Adam Palmer - The Moses Legacy

The helicopter journey was a sombre affair. In any case, conversation would have been difficult above the noise of the rotor blades, but the cold stares from the crew gave Daniel the distinct impression that he and Gabrielle were regarded as enemies, or at least as troublemakers. Nevertheless, they were offered cold drinks at one point, both settling on diet Coke. For the most part they contented themselves with admiring the view as the helicopter sped towards Herzliya.

When the helicopter landed, eighty-five minutes later, it was on the roof of a rather old nondescript building. They were led out and taken to a waiting room. From there, Daniel was called in first.

He found himself sitting in an office in front of a teak desk, opposite a dark-haired Israeli, not unlike himself and about the same age.

‘My name is Dov Shamir and I am going to ask you a few questions. I would be much obliged if you didn’t try to bullshit me, but just gave me some straight answers.’

Na’if was struggling frantically for breath. He felt the bandaged man’s arm adjust its position and he sensed that something bad was about to happen, but tugging at the man’s hand did nothing; the grip was just too tight.

Desperate to escape, Na’if put both his hands on the giant’s forearm, intending to use his entire body weight to pull on the arm and break the attacker’s grip. But as soon as he put his left hand higher up on the man’s forearm, the big man let out a scream and released Na’if.

He didn’t know about the burns that Goliath had sustained, all he knew was that the man was in pain and that he had released him. That gave Na’if all the chance he needed. Dropping the bag in the hope that it was what the big man was really interested in, he lurched away, rolled on the ground to get clear and then sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him.

He heard a grunt and looked round to see the big man running after him. He wanted to scream so as to draw the attention of others to what was happening, but that was not a way for a man to act, so he decided against it. Instead he just ran and kept running, making sure to stay in the open as much as possible. He made his way on to a bus leaving the area, constantly looking out the window for any sign of the man who had attacked him. As long as the man didn’t get on to the bus, he was safe.

Daniel wondered if he should ask for a lawyer, but he decided not to push his luck. It wasn’t clear if this Dov Shamir was a policeman, an immigration official or something else entirely. He suspected that ‘something else entirely’ was probably the most accurate guess. So instead he nodded meekly, giving Shamir the go ahead to start the interrogation.

‘We know that you were called in to assist Akil Mansoor of the Egyptian Antiquities Authority translate some stone fragments which he believes may be the original tablets of stone from the Bible that Moses smashed.’

Daniel considered correcting Shamir as to the name of the organization that Mansoor headed. However, it would be too pedantic and would not endear him to his interrogator.

‘I can confirm that.’

‘We also know that you were called in on the recommendation of Gabrielle Gusack, a student of Mansoor’s and whose uncle was your professor when you did your PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies.

‘Yes,’ said Daniel. ‘Or the School of Anti-Semitism as we sometimes call it.’

‘I know. I studied there too. But I presume you’re referring to certain sections of the student body, not the school itself.’

‘Absolutely.’

‘And after examining the stone fragments, you went on a tour with Mansoor, visiting various ancient sites in Egypt.’

‘Yes.’

‘Could you tell me which sