{"id":541,"date":"2007-03-25T13:28:00","date_gmt":"2007-03-25T13:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/2007\/03\/the-lazarus-effect--part-six.html"},"modified":"2007-03-25T13:28:00","modified_gmt":"2007-03-25T13:28:00","slug":"the-lazarus-effect-part-six","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2007\/03\/the-lazarus-effect-part-six.html","title":{"rendered":"The Lazarus Effect– Part Six"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CHAPTER 14: <\/span>STONE ON A ROLL<\/p>\n

Patrick Stone had indeed taken care of everything. He felt positively giddy. In a matter of hours, he\u2019d be 30,000 feet above the havoc he\u2019d wreaked. He practically danced his way between his closet, bureau and suitcases as he finished packing. Everything was falling into place.<\/p>\n

\n

His graduate assistant, Raymond wasn\u2019t the sharpest knife in the drawer, as his mother would have said (if she could still speak intelligently), but he did have a gift when it came to forgeries. The poor sap thought that all this time he\u2019d been making teaching tools. In reality, Stone had merely been honing the young man\u2019s skills for the day he had known would come. The day that came yesterday, when that dolt, West, had discovered the tomb in Bethany. <\/span>Raymond had certainly earned his keep\u2014alerting him to the find, and helping him move the boulder over the tomb. <\/span>He knew West wouldn\u2019t stay trapped forever\u2014and the head start on his plans had been eclipsed only by the satisfaction of knowing his arch nemesis was completely helpless.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Stone had stayed out of sight until after that Arab groundskeeper rescued West, and then easily made his way into the tomb to snag the stone bearing the inscription, as well as a jar full of what appeared to be bits of manuscripts. It had taken a bit of chiseling and scraping to remove the stone, but all in all, the block had come out fairly easily. If only he could say the same of the rest of his day. <\/p>\n

<\/span>He couldn\u2019t believe what an idiot that dealer had been. Regulations smegulations. He had a priceless antiquity in his hands\u2014something that could have made both him and the old man rich\u2014not to mention famous. Well, it was the old guy\u2019s loss\u2014he\u2019d keep all the money for himself, just as soon as he got the original out of the country. He would have settled for some authenticity paperwork\u2014but it became clear even that wasn\u2019t an option. That\u2019s when he\u2019d moved on to Plan B. <\/p>\n

He\u2019d made good time driving it over to the dump Raymond rented and because he\u2019d made sure the student had no life other than to serve his professor\u2019s whims, he knew the replica would be completed before day\u2019s end, as he demanded. Promising to return later that evening for the original, he\u2019d headed back to the antiquities shop in the hopes of convincing el Said to either play along with him, or, if worse came to worse, threaten the man into secrecy. Finding the shop closed, Stone weighed his options, and was about to leave when, impulsively, he decided to follow the man. <\/p>\n

They\u2019d taken a short windy walk up to the park. When the dealer paused at a bench, Stone, hand on his concealed father\u2019s antique derringer, had meant to initiate a perfectly civil conversation. Unfortunately, he startled el Said, immediately putting the old man on the defensive. Raising his hands in a show of good faith, Stone had forgotten about the gun\u2014which, now waving wildly from his right hand in plain view, did anything but placate the Arab. El Said reached for it, and darned if the relic didn\u2019t actually fire! Tumbling forward, the man caught the bullet in the gut, and, to make matters worse, he\u2019d cracked his head on the bench before landing in a heap, pulling Stone down with him and pinning the gun hand under El Said\u2019s head. Panicked, he\u2019d barely managed to pull out his hand from under the stricken man before he caught sight of West through the trees. Ducking back into a grove, he figured he could retrieve the gun when West inevitably went for help. But fate smiled upon him one more time that day. The idiot pulled out the gun before going for help!<\/p>\n

Quickly reassessing the situation, Stone decided that he could now make a break for it\u2014the gun would now have Arthur West\u2019s fingerprints on it, and by the time authorities moved forward with any sort of an investigation, he, Patrick Stone, would be on his way to fame and fortune on a completely different continent.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d taken a labyrinth of alleyways back to his car and sped back to Raymond\u2019s flat. When the student had finally answered the door, Stone barged his way in, and seeing that the replica, for all intents, was completed, grabbed the original, and mumbled something about being late for the theatre. Leaving Raymond with instructions to continue aging the faux stone, he promised to be in touch later. The quietude of the drive back to his own flat gave him the final bit of inspiration. <\/p>\n

He left the stone wrapped in a raincoat he kept in the back seat and made his way into his apartment, not even aware that his self-congratulatory thoughts had made their way out of his head and into a rapid undertone. The paranoia didn\u2019t set in until he reached his door. After checking out the windows and seeing no one on the street, he\u2019d gone first to his desk. Rifling through his rolodex, he found Art West\u2019s address scribbled on a crumpled card. He\u2019d then grabbed a phone book, ordered a courier to stop first at Raymond\u2019s and then at West\u2019s and then, uncharacteristically, added 20% to the total fee, if they\u2019d guarantee delivery by dawn. It was just money, and he\u2019d have plenty of it soon enough. <\/span>The best part, of course, he would save for last. One more well-placed phone call and Dr. West\u2019s goose would be thoroughly cooked.<\/p>\n

