Read CS 01 The Grail Conspiracy for Free Online

Bible. Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twentyeight, Matthew. He had to be referring to a passage in the Bible. She
glanced at her watch-about fifteen more minutes before her meeting
with Ted Casselman.
    Ending the archives search, Cotten headed back down the hall,
sticking her head in one of the edit rooms. "Anybody got a Bible?"
    "You get religion in the Middle East, Cotten?" the video editor said,
looking at her over his shoulder.

    "Try the nightstand in a hotel room," an assistant added.
    She grinned. "Very funny. Come on, guys. Really, any idea where I
can locate a Bible?"
    "The religion correspondent," the editor said, and returned to his
monitors.
    "Right," she said, wondering why she hadn't thought of it. But
then, religion was not something she spent a great deal of time thinking about. She checked her watch again as she headed to his office.
    "Which version?" the correspondent's secretary asked.
    "I don't know; isn't there a standard one?"
    The secretary pointed to the door behind her and got up. Cotten
followed.
    Against one wall was a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. The secretary
pulled a King James Version off the shelf. "Just put it back when
you're done," she said before leaving.
    "Thanks," Cotten said, not looking up. What had Archer said?
Matthew? Matthew was in the New Testament, she knew that much.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. That was as far as she'd gotten in
Sunday school.
    "Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty eight," she said, flipping through
the pages. Running her finger down each page, she stopped at the
Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter 26, and read verses 27 and 28 aloud,
"And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
Drink ye all of it. For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is
shed for many for the remission of sins."
    "Jesus," she whispered, then realized the pun. Could all this have
something to do with the cup from the Last Supper? Could that be
what was in the box sitting under the hood of her Hotpoint stove?
Archer said he was looking for heaven's greatest treasure. She blew
out a breath at the thought that she could be on top of a huge story.

    Pulling the slip of paper from her pocket, she picked up the
phone on the desk and called information. After getting the number
for the college where Dr. Tyler taught, she dialed it.
    "Yes, I'm trying to locate a Reverend Dr. John Tyler. I understand
he teaches there." She listened for a moment, and her face dropped.
"Well, do you know where he's assigned now?" Another pause and
she said, "Let me give you my number."
    Cotten hung up, grabbed her things, and rushed to the office of
Ted Casselman, SNN's news director. She knocked.
    "Come in."
    Casselman sat at the head of the conference table, a handful of
folders spread before him. Two chairs away from the news director sat
Thornton Graham. Thornton smiled warmly as Cotten moved across
the room.
    Ted Casselman looked up. He was a forty-two-year-old black
man, medium build, manicured nails, with some early gray hair that
flattered his deep skin tone.
    "Well, you're one lucky lady," Casselman said, standing to kiss her
on the cheek. "Try pulling a stunt like that again and I'll see to it that
the only job you can get is reporting the weather on the local cable
channel in Beaver Falls." He glanced at the clock on the wall. "And
you're late."
    "Forgive me, Ted," she said, putting on her best little-girl smile. "I
had to make a quick trip to the archives."
    "Oh? I thought you had all your research."
    "Just a few loose ends."
    "Sit and relax. We're almost done here." Casselman returned to his
chair and opened one of the folders. He scanned the top sheet and
said to Thornton, "What do you know about Robert Wingate?"
    "Basic stuff," Thornton said. "Mostly from his press kit." He let his
pencil bounce on its eraser. "He's a wealthy industrialist, new to the political scene, and gaining a sizable following. He's based his platform on family values and high