“—It came from an anonymous source at the University of Jerusalem, just two days ago, the news that a team of archaeologists may have found a clue to the location of the mystical Holy Grail in a tomb below the summit of the island’s extinct volcano, El Teide. Centuries of search and speculation have always failed to prove the existence of this early Christian symbol, but now Dr. Eli Turner and his team may have discovered evidence to its whereabouts on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The reference to the Grail, the cup supposedly use by Christ during the Last Supper, was found written on an ancient parchment discovered in an old Guanche tomb.
Critics of the discovery, such as Alton Burr, question the validity of such a find. Burr, founder of the Secular America Movement, said in a statement that he would stop at nothing to prove this to be just another fraud perpetrated by the religious community in their continued attempt to control the minds of free thinking people worldwide. Burr, a former ACLU lawyer and member of the American Socialist Party, has rumored that he is considering running for Senate in next year’s race in New York. When questioned about Burr’s statement, Dr. Eli Turner just laughed and walked away from our reporters. In other news tonight—“
Turner clicked the television off and stared at the darkened screen in stunned silence. He rose from his chair and walked over to the phone where he dialed the hotel message system. After the pause, he heard his father’s voice.
“Josh, it’s Dad. Maria and I are up to our ears in news reporters and others here at the site. Things are getting a bit crazy, so if you can get back as soon as you can, it’d be a big help. I’m losing the phone signal, Josh…I’ll get back to you as soon as I can when we get the satellite phone from Paulo. I love you, Son. Bye.”
With a click, the line went dead. Turner knew in his heart that something was wrong and his father needed him. It had been years since he’d said he loved him. Turner heard him say it at the funeral for his mother after she had been killed in an auto accident when he was five years old. From that point on, his father had buried his feelings; never really talking to him. Every time he tried to get close to him, his father would effectively shut him out. Finally, after years of trying, Turner had given up.
He quickly started packing his duffel bag when the phone rang and startled him. Turner sprang to the phone and lifted the receiver.
“Dad!” he shouted into the phone, hoping it was his father.
“Hi, Son,” came his father’s voice. “I’m calling from the satellite phone at the site. Did you get my message?”
“Yes, Dad, at noon tomorrow, Samuel and I are leaving on the next ferry back to Tenerife. We should be back at the site by nightfall.”
“That’s good news, Josh. We could use the help. Besides, Middle Eastern antiquities have always been your forte. I just hope you still want to work with me. With all that has been going on, Josh, I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching and I owe you an apology. I know I haven’t been much of a father to you,” Eli said, his voice cracking a little.
“No, Dad. You don’t need to explain….”
“I loved your mom with all my heart, Son. And when she died, something inside me died as well. I realize now that I’ve been trying to push you away; trying to avoid ever being hurt like that again. It’s as if….”
“You know I love you, Dad, and I want to be there working with you.”
“Thanks, Son. I love you, too. I’m getting too old to be doing this work, Josh. When ICAP is securely established, I’m going to retire and I want you to take over.”
“Are you sure about that, Dad?” Josh said, fighting back his emotions. “I think Kim Liao would be a better choice.”
“He couldn’t hold a candle to your skills, Son. And I wouldn’t trust anyone else in keeping the organization going.”
After a moment of awkward silence Turner said, “Thanks, Dad. I promise to make you proud.”
“You already have, Son,” the elder Turner replied softly, then quickly cleared his throat and continued. “We’ve had the camp set up and going for a few days now, and have completed much of the excavation in the Guanche tomb. Maria and a few of the students from the University plotted and photographed the entire tomb before removing the contents. We must be sure we do this right. Many people are watching this one, Josh. Imagine…the possibility of discovering a true reference to the cup of the Last Supper.”
“I just saw the news reports. It’s all over the media,” Turner said. “How did word leak out, Dad?”
“Unfortunately, it was leaked by one of the students assigned to Hiram Rabib, in Jerusalem. Hiram apologized soon afterward and promised that any further discoveries requiring translation would be done by him personally, and with the highest discretion. All hell was breaking loose here for the first few days, Son. Fortune hunters, religious zealots, and the media were circling around here like vultures,” Eli said with frustration in his voice. “Carlos was finally able to send some men from the Tenerife National Guard to protect our discoveries, and our asses. I don’t mind saying I’m still a bit nervous. Fortunately, things seem to be calming down.”
“Are you sure that you and Maria are safe, Dad? I’m worried about the possibility of crazies coming out of the woodwork.”
“Yeah, we’ve already had a few of them, but Captain Saune and his men are doing a fine job discouraging folks from getting too close. Thankfully, the crowds are starting to thin out by the hour because we haven’t reported any findings other than Guanche artifacts.”
“Dad, are you sure this discovery could be the real deal? I mean, parchments have been forged in the past by antiquities bootleggers with great accuracy, and these so called Holy Grail stories have been popping up for as long as there have been people around to listen.”
“We received the carbon dating reports from samples of the parchment we sent to the university this morning, Josh. They have been dated to the first century A.D. The extreme dry climate of the western flank of Teide, along with it being sealed for so long in the lava tube, has preserved it quite nicely and with little contamination. I hope that we’ll find more inside the sealed tomb when we enter it tomorrow.”
“Dad, I know you are the best in your field,” Turner said with concern in his voice, “but I want you to be careful, okay? We may have opened a hornet’s nest. I saw on the news that this guy named Burr was—”
“Yeah, I know all about Mr. Alton Burr,” Eli interrupted. “That clown had the audacity to telegraph me demanding he be present during our work. Of course, I told him to go to hell, since that’s where he and his gang of wackos desire to be anyway,” Eli said with a chuckle. “Alright Son, I have to go. I have a ton of work to do. I’ll look for you and Samuel tomorrow after sunset.”
“Okay, Dad. Be careful. Bye.”
He hung up the phone just as Samuel entered the room. He was balancing two sealed containers in one hand.
“Your favorite, amigo,” he said, setting the plastic containers down on the table, “stewed goat meat.”
Turner just looked at him and said, “Samuel, I just got off the phone with my dad. We’ve got to get back to Tenerife. Something isn’t right.”
Late afternoon on the following day, the sun, now descending behind the towering heights of Mt. Teide, cast finger-like shadows on the archeology camp situated on the lower plateau below. The site was set up directly in front the newly exposed opening to the ancient volcanic lava tube containing the Guanche tomb found by Maria and Samuel.
The cool afternoon breeze was a welcome relief to Eli Turner as he watched the last bus slowly making its way down the hastily constructed access road toward Guimar and connecting to Rt. 82, the main highway toward Santa Cruz.