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CHAPTER 15: THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY<\/p>\n

\n

Sammy Cohen could set his watch by his own internal clock. Despite being awakened by Grace\u2019s late-night plea for blood donors, his eyes opened, right on schedule at 6.18 a.m. No matter that he\u2019d spent more than forty minutes making calls after ringing off with Grace. Living in a city that all too often doubled as a war zone, most companies had established phone trees for emergency purposes\u2014much the same way Amercian Midwestern elementary schools used them for snow closings. By 1 am, most of the IAA employees would have been notified that O-positive blood was needed at Sinai. <\/p>\n

Donning his tefillin<\/i>, the black prayer boxes devout Jewish men affixed to their arms and foreheads with a series of leather straps, he\u2019d moved methodically and comfortably through his morning prayers, adding an extra misheberach<\/i>, for Kahlil\u2019s recovery, before downing his usual Tuesday morning breakfast of muesli and strawberries. By 7.48 he had eased his car into his reserved parking space at the IAA, and by 8.00, on the dot, he was pouring the first cup of coffee from the pot in his office. <\/p>\n

\n

Still blowing the steam in anticipation of the first scalding sip, he paged through the emails littering his inbox. The knock at his door made him jump, bringing his coffee dangerously close to landing in his lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo sorry to startle you Sammy! You didn\u2019t spill that did you? I can see the steam from here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cGrace! I didn\u2019t exactly expect to see you at my door so early. No my dear, disaster averted\u2014coffee still in the cup. Come in. Can I pour you one? What news do you have? How\u2019s Kahlil?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood. Yes, to the coffee, thank you. Sara\u2019s not opened Soloman\u2019s Porch yet\u2014she stayed on at hospital last night with Hannah. They hadn\u2019t moved Kahlil from recovery to ICU when Art and I left around 3. Hannah understandably didn\u2019t want to wait alone. The prognosis sounded good though. A charming young surgeon\u2014Schwartz was his name\u2014let us know he\u2019d removed a bullet from Kahlil\u2019s diaphragm, removed his spleen and that the coma\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cComa? I had no idea it was that serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cActually, he explained that the coma was expected\u2014Kahlil apparently took a nasty spill and conked his head. He has some internal bruising in his head and the coma should help that heal. For as touch and go as we all know the first few hours are after any major trauma, Dr. Schwartz seemed very optimistic. Thank you again for starting that call chain for the O-positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did Kahlil come to be shot in the first place?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDetails on that are still sketchy. Art found him\u2014already shot\u2014in the park at the Shrine of the Book, called the police and then wound up at the station giving a statement and fingerprints before joining us at the hospital. <\/span>You should know, he\u2019s put in a call to Harry Scholer, who\u2019s on his way here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Grace took a sip of coffee from the mug Sammy offered her, letting him digest the news. <\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHarry Scholer? Harry Scholer! He didn\u2019t make enough trouble for us with the James Ossuary authenticity report? What would possess Art to call Scholer?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThere seems to be a little issue with the gun, presumably the weapon responsible for the hole in Kahlil. Art accidentally moved it and while he\u2019s not really a suspect they had to rule him out. I think the call to Harry was more pre-emptive than anything. And you know that he and Art go way back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBut surely Art knows that after defending Oded Golan and exposing us to months of criticism, Harry\u2019s not exactly welcome in these halls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure that if Art had taken the time to think about it, he may have chosen a different attorney, but obviously he wasn\u2019t thinking too clearly if he touched the gun at all. In his defense he did have one doozy of a day, yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Sammy sighed. Maybe he was overreacting to Scholer\u2019s impending arrival. He hoped so. He decided to move on. \u201cAbout yesterday. When we returned from Bethany, we took the ossuary straight to the clean room. After they took the usual photographs they pried it open, and got quite a start when they didn\u2019t find bones…\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a real shame. So, just an empty box? Not even any fragments? I hope Art won\u2019t be too disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite the contrary, my dear. We found a scroll.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA scroll? Why would someone put a scroll in a casket?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood question. That\u2019s one of the reasons I set up a meeting for 10.30 this morning. Did you know that Andre Chartier was in town for a conference? He\u2019s agreed to skip the morning session to join us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we couldn\u2019t have planned that any better if we tried. Andre\u2019s certainly the go-to man for ancient scripts!\u201d<\/p>\n

Though recently retired to the south of France, scholars the world over still considered Andre Chartier the leading expert in Herodian period Holy Land scripts. He\u2019d practically transformed epigraphy into an art form. Through the close study of letters\u2014how they\u2019re formed, how they\u2019re connected, how they\u2019re used\u2014a good epigrapher can date a written sample to a particular time period. Chartier raised the bar for his field, not only with his extensive knowledge, but with unprecedented diplomacy. In any given authenticity dispute, inevitably both sides would call on his expertise. His input at this stage of their investigation could allay any lingering doubts from the James ossuary debacle. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat he is. Perhaps the tide is turning for our friend Art. This may well turn into the find of a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Art\u2019s sake, I hope so. He could use some good news.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cFor all our sakes. If you\u2019ll excuse me for a bit, I need to get through my mail. You\u2019re welcome to stay and drink your coffee.\u201d
\u201cThanks, Sammy. I think I\u2019ll take a walk. I didn\u2019t get much sleep and the exercise will do me good. Why don\u2019t I just meet up with you at 10.30?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c10.30 it is. We\u2019ll meet here in my office and head up to the lab together.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWonderful. See you then.\u201d<\/p>\n

