Willy put an arm around him. “Wait a minute, José. Sister Maeve will be right over to take a picture of us.”

Alvirah was frantic to get away, to be off following up on her suspicions, but it was easier just to finish helping Willy with the presents than to get someone else to do it.

Meanwhile, Cordelia and her volunteers were busy passing out candy and soda, although some people had begun to leave. To Alvirah’s dismay, she saw that Grace Nunez was about to depart with José and Stellina in tow.

When she called out to her, Grace bustled over. “Where are you taking Stellina?” Alvirah asked.

“I’m gonna drop her off at home for now,” Grace explained. “Her daddy will bring her to stay with me tonight. He says he wants to have dinner with her first, after he gets off work. I got to stop at my sister’s for a while, but he told me he’ll be home early. She knows to lock the door herself, don’t you, Stellina?”

“Yes, I do. Oh, I hope he’ll be able to tell me how Nonna is,” Stellina said earnestly.

Ten minutes later all the presents had been dispensed and all the pictures taken. Alvirah ran to Sister Maeve Marie and picked up the Polaroid shots. Then she grabbed her coat.

“What’s up?” Willy asked, his voice muffled through his fuzzy Santa Claus beard.

“I’ve got to show Monsignor Tom some pictures,” she said over her shoulder. “Meet me there.”

The monsignor was out but was expected back soon, Alvirah was told. Willing the time to pass quickly, she waited in the rectory parlor, pacing back and forth. Willy and the monsignor arrived at the same time, half an hour later. The monsignor was smiling. “What a nice surprise, Alvirah,” he said cheerfully.

Alvirah didn’t waste words. She handed him the pictures. “Monsignor Tom, look at these.”

He studied the picture of Stellina taking the cup from Rajid during the pageant, then he looked at the close-up Maeve Marie had made of the cup alone.

“Alvirah,” he said quietly, “do you know what this is?”

“I think so. It’s Bishop Santori’s chalice. And do you know who I think that little girl is?”

He waited.

“I think she’s the infant who was left at your rectory door the night the chalice was stolen.”

29

Grace Nunez walked Stellina to the door of the apartment she shared with Nonna and her daddy. She watched like a mother hen while the little girl went in, then listened for her to turn the double lock. “I’ll see you later, honey,” she called from the hallway, then left, confident that Stellina would never open the door to anyone except her father.

Inside the apartment it was quiet and dark; Stellina noticed the difference immediately. Without Nonna, it seemed strange and lonely. She went around the apartment turning on lights, hoping to brighten the place. Going into Nonna’s room, she started to take off her Blessed Mother costume, but then stopped. Nonna had wanted to see her wearing it, and she hoped that her daddy would take her to the hospital.

She took the silver cup out of the bag and sat on the edge of the bed. Holding the cup made her feel less alone. Nonna had never before been away when she came home, never once.

At seven o’clock, Stellina heard footsteps pounding up the stairs to the hallway. It couldn’t be Daddy, she thought. He never runs.

But then he was banging on the door. “Star, open up! Open up!” he cried frantically.

As soon as he heard the click of the locks, Lenny turned the handle and threw himself into the apartment. It had been a setup! The whole thing had been a trap! He should have known it, he told himself, snarling. That lousy new guy in the crew was an undercover cop. Lenny had managed to get away by the skin of his teeth once he realized what was going on, but they were no doubt combing Fort Lee for him right now, and they would be checking this place in minutes. He had to risk stopping here, though- his fake identity papers and all his cash were in the bag he had packed and left here this afternoon.

He raced into his room and grabbed the bag from under his bed. Stellina followed him and stood in the doorway, watching. Lenny turned to glance at her and saw that she was holding the chalice. Well, that was good, he thought. He wanted it out of here, and the sooner the better.

“Come on, Star, let’s go,” he ordered. “We’re getting outta here. Don’t try to bring anything but your cup.” He knew he probably was crazy to bring the kid now that the police were after him, but she was his good-luck charm- his lucky star.

“Will you take me to see Nonna, Daddy?”

“Later, maybe tomorrow. I told you, come on. We got to go.” He grabbed her hand and headed hack down the hall, pulling her behind him.

Stellina grasped her silver cup as she stumbled to keep up with his pace. Without locking the door behind them, they raced down the stairs-one flight, two flights, three flights, as she struggled not to fall.

At the last landing before the lobby, Lenny stopped abruptly and stood listening. Nothing so far, he thought, feeling a moment of relief. He only needed another minute and they would be in the car he had managed to steal, and then he was home free.

He was halfway across the foyer when the outer door suddenly burst open. Yanking Star in front of him, Lenny pretended to reach for a gun. “You shoot me and she gets it,” he shouted, without conviction.

Joe Tracy was at the head of the squad. He wasn’t about to risk a child’s life, however hollow the threat. “Everybody back!” he ordered cautiously. “Let him go.”

The car Lenny had was only a few feet from the front of the building. The police watched, helpless, as he dragged Star to the vehicle, opened the driver’s door and threw in his bag. “Get in and crawl over to the other side,” he told her urgently. He knew he would never hurt her, but hopefully the cops didn’t.

Star obeyed, but when Lenny got in and slammed his door, he let go of her hand to turn on the ignition key. In a lightning moment, she opened the passenger door and jumped out of the car. Clutching the chalice, her veil flying behind her, she ran down the street as the police closed in on the car.

Ten minutes later, Alvirah, Willy and Monsignor Ferris arrived to find Lenny handcuffed and seated in a patrol car. They climbed the stairs to the apartment and learned that Stellina and the chalice were missing.

As they stood in the living room of the apartment where Stellina had lived these past seven years, they told Joe Tracy about the chalice, and about their suspicion that

Stellina was the missing infant of St. Clement’s.

One of the policemen came in from Lenny’s bedroom. “Take a look at this, Joe. Found it wedged between the shelf and wall in the closet.”

Joe read the crumpled note, then handed it to Alvirah. “She is the missing infant, Mrs. Meehan,” he said. “This confirms it. It’s the note the mother pinned to her blanket.”

“I have a call to make,” Alvirah said with a sigh of relief. “But I don’t want to make it until Stellina is found…”

“We’re combing the city for her,” Tracy said as his cell phone rang. He listened for a moment, then broke into a broad smile. “You can go ahead and make your call,” he told Alvirah. “The little Blessed Mother was just picked up attempting to walk all the way to St. Luke’s Hospital to see her nonna.” He spoke into his phone. “Take her over there,” he ordered. “We’ll meet you at the hospital.” He turned to Alvirah, who had picked up the phone that sat on an end table. “I presume you’re trying to get in touch with the child’s mother.”

“Yes, I am.” Let Sondra be in the hotel, Alvirah prayed.

“Ms. Lewis left a message that she is having dinner in the restaurant with her grandfather,” the desk clerk said. “Shall I page her?”