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are to go in ordinary clothes.  You cannot show up in cassock and rosary, bible in hand.  They would suspect you are an operative of the Church.”
    “I understand.  But what am I to do there, Holiness?  What is my mission?”
    The Pontiff leaned forward again.  “You are to be Our eyes and ears.  We shall find a way for you to get reports back to us.  It is not certain, after all, that the school will succeed.  If it fails, then there is no danger, and you will simply return to your duties here.  Or, if you wish, we shall arrange for you to be ordained.  Would you like that?”
    He thought about it.  There was nothing wrong with being a monk.  As a priest, however...he could help people more than he could as a mere caretaker of artifacts.  “I might enjoy serving in that capacity, Holiness.  But what if the school does not fail?”
    His Holiness's face grew more serious.  “In that case, Brother Esteban, We shall have to take...other steps.”
     
     

Chapter 11
     
     
     
    Nathan: The Family Business
     
    אתה אלוהים שעובד פלאו ת; שביצעת ידוע מאודך בין העמי ם .
    “You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.”
    Psalm 77:14
     
    After they finally got home, later than usual because of the detour,  he went into the library and went looking for a definition of the word Tzaddik.
    It had never occurred to him to wonder why his family was so fortunate as to have so many of the books of the Ancients.   Some of them made funny cracking noises when you opened them, but the paper was unyellowed, the inked words as legible as the day they were printed.
    It took him a while to find what he was looking for, but when he did at last, he was both intrigued and puzzled.  The word Tzaddik meant simply “righteous one” and tzaddikim nistarim “hidden righteous men.” There were supposed to be 36 of them, which explained the number 36 in the star of David on his father's white robe.
    But it said nothing about miracles.  So he kept looking.  In the Talmud he found a verse that said “A tzaddik decrees and the Holy One (blessed be He) fulfills.”
    He sat there for awhile amid the old books thinking about that. A tzaddik decrees and the Holy One fulfills.   Was that what had happened at the farmer's pond?
    His sister Sarah found him pondering there and called him to dinner.  “And what are you doing with the old books?”
    “Just looking up something,” he said, closing the book.  He followed her to the dining room and took his seat.
    As it happened, he was not the last one to reach the table.  Samuel had been too involved in his moonlit contemplation of a bunny out back to hear the summons to dinner.  He came careening into the room full of excitement, burbling about rabbits.
    “Wash your hands,” Rebekah admonished.
    The youngest of the family groaned at this but plodded over to the washbasin to comply.
    Sarah didn't like his answer. “ What were you looking up?”
    “Miracles and Tzaddiks.”
    Rebekah and Isaac shared a glance.  When Nathan met his father's eyes, Isaac compressed his lips and shook his head minutely.  He doesn't want me to talk about this, Nathan realized.  Why?
     
     

Chapter 12
     
     
     
    Carolyn: The Pitch
     
    “Feminism isn't about making women stronger.  Women are already strong.  It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength.”
    – G. D. Anderson
     
    Another inch of snow had dusted Inverness during the night.  It might get warm enough to slush it for all she knew, so she took her broom out front and began sweeping it off the front porch and steps before it could become more troublesome.
    She was so intent on this that the nearly didn't see him coming.  Once again, she nearly didn't recognize him.  It was as if he was taller (which seemed unlikely), the way he was walking these days.  More purposeful.  What had happened to him up in Denver?
    “Morning.  Can we