IT WAS AFTER MIDNIGHT, BUT there was no way she was going to be able to go to sleep, Jane realized. She was too wired. Too much coffee. Too much adrenaline.
And she didn’t want to be alone. She wanted to talk, to discuss, pour out all she had learned and brainstorm. She started to reach for her phone to call Eve or Jock, then stopped. She should be considerate and let anyone who could sleep do so.
To hell with it. She quickly dialed a number.
“Trouble?” Caleb asked.
“No, I can’t sleep, and I want to talk to someone, anyone.”
“And I take it I’ve been chosen.”
“I didn’t want to wake Eve or Jock.”
He chuckled. “And I don’t matter.”
“Yes or no?”
“Where? Your room or mine?”
Too intimate. “Neither. I’ll meet you in the courtyard in five minutes.”
“I’ll be there.” He hung up.
She went to the bathroom, washed her face, and ran a comb through her hair. Then she was out the door and running down the grand staircase.
Caleb was standing by the fountain in the middle of the stone-paved courtyard. He was dressed in dark trousers and a white shirt open at the throat. The bright moonlight caught glints of the silver threading his temples.
She stopped short as she came out the front door.
He was waiting for her.
Of course, he’s waiting for me, she thought impatiently. Why had the sight of him brought that sense of alarm?
Because she had the strange feeling that the waiting was not just for this night, this moment.
Nonsense. Her head was still swimming from hours spent on the computer.
“You can’t change your mind,” Caleb said. “You dragged me from my bed and didn’t even flatter me that you did it because I’m special.” He smiled. “In fact, I got the opposite impression just as you wanted.” He sat down on the edge of the fountain and patted the stone rim beside him. “Now come and talk to me. After all, I did risk my life wandering around this courtyard in the dead of night. MacDuff’s guards don’t like midnight callers.”
She hadn’t thought about the security guards. She had only wanted to avoid the intimacy with Caleb that always disturbed her. “They challenged you?”
“It doesn’t matter. I handled it.”
She started across the courtyard. “I didn’t mean to cause a problem. I just thought it would be best if-”
“I know why you wanted to meet me here. It’s all right, Jane. I take what I can get.”
“And most of the time you take more than is offered,” she said tartly.
“Not from you.” He suddenly chuckled. “Well, not usually. For instance, you see me patiently waiting for you to tell me what you learned from those dozens of Bibles Jock brought you.”
Waiting. Again that word brought a frisson of uneasiness.
She instinctively lifted her shoulders as if to shrug it off. “Actually, I found out more from the Internet. April first is supposed to be Judas’s birthday, hence the Offering.” She sat down beside him on the fountain’s rim. “And you’d be surprised how many scholars have been intrigued by Judas over the centuries.”
“No, I wouldn’t. The greatest betrayal of all time. Greed. The struggle of evil and good. It would fascinate most sinners and angels alike. For a scholar, it would prove irresistible.”
“But most of them ended up with suppositions and theories. There’s just not enough written about Judas. In Mark, Judas is an enigma. His entire purpose in Mark’s writings is to hand over Jesus to the authorities. He has no character beyond the act itself and no clear motives.”
“Thirty pieces of silver.”
“That wasn’t mentioned in the Gospel of Mark. It was all very vague. It’s Matthew who talks about the money Judas received for the betrayal… and the field of blood.
“Field of blood?”
“After Judas returned the money he’d received from the priests, they decided they couldn’t put it into the treasury. It was blood money. So they decided to buy a potter’s field in which to bury strangers. They gave the silver to the owner of the field.”
“Then that’s the end of the story of the Judas coins. The chances of the pouch of coins still being kept intact is practically nil.”
“It would seem that’s true.” She frowned. “But Roland must have known all this. And he’s certain those coins weren’t scattered to the four winds. Part of it is because of all the research he’s done over the years, but it’s mostly the rumors and stories handed down through the centuries in Hadar’s cult.” She nibbled at her lower lip. “Is he right?”
He was studying her expression. “You tell me.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Perhaps there was no field of blood. Maybe Matthew just wanted everyone to think that the priests had realized what a sin they had committed. After all, those disciples were only men, and memory fails. I understand that many times their stories didn’t agree.”
