The Cross

After nearly 400 years, an emerald-encrusted gold pectoral cross belonging to the Catholic Church is discovered by two salvage divers off the coast of Bermuda. Carried by an Augustinian friar on the ill-fated Spanish galleon San Pedro, which sank in 1596, the cross contains a priceless hidden key. The divers want it for the money. The Bermuda government wants it for its historical value. A group of cardinals known as the "Silenti" want it for the key hidden inside. Only one of the divers and the cardinals are aware of the key. Only the cardinals know of its significance to the Papacy. Displayed in the Bermuda Maritime Museum since its discovery, it is not until Queen Elizabeth's visit to the island nine years later that the cross in the museum is found to be a fake. Who made the forgery and who stole the original cross? Who has the key and what is its significance to the Church? Inspired by real events, the crime on which The Cross is based remains one of Bermuda's greatest unsolved mysteries. Fact and fiction are skilfully woven together throughout this debut novel from author B. R. Bentley as the characters conspire to achieve their aims.