Chapter Four
Transfer
Mother Bolia studied the piece of quality church stationary and contemplated the short message it contained. She knew that the Bishop, who was always looking for new angles and profitable schemes, had passed on information about Lucy to others who might have an interest in her. This message clarified the Bishop’s contact and influence. In essence, it said that there were interested parties in Central Asia ready to pay a considerable sum for Lucy and that he, the Bishop, would open the lines of communication between Bolia and these parties as soon as a “small tithe” was made directly to him. Bolia penned a short note and sent it back to the Bishop by courier. A few weeks later, she received another somewhat cryptic response, not from the Bishop but from an anonymous