CHAPTER 16: <\/span>POLICE ON THE PROWL<\/p>\n

Johah Katz rubbed his eyes and face, aware of the day\u2019s worth of stubble building on his chin and cheeks. By the time he\u2019d finished reviewing what little they\u2019d collected on the el Said shooting he\u2019d realized that there was no point in going home for two hours sleep. <\/span>Shaving kit in hand, he ducked into the locker room at the station. <\/p>\n

No sooner had he lathered his face than a young rookie appeared.. \u201cUm. Sir.
\nExcuse me? We just got a tip on that shooting last night? I was told to let you know right away?\u201d<\/p>\n

Katz met his eyes in the mirror. \u201cKadinsky, right? Thank you, son. I\u2019ll be there as soon as I finish shaving.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rookie seemed to have grown roots. \u201cAnything else?\u201d Katz waited for a reply, and getting none, turned to face the young officer. \u201cIf that\u2019s all you\u2019ve got, you\u2019re dismissed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Kadinsky blinked. \u201cOh. Yessir. Thank you sir. Sorry sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Katz turned back to his stubble. Had he ever been that nervous around his superiors? He hoped not. Wondering what sort of new information might have come in, he quickly finished with the razor and rinsed off his face before heading back into the squad room.<\/p>\n

Leibowitz and Riess were waiting for him, looking like he felt. They\u2019d obviously not gone home after their shift ended last night either. \u201cWell men, what do you have?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Riess fingered a pink message slip in one hand. \u201cWe\u2019re not sure this has anything to do with the attack, but some guy just called\u2014wouldn\u2019t leave a name or contact number\u2014saying that he had it on \u2018good authority\u2019 that Professor West was stealing and forging antiquities. Said we\u2019d find proof at the professor\u2019s flat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leibowitz chimed in. \u201cMaybe we got it all wrong last night. Maybe Mr. el Said figured out what West was doing and confronted him. We don\u2019t have the forensic reports back from last night yet\u2014lab was closed by the time we finished up with the Professor\u2014so we don\u2019t know for certain that the professor didn\u2019t<\/i> shoot the old guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOrdinarily I wouldn\u2019t put too much stock in an anonymous call, but it\u2019s a bit suspicious that Dr. West\u2019s name pops up so soon after the incident last evening. I think we need to check it out, but we also need to be sure we do absolutely everything by the book. Just to be sure, I\u2019m going to see this through myself. This Dr. West is very well connected here in town. Before we go anywhere though, you two need to hit the showers\u2014you\u2019re both looking a little rough. Meet me in my office no later than ten-thirty. Understood?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYessir!\u201d The officers seemed reinvigorated. It wasn\u2019t often that the Inspector included the responding officers in his follow-ups. Usually, by this point in a case, he turned it all over to the detectives and waited for the reports.<\/p>\n

Art had wasted no time getting to bed. He hadn\u2019t objected when Grace offered to let herself out\u2014climbing the stairs to his room as she descended those to the front door. He\u2019d managed to remove his shoes, before taking what would be his final sip of the sweet bourbon and sugar mixture she\u2019d fixed him. Leaning back against the pillows, he\u2019d fallen asleep instantly\u2014sitting upright, fully clothed.<\/p>\n

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Though sleep came easily, rest eluded him. He dreamed of caves filled with stalactites that, as they hung from the ceiling like popsicles, melted into drops then torrents of blood. The blood then rose in pools around him becoming encrusted, engulfing him like quicksand. Above him he could see a sliver of light that played with the edges of an inscription too dusty to read. The cave became a cell, and as the blood-red sand continued to rise, potsherds and bone began to emerge like small shells and plankton in a tide that rolled not straight against a beach, but rolled in on itself, with him in the midst of what was rapidly becoming a whirlpool. Trying desperately to catch his breath he inhaled a mouthful of tinny-tasting sand. Something\u2014a small rodent\u2014scurried across his right arm. Flinging it off, his hand brushed the ceiling, now rough like limestone. He reached up with both arms and began pounding with every fiber of his soul. Noiselessly he screamed for Kahlil.<\/p>\n

It took more than a few minutes for Art to make the journey back from his nightmare to the late morning sun beating down onto his bed. It took a few more, still, to realize that the pounding wasn\u2019t a lingering reminder of the dream, but emanating from his front door.<\/p>\n

\u201cOpen up. Police. Dr. West? Dr. Arthur West? Jerusalem Police. We need you to open the door or we\u2019ll do it ourselves!\u201d <\/p>\n

Completely disoriented, Art looked at the clock. 11. 10 am. Why was he still in bed? Why were there police at his door? Why was\u2014it all came back in a rush. The ossuary, the tablet, the trap…Kahlil! <\/span><\/p>\n

