The Second Messiah

Lela brushed her hands and stood, turning her attention to the desk and the rolled clump of rotting material that lay on top. “What’s this?”

“The linen cloth the scroll was found wrapped in. It was inside the urn. We’ll take a look at those for prints too.”

Lela leaned over to study the linen and inhaled. It smelled ancient, infused with must and soil. “Any prints on the desk?”

“A lot.” Hershel picked up a plastic evidence bag and showed it to Lela. “We also found these scattered on the floor.”

Lela examined the bag and saw slivers of sepia-colored material that looked like faded newspaper, a couple of inches long. “What are they?”

“I suspect they’re flakes of ancient parchment. They probably came from the scroll.”

Lela said, “Do you think there was a scuffle of some kind?”

“There isn’t much evidence of that. But we’ll analyze the material. We can even have it carbon-dated just to prove the age of the parchment.”

“So when will you have something for me, Yad?”

“Like I told Mosberg, I ought to have the autopsy done by tonight. The other stuff sometime tomorrow.”

Mosberg said, “I’ve sent out a couple of my men to talk with the local Bedu, hoping we might pick up something. So far we’ve drawn a complete blank.”

“Any witnesses? Did anyone see anything, Yad?”

“The trouble is, everyone claims to have had a few drinks too many and crashed in their tents, except Jack Cane and Yasmin.”

“Are they involved with each other?”

Mosberg shrugged again. “Nobody’s saying that, but the two were talking on that hill at six A.M. I’m thinking it couldn’t have been just social. Buddy Savage says he was woken by the sound of Professor Green’s tent entrance flap cracking in the wind at about six A.M. He claims the noise kept him awake and that when he went to investigate he found Green unconscious with the knife in his chest. Mr. Savage woke the others. Later it was discovered that the scroll was gone.”

“What do you mean, gone?”

“Stolen, disappeared, whatever. I had my men search every tent, porta-potty, and office trailer. There’s no sign of it in the camp.”

“Do you think the scroll’s theft might be the motive for Green’s death?”

Mosberg scratched his neck. “It seems likely. My men are still interviewing the crew. It’s going to take some time to get through them all and make any conclusions.”

Lela flicked a nod at Hershel. “Thanks, Yad.”

“Pleasure.” Hershel grinned and went back to work.

Lela said to Mosberg, “Have you interviewed this Buddy Savage?”

Mosberg nodded. “His story seems to fit. I’ve got an interview room set up in one of the office trailers. You can talk to whoever you think you need to.”

“We may as well start now.” Lela followed Mosberg as he moved outside the tent into harsh sunlight.

There was commotion as a stocky, red-haired man approached the guards. He was pushing sixty and wore a khaki military shirt, grubby sneakers, and a pair of knee-length combat trousers. A baseball cap was tilted back off his head, NYPD in dark lettering on the front. He seemed irritated as he said in an American accent, “Hey, Mosberg. You mind telling me how much longer we’re going to be hanging around in this dang heat? Everyone’s wilting. You’ve got all our statements, haven’t you?”

Mosberg said, “We’ll try not to keep you much longer, Mr. Savage. But Inspector Raul here may want to go through your statements with you, as well as everyone else. So don’t wander off.”

“Who’s wandering? We need to sleep, not wander.”

“This is Inspector Raul, she’ll be in charge of the case.”

The American looked Lela over and offered his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Inspector. Or maybe not so pleased. We’re all still shocked about what’s happened here.”

Lela saw dark rings under Savage’s eyes. “You’re Mr. Savage, who found the body?”

Savage took a swig from a can of Coke he clutched. “You heard right, and it was pretty unsettling. Professor Green was a longtime friend. The name’s Buddy, by the way. Do you guys have any idea yet who killed him?”

“Not yet.”

Savage crushed the empty can in his hand and tossed it carelessly in the sand. “Listen, inspector, I told Mosberg everything I know, just like everyone else did. You really need to talk again with all of us?”

“Yes, I probably do, Mr. Savage.”

Savage sighed tiredly, took off his baseball cap, and ran a hand through his thinning red hair. “Then can you do us all a favor and do your best to move this thing along? With all respect to the professor, most of the crew didn’t sleep much last night. They’re fit to collapse.”

“I’ll do my best, Mr. Savage.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.” Savage tugged his cap back on and wandered back to the crew.

Lela said, “So that’s Buddy Savage.”

“Yes, and he’s got a point. We’ve held everyone here for the last four hours, and they were up most of the night. They’re exhausted.”