Alex Mitchell - The 13th Tablet

‘He is, but he makes sure the church is cared for and plays the organ from time to time. Never mind. You’ll be careful, won’t you?’

‘Of course, Mina.’

In the evening, after dinner, they all sat by the fire. Joshua spoke of the magic of the Gog Magog hills just outside Cambridge, of the strange stone circle nearby and the ancient Roman road you could still follow from Cambridge to Linton. Jack and Mina were fascinated by their host’s every word.

December 17th, 2004. Hildersham

Jack and Mina both woke up to a loud wailing coming from downstairs. They rushed out of their respective rooms and bumped into each other in the corridor.

‘Did you hear that?’ asked Jack.

‘Yes. It’s Joshua,’ she said alarmed, as she ran down the stairs. The old man was sitting in his armchair. Mina approached him carefully.

‘Joshua? Is Daniel alright?’

‘Oh God, oh God,’ he kept repeating.

‘What is it Joshua?’

He looked at her with vacant eyes and said, ‘It’s gone.’ Mina and Jack looked at each other in total incomprehension. They both knelt next to Joshua, and Mina held his hand.

‘Talk to me Joshua,’ she whispered to him kindly.

A car pulled out near the house. A few moments later, Daniel opened the front door. He saw an expression on his father’s face that he hadn’t seen since the day his mother died. Mina was by his side with another man.

‘What’s going on here?’ he shouted.

Mina walked up to Daniel and said, ‘I don’t know. We just came running down the stairs when we heard your dad screaming. He’s been like this ever since!’

‘And who are you?’ Daniel asked Jack.

Mina answered for Jack, ‘This is my friend I told you about. He arrived yesterday afternoon.’

‘Hi, I’m Jack,’ he said.

‘Daniel’, replied Daniel quickly before kneeling at his father’s side.

‘Dad, what’s happened?’

Old Bamart took a deep breath, and sighed.

‘I went to the church early this morning and…’ he broke off.

‘And?’ asked Mina.

‘And the church was vandalised during the night.’

‘What?’ said Jack and Mina simultaneously.

Daniel looked at them suspiciously.

‘The altar was smashed and… and an object I care about was stolen,’ said Joshua wearily.

‘What was stolen, Dad?’ asked Daniel.

‘I can’t speak of it here,’ he replied, glancing at Jack and Mina.

But Mina quickly interjected, ‘You can Joshua. I think I know what you’re talking about. Was a cuneiform tablet stolen from the altar last night?’

He looked at her in wonder.

‘You knew?’

‘What does she know, Dad? What the hell’s going on here?’ asked Daniel.

‘I think it’s best if Mina and I filled you in on what we’re really doing here,’ Jack suggested.

An hour later, after much talking, all four sat in silence, their faces drained of colour.

‘So you’ve been a keeper of this Jerusalem tablet all your life and you never told me a thing,’ Daniel asked his father in disbelief.

‘I’m sorry son. I was not to share this secret until I felt my life ebbing away, like my father before me and his father before him. I’m still in shock to learn that Mina and Jack found a letter from my ancestor.’

‘How did all this begin?’ asked Mina.

‘Well, the letter you found was written by Alejandro Cardozo, my ancestor who settled at Mulberry Cottage in the 18th century. He was a Portuguese Jewish scholar whose real name was Yeshua Ben Moshe. He probably came from a Marranos family, you know the ‘secret Jews’ who remained in Spain and Portugal after Jews had been outlawed there in 1492 but took on a Christian name.’

‘Hmm, certainly not one of Portugal’s finest hours… talking of which, I thought Jews weren’t allowed at Cambridge University until at least the 19th century?’ Mina said.

‘He wasn’t working for the University. He first arrived in London where he stayed with the large Sephardi community which had settled there centuries earlier. And, just like it says in the letter you found, one of the Cardozo brothers had moved from Portugal to Safed where he set up a printing business. Yeshua was the eldest, and as such was entrusted with the tablet. That’s how it ended up in England.’

‘What happened then?’ asked Daniel astonished.

‘He was employed by the local vicar, here in Hildersham.’

‘To do what, Dad?’ asked Daniel.

‘The churchman was an antiquarian of sorts, and as many other Christian biblical scholars of the time, he had been trying to go beyond the Vulgate, to unlock the full potential of the Jewish Bible.’

‘Sorry guys, what’s the Vulgate?’ asked Jack.

‘It’s the name for St. Jerome’s translation of the Old Testament in Latin,’ replied Mina.

‘He must have entrusted the vicar with the tablet he brought from Portugal, and ended up becoming the unofficial keeper of the Church of the Holy Trinity… and now it is gone.’

They all sat in silence, deep in their own thoughts. Daniel wondered why and when his family name had changed from Cardozo to Bamart.

‘Who did this Jack?’ asked Mina.

‘I don’t think it’s Wheatley, he doesn’t have a clue about the clay tablet. I guess I was followed from the library to Hildersham by our mysterious and relentless pursuers, I’m so sorry!’

There wasn’t much more to add. The tablet was gone forever. Whoever these men were, they’d won. Jack was furious at having been duped but there was nothing he could do about it.

Same day. New York. Private airfield.

Natasha and Oberon were waiting in the car for the private jet to land and fly them to Malibu. As the jet finally made its descent onto the airfield runway with a screeching sound, Oberon’s mobile phone rang.

‘Yes?’ answered Oberon.

‘It’s John, sir, in Malibu. I don’t know what to say.’

‘What is it? We’re about to leave.’

‘Someone was in the vault last night. The concealed door was open when I entered the house.’

‘What? What did they steal?’ Oberon spluttered… his precious private collection…

‘I don’t know sir.’

‘Right. Walk back to the vault right now and call me when you’re standing near the large wall painting with a tower.’

‘Do you think the tablet’s gone?’ asked Natasha anxiously.

‘I certainly hope not,’ he snapped.

The phone rang.

‘It’s me sir. I’m in.’

‘On my desk. There should be a thin stone tablet.’

‘I can’t see anything of the sort, sir.’

‘A shiny flat stone, black.’

‘No. Nothing like that, sir.’

Wheatley felt his heart plummet, ‘And you didn’t see anyone approaching the house?’ Oberon asked.

‘No sir. I don’t understand. We had two teams of four men guarding the house and the grounds throughout the night.’

‘Go through all the CCTV footage and get back to me within the hour.’

‘Yes sir.’

Oberon felt like strangling someone right now.

‘Natasha?’

‘Yes, sir?’ she answered, taking a step backwards.

‘Any luck finding out who Mina Osman’s partner is? Did you call our friend in Intelligence?’

‘Yes. All he knew was that someone called Jack Hillcliff may be involved but it was unconfirmed.’

‘Find out everything you can about him, his family, everything!’

Hildersham. Evening.

‘You know Jack… the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced our pursuers might be Jewish. It’s as if some age-old biblical tale is unfolding before our very eyes.’ Mina and Jack were chatting quietly in the kitchen.

‘So you don’t think it was Wheatley’s men or Muslim fanatics?’ asked Jack.