QUOTES

1 " Juan Esteban removed his gloves and raised the lid of the exquisite case to reveal a solid gold apple adorned with a reliquary silver crucifix embedded in the face. Juan Esteban held the heavy lemon sized orb in his bare hand and slowly wiped his thumb back and forth across the crucifix and asked, “How did you get it to be so flawless?”
“It takes time. This was the fourth casting. The first three were good, but not good enough for a king,” Mateo replied. “This one is perfect.”
The general had acquired a portion of a gold and silver shipment from the Santa Fe mint at
Bogota to fulfill his personal mission to exalt favor with King Philip V of Spain. It was this
ruler who had entrusted the general with command of the armada.
As a devout catholic, Juan Esteban envisioned a holy gift to honor his king. With the expertise of this goldsmith, the golden orb was created in secrecy. An apple
represented Adam and Eve’s ‘original sin’ and the crucifix symbolized Christ Jesus’ redemption of mankind. General
Juan Esteban de Ubilla christened the casting as the Temptation of Paradise.
“Yes, this one is perfect,” General de Ubilla replied.
“You are a fine artisan. Now, before I leave, you must break the molds. There will never be another casting.”
“But Your Excellency, I should retain the mold as you may one day require another,” Mateo pleaded.
“There will be no others. This is the one. This is the only one,” he emphasized.
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“And Mateo, if word reaches me that another orb exists?”
“Yes, master?”
“I will have your hands removed. "

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3 " Let’s try it again,” Merve said as he tugged on the corpse. He pulled and rocked but she didn’t budge. “Okay, hand me the shovel,” he said.
Ellen kept her flashlight trained on Merve, and with the shovel under the torso, he rocked her loose from the floor and she rolled over onto the body bag. When the deceased turned, body fluid shot up into the air like a fountain from the abdomen as an odor of feces and smoked burnt flesh filled the air. The face, nose and eyes were burned away and a bright red cooked tongue protruded out of the front teeth.
A collective gasp came from the group. The ligature was still intact, and photographed. And Ellen’s flashlight beam suddenly disappeared.
Ellen ran for the doorway. She almost made it, too. She projectile vomited before she hit the safety railing and her flashlight fell from her grasp and tumbled down to the courtyard below.
“Holy cow!” exclaimed Officer Chimenti as he grabbed a hold of the detective’s left arm to steady her.
“Are you all right, Ellen?”
“I’ll be fine,” she replied while holding the railing and gasping for air. “Just give me a moment.”
“Ellen?”
“Not now, Richie.”
Richie patted Ellen on her back softly while she continued to spit over the railing. He then leaned over close and whispered into her ear, “The lady standing behind you is Terri Dillon. She’s here to walk the dead dog. Its name was Buddy.”
“Fuck me,” Ellen whispered back while continuing to spit. “Richie, please get her info and ask her to wait down in the lobby. Someone will be with her very soon. "

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