Free Rabbi Gabrielle Ignites a Tempest by Roger Herst Page A

he
was born to the day he died."
    Benoit growled, "It was I who discovered that
the cave was being looted. You wouldn't have known about it, and
you would never have found these fragments without me. This is my
operation, Timothy, and I'm telling you now, we're not giving any
of this to the Antiquities Authority. And even if we wanted to,
it's now impossible."
    "Nothing's impossible. We just take them a
few miles to Jerusalem. It's not like breaching the Atlantic
Wall."
    Benoit's delivery slowed for emphasis. "I
don't think you heard me when I said we can't turn anything over,
even if we wanted to. Remember the Bedouin at the cave entrance. We
found blood on the ground."
    "He returned to his people."
    "He died. I have it on good authority that
his body was found in a wadi nearby with a bullet in his jaw."
    "By what authority?" Tim demanded.
    "It doesn't matter. All that matter's is that
I'm telling you an indisputable fact. Hand over these fragments and
the police will throw us in jail. And not for a parking violation
or looting artifacts, but for murdering a Bedouin. They're probably
looking for you as we speak."
    "Why me and not you?"
    "If they know that loose fragments were
discovered, wouldn't they want to talk to someone who has written
the definitive work on compiling them?"
    "The Bedouin shot first. You fired in
self-defense. The police will take our word for it," Tim said, a
tremor of uncertainty in his voice.
    "Why should they? They'll argue that if we
knew the cave was being looted, we should have come forward
immediately. Even if no one was hurt, we're still looters. And if
we go to them now, they'll want to know why we waited so long. And
if we knew a Bedouin guard had been shot, why didn't we seek
immediate help? We might have been able to save that poor bastard's
life."
    "They'll take the word of respected
scholars."
    "This is bigger than local archeology, mon ami . Don't expect largess when
religious sensibilities are involved. Besides, Itamar Arad and I
have been at each other’s throats for years. If my friends in the
Vatican hadn't protected me, he'd have shipped me out of Israel
long ago. He lets me pad around in Bethlehem where he can keep an
eye on me because it's like being under house arrest."
    Tim considered that for a moment before
saying, "If we hadn't gone to the cave, everything would have been
lost to looters. We've performed an invaluable service." He turned
back toward the scanner where he had left a two-word phrase on the
glass surface, but at the last moment, whirled about to face Father
Benoit once again. "Had I known you would change your mind…"
    "It wouldn't have made a smidgeon of
difference," the Catholic priest finished the sentence for him.
"You would never have let an opportunity like this slip through
your fingers. This is no time to throw yourself on the mercy of the
Israelis. Finish the scanning. Leave here when you're ready to
begin deciphering. The important thing is to keep a low
profile."
    "That wasn't our agreement."
    "The original understanding is dead and you
know it."
    "I'll agree only to finish my work here. I'm
making no more pledges. As soon as I'm finished, I'll need to take
a few days off to think."
    "Of course you will. After what you've just
shown me, I will, too."
    "I'll get a lift to Bethlehem and pick up my
Hyundai."
    Benoit paused in an uncertain moment before
narrowing his eyes. "That's another thing I need to talk with you
about," he said, clearing his throat. "I'm afraid your car is gone.
You can take my Buick for a holiday."
    "What do you mean gone ?" Tim snapped. "You promised to drive it back to
Bethlehem and park it there for me."
    "Well, I drove it to Bethlehem, but it isn't
there anymore. I couldn't take the chance it had been photographed
by the drone. So I parked it with the keys in the ignition where
car thieves operate. And lo and behold it just disappeared. Wooof.
Gone, gone like a dream. Thieves always make physical alterations
to a stolen vehicle