The Shroud Codex - Jerome R. Corsi [49]
He too immediately struck her as handsome, with his neatly trimmed graying hair and beard making him look very distinguished and professional, even more so in his full-length white medical coat.
Both instantly felt out of time and place. To Father Morelli, their meeting appeared a casual affair, nothing out of the ordinary. But for Dr. Castle and the woman he was meeting for the first time, the moment had an otherworldly quality about it.
Castle looked deeply into her brown eyes and somehow connected almost with her soul. He felt he was having the same impact on her. Her eyes locked firmly on his and her gaze seemed to penetrate to the depths of his soul as well. Each of them connected with the other at a level far deeper than words.
Castle felt like he was standing there for an eternity contemplating this bewitching woman, feeling for maybe the first time in his life not fully in command of the situation.
“I didn’t know Father Bartholomew had a sister,” Dr. Castle said, shaking her hand as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.
“He doesn’t know he has a sister,” Anne said honestly. “We have the same mother, but different fathers. We are half brother and half sister.”
“How is it that Father Bartholomew does not know you’re his sister?” Castle asked.
“My father was estranged from our mother after I was born,” she answered. “Paul is about two years younger than me. This will be the first time we have ever met.”
Castle filed this information away, to explore it in much greater depth as soon as he had the chance, with both Bartholomew and Anne.
“What drew you to the hospital now?” he asked.
“I live in Montreal. As soon as I read on the Internet about my brother getting the stigmata, I watched the videos. When the Internet reports said he had been hospitalized, I decided I had to be here. I got in my car and drove to New York. I got to the hospital sometime after midnight last night and I felt I had to see my brother right away. I begged them downstairs until somebody finally told me my brother’s room number.”
Listening to her soft voice explain how she managed to get herself to her brother’s room, in direct violation of his instructions, Castle could not make himself feel angry. Instead, he felt instantly attracted to Anne. He realized she was much younger than him, probably in her early forties, about the same age as her brother. But he suspected she had strength of character that belied her young age and petite frame. Her knee-length blue dress draped her well-developed figure comfortably, almost sensually. Her long blond hair looked silky and soft. She had an expressive smile and delicate features. But more than anything, Castle was captivated by the intelligence and life he saw flashing in her chocolate brown eyes.
Castle instantly forgot having been irritated with her for showing up in the hospital room unannounced and against his “no visitors” order. Still, he felt he had to make the point that Anne and Morelli should not feel free to come and go as they liked. The hospital staff was certain to complain, especially if Morelli or Anne got in their way.
“Visiting hours at Beth Israel end long before midnight,” Castle said as firmly as he could. He made a mental note to investigate what breaches of security had occurred that allowed Father Morelli and Anne Cassidy to spend the night in Father Bartholomew’s room. “I won’t allow either of you to be here again after visiting hours without my explicit permission. Do you understand?” he asked them both.
Both Father Morelli and Anne acknowledged that they understood and would comply with his instructions.
“Is my brother in a coma, Doctor?” Anne asked. “He hasn’t woken up all night.”
Castle looked at the chart and he could see that Bartholomew had stabilized overnight. As Castle had instructed, Bartholomew was continuing to get morphine intravenously.
“He went