She nodded. “Luke wrote in his Gospel and the Book of Acts that it was Judas who bought the field with money he’d received as reward for his wickedness.” She made a face. “And according to him, Judas didn’t hang himself, he fell headlong in the field and his middle burst open and all his bowels gushed out. When the people of Jerusalem heard of it, they began to call the field Akeldama or Field of Blood.”
“Very different.”
“Yes, even the terms for the field aren’t the same. Matthew referred to it as agros of blood because it was bought with the price of the blood of Jesus. In Acts it was referred to as chorin of blood because Judas supposedly committed suicide there. But they both talked about a field of blood. And a couple generations later, Papias wrote still another version. According to him, Judas died of a painful, shameful disease on his own property. The stench of him still lingers over the land to this day.” She looked at him. “Another field.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that no matter how the stories change, there’s always a field of blood.”
“But no other mention of the coins.”
“They could still be there.”
His brows rose skeptically.
“It’s possible.”
“If it even exists.”
“The tour guides in Jerusalem say it exists. It’s on their regular tour.”
“What?”
“Or what they claim is the Field of Blood. It’s a field south of the city. But there appears to be some doubt among the scholars that their potter’s field is the actual place mentioned in Matthew.”
“Since there’s controversy about the field’s existence, that doesn’t surprise me.”
“And if it did happen, we don’t actually know what happened to the coins after they were given to the owner of the field.”
“I doubt if he’d treasure a traitor’s ill-gotten gains.”
“But we don’t know. Unless Hadar’s tablet can tell us something.”
“Or Caiaphas,” he said quietly. “There’s always that possibility, isn’t there?”
She stiffened. “What?”
“Who would know better than the high priest?”
“I told you that it was all guesswork. There wasn’t any more mention in the testaments about Caiaphas’s disbursement of the thirty shekels of silver.”
“Not in the testaments. By the way, did you verify that Caiaphas was the high priest’s name?”
She didn’t speak for a moment. “Yes.”
“And it didn’t strike you as curious that you already knew his name?”
“I’m not a heathen. I could have run across it somewhere.”
“Stop fighting, Jane. You know where you ran ‘across’ it. Eve said you went into denial after your experience with dreams of Cira years ago, but it’s too dangerous to do that now.”
“Eve?” Her eyes widened with shock. “Eve told you about those dreams? No, she wouldn’t do that.”
“Because you wouldn’t tell me? It wasn’t a breach of faith. She’s ready to try anything to keep you safe, and she trusted me.” He grimaced. “In this single instance. I didn’t let it go to my head.”
She was silent a moment. “I’m not in denial. I just have to believe that what appears extraordinary may be ordinary if we knew everything behind it. That’s how I have to think. That’s who I am.”
“And I believe that what appears extraordinary may well be only the tip of the iceberg and entirely out of the realm of the ordinary.” He smiled. “And that’s how I have to think. That’s who I am.”
Yes, that’s how Caleb would have to think since he dealt with the extraordinary and bizarre every minute of his life. “Then we’ll have to disagree. I couldn’t live like that.”
His smile faded. “Yes, you could. I can teach you.” He looked away. “But we won’t go into that. You’ve got to accept the dreams and use them. It’s a valuable weapon, and you shouldn’t ignore it.”
“Even if I did accept that there was some validity to what you’re saying, it’s not something I can control. It’s smarter to rely on what’s real and predictable.”
“Think about it. You’re a very strong woman. There’s not much you can’t control if you put your mind to it.”
“I don’t want to put my mind to anything but what I’ve learned about the Field of Blood. I want to do something about it.”
“What? You said yourself that you’d read that the field in Jerusalem where they take all the tourists isn’t necessarily the real place.”
“That’s what I read.” She paused. “I want to go there. I want to see for myself.”
His gaze narrowed on her face, but his tone was light. “Why not? But could we wait until Millet isn’t on our heels trying to crucify you?”
“Maybe. But it might be a way to draw Roland if he thinks I know something he doesn’t. He wants those Judas coins.”
“True.” He tilted his head. “Then by all means let’s stake you out. What’s a little risk? Millet might not cut off your head as he did Celine’s sister.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. There has to be a way. I thought you’d be more reasonable.”