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Dragging the blanket with him to the window, he raised it and stuck out his head. \u201cI\u2019ll be down in just a moment. Sorry-I was asleep\u2014I didn\u2019t hear you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even to himself he sounded like an idiot. The officers below sounded like they were trying to raise the dead. How could he not have heard them? Then he remembered the dream and blanched. Disentangling himself from the blanket, he splashed some water on his face, ran a comb through his hair and tried to press out the wrinkles in his clothes with his still damp hands, as he ran down the stairs to the door. <\/p>\n

Flinging it open, he found Inspector Katz accompanied by Leibowitz, Reiss, and two other officers. \u201cWhat can I do for you gentleman?\u201d Art exhaled.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay we come in, Dr. West? We have some follow-up questions for you.\u201d Again, Inspector Katz sounded amiable, almost apologetic.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course\u2014\u201c The officers didn\u2019t wait for him to finish the sentence before stepping over the threshold. As he started to lead them upstairs, he turned back around. \u201cwhat\u2019s this all about? Did you find out who shot Kahlil, I mean, Mr. el Said?\u201d <\/p>\n

Katz started to reply when he was interrupted by an outcry followed by a curse not swallowed quickly enough. They all turned back towards the door. \u201cWhat is it Reiss?\u201d the inspector demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing Sir. I apologize. I stubbed my toe on this package…\u201d A light could almost be seen going off in the young officer\u2019s face. \u201c…on this package here. I wonder if this could have something to do with that call we got?\u201d<\/p>\n

Art didn\u2019t like the way his empty stomach was beginning to turn. \u201cWhat call?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Katz ignored him for the moment. \u201cMayb
\ne we ought to have a look.\u201d Turning back to Art, he chose his words carefully. \u201cDr. West, we received a call this morning that gives us reason to believe that you may be, ah, how shall I put this, you may be in possession of some things you shouldn\u2019t have…may we see what\u2019s in this package?\u201d<\/p>\n

Something hammered in the back of Art\u2019s head. A conversation from yesterday that he couldn\u2019t quite recall. \u201cWhat package?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Reiss, with some effort, held up the package that had stubbed his toe. \u201cThis package sir. From Lo\u2019mi Courier Service.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have nothing to hide. I…\u201d Again, the officers didn\u2019t wait for him to finish his sentence, taking his \u201cnothing to hide\u201d as permission to tear open the wrapping. As the others audibly gasped, Art had to sit on the stair. There, right there in his foyer, stood an officer holding an engraved limestone tablet. He shook his head in disbelief, unable to form the words of protest running at mock speed through his brain. <\/p>\n

\u201cDr. West. I\u2019m afraid we\u2019re going to have to ask you to come with us. This is exactly the sort of item we were told we would find here. You can make any calls you need to make from the station.\u201d Inspector Katz\u2019s tone had changed, the graciousness replaced by authority. <\/span>Leibowitz reached for his handcuffs but Katz shook his head no. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDr. West? I\u2019d like to spare you any embarrassment. If you\u2019ll come with me?\u201d <\/p>\n

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Only then, did yesterday\u2019s conversation come back to him. \u201c…don\u2019t talk to anyone. Especially not the police…\u201d <\/span>How he wished he\u2019d listened to Harry.<\/p>\n

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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: STONE COLD<\/p>\n

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<\/span>Tuesday had been a memorable day \u2013 good and bad \u2013 for Dr. Patrick Stone as well. <\/span>On the plus side, he had managed to lead Arthur West into such a quagmire that it should take him days, maybe weeks, to clear himself. <\/span>He ALSO had in hand a jar with some bits of old manuscript plus the genuine Lazarus inscription <\/span>\u2013 both of which Raymond had found in the tomb early Monday afternoon. <\/span>And now he was weighing whether to become more famous by going to the press and creating an international sensation, or whether to feather his retirement nest by making millions. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Stone was the kind of person who got as much satisfaction from seeing West stumble as from receiving personal praise. <\/span>Praise is ephemeral and not necessarily lucrative. <\/span>On the whole, he decided it would be far better to take the money and run. <\/span>But he realized through his experience with el Said that there was no way he could sell the stone here in Jerusalem. <\/span>The environment was too volatile, and the antiquities police too omnipresent. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>But how would he handle the manuscripts? <\/span>And how would he get the far more valuable inscription out of the country? <\/span>More to the point, since he didn\u2019t want to let the stone out of his sight, how was he <\/b>going to get out of the country with <\/b>the stone? <\/span>As he drank his cup of hot <\/span>Nigerian coffee he pondered these problems at length.<\/p>\n

<\/span>As for the down side of the day, true enough sealing Art West inside the tomb was a nasty prank \u2013 but he knew Art would find a way out in short order. <\/span>Plus, it gave him time to consider options for the rest of the day. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Worse, however, was the episode in the park with el Said. <\/span>Stone had hoped to talk again, this time more calmly, in el Said\u2019s home. <\/span>However, when he arrived, el Said was just leaving. <\/span>He followed el Said to the park and confronted him there hoping to threaten him into cooperating or keeping quiet about the inscription. <\/span>He had taken with him, just as a defensive reflex, an old hand gun which had belonged to his father. <\/span>But his antique derringer was just that \u2013 a conversation piece. <\/span>Unfortunately, when confronted, el Said had grabbed Stone\u2019s hand causing the gun to go off, and el Said to tumble on top of him. <\/span>To top that off the old man hit his head on the iron park bench. <\/p>\n

