Driveling stared at the tall, lanky father of five standing before him.  He couldn't believe what he had just heard the man say.

(Hmm... how many more chapters do you suppose I can start with a variation on that line?)

"The secret hidden in Da Vinci's The Last Supper is the Sacred K of the People of the Southwind!" Driveling whispered to himself.  "And... and the 'M' formed by the outlines of Jesus and... whoever it is to his right... stands for Monolith!"

"Yes," Michael replied, "which also means that, among other things, Da Vinci was a prophet."

"A prophet?" Bev asked, confused.

"Indeed," Michael answered his wife.  "His own religious beliefs notwithstanding, Da Vinci looked forward to the day of the People of the Southwind and understood their link to the Holy Grail.  That's why he hid clues to the Sacred K and Monolith in The Last Supper."

"But that means," Bev replied incredulously, "that the cryptex we've been puzzling over isn't just based on a design by Da Vinci..."  Her voice trailed off.

"It really is a design by Da Vinci," Driveling concluded for her, "and probably built by his own hands."  He removed his glasses and wiped them with his handkerchief.  "Unbelievable!"

"Well," Michael replied, "it's no more unbelievable than all that coded malarky about Mary's womb and the bloodline of Jesus."

Driveling replaced his glasses and glanced toward his female companion, who was still seated on the couch.  She nodded her head and smiled ever so slightly.  Driveling turned back to face Michael, that odd smile back on his lips.

"Congratulations, Mr. Brooks," he said, extending his hand toward Michael.

Now Michael was taken aback.  "'Congratulations'... for what?" he asked, absently taking Driveling's hand in his as the older man shook it congratulatorily.

"For passing the test," Driveling replied, confidence and self-assurance in his voice again.  "The final test."

"Wait... wait a minute," Michael said, himself taken aback.  "Do you mean to say that... all your dri-- um, claims... about the history of the church, and coverups, and Jesus and Mary Magdalene, and The Last Supper were just... a test?"

"Yes, Mr. Brooks," the man replied, "it was all a test."

"But... but why?" Bev asked, bewildered.

"To confirm that you could think on your feet,' Driveling replied, looking approvingly at Michael.  He took another sip of his coffee, which by now had cooled off a bit.  "That you wouldn't just take someone's word that something was true without challenging it, that you wouldn't let the wool be pulled over your eyes," he added, placing his cup on the mantel.  "To prove... that you were indeed worthy."

"So..." Michael said, confused, "you and... Ryan Waldron... came up with these tests?  Just to prove that I was... worthy?"

"Oh, the tests were all my idea," Driveling replied, sitting back down on the couch next to Ms. Darwish.  Michael also returned to his rocking chair.  "Mr. Waldron simply told me to make sure," Driveling continued, "but he didn't say how."

"So you already knew about the coded references to the Sacred K and Monolith hidden in Da Vinci's painting," Michael said, starting to put two and two together.  "You just wanted to see if I saw them, too."

"Yes, although your musings on Saint Peter as the Easter Bunny did have me worried there for a moment.  That's why I so forcefully drew you back to the V- and M-shapes formed by Jesus and the figure next to him.  Also, I knew that my... drivel... as you put it," Driveling said, chuckling, "about the history of Christianity was just hogwash."  He took another sip of his coffee.  "I'll tell you, Mr. Brooks, it's not easy to believably misrepresent history at every point when you actually know that very history inside and out.  After all, you might make a mistake and say something that's actually true!"  Driveling and Ms. Darwish both laughed.

Bev shook her head.  "You're quite the actor, Mr. Driveling," she said.  "You had me convinced that you believed all that stuff about coverups and Jesus and Mary Magdalene."

"It was all part of the test," Driveling replied, leaning toward Michael and Bev.  "Oh, I do hope that the two of you will forgive my little subterfuge.  Given the absolute importance of the true nature of the Holy Grail, I had to be absolutely sure about you."

"Um, yes," Michael said, looking at his wife.  "No harm done, I guess.  No hard feelings."

"Good," Driveling said, rising again to his feet, "because now that you have passed the final test, it is truly time that you--"

Driveling was suddenly cut off by the sound of the back door opening and Cypress running into the house, followed by the kids.  Katherine and Emily were clearly arguing about something.  The dog, who hadn't yet met the two strangers, immediately ran over and started sniffing and whimpering at Driveling's feet and trying to jump up on him.