“More reasonable than Eve or Jock? Yes, they might object to you going to the Field of Blood and trying to add a little of your own to the mix.” He paused. “While I have an affinity for blood, don’t I?”
His voice was without inflection yet she was aware of a tension and something else. Anger? “It’s very reasonable that I’d expect you to be objective. You have less personal involvement.”
“Not less personal, just different.” He added, “You should understand that about me. You think everything about me is different, don’t you?”
She gazed at him in helpless frustration. What was she supposed to say? Caleb wasn’t like anyone else. She wasn’t sure at any given moment what he was feeling. Yet in this moment she thought she was seeing a flash of vulnerability. Dammit, she didn’t want to acknowledge that vulnerability. It was safer for her not to see anything in him that would make her respond emotionally. “Perhaps. At any rate, it seems you’re not going to help me think of something that will bring an end to this any quicker.” She started to get to her feet. “Good night, Caleb. Thank you for listening if not for-” She inhaled sharply as his hand closed on her wrist.
Heat. Tingling. Sexuality.
“Not yet,” Caleb said. “Don’t walk away from me.”
Her chest was suddenly tight. She was having trouble breathing. “Let me go, Caleb.”
“In a minute.” His thumb was slowly rubbing up and down along the sensitive inner flesh of her wrist. With every movement she felt a jolt of sheer primitive sensuality. “I want you to realize I’m not all that different. I have needs. I may even have a few other sentimental similarities to your other lovers.”
She stiffened. “Lovers?”
“Did I forget to tell you that I did a little research on you when I left the lake cottage all those weeks ago? You’re very discriminating. Your relationships are rare, and they have to involve something besides sex. You had one long-standing affair with a Mark Trevor, but you backed away before you committed. I was very happy that you did, but it didn’t surprise me. You’re afraid of commitment. I won’t ask for a commitment. I won’t ask anything from you that you don’t want to give.”
She stared at him in angry disbelief. “Why the hell would you pry into my business?”
“Because I knew that I wanted to be with you,” he said simply. “I was just waiting for the right time. And then you called me.”
Waiting.
She tried to pull away, but his grasp on her wrist tightened. “Let me go, or I’ll clobber you,” she said between her teeth.
He chuckled. “Delicate and ladylike as usual. Just give me one more minute.”
“Screw you.”
“I only wanted to say that the reason I’m telling you is that I want to be honest with you.” His lips twisted. “Which isn’t precisely true. I was planning on making a move, but you managed to goad me into doing it too soon. You have an unusual way of upsetting my control.” He released his grasp on her wrist. “Besides, I wanted to touch you. I’ve been wanting that for a long time.”
The wrist that he had released was throbbing, the pulse pounding, the skin exquisitely sensitive. She was shaking. Lord, he had only touched her for a moment, and she felt as if she’d gone up in flames. She had a sudden thought. “Did you-”
He smiled. “No, it’s just chemistry. I think we both knew it would be like this.”
She started to turn away. “Just stay away from me.”
“I can’t,” he said simply. “But I won’t touch you again until you’re ready for me.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“It will have to be. I can’t keep my distance when I know that Millet may be around the next corner. Think. You’re going after Millet and Roland, and I’ll be valuable to you.” His voice was soft. “What difference does it make in the scheme of things if we want to go to bed with each other? We’ll just ignore it until the time is right.”
Ignore it? She was still feeling that deep throbbing sensuality, and just looking at him was causing her heart to pound, hard, harder. The sensation was more powerful than anything she had ever experienced, and it was frightening her. “It’s not going to happen.”
“No.” He smiled. “Not until you’re ready.” He reached down and let the water in the fountain slowly trickle through his fingers. The movement was inexpressibly sensual. “You’d better go to bed now. You’re tired. And you’re going to want to start planning and moving as soon as Lina gets done with the translation.” His dark eyes were glittering as he looked up from the water. “But I’m going to have to keep busy. I think I’ll go back to London and pay a visit to Roland. I thought I’d ask you what you want me to accomplish with the visit so that I can prepare. Just a conversation or something more final?”
“You mean you want to know if I want you to kill him. No, I’m not turning you loose to go hunting.”