<\/span>Stone, frightened, had barely been able to extract his hand (sans gun unfortunately) from under el Said\u2019s body, beat a quick retreat, and hide before West showed up. <\/span>That was a shock! <\/span>As the devil would have it, things turned out almost perfectly. <\/span>The one person who could clearly link Stone to the Lazarus tablet was now in a coma, according to the news reports, and Stone\u2019s nemesis would surely be implicated. <\/span>He had not told his doctoral student, Ray Simpson, about the incidents with el Said \u2013 plausible deniability. <\/span>So far as Simpson knew, Stone had simply gone to the theater last night. <\/p>\n

<\/span>Stone ordered Simpson to make the knock off copy of the inscription Monday afternoon. <\/span>Simpson had a steady hand and experience in making replicas of artifacts for use as visual aids in Stone\u2019s lectures. <\/span>Posting the stone anonymously to West by overnight courier, and tipping off the police were the fun parts. <\/span>Stone would have loved to hear West try to explain away that copy! <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


<\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/span>Simpson was sworn to silence and given the rest of the week off. <\/span>He would leave Simpson some money to stay in Jerusalem for awhile to continue his library research and then return to Yale to put the final touches on his thesis. <\/span>Later today he would call Simpson and explain that his mother was ill and he needed to return home. <\/span>As a further inducement to silence, he would promise to send a glowing job recommendation to Johns Hopkins. <\/span>In fact, he would word his message in such a way to suggest that without his silence, Ray
\nwould never see a diploma or a job! <\/span>That should secure Simpson\u2019s discretion once and for all. <\/span>He would be eternally grateful to Dr. Stone. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Stone decided to leave the manuscript fragments in Jerusalem for now. <\/span>Ray never saw the contents of the clay jar he himself found in the far reaches of one empty niche. <\/span>He had to think of a way to disguise the manuscripts and hide them for now. <\/span>Several ideas came to mind. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Stone finally devised a step-by-step plan for how to get the precious object out of the country. <\/span>Wednesday would be an insanely busy day. <\/span>He made an abbreviated list on his palm pilot. <\/span>First, Bethlehem. <\/span>Second, <\/span>go to the old Jewish quarter and purchase a form that attested he was only carrying a replica of a priceless antiquity, not the real thing. <\/span>Third, get the form signed and notarized by one of the shadier dealers in the old quarter. <\/span>The form would state that the original was in the hands of the IAA. <\/span>Therefore, the fake would be called the original, and the original identified as a copy. <\/span>In this way, he could take the object out of the country in plain view as a souvenir, showing it to the authorities with his passport. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>So it was off to Bethlehem to do some errands, and off <\/span>to the old quarter to do some paperwork, and finally back home to pack. <\/span>He purchased his e-ticket at Gotravel.com for the 10:15 AM Thursday flight. <\/span>Yes, indeed, things were looking up for the man who lived by the motto that looking out for No. 1 was all that was essential in life. <\/span>Everything and everyone else was expendable. <\/p>\n

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<\/span> <\/p>\n

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: <\/span>UP IN THE AIR<\/p>\n

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<\/span>Harry Scholer had had two careers and the second one as head of the ASBA was bidding fair to be far more interesting, though far less lucrative than his law career. <\/span>Scholer had been called many things in his career, but no one accused him of lacking intelligence and insight. <\/span>He had a real nose for what was significant and what was not, what mattered and what didn\u2019t. <\/span>He also had good friends of all sorts of faith commitments, including evangelical Christians like Art West. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Art had done numerous articles for ASBA\u2019s popular magazine Biblical Artifacts <\/i>which sold hundreds of thousands of copies. <\/span>While in Reagan Airport, Harry picked up the latest edition of Ha\u2019 Aretz <\/i>and was working through the Jerusalem Post <\/i>while on the plane, taking readings on what the temperature would be in Jerusalem in regard to the West arrest. <\/span>He wanted to use the popular appeal of West and his reputation for honesty to good advantage, especially if this proved to be a big story.<\/p>\n

<\/span>The Alitalia stewardess came to Scholer\u2019s seat bringing him another gin and tonic. <\/span>Scholer only flew first class these days, especially on the long flight to Tel Aviv. <\/span>The problem was that Scholer himself was persona non grata <\/i>with various people in Jerusalem, including some involved with the IAA. <\/span>Having defended Oded Golan to the hilt, and shown that the IAA had not done as careful a job as it should have in assessing the authenticity of the James ossuary inscription, he needed to tread lightly while in Jerusalem, and not detract from what general sympathy might be felt for West. <\/span>He would try to keep a low profile. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Harry pushed the call button again for the stewardess. <\/span>His palm pilot was the one piece of technology he had proudly mastered. <\/span>For the rest, he always begged for help. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMa\u2019am, do we have wireless access to the internet here in first class?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes. <\/span>Did you know the hull of the front part of the plane is actually a huge receptor for wireless signals? <\/span> <\/span>Anyway, now that we\u2019re at cruising altitude you\u2019re welcome to do what you like. <\/span>Just dial into our AT+T wireless connection number off your laptop to connect to the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cSo simple,\u201d said Harry with a wry grin. <\/span><\/p>\n

