I did not say that. I said that part of it had not yet been translated.
"Okay."
Would you like to know what else is on the Hebron scroll?
Selena sighed. "Yes, Freddie, I would."
The scroll dates from the tenth century B.C.E. and is a communication between King David and one of his military commanders. It appears to have been written during the rebellion of Absalom.
"What does it say?"
It advises the commander to follow the instructions contained in the coded section.
"That doesn't help," said Stephanie.
The scroll instructs the commander to remember the City of the Potters.
"The City of the Potters?" Stephanie said. "What does that mean?"
It is a reference to the biblical city of Neta'im. Would you like the biblical reference?
"Yes."
Location at 1 Chronicles 4:23.
"Where's Neta'im?" Stephanie asked.
Neta'im is located in central Israel on the coastal plain.
"Freddie," Selena said.
Yes, Selena?
"Can you use this information to break the code?"
I have already done so. I compared the coded information on the scroll with the one in Hebron and constructed a common database. I then factored in the biblical reference to Neta'im. The names given in the biblical verses provided the key to the cipher. Translation is complete.
"Told you," Stephanie said.
"Why didn't you tell us it was complete?"
You did not ask. Would you like to know what it says?
Selena resisted an urge to throw something at the camera lens.
"Yes Freddie," Stephanie said. "We want to know what it says."
I will print it.
A sheet of paper chattered out of the printer on the console. Selena looked at it.
Isolomonkingofisraelwritethesewordseightysummershavepassedandmytimeisnearifearrehoboamwillnotholdthekingdomtogethericannottrust…
The rest of the printed translation was similar. Everything ran together, as it had when it was written.
"Freddie," Selena said, "please revise the translation to include modern punctuation."
Yes, Selena.
The printer chattered again and a new sheet emerged.
I, Solomon, King of Israel, write these words. Eighty summers have passed and my time is near. I fear Rehoboam will not hold the kingdom together. I cannot trust my father's secret with him. The bounty God gave to us to maintain His Temple and protect His people must not be lost. My father keeps sentry over half the wealth he accumulated to build the Temple and protect the future of the kingdom. Though I set down the path below, only one guided by Yahweh will find it.
Begin at Bir es Seba, near the Well of the Patriarch, in the Wilderness of Zin. There are signs for the journey. Look for the first where the water gathers and follow in the steps of Moshe. The second is twenty two parasa to the south. The third will bring you to a high place and the final marker that will guide you to the bones of my father. Beware the
The translation ended there, where the damaged section began.
"Holy shit," Selena said.
CHAPTER 5
After she learned what was written on the scroll, Elizabeth called a meeting of the team. As usual, they met in Elizabeth's office, sitting on the long couch across from her. Stephanie was off to the side of Elizabeth's desk with her laptop.
Anyone with common sense would know it was unwise to upset the people sitting on that couch. The long scar running across Lamont's face made him look like someone you didn't want to meet at night on a lonely street. Ronnie Peete had a kind of quiet menace about him that was completely at odds with his generous nature. Nick gave off the energy of someone who could explode into action at any moment. Even Selena was not exempt. Once you got past the distraction of her good looks and obvious athleticism, you could sense a watchful wariness that missed nothing.
"Selena," Elizabeth said, "tell us what you found on the scroll."
"Not another damn scroll," Lamont said. "The last one was nothing but trouble."
"This one will be too," Selena said.
"What scroll?" Ronnie asked.
"It was found in Jordan back in the 1920s," Selena said, "but nobody knew it. It was inside a sealed pot that wasn't opened until recently."
She explained about Friedman's request and the Jewish Museum.
"The scroll was written in code. I couldn't make sense of the meaning until Steph and I gave it to Freddie. It took him almost no time at all to crack it."
"Figures," Lamont said.
"It was written by King Solomon. No one's ever seen anything written by him. You can't imagine how important this is."
"Solomon again," Lamont grumbled.
"King Solomon? What does it say?" Ronnie asked.
"It's a bombshell," Selena said. "Nobody ever dreamed something like this existed. Solomon begins by saying that he doesn't think his son Rehoboam will be able to keep the kingdom together."
"The kingdom?" Ronnie asked.
"The kingdom of Israel. As a matter of fact, he was right. After Solomon died, it fragmented. Solomon goes on to say that he can't share the secret of his father's tomb with Rehoboam. His father was King David. Then he says that half the wealth raised by David to build the Temple is buried with him. He's talking about the First Temple, the one destroyed by the Babylonians, four hundred years later."
"Wait a minute," Nick said. "Isn't David's tomb in Jerusalem?"
"That's where it's supposed to be," Selena said. "But the scroll says different. That alone is enough to upset everyone."
"What does it mean, half the wealth that was raised to build the temple?" Ronnie asked. "How much wealth?"
"There are two sources that describe the money raised. One is in the Bible, in Chronicles. The other source is the Roman historian, Josephus. Chronicles says that a hundred thousand talents of gold and a million talents of silver were raised. Josephus says it was a tenth of that, but it's still a lot of gold and silver."
"What does a talent weigh?"
"No one's quite sure. It varies according to culture, but a biblical talent probably weighed around seventy-five pounds. It could be more, or a little less. Even if we take the lower figure that Josephus mentions, that would be five thousand talents of gold. Three hundred and seventy-five thousand pounds. Almost nineteen hundred tons. "
Lamont whistled. "All that gold is hidden in David's tomb?"
"According to the scroll, half of it. Solomon was afraid that when he died no one would know where it was. He gives instructions on how to find it. That explains why it's written in code. The scroll says to follow a path that begins in the Wilderness of Zin."
"The Wilderness of Sin? Where's that?" Nick asked.
"Sounds like a wild place to visit," Lamont said.
"Not sin, Zin," Selena said. "The Wilderness of Zin is part of the Negev desert, in the south of Israel. It spills over into Jordan."
"So all someone has to do is follow the instructions if they want to find the tomb and the loot?" Ronnie said. "That sounds too good to be true."
"It is," Selena said. "Part of the scroll is missing. What's there gives the starting point and directions to something called the first marker. It says to follow in the steps of Moses. It ends with a warning, but the scroll is damaged at that point. There's no way to tell what that means."
"Oh, man," Lamont said. "I can see where this is going."
"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.