“You don’t have to shoulder the responsibility. Just tell me what you need from Roland.”
How simplistic could you get? Of course, she would be responsible. “No, Caleb. Nothing has changed since we left him yesterday.”
“Yes, something has changed. I need distraction. Roland thinks he’s a hunter, but he only points the way. I could teach him what hunting is all about.”
Yes, Caleb knew every nuance of that skill. But what he proposed was incredibly dangerous for him. “You said it would be difficult and take a long time. Forget it.”
“But I can’t forget it. I’m a primitive soul, and I have to satisfy that side of me in some way. But I’ll put it off for a little while until you become used to the idea.” He got to his feet. “I’ve arranged for the helicopter to be on standby a short distance from here. He can be at the helipad in twenty minutes.” He passed her as he moved toward the front door of the castle. “I’ll let you know what I decide.”
She watched in helpless frustration as he disappeared into the castle. Dammit, he had told her to go to bed and get some sleep, but she didn’t see how she was going to do it. If she’d been wired before she phoned Caleb, she was doubly hyper now. Not only had she been caught up in an emotional upset when Caleb had mentioned talking to Eve about the dreams, but that upset had been followed by the sexual explosion that had rocked her to her core. Anger and resentment had been overshadowed by a physical response that had left her hot and weak and breathless. She was still experiencing the same sexual tornado even though he was no longer with her.
It was too strong. She had wanted to run as far as she could to get away from the bond that was tightening around her.
And he had known it and thrown her the one distraction that she couldn’t ignore. He had realized that she had been worried about his trying to manipulate Roland and had decided to use it. She should ignore that threat. There was more than one way to manipulate, and he was clever and perceptive enough for any sort of deviousness.
Why was she standing here in the middle of the courtyard and trying to decipher his motives? As long as she wasn’t deceived by anything he did, she didn’t have to understand him. As long as she wasn’t foolish enough to go to bed with him, that attraction might be strong but not overpowering.
He was right. He was a valuable commodity and might prove particularly valuable if she decided on going after the Judas coins. She would be stupid to send him away.
She started quickly for the front door. And, of course, she would sleep. She had told Caleb she could not control her dreams, but she had the will to block all the emotional upheaval and get some much-needed rest. She was beginning to feel the excitement stirring.
Steps. If she took the right steps, she’d be able to keep her head above water and survive.
The way to capture Millet was to use Roland to set the trap. To be sure of Roland, she had to get her hands on the Judas coins. To find the Judas coins, she had to locate the Field of Blood.
Field of Blood. She was suddenly shivering at the words. Foolish. It hadn’t bothered her at all when she had been researching. Yet now it seemed to cast a shadow of malevolence and evil.
Field of Blood…
SOMEONE WAS IN the room.
Jane’s eyes flew open, jarred wide-awake.
Caleb?
“I’m sorry.” Lina was sitting in the tufted red velvet chair across the room. “I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s still early. I was going to wait until you woke.”
It wasn’t yet dawn, judging by the pale light streaming in the window, Jane noticed. She raised herself on her elbow. “Is anything wrong?”
Lina shook her head. “Something is right. I finished the translation on the tablet.” She nodded at the papers on the table beside her. “I worked all night, and I didn’t want to go to bed until I went over it with you.”
Jane swung her legs to the floor. “Give me a few minutes to splash some water on my face, and I’ll be right with you. I’m still drowsy.”
“I thought you would be. You got to bed late yourself.”
She glanced over her shoulder as she started for the bathroom. “How do you know?”
“I was taking a break and opened the shutters to get some air. You were down in the courtyard with Caleb.”
Jane glanced over her shoulder. “You were watching us?”
“Don’t be silly,” Lina said. “Why would I waste my time? I just saw you before I closed the shutters again. I don’t care if you have a hundred rendezvous with Caleb. It’s your bad luck if you let him seduce you.”
“He wasn’t seducing me.”
Lina smiled crookedly. “He was coming close. He never tried it with me, but I always knew that he was capable of spinning a web to get what he wants. My husband never bothered to try persuasion, he always demanded and coerced. But when it comes down to the end, it’s all the same. Taking.”