He quickly pulled out his Sony Vaio, waited for Windows to come up, clicked on Internet connection, and typed in the necessary phone number. <\/span>He was surfing the net within another minute. <\/span>His Hotmail account was hot indeed\u2014 twenty-three new messages in his inbox since yesterday, and another 15 in the junk mail. <\/span>This was going to take some time. <\/span>But what he was mainly looking for was access to a file he had lodged on the ASBA website just before he left, which detailed information on whether and to what degree Israeli Law could be enforced on foreign nationals. <\/span>This was going to take a while, but fortunately he had several hours before he landed in Tel Aviv Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

———————————————————-<\/p>\n

<\/span>At the Tel Aviv airport, Patrick Stone managed to get through customs with nary a raised eyebrow. <\/span>His authentication papers had worked like a charm, and now he was going through yet more security checks. <\/span>He was feeling pretty smug. <\/span>Soon he would be wafting his way through the friendly skies to London. <\/span>He had been totally oblivious to the curly haired gentleman tailing him.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Arriving at Gate 6 with an hour to kill, he entertained himself by examining the pictures in the morning paper showing the notorious Arthur West, who had seemed to be such a nice Christian man. <\/span>But now, who knew what he was really capable of? <\/span>Stone allowed himself to smile at all this mayhem. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cServes that arrogant fool right,\u201d he muttered under his breath. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Stone had contacted a Sotheby\u2019s agent as well as an old colleague from his T\u00fcbingen days who worked in the British Museum. <\/span>He wanted the latter to vouch to the former for the authenticity of the stone, so that it could be properly appraised. <\/span>The meeting was to transpire on Friday morning. <\/span>This gave him time to get to London, check into the hotel, and get a good night\u2019s rest. <\/span>Maybe the British Museum itself would put in a private bid? <\/span>Maybe he could leverage that against what he could extract from a private dealer? <\/span>Maybe <\/span>he could ratchet up the price to astronomical levels? <\/span>Such fun, playing on the lust for possessing precious antiquities! <\/span>What sort of silly persons could really believe that Lazarus had been raised from the dead by Jesus and that this stone attested to the fact? <\/span>Stone had enough problems believing in a historical Lazarus, never mind a historical raising of Lazarus from the dead!<\/p>\n

<\/span>The loud speaker at the gate began blaring, <\/p>\n

\u201cAll first class passengers are now welcome to board El Al flight 315 non-stop to London.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s me,\u201d thought Stone. \u201cTime to get out of town while the getting is good.\u201d <\/span>As he walked down the ramp he realized he would likely never go back to Israel, never set foot in another class room, never write another scholarly article. <\/span>Who needs academia anemia? <\/span>Stone was so rapped up in his self-centered revery he never noticed the curly haired man with the skull cap in the economy line next to him closely watching Stone and the bag he was clutching to his chest. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

CHAPTER NINETEEN: SCROLL DOWN<\/p>\n

\n

<\/span>Grace had been fretting ever since Art\u2019s call around 11:30. <\/span>Arthur West had really gotten himself into a jam. <\/span>He was naive and good and honest, and he lived as though he expected everyone else to be that way as well. <\/span>Was it just his Christian faith that prevented him from having a healthy fear of danger, or from having a wariness of the wicked ways of the world? <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Grace knew in her heart he couldn\u2019t possibly be responsible for either forgery or attempted murder, but the rest of those connected with the IAA didn\u2019t really know the man personally. <\/span>Besides that, they were now hypersensitive, having already gotten enough bad press from the James ossuary mess. <\/span>They were going to leave no stone unturned this time in this investigation. <\/span>After all, they had an object that everyone agreed was a clear forgery, or was it? <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>The stone could be a fraud without being a forgery. <\/span>In other words, the stone might be a copy of the original, which would make it a forgery. <\/span>However, it might just be a fraud, there being no original to copy. <\/span>West\u2019s digital photos showed what appeared to be the original stone with its inscription in situ. <\/span>Had Art fashioned this stone and placed it in the niche for all to see? <\/span>No, this couldn\u2019t be! <\/span>There must be an original stone! <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>And was there any connection between Art\u2019s entombment and the grave robbing? <\/span>Between the grave robbing and the possible murder attempt on el Said? <\/span>Between the grave robbing and the sending of the forged stone to West? <\/span>Surely there must be. <\/span>But Grace could not put all the pieces together in her mind. <\/span>There was some sort of huge animus that precipitated this chain of events. <\/span>As a child Grace had loved reading the Arthur Conan Doyle stories about Sherlock Holmes. <\/span>So far, this was a puzzle he would love, she thought. <\/span><\/p>\n