"Cypress!"  Michael called, to no effect.  He reached down and took the dog's collar in his hand, holding him down.  "Guys," he said to his kids in general before spotting Jeff nearby.  "Jeff, put Cypress back outside."

"Oh, okay," Jeff said, taking Cypress by the collar.  He led the dog back to the door and put him out.  "We had finished our pizzas and it was starting to get dark, so we decided to come in.  Besides, we couldn't figure out what was going on in here just by looking through the back windows."  Michael gave his oldest son an askance glance.

"Yeah, and Emily's being mean," Katherine said, continuing the argument that they had brought in from the back yard.

"Just because I wanted to swing on the tree swing and you wouldn't let me!" Emily protested, close to tears.

"That's because it was my turn!" Katherine answered.

"But I hadn't had a turn!" Emily cried.

"You should've come and played Frisbee with us," younger Michael said.  "Graham and I had said you could."

"Yeah," Graham added.  "You don't have to cry over swinging on the tree swing!"

"But you two throw the Frisbee too hard!" Emily continued.

"Guys, guys, GUYS!" their father finally shouted over them.  "Whatever your arguments and disagreements, we have company..." he said, pointing back toward the visitors in the front room.

"Katherine and Emily were the only ones fighting," Jeff said.  "I was over at the playhouse we're building trying to figure how we could hoist up the gables for its roof."

"Yeah, it's just Katherine and Emily," younger Michael said as he and Graham headed down the hall toward their rooms.  They both closed their doors behind them.

"Mommy," Katherine began, "Emily was..."

"Ah-ah-ah," Bev interrupted, "Daddy and I are busy talking with our guests.  You two go into your room and work this out between the two of you.  Don't come out until you've resolved it."

"But..." Emily started to say.

"To your room," Bev interrupted her, pointing toward their door.

"Yes, ma'am," the girls said in unison as they trudged off to their bedroom and closed their door behind them.

Jeff walked over toward Bev.  "Mom, I'm gonna go read in my room," he said, passing by and heading down the hall toward his own room.

"Okay," Bev said.  Her oldest son closed his door behind him.

Bev and Michael turned back toward Driveling and Ms. Darwish.  "Sorry about that," Michael said.

"Oh, you have beautiful children," Ms. Darwish said encouragingly.  "Don't worry about it.  All kids fight with their brothers and sisters from time to time."

Bev looked toward the woman, who truly seemed sincere in her sentiments.  As much as Bev didn't like Driveling, she found herself taking more of a liking to his companion.

"They are smart children," Driveling added.  "In fact, from what Ms. Darwish and I heard when you all were in your room in Richmond earlier today, one might think that your kids are smarter even than you, Mr. Brooks!"  He chuckled heartily.

Michael winced slightly; he often found himself thinking the same thing.  "So," he finally said, seeking to steer the conversation back to where it had been before they had been interrupted by the kids, "what is it... truly time to...?"

"Excuse me?" Driveling asked.  He took yet another sip of coffee.

"Before the kids came in," Michael replied, "you were saying something about how since I had passed the final test, it was truly time that... something or other."

"Oh!" Driveling replied, remembering.  "Yes.  As I was saying," he said, straightening his jacket, "now that you have passed the final test, Mr. Brooks, now that you have shown yourself to be... worthy" -- he nodded toward Michael -- "it is truly time that you learn... the truth."

"'The truth'?" Michael replied, crossing his arms in front of him again.

"Yes, the truth," Driveling answered, that earlier gleam returning to his eyes.  "The real truth about... everything.  Life... religion... the Grail..."  He walked back over toward the mantel.  "A truth that is so great... so powerful... so... earth-shattering... that when it is finally revealed to the world it will change... everything."

Michael looked dubiously at Bev.  "This isn't another test, is it?" she wondered out loud.

"I assure you, dear Beverly," Driveling replied, "that this is the real thing.  The real deal.  The very secret concealed within the cryptex... the great Amen of all truths... indeed, the Holy Grail itself... the revelation of which," he exulted, "will finally overthrow what is indeed the greatest coverup of all time!"

"And this great truth is?" Michael said, one eyebrow arched, his arms crossed in front of him again.

Driveling leaned in close to him, winked one eye conspiratorily and said, "Kansas deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... and you're the one who can make it happen."