean a tale as Ludlum, Forsyth, or any of them.”
-Philadelphia Daily News
“A seasoned pro… Mr. Higgins knows how to tell a story!”
-The New York Times Book Review
“The master’s master of spycraft storytelling.”
-UPI
ANGEL OF DEATH
Jack Higgins’s electrifying bestseller— mysterious terrorist group plots an assassination that will plunge Ireland into civil war…
“Pulsing excitement… Higgins makes the pages fly.”
-New York Daily News
“Jack Higgins has a new thriller, and like its long list of predecessors, it’s a terrific read.”
-Associated Press
“An exciting yarn… hurtles from one thrill to the next.”
-Publishers Weekly
“As always with Higgins, the action never stops.”
-San Francisco Examiner
“A crackling good read… A thrilling confrontation… Jack Higgins has been writing page-turners for more than thirty years now, and with Angel of Death he comes through with another top-drawer thriller.”
-The Virginian-Pilot
MIDNIGHT MAN
(also published as EYE OF THE STORM)
A duel between two masters of espionage culminates in an attempted mortar attack on the British war cabinet— in this shocking thriller that blends fact and fiction…
“A heart-stopping cat-and-mouse game… spectacular and surprising.”
-Abilene Reporter-News