It was nearly one o\u2019clock \u2013 she needed fresh air and lunch. <\/span>Her plans to work at the University were slipping away. <\/span>Maybe a sandwich at Solomon\u2019s Porch and Sarah\u2019s friendly smile would help get her back on track. <\/span>And she would ask Sarah if there was anything she could do to help Hannah and her father. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Grace arrived at Solomon\u2019s Porch about 1:30. <\/span>Sarah had already left to be with Hannah, so Grace was finishing her lunch alone when the phone rang. <\/span>It was Sammy Cohen at the IAA office.<\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cOh, Sammy, have you heard that Art was picked up by the police late this morning. <\/span>And somebody sent him a copy of the missing inscription!? <\/span>He\u2019s probably in some small, dank police cell being interrogated as we speak! <\/span>It\u2019s awful! <\/span>Part of me wants to call Mr. Golan and ask him what he went through <\/span>\u2013 but I\u2019m not sure I want to know!\u201d <\/span>said Grace, the words tumbling out. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cSlow down, Grace. <\/span>Remember, we\u2019re partially responsible for Mr. Golan\u2019s plight. <\/span>Anyway, one of our lawyers called from the police station. <\/span>She\u2019s keeping her eyes and ears open. <\/span>They haven\u2019t charged him with anything. <\/span>I believe this is just scare tactics, however. <\/span>Art wouldn\u2019t hurt Kahlil, and he didn\u2019t steal that stone! <\/span>We don\u2019t know much about the forgery though. <\/span>Try not to worry!\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cYou\u2019re right. <\/span>But, after all, they do have a victim and now a <\/span>forgery to deal with. <\/span>
\nWho knows what they are thinking? <\/span>I can\u2019t stop worrying right now.\u201d <\/span>replied Grace, her voice shaking.<\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cWhat you need is something to take your mind off this problem! <\/span>Can you come to the IAA building? <\/span>It\u2019s time to scrutinize what we found inside the Lazarus ossuary!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/span>The ossuary sat on top of the examination table and all the fluorescent lights were turned on. <\/span>The limestone surface of the box gleamed in the dazzling light of the room, which was enclosed in the middle of the building, had no windows and required keycard access to enter. <\/span>Most precious antiquities were examined in this special room. Unlike Sammy\u2019s office, it was immaculately clean and pristine.<\/p>\n

<\/span>When Grace arrived, already present were Cohen , several other members of the IAA and, surprisingly, Professor Andr\u00e9 Chartier. <\/span>Sammy had invited him to the IAA office this morning.<\/p>\n

Chartier was one of those rare scholars that would be consulted by all parties in a dispute, so great was his reputation. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Sammy Cohen knew that there could be no rush to judgment, no mistakes, in dealing with the Lazarus ossuary. <\/span>He still felt the sting of criticism from various factions interested in the authenticity of the James box. <\/span>When he made an announcement about this ossuary, he wanted to be as sure as is humanly possible he was right about the authenticity of this new find.<\/p>\n

<\/span>What intrigued Grace right off the bat is that no one was looking at the ossuary. <\/span>Rather, they were all staring at a rather substantial scroll which Chartier had been examining since mid-morning. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Grace interrupted, <\/span>\u201cWhat exactly was there in this ossuary?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Dealing with bones was a delicate matter in Israel, especially since Orthodox Jews thought they made one ritually unclean and if they were Jewish bones were sacrosanct. No one apparently had taken any bones from the box, and in any case no one seemed to be concerned about bones. <\/p>\n

<\/span>Chartier had his magnifying glass out and was muttering to himself, <\/span>\u201cExtraordinaire! <\/span>Extraordinaire!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Turning to Grace he said, \u201cWelcome, Mademoiselle Levine. <\/span>What we have is a document from the Herodian period, written in clear beautiful Aramaic by a quite literate person.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Grace said, \u201cWhy would anyone put a scroll in a casket?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cA good question. <\/span>But let me translate a bit for you. <\/span>Perhaps it will sound strange, yet familiar. <\/span>There is first of all a heading: \u2018Memoirs of the One Whom Jesus Loved.\u2019 <\/span>This is followed immediatement by: <\/p>\n

\u201cA testimony of John when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests to ask <\/p>\n

<\/span>him who he was. <\/span>He did not fail to say, but instead confessed freely, <\/p>\n

