‘Welcome to the Promised Land, Allegra. And I wouldn’t be believing all you’ve been told either. It’s a lot worse than that,’ he said with a chuckle.
‘And last but by no means least, my wife, Marian.’
‘Congratulations on your scholarship, Allegra. Yossi has told me a lot about you.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Kaufmann…’ Allegra got no further.
‘Marian. You are part of the family now.’
‘Steady on.’ David protested. ‘We’re not even married.’
‘David Kaufmann.’
Allegra smiled at the warmth in Marian’s rebuke.
‘I gather you got acquainted with Monsignor Lonergan today?’ Yossi Kaufmann said.
‘David assures me they’re not all like that,’ Allegra replied diplomatically.
‘Don’t be too certain. They may not all be as full of booze and bad manners,’ Yossi said, giving Allegra some inkling as to where David might have learnt his colourful language, ‘but collectively they’re dangerously out of touch with reality. They still haven’t approved your access or office space, but we’ll keep at them. In the meantime the Hebrew University has allocated you a laboratory in the biochemistry complex. It’s small but the equipment is state of the art. Some things are outside the control of the Vatican,’ he added with a whisper of conspiracy. He excused himself to take his place on the steps of the podium. The dark-haired Cohatek technician signalled to Yossi that the sound system was ready to go.
‘Ladies and Gentlemen,’ Professor Kaufmann began. ‘Welcome to the Shrine of the Book. Behind me in the display cases is the Great Isaiah Scroll, all sixty-six chapters and 7 metres of it.’
Recovered from the library of the mysterious Essenes in Qumran, the priceless document had been written over five centuries before Christ. The senators listened attentively while Yossi described how the scrolls had been discovered, and how some of them had eventually found their way into Israeli hands.
‘Many of the scrolls were not acquired by Israel until the Rockefeller Museum was liberated by Israeli forces during the 1967 Six Day War. For anyone who is interested, Dr David Kaufmann can give you far more information than I can. He was personally involved in their capture.’ Yossi nodded towards his son with an unmistakable look of ‘well done’.
‘Isaiah contains a dire warning for civilisation,’ Yossi continued. ‘It’s perhaps best summed up by Isaiah when he says, “The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled.” Isaiah, Daniel, Enoch and Revelations and the more recent prophecies of Nostradamus and Edgar Cayce all point to an increase in wars, a growing gap between rich and poor, a change in weather patterns and problems with water, and a striking increase in the number and severity of earthquakes. My own research on the codes contained in the Dead Sea Scrolls is giving clues to the final countdown, the key to which is in a scroll known as the Omega Scroll.’
‘I thought that was a myth?’ the Republican senator from Alabama suggested.
‘And you would not be alone in thinking that,’ Yossi answered with a smile, ‘but there is irrefutable evidence in the War Scroll, the Manual of Discipline, the Temple Scroll, Isaiah and others that points to its existence and within it, the key to ours. We have become immune to the prophecies of the ancients, but my hope, Senator, is that we can find the warning contained in the Omega Scroll before it is too late. If you would like to follow me, we can examine these prophecies close up.’
‘Did you actually capture the Rockefeller Museum?’ Allegra whispered, realising there were many things about David that she knew nothing about. Her interest was piqued and she wanted to find out more, much more, about him.
‘I wish he wouldn’t say things like that. We’ll be here all night.’
Roma
Cardinal Petroni answered the intercom.
‘Petroni!’
Monsignor Thomas had grown used to his cardinal’s irritability and complete lack of telephone manner. It came with the territory. Nor did he question the frequency of calls from the CCN studios in New York. There were some things about his cardinal’s rituals and habits that were not discussed.
‘Daniel Kirkpatrick from CCN is on line four, Eminence.’
Impatiently Cardinal Petroni clicked off the intercom.
‘Daniel. Good to hear from you. How are things in New York?’
‘Very well, Lorenzo, and you?’
‘Can’t complain. How can I help?’
‘It’s more the other way round this time. I just wanted you to be aware that there will be a program on the Dead Sea Scrolls next week. The reporter is one of our news journalists and I’ve tried to have it canned, but International Correspondent is not really in my area and they’re sticking to their guns.’
‘Schweiker?’
‘Got it in one. I’d get rid of him if I had my way, but it’s not that easy to shift the big guns. I don’t have your weight to throw around, though I wish I did! Things would be a lot different around here.’
‘That will come, Daniel, that will come. In the meantime, do we know the contents of the program?’
‘I’ve sent you an email. Essentially it’s the old line of questioning the dates. Nothing new and I wonder why they bother, although there seems to be a bit of pressure from the Israeli side. A Professor Kaufmann?’
‘I know him. Jewish, which is enough said. I’ll get our man in Jerusalem primed. Stay well.’
For a long while after he had hung up the phone Cardinal Petroni stared out of the window at the lights of Rome. Know your enemy. Was it just Kaufmann or did Dr Bassetti have something to do with this renewed pressure on the dates of the scrolls, he wondered. Tomorrow he would put a call in to Lonergan.
Jerusalem
‘Get fucked,’ Derek Lonergan muttered as he used his free hand to reach for the red phone, supporting his aching head with the other.
‘Good morning, Eminence.’
‘I have had a call from CCN in New York,’ Cardinal Petroni said, dispensing with the need for any greetings. ‘International Correspondent have put a program together that will raise the usual allegations over the dates of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Vatican involvement. Do you have any idea where this might be coming from?’
‘No, Eminence, although as I have explained, there may be some pressure being applied from Professor Kaufmann’s office.’
‘We don’t deal in “maybe’s” here, Monsignor. Find out.’
Up yours, Lonergan thought, but he said nothing.
‘They’ll want to interview you, so stick to the usual consensus. To avoid any embarrassing questions on access for the two academics, you can finalise their secondment but make sure what they see is perfectly innocuous.’
‘Do we know who the journalist is, Eminence?’
‘Schweiker. Their Middle East correspondent. At times he can be useful, but for the most part he is a thorn in our side.’
Lonergan took a deep breath. Schweiker had seen him often enough in the Cellar Bar but Lonergan had always avoided talking to him. Schweiker, he felt sure, had been none the wiser, but an interview would be an entirely different matter. The name Schweiker was a reasonably common one in the United States and clearly the Cardinal had not put two and two together. Lonergan’s ego kicked in. It had been over forty years ago and he didn’t look anything remotely like he did back then.
‘I expect an answer on where this pressure is coming from, Monsignor. The Holy Church is to be protected with something better than “maybe”.’
The line went dead.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Qumran
A llegra groped for the alarm and sat up bleary eyed. After Yossi’s briefing and a mandatory drink at Patrick’s, Allegra and David had gone out for dinner. Allegra could feel all her resistance disappearing, and for the first time she was secretly pleased that David was so ‘single’. They talked late into the night, scarcely aware of the time. Driving her home after dinner, the usually talkative David became very quiet. As he leaned over to open Onslow’s dodgy passenger door to let her out they had both felt awkward. David broke the silence.