The Second Messiah

She stared back. “Of course I helped him. He did so much for me. Washed me, clothed me, replaced the love I lost from my parents. And when he had crawled out of the gutter, he gave me the best education money could buy. Hassan isn’t a beast, Jack. He’s a good man. A good man with a lot of harm done to him—to his head, to his heart and soul, just like you. But no matter how hurt he was himself, he would always assure me that everything would be all right.” Her eyes became wet. “And now with Nidal gone, Hassan’s all the family I have left.”

“How did Professor Green get to play a part in your little game?”

“Green was a ladies’ man, easy to manipulate. Hassan wanted someone he could trust on site when the scroll was discovered. Someone to keep him informed. Who better than his own family? He had Josuf’s help, of course, but he wasn’t family, and Hassan didn’t fully trust him, and rightly so.”

“What do you mean?”

“He worked for Hassan. That’s why he took us to Maloula, on Hassan’s orders, to meet the black-market thieves his brother dealt with and to try to find out where the scroll had disappeared. Unfortunately, Josuf was also an Israeli informer when they paid him enough. But now he is no more.”

“You mean he’s dead?”

“It’s the Bedu way, Jack. Deceit carries a heavy price. Josuf’s family will be taken care of financially by Hassan. But Josuf betrayed his tribe.”

“How did you manipulate Green?”

“I made it my business to bump into him in a hotel bar in Jerusalem. The rest, as they say, was easy.”

“Sex in return for a ringside seat to keep watch on your brother’s big plan?”

Yasmin shook her head. “There was no sex, I made sure of that, only the promise of it. Green was entranced by me, wanted us to spend time together. I told him I was fascinated by archaeology. With a little coaxing he came up with my cover story. As his niece, I’d have a tent nearby and he could see all of me he wanted to, without raising suspicion.”

“Clever. Kisses and hugs for Professor Green when no one was looking, and his hopeful prospect of sex down the line.”

“That about sums it up.”

“I’m not surprised Green fell for it. I did too. You’re good, I’ll give you that. And here was me thinking you might have liked me. But there’s something I don’t understand. After we left the Vatican and sat in the café you alerted me to Nidal and his buddy. Why?”

“Hassan’s plan was to abduct you, along with me. That’s why I followed you out of the café, ultimately to make it easier. I had phoned Hassan, told him you’d confided in me and you’d hidden the scroll. Nidal was to take us to Hassan’s villa to interrogate you and get the information from you. By me alerting you to the danger, it would help protect my cover.”

“Then Hassan could use the ploy of threatening to harm you to make me reveal where I’d hidden the scroll.”

“Yes.”

“But then the Israelis appeared and ruined it all?”

She nodded. “Nidal thought it wiser if I disappeared with him into the tunnels. He didn’t like the idea of leaving me with Israelis.”

“I guess I really fell for it, didn’t I?”

“I’m sorry that you’ve been used and hurt, Jack. But there was no other way.”

The Lear jet lurched as the air brakes deployed, slowing the aircraft, lifting it slightly. Yasmin peered out. “Another few minutes and we’ll be on the ground.”

“And then?”

“Hassan has Bedu friends who’ll take us close to the border but not over it—we don’t want the Israelis interfering in what happens next.”

“And what’s that exactly?”

“An exchange. We get the scroll and you get your freedom.”

“Somehow I doubt the latter. Who’s doing the exchanging?”

“Hassan called Buddy Savage and told him where the scroll was buried. He gave him instructions to bring it to us, otherwise you’d die. But I promise you no harm will come to you, Jack, just so long as Buddy doesn’t try any double-cross.” Her eyes moistened. “I’ve lost Nidal. There’s been enough killing. I don’t want any more of it.”

“So the bottom line is, Hassan wants the scroll back.”

“It rightfully belongs to the Bedu. Just like all the other scrolls found at Qumran. Hassan now intends to release them to the public, along with dozens of other scrolls he’s collected over the years. They will expose the Israelis and the Vatican for what they are, liars and thieves.”

“Why didn’t he do that long ago?”

“He had evidence but not enough. This scroll was the solid proof that he’d always hoped to find. It was the jewel in the crown.” She came over and took hold of his face. Leaning forward, she kissed him on the lips and looked into his eyes. “And just for the record, I did like you, Jack. I still do. If things were different, who knows what might have become of us?”

“That’s a polished brush-off, I’ll give you that.”

She reached out and gently grazed his cheek with her hand. “A word of advice, Jack. Please don’t meddle with Hassan. If you try anything that would jeopardize the exchange, I promise you, my brother will kill you.”

“He’ll kill me anyway, I’ll guarantee you that.”