<\/span>\u2018I am not the Mashiach\u2019 <\/span>. . . \u201c <\/p>\n

<\/span>Grace blurted out, \u201cThis is almost a verbatim quote from the first chapter of John\u2019s Gospel.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cExactemente,\u201d said Chartier, who had at one point been a priest and who was well familiar with the New Testament. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Grace spoke again, \u201cBut how much of John\u2019s Gospel do we have in this scroll? <\/span>All of it?\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cNo, no,\u201d said Chartier, \u201cIt will take much time to study. <\/span>Understand, I have only surveyed parts of the document. <\/span>But, it appears to be, I believe, similar to John 1.19 to 20.31. <\/span>I did not find the pericope adulterae<\/i>, the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 7.53-8.11.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>At this point, Grace interjected, \u201cAs far as I know, that passage is not canonical \u2013 just traditional. <\/span>In short, few believe that story is part of John\u2019s original Gospel. <\/span>The oldest texts do not contain it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u201cVery true,\u201d agreed Chartier. <\/span>\u201cBut there is more to say. <\/span>The heading of the document is not in the same hand as the rest of the document. <\/span>Furthermore, I have looked at some parallel passages from John 13-19 where the Beloved Disciple is mentioned. <\/span>He is not called this in these memoirs. <\/span>Rather he is called Eliezar! <\/span>It is interesting that at the point where we find John 11.3 that there Lazarus, our way of rendering the name Eliezar, is clearly identified in indirect speech as \u201cthe one whom you love\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Grace asked, \u201cAre you saying that this memoir equates Eliezar with the beloved disciple?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Chartier replied emphatically, \u201cIt is possible. <\/span>In sum, we seem to have the basis of most of the so-called Gospel of John here. <\/span>Now, finding this scroll <\/span>in this ossuary<\/span>, which seems to be from the Herodian period \u2013 well, we may say with a high degree of likelihood that these memoirs were written prior to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Now, if I may be so bold, I can suggest to you some more radical ideas. <\/span>First, one could say that these memoirs are linked to a Judean disciple who was an eyewitness to some of Jesus\u2019 life. <\/span>And, secondly, this eyewitness, according to these memoirs, was raised by Jesus from the dead!\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/span>Grace\u2019s brain was about to burst. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow did the inscription read again? <\/span>Show me the digital pictures that Art took Tuesday morning.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Cohen picked it up and read it, \u201cTwice dead under Pilatus, twice reborn in Yeshua, in sure hope of resurrection.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>No one spoke for what seemed to be an eternity. <\/span>Finally, Andr\u00e9 added, <\/p>\n

\u201cI understand, the police have a copy of this stone inscription. <\/span>And Professor West took these pictures only yesterday. <\/span>The original must be out there somewhere. <\/span>And the original attests that Lazarus died twice during the reign of Pilate, but also that he was somehow reborn through Jesus, and he looked forward to resurrection in the future. <\/span>In sum, this inscription in the tomb, like the inscription on the James ossuary, bears a testimony to the strong belief in resurrection amongst Jesus\u2019 followers.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Again there was silence. <\/p>\n

<\/span>Cohen then spoke: \u201cWe know that in early Judaism many Jews, especially Pharisees, believed in bodily resurrection, and we know Jesus and his followers shared that belief. <\/span>That is indisputable. <\/span>But this inscription, if not also the scroll, supports the story in John that Lazarus died and was raised from the dead <\/span>by Yeshua. <\/span>Those who buried Lazarus had seen him die – twice. <\/span>They may have been at the tomb when Jesus raised him from the dead, according to the Gospel.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Again silence, dead silence.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Cohen then said carefully, <\/span>\u201cWe cannot allow any leaks of this information to anyone, anywhere, anytime, before we are totally ready to authenticate or discredit the scroll, the ossuary, and hopefully the inscription.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>Another IAA official from the legal department added, \u201cThe task now is to recover the original stone. <\/span>It must surface for surely whoever stole the stone yesterday will be trying to sell it quickly. <\/span>We have already begun interviewing various dealers and brokers. <\/span>But there are so many ways to get the stone out of the country \u2013 it will be difficult to monitor the airport and all the border crossings.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Grace nodded in agreement. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need absolute silence in this matter. <\/span>Let\u2019s begin the testing on everything here, even the bones. <\/span>And don\u2019t forget Art and the forged stone. <\/span>We can vouch for his whereabouts for some of Tuesday. <\/span>Can we also put out an APB with Interpol to look for the missing stone? <\/span>And fast?!\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>In the corner of the room, Sammy had been talking to Mrs. Dembski, the lawyer who called earlier to alert him of Art\u2019s plight. <\/span>Apparently, Art had been interrogated on and off this afternoon. <\/span>He would probably be held overnight and questioned further tomorrow. <\/span>Given that Art was an American citizen, chances are he would be released by the end of Thursday. <\/span>After hanging up, Sammy called out, <\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like Art will be enjoying the hospitality of our Israeli police tonight!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Grace quipped: <\/span>\u201c I wonder if he likes the standard issue matzo ball soup they will likely serve him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n


<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHAPTER 14: STONE ON A ROLL Patrick Stone had indeed taken care of everything. He felt positively giddy. In a matter of hours, he\u2019d be 30,000 feet above the havoc he\u2019d wreaked. He practically danced his way between his closet, bureau and suitcases as he finished packing. Everything was falling into place. His graduate assistant,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Lazarus Effect- Part Six - The Bible and Culture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2007\/03\/the-lazarus-effect-part-six.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Lazarus Effect- Part Six - The Bible and Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CHAPTER 14: STONE ON A ROLL Patrick Stone had indeed taken care of everything. He felt positively giddy. In a matter of hours, he\u2019d be 30,000 feet above the havoc he\u2019d wreaked. He practically danced his way between his closet, bureau and suitcases as he finished packing. Everything was falling into place. 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He felt positively giddy. In a matter of hours, he\u2019d be 30,000 feet above the havoc he\u2019d wreaked. He practically danced his way between his closet, bureau and suitcases as he finished packing. Everything was falling into place. 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A graduate of UNC, Chapel Hill, he went on to receive the M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. He is now considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world, and is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. Witherington has also taught at Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell. A popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings not only in the United States but also in England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia. He has also led tours to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Witherington has written over thirty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications, and is a frequent contributor to the Beliefnet website. Along with many interviews on radio networks across the country, Witherington has been seen on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Discovery Channel, A&E, and the PAX Network.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/author\/bwitherington"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}