for as long as I’ve known him.’
And he was right, too. Payne had been intrigued by magic since his grandfather pulled a quarter out of his ear back when Payne was still wearing pajamas with feet. The tricks. The secrets. The performers. The history. He’d been a connoisseur for as long as he could remember.
So he said, ‘The first documented magic tricks were performed in Egypt about 3,000 years before the Roman Empire. Their tricks ranged from the simplistic — the ball and cup tricks that are still prevalent today — to the complex. Around 2700 BC, an Egyptian magician named Dedi gave a performance where he decapitated two birds and an ox and then restored their heads.’
‘Really? How’d he do that?’ Ulster wondered.
Payne ignored his question. ‘With enough preparation the Romans could’ve figured out a way to make it work. In fact, it probably would’ve been easier than Dedi’s performance because everybody in his audience would’ve been expecting a trick, whereas the people in Jerusalem were expecting a crucifixion. I mean, nobody would’ve been looking for a sleight of hand or a last-minute substitution since they weren’t expecting a show.’
Maria grimaced. ‘That being said, how would
Payne gave it some thought. ‘Hypothetically, you could fake a crucifixion by drugging the victim. I mean, the victim would look like he died on the cross, right? And a large crowd would’ve witnessed it. From there you hide the victim until he wakes up. Just like that, the illusion of resurrection.’
The room grew silent as they considered Payne’s theory.
‘Of course, the toughest part would’ve been figuring out what drug and dosage to use. In addition, you’d have to administer the drug in front of an audience, which might’ve been tricky.’
‘Actually,’ Ulster stated, ‘the Romans had a great understanding of pharmaceuticals and had mastered the art of capital punishment. The guards sometimes killed up to 500 prisoners a day, so they would know the best way to accomplish this. All they’d have to do is slip the prisoner a drug while he was on the cross, and he’d fall into a comalike sleep within minutes.’
Jones asked, ‘But how would they do that? Wasn’t Jesus surrounded by his followers at the time? Surely they would’ve objected if the Romans had tried to drug him.’
Maria shook her head. ‘According to the Bible, Jesus sipped wine vinegar from the end of a long stalk while he was hanging on the cross. It was such a common practice during crucifixions that no one would’ve given it much thought.’
Boyd added, ‘I recall several historical references to
‘Furthermore,’ Ulster added, ‘mandrake would explain the speed of Christ’s death.’
‘How so?’ Payne wondered.
‘To put it simply, crucifixion was a lengthy process, one that typically lasted more than thirty-six hours and sometimes as long as nine or ten days. In the end the victim usually died from hunger or traumatic exposure, not because he bled to death.’ Ulster paused for a moment, searching for the right words. ‘On occasion, when the Romans wanted to accelerate the process, they would smash the victim’s legs with a hammer or a war club to steal his ability to breathe. After that the victim was no longer able to prop himself up on the nail through his feet, and that put too much strain on his arms and chest to take in any air. Suffocation quickly followed.’
Payne asked, ‘But they didn’t do that with Christ, right?’
‘No, they didn’t,’ Boyd assured him. ‘Which is an issue that has bothered historians for centuries. Most victims lasted at least thirty-six hours, like Petr mentioned, whereas Christ died very quickly, spending no more than a few hours on the cross. Remember, Christ was crucified alongside two other criminals, men who had their legs broken to hasten their deaths. Yet when the Romans moved into position to shatter Christ’s legs, they realized he was already dead.’
‘“Not one bone of his will be broken,”’ Maria whispered, quoting the scripture. ‘The way Christ died fulfilled a prophecy. A prophecy that the Romans would’ve known about.’
Boyd nodded. ‘So did the actions of Longinus, the centurion who stabbed Christ in the side after his death. John 19:31–37 stated, “They will look to the one whom they have pierced.” And in time, the Romans looked to Jesus as their God. Just like Tiberius and his accomplice wanted.’
Jones asked, ‘Out of curiosity, what proof do we have that a drugging took place?’
Boyd frowned. ‘One panel in the archway
‘Nor I,’ Ulster said. ‘What about you, Maria?’
‘Not really.’ Then after a moment of silence, she surprised everyone by blurting, ‘Wait! The archway! I just remembered something about the archway.’ She leapt to her feet and bolted toward the door. ‘Nobody move. I have to check on something. I’ll be right back.’
The four of them nodded in unison, half afraid to disobey her order. At least for the first few seconds. After that, Payne’s curiosity got the best of him. He had a feeling that she was on the verge of a major breakthrough and wanted to be there when she had it.
‘Damn, D.J., will you look at the time? We’re missing my favorite show!’ He grabbed the photo of the Lipizzaner stallions and rushed toward the hallway. ‘Wait, Oprah! I’m coming!’
To keep from laughing, Jones nearly bit through his bottom lip. ‘Sorry you had to see that. Jon’s in a delicate place in his life right now and my ebony sister is teaching him how to cope.’
Payne and Jones hustled down the wooden stairs and found Maria sitting in Ulster’s office, scouring her videotape for new evidence about the crucifixion.
She said to them, ‘You must think I’m crazy, running out of the room. It’s just all that talk about the archway made me realize something. I think there’s a clue on one of the carvings.’
Jones raised an eyebrow. ‘What kind of clue?’
‘I barely gave it any thought until now, but when Petr started talking about the use of mandrake as an ancient Roman drug, it opened my eyes to a possibility.’
‘Just a second,’ Payne grumbled. ‘What’s this mandrake stuff you keep talking about? Some kind of exotic poison?’
‘Not exactly,’ answered Boyd as he burst into the office. Ulster arrived a few seconds later, his cheeks bright red from exercise. ‘Mandrake is a plant with a forked root that closely resembles the human body. Because of this resemblance, many early cultures believed the plant possessed magical powers. That’s how it got its name. Mandrake is an abbreviated version of the original Latin term,
Maria continued, ‘As I was saying, I think I found some evidence that might shed some light on the crucifixion. I’m pretty sure there’s an anomaly in one of the carvings.’
Boyd said, ‘An anomaly? What kind of anomaly?’
Instead of answering, she hit play on the VCR, then moved aside so everyone could witness the tragedy that was about to unfold. Images from the Catacombs rolled past like tanks toward a defenseless village. In her heart she knew the closer the camera got to the archway, the sooner Christianity was going to take a serious blow.
‘To be honest, I’m surprised that one of us didn’t notice this earlier. Focus on the archway. Look at the different scenes of the crucifixion. Do you notice anything that looks out of place?’
The two lowest blocks showed Jesus getting nailed to the cross and being hoisted into the air by a team of Roman soldiers. The next pair depicted Christ as he hung from the cross, blood pouring from his hands and feet onto the rocky ground below, a sign over his head that read,
‘I’m sorry, my dear, this is pointless. I just don’t see anything anomalous.’
‘Then look closer!’ she ordered. ‘Ignore what you think you know about the crucifixion and view these carvings as a brand-new story. What’s the artist telling us about this moment?’
With a prolonged sigh, Boyd inspected the scenes even closer. In his mind it was hardly necessary, since the images were burned into his brain like a cattle brand. But in his heart he somehow hoped the videotape would reveal something his eyes had missed in the Catacombs. Possibly a name or a face that he’d somehow overlooked.