“There are some big differences.” But Lina probably can’t see them, Jane thought. Almost from childhood, she had been abused and sexually exploited. “You can tear the web and get out.” She opened the bathroom door. “I’ll be with you in a few minutes.”
Lina nodded. “I’ll pull up the text on the computer and get these papers in order.”
Lina was still frowning down at the computer when Jane came out of the bathroom. “I think I have every nuance right. I had to call the language institute in Tel Aviv.”
“In the middle of the night?”
“I’ve dealt with them before. We have a relationship.” She gestured to the chair on the other side of the table. “Sit down. I’ll pull up the translation on the computer.”
Jane dropped down in the chair. “I fully intend to read all of it, but set it up for me. Is it what we need?”
Lina nodded. “I think it may be. No, I’m almost sure that it’s what you want, providing Hadar wasn’t a liar. Why do you think that I was sitting here waiting for you to wake up?”
Because she was excited, Jane realized. Lina kept her emotions so well concealed that she hadn’t realized it until this moment. “Tell me.”
“First, it was written years after he reached Syria and had founded his religion glorifying Judas. It was a sort of a justification of all the atrocities he committed in the name of Judas. The first paragraph is just a sort of discourse on the injustices that had been inflicted on him as a boy and how Judas had come into his life and he had seen the light.”
“Not Jesus, Judas?”
“He mentions Jesus only fleetingly; it was Judas who was the center of his life. He rants and raves about the priests and the disciples who didn’t understand that Judas was only doing what God wanted in betraying Jesus. That Judas was only a divine tool to bring about the salvation of the world. That the condemnation that led to the suicide of Judas was an act against all the angels of heaven and should be revenged.” She looked up at Jane. “And the suggested methods of that revenge are pretty bloodthirsty. Crucifixion figured prominently. Boiling in oil was another. I don’t think there’s much doubt that Hadar was psychotic. He might have had a genuine affection for Judas, but it became a destructive obsession after his death.”
“He got all of that venom into one tablet?”
She nodded. “As you saw, the tablet was fourteen by ten, and the script was very tiny. I almost went blind trying to decipher it. And after those first paragraphs, it was all about why and how he fled Jerusalem.”
“The coins,” Jane prompted.
“He said that Judas tried to give them back to the high priest, but he was refused. The priest wouldn’t pick them up from the floor of the temple. Hadar offered to go back and get the pouch for Judas, but he wouldn’t let him. Judas ran away from the temple, and later Hadar heard that he had hanged himself. Hadar went crazy. He wanted to kill all the priests. He wanted to kill all the disciples. He was in a fury. He said that it was Judas who was the martyr and should be worshipped.”
“And so a cult was born.”
“At least the seeds were planted. But he got it into his head that the thirty pieces of silver were a symbol of that martyrdom. That Judas’s returning the coins to the temple had some sort of divine significance. Hadar was enraged that the priests were going to spend the money buying a field to bury strangers instead of preserving it as a holy relic.’
“So there was a Field of Blood?”
Lina nodded. “If you choose to believe Hadar. He was definitely unstable.”
“Did the priests actually buy the field?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t the field that they first intended to buy. It was some distance from the city. Hadar had evidently caused a huge scene in the temple, and the priests decided to keep a low profile among the citizens of Jerusalem. There was already too much uproar in the city about the crucifixion of Jesus. They decided to not let anyone know where the field was located.”
“But Hadar found out?”
Lina nodded. “The second day after Caiaphas purchased the field from Ezra, a potter, to the far north of the city. Hadar went there that night after the money had been exchanged.”
“And?”
Lina handed her the computer. “Read the translation for yourself. It will give you an idea what kind of man the founder of that cult really was. I pulled it up to the point where he’s approaching the hut.”
She already had an idea of Hadar’s character, Jane thought. It wasn’t pretty. She began to read the translation.
The night was dark. My master, Judas, must have interceded to make sure that no one would see me punish those greedy sinners. I stared in the window at Ezra, the potter, sitting at the table with his wife and two sons. They were laughing, joking, happy at their good fortune.
Blasphemers.
I knocked on the door and asked them to share their bread with a poor traveler. They gave me food and a blanket on the floor to rest for the night.
After they slept, I did my master’s will and slew them all. I left Ezra alive until I’d forced him to give me the pouch of coins. There were only twenty-eight. He had given two to his slave, Dominic, when he’d freed him and sent him on his way earlier in the day.
Gave those precious coins to a slave as if they were nothing? I could not bear it. I struck him in the heart with my dagger over and over until the blood ran red on the dirt floor. Then I dragged him out into the field along with his accursed family. It took several hours, but I mounted them all on crosses I’d made from tearing down the fencing. Then I lit the crosses and watched the crucifixes burn through the night.
Burn Blasphemers. Glory unto Judas.
But I could not risk returning to Jerusalem. The soldiers would be after me as soon as the potter and his family were found. I had let my anger be known by the priests. I could not even risk taking the coins in case they were found on me if I was captured. I sealed the coins along with Ezra’s copy of the writ of sale for that cursed Field of Blood in a fine alabaster bottle I had brought to hold the sacred coins. Then I fled north to leave all those hypocrites and liars behind me so that I could start a new life serving my holy master.
“He sealed the coins in a bottle?” Jane shook her head as she looked up from the laptop at Lina. “Then we’re out of luck. Too fragile. The coins wouldn’t stand a chance of surviving since that time.” She frowned. “Or maybe they would. Some vases and dishes survived in the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. I remember seeing them while I was on digs when I was in college.”
“It depends on where he put the bottle.” Lina was smiling faintly. “And I think that there is a chance. Later in the document he talks of planning to go back and retrieve his holy coins. He gives exact directions to where he placed the bottle.”
Jane’s eyes widened. “Exact?”
Lina nodded. “Yes. This field he’s talking about isn’t the one where they take tourists. It’s too far north. And he buried the bottle deep in the clay in a cave on the south perimeter bordering the property. That was probably why it was forbidden for anyone to break the seal on his holy tablet. He didn’t want anyone else to know how to find the Judas coins. He never got around to going back for the pouch himself, but he wasn’t going to let any of his followers go after them and get all the glory.”
“He mentioned a writ of sale. If it specifically refers to them as the coins given to Judas, that would document the coins.” She grimaced. “But that would be expecting too much.”
“Not necessarily. Documents during that period could be very explicit. If the priests had refused the return of the Judas money, I’d think they’d be even more certain to have the writ very clear about whose money was being used for this purchase. It would be a form of self-justification. We’ll have to see.” She got to her feet. “But right now I’m going to go to bed and get some sleep. I feel so tired, I’m numb. Read the rest of the translation, and we’ll discuss it later.”
“It shouldn’t take me long.” She was scrolling down the pages on the computer. “It’s very clean. You’ve done a great job.”
“I know. I always do.” She was opening the door. “Which proves I’m not a sex toy who is only good for having babies. Imagine that. I will call you when I wake.”
“Yes,” she said absently as she scanned the text before her. “Sleep well.”
She was barely aware of the door’s closing as she continued reading. The contents of the tablet were ugly, disjointed, and definitely unbalanced. It gave the general rules of Hadar’s Church of Judas, including the yearly sacrifices to be offered to honor him. He had set himself up as a high priest, and evidently the first sacrifices were people in the village who opposed or suspected him. Later, during Hadar’s control of the religion, the sacrifices were chosen by Hadar and his acolytes for their worthiness to ascend to Judas.
She shivered as she remembered her dream of the young boy being sacrificed in the temple. Hadar was a terrible man who had spawned an even-more-terrible cult.
She quickly skimmed through the sacrifices to the section where Hadar was considering going back for the Judas coins. She felt excitement stirring. Exact directions, indeed…
Why was she getting excited? Hell, for all she knew that cave could have been bulldozed to the ground and become a major highway. Yet what if that cave was still there?
Her gaze lifted and she stared out at the pink and lavender clouds clustered in the sky outside the window signaling the coming dawn.
What if?
Opportunity. Far-fetched but not totally impossible.
And she’d never know unless she went to see for herself.
She reached for her phone and dialed Caleb. “That helicopter you told me you could have here in fifteen minutes? Call him and tell him to come.”
JOCK WAS STANDING IN THE FOYER when Jane came down the stairs fifteen minutes later. “I know there’s no use trying to talk you out of this. But this isn’t going to be a walk in the park.”
“No, hopefully it’s going to be a walk in a field.” She smiled as she headed for the door. “I’m glad to see you. I told Caleb we needed you, but I wasn’t sure he’d ask you to come with us.”
“I may object to his methods, but not his intelligence. He said that he’d have no problem coming to an understanding with MacDuff’s security guards, but he was concerned about interference on a higher level. To leave here, he knew that he would have to deal with me or MacDuff since this castle is an armed camp. He prefers the devil he knows.” He shrugged as he opened the door for her. “And it only means that I’ll have to do the dealing with MacDuff when we get back.” He glanced at her. “But I’d rather deal with MacDuff than Eve. Did you tell her?”
“She knew I’d probably be leaving today. Not that we were going to Jerusalem.”
“You’re quibbling.”
“Yes, I am. I’ll tell her once we’re under way.” She moved past the fountain toward the courtyard gates. “Okay, so I’m a coward. I didn’t want her trying to go with us. I didn’t want to worry her until I had to do it.”
“Because you knew this is a crazy idea.”
“It’s actually less dangerous going after the coins than it would be directly confronting Roland or Millet.”
“As long as they don’t manage to follow us.” His gaze went to the hills. “They’re out there. They’ll know we’re leaving.”
“We change to a private jet in Edinburgh, and you call Venable and make sure that the pilot doesn’t have to file a flight plan to Tel Aviv. Make certain the only person Venable tells anything about this trip is Joe. We won’t even tell the pilot the destination until we’re in the air.”
“And once we’re in Tel Aviv? The Israelis are tough customers, and they’re not going to let us stroll around the area without keeping an eye on us. There are checkpoints and unbelievable security. And what about the Palestinians? They’re likely to blow us up just on general principles. Even taking Millet and Roland out of the equation, it’s still crazy.”
“If we didn’t have Caleb, it would be crazy. With Caleb, it’s marginally possible.”
“If he doesn’t lose it and start a blood binge.” He shook his head. “Even you don’t trust him.”
“I trust him… sometimes.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“He won’t do anything to get us killed. He’ll help us to the best of his ability to get Millet and Roland. That has to be enough for me right now.” She could see Caleb standing at the helipad, and her pace quickened. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before everyone in the castle wakes up. We’ve got to be on that helicopter and away within a few minutes. The noise is bound to wake the household.” Her mind was working at top speed. “And I’ll need to type those directions in Hadar’s tablet into the Internet and Google it. I have to pull up a map of the area as it was during the time of Christ, then superimpose a current map on top of it. It was a clay potter’s field, so the topography might be a help. No, that’s only contour. I’ll have to find something else. I want to see if I can bring up a match anywhere around Jerusalem.”
“It’s possible,” Jock said thoughtfully. “The Internet satellites have amazing map capability.”
“That’s what I’m hoping. Once we’ve zeroed in on a site, we can get Venable to scope out the area and find a way to get us to that field. Tell him we want to be met in Tel Aviv and that I want a.38 Special revolver.”
“To go treasure hunting?”
“No, I’m just tired of not having a weapon with these scumbags after us. I was beginning to envy Lina her AK-47. I’ll also need a backpack, some kind of heavy protective wrapping, magnifying glass, a small sifter shovel, a brush, and tweezers. Maybe a spoon.”
“A spoon?”
“That’s what I used when I went on archaeological digs when I was in college. A spoon is gentle and controllable and less likely to do damage.”
“All these preparations. It may all be for nothing, you know.”
“And we may hit the jackpot. If we get our hands on those Judas coins, we’ll have a lure that Roland won’t be able to resist.”
“That’s all it means to you?” Jock asked curiously. “Those coins are a treasure that will be worth billions if there’s any authentication at all.”
“What would I do with billions? I don’t need it. Would it make me a better artist? It would just get in the way. I could give it to Eve and Joe, but they get along just fine.” She shook her head. “MacDuff is the only one interested in treasure or anything else that would preserve his precious castle.”
He nodded. “MacDuff would definitely make use of any spare billions that he could beg, borrow, or steal.”
“Then he can work on finding his family treasure.” Her lips tightened grimly. “I have a use for the Judas coins.”