Iris Johansen - Eight Days To Live

He nodded. “I’ll call Gillem and check on his progress.”

She went into the bedroom and quickly dialed Joe’s number.

“Are you all right?” Joe asked curtly when he picked up. “I meant to call you, but I’ve been scrambling.”

“I know.” It was what she had expected. “I’m scared. Frantic. But working through it. You got Jock’s report?”

“Yes, I’m heading for the airport now. I’ll be in Damascus in a few hours.”

“No!”

“Jane, don’t tell me no.”

“I don’t have any choice. Do you think I don’t know how you feel?” she asked fiercely. “I’m not letting there be even the smallest chance of anything going wrong until we have some kind of trap in place. I’m not going to let either you or Caleb run your own show. We have to work together, dammit.”

“What the hell are you thinking? I won’t do anything to risk Eve.”

“Listen to me. Millet took Eve because of me. All of this is because of me. He knows about you and Venable and that he has to walk very carefully. But that’s not going to stop him from trying for a trade.” She paused. “If I feel as if I’ve lost control, and there’s a risk, he’ll get his trade.”

Joe was cursing. “That’s crazy. He won’t let her live regardless.”

“Then stop and clear your head and help me get a plan together. I won’t have you rushing to Damascus and grabbing Faruk and trying to force him. I gave you and Venable this lead to Faruk. He’s mine .”

He was silent. “God, I’m scared, Jane,” he said hoarsely. “She’s… everything.”

“I know. Me too.” She couldn’t speak for a moment. “It’s going to be okay,” she said unevenly. “I know it will.” She steadied her voice. “The temple is definitely in Syria. We don’t know where yet. You and Venable go on to Damascus, but leave Faruk alone. That’s as good a jumping-off place as you can get. I’m going to call MacDuff and tell him to join you there. You’re going to have your hands full just keeping him in line.” She paused. “I’m not trying to close you out of this, Joe. If you or anyone else can come up with a foolproof plan that’s safe for Eve, then I’ll grab it.”

“I hate this. I don’t know enough to have a plan. But I’m not going to sit in Damascus and twiddle my thumbs for very long.”

“You shouldn’t have to worry about that,” she said dryly. “Millet’s not going to give me very long. Day after tomorrow is the day of offering.” She added, “I’ll let you know what’s happening as soon as I do.”

“You’d better,” he said. “And don’t do anything stupid. Eve isn’t the only one I care about.” He hung up.

But Eve is the only one who makes his world worthwhile, Jane thought. She knew Joe loved her, but Eve was the center of his universe. It was amazing that he’d let her talk him into restraining that explosive anger and fear that was tearing at him. But the situation was still volatile, and keeping Caleb and Joe in check was going to be a delicate balance.

Well, she’d just have to do it. But one thing at a time. First, she had to see if that bottle possessed the genie that would make all this terror go away.

She opened the door and went to see if Jock had any news about the professor who was going to free that genie.

“HE’S STILL CALIBRATING HIS equipment,” Jock said as he walked out of the bedroom where Professor Tischler had set up shop over an hour ago. “He doesn’t seem to be in any hurry. I’ve never seen anyone this painstaking.”

Jane leaned back against the couch. “Good. Then he won’t damage anything.”

“That backpack was heavier than I thought it would be when I took it into the bedroom. How much does thirty pieces of silver weigh?”

“It’s actually shekels of silver. Each shekel is about twenty-nine millimeters in diameter and thirteen grams in weight. It’s a little smaller than a half-dollar. Then you take into consideration the alabaster bottle. It’s not really heavy, but it’s substantial.” She shook her head. “That’s why Adah Ziller’s red herring of those two little ancient coins she left around for Weismann to find was so pitiful. I don’t think she did her research. They weren’t even Shekels of Tyre. Though it might have just been a teaser. Or maybe she thought that Weismann wouldn’t have done his research.”

“What’s a Shekel of Tyre?”

“It’s the only coin that the priests of the temple would use or accept. That was why Judas would have had to be paid in Shekels of Tyre. They were minted in Phoenicia, but were in common usage in Jerusalem.”

“Evidently you did your research.”

“Part of that bundle of books you got for me. But Professor Tischler will know a hell of a lot more.” She glanced at the door again. “He has to be close to getting answers. I don’t need museum-type authenticity. All I need is to know that it’s a possible.”

“Which may take a while. You could take a nap. I’ll wake you.”

She shook her head. “I’ve already had a nap.”

“So Caleb told me.” He looked down into the tea in his cup. “Dreams. Strange.”

“You mean I’m strange,” she said.

He shook his head. “I don’t have as much problem accepting dreams as I do the weird stuff Caleb does. Dreams happen to everyone. I can see how a dream might wander off into the deep end.”

“That’s an odd way to put it.”

He smiled. “Is it? I know a lot about getting lost in the deep ends. You just have to hold on and keep going until you see a break ahead.”

“That’s what I’m doing.” She added quietly, “With a little help from my friends. Thank you for being my friend, Jock.”

He inclined his head. “It’s my pleasure.”

“Not at the moment. Right now being my friend is a pain in the ass.”

“Well, I’m not bored. There’s something to say-”

“I’ve finished,” Joseph Tischler stood in the bedroom doorway. He was a small, wiry man in his early fifties whose rust red hair was streaked with gray and whose dark brown eyes glittered with vitality. “As much as I can complete without actually breaking the seal and opening the bottle. I refuse to do that. The scroll could disintegrate.”

“You X-rayed it?”

“In a manner of speaking. I’ve developed my own digital-process X-ray-based CT scans of rolled papyrus and carbon-based ink samples. It’s been done before, but I’ve combined it with some rather sophisticated imaging. I used it extensively in Cairo when they discovered several scrolls that would have been destroyed or remained unopened for the foreseeable future. It lets you slice through an object and develop a three-dimensional data set without having to open it. Then you can digitally unroll the scrolls on a computer screen. It was the only possible solution with that bottle.”

Jane sat up straight on the couch. “And?”

His lips tightened. “Come and see for yourself.” He turned on his heel and went back into the bedroom.

“Very curt,” Jock said. “Too bad Caleb isn’t here to give him an attitude adjustment.”

“I don’t care how polite he is,” Jane said as she got to her feet. “As long as he did his job.” She moved toward the bedroom. “Let’s go see what he came up with.”

“I’ll have a picture for you in a minute.” Tischler was arranging one of three cameras he had surrounding the small pedestal on which the bottle sat. “The interior of the bottle will be projected on the computer monitor over there on the wall. It’s probably not exactly what you want, but I won’t expose the contents in the bottle to air without proper precautions. The writ is probably goatskin leather instead of papyrus, or it wouldn’t have survived. If it had been plant-based papyrus, it would have disintegrated already. I’m not risking it.”