“Do you remember when we first got to the fortress, when Bryson showed us his, with the LED warning light?”
“We didn’t have them,” said Markowitz. “He said ours were earlier prototypes.”
“That’s right.”
The others weren’t slow to catch on.
“Are you saying they might not work?” asked Sharon.
“We have to consider the possibility,” I replied.
“But that doesn’t make sense,” said Sharon. “When we departed the lab, our whole objective was to conduct a rescue operation and bring Dr. Bryson back home. Juliet had no incentive to block our return.”
“That’s also correct,” I said. “She had no incentive
“Why?” gasped Sharon. “Why would he strand us here now?”
“It would eliminate an inconvenient obstacle to his plans,” said Lavon.
The archaeologist explained to Sharon the nature of the arguments we had undertaken while she endured her captivity in Herod’s palace. To her credit, she found Bryson’s schemes as barmy as we had.
“Recall also that Juliet had us sneak in the back door at five in the morning,” Lavon added. “Our cars are still at the hotel. Sure, someone will eventually ask questions when we never come back, but what’s that phrase the politicians use?”
“Plausible deniability,” I said. “When the police show up, as they will at some point, she can give them the run of the place. Sure, we
“This is still completely illogical,” said Sharon. “Jesus’s tomb isn’t the only one in the area. It’s not obvious which one is correct.”
“I wonder if
That was a question we couldn’t answer. We wrestled with our options a little longer, but ultimately we made the practical choice. None of us had the confidence to do otherwise.
***
By this point, we observed only scattered clusters of travelers making haste to enter Jerusalem before the gates closed at sundown. This proved to be a reassuring spectacle.
“We have a perfect window of opportunity,” said Lavon. “By now, the burial party has returned to the city. We’ll have nearly an hour to see the tomb before it gets completely pitch-dark.”
“What about the guards?” I asked.
“There shouldn’t be any tonight. According to Matthew’s account, the Jewish authorities didn’t go to Pilate and request a guard until the following day.”
That was comforting, though we’d still have to face them on Sunday.
“Do you think the legionnaires took their assignment seriously?” I asked.
Despite their rigorous discipline, I felt sure that the Romans would consider their mission a pointless waste of time.
Lavon considered my question but didn’t immediately reply.
“It could lessen their vigilance,” I added.
“Maybe,” he finally answered. “Most people assume the sentries were Romans, but Matthew’s wording is enigmatic. Pilate said ‘you have a guard’ or something to that effect. Did that mean, ‘I’m giving you a
“What do you think?”
“Temple police,” he said without hesitation. “Do you really believe that the legionnaires we’ve encountered would take a bribe to confess to what amounted to a capital offense?”
“Not a chance,” I replied. “I’m sure they’d take bribes, but not for that. The risk versus reward wouldn’t stack up.”
“That’s how I see it,” Lavon added. “Besides, the Gospels say that the guards gave their initial statements to the high priests. Roman soldiers would have reported through their own command structure. In that case, Pilate, or at least Volusus, would have heard about it before the Jewish authorities did.”
“Then why ask for Pilate’s permission at all? Since they had the Temple police at their disposal, why not just send them out?”
“I’m sure that was forbidden. I’d imagine the Romans were pretty touchy about letting any sort of organized armed force roam about outside. That may have been why only one of the goons chasing us today wore a uniform.”
This made perfect sense, although one thing still bothered me: “Don’t the Gospels also say that the priests promised to take care of soldiers in case they got into trouble with the governor?”
“Yes, they do.”
“In that case, if they were just Temple police, why would Pilate care?”
He smiled. “Now you know why we have so many arguments about it.”
Chapter 60
We continued onward, though we gave the Damascus Gate a wide berth. While we assumed that the bodies of the two prisoners executed with Jesus had been removed, none of us wanted to take the chance that we could accidentally witness that horrific spectacle again, in the event they had not.
After we had traveled another half mile, Sharon directed us down a rocky knoll and into a warren of narrow trails. The topography matched her previous description: the surrounding hills were pockmarked with small caverns, a number of which had been crafted into burial sites.
Behind what appeared to be the tallest ridge, we discovered Bryson studying one particular chamber, whose entrance was covered by a thick 4x8 foot slab of brilliant white polished marble.
“You decided to come after all,” he said cheerfully, as if we had all simply gone for a walk in the park.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” said Lavon.
I tried to read the Professor’s expression, but for once my instincts failed me. Did he know he had us by the short and curlies, or had he simply assumed that our curiosity would get the better of us?
With no way to tell for sure, I turned my attention back to the marble block, which fit snugly into an elaborate framework that skilled masons had carved out of the surrounding limestone. An inscription, in what I guessed to be Aramaic, ran across the top.
Lavon questioned Naomi, but she just stared at the ground, embarrassed and disappointed that she could provide no further assistance.
Her duties at the palace had not required that she know how to read.
“We’ll fix that,” Lavon muttered, to no one in particular.
He spoke to her in a soothing tone, in Greek. As he did, Bryson turned to Sharon and asked if she could confirm that he had picked the correct site.
To no one else’s surprise, he had not.
Sharon led us back and forth along the trails as she studied each tomb. Finally, she stopped, glanced around in all directions once more, and motioned with her right hand.
“It’s this one,” she announced.
Bryson observed her skeptically. Her chosen location was both smaller and considerably less elaborate than other tombs in the area, though the surrounding ground did display signs of recent foot traffic.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “Wasn’t it nearly dark when you went inside?”
She didn’t reply. Instead, she scrambled up the hill behind us to get her bearings on the palace towers. Then she veered off to her left and disappeared behind a ridge.
A few minutes later, she emerged along another trail, slowly moving forward and concentrating on her surroundings with each step.
“I’m certain: this is the way I came. Besides, it was bright enough when they dragged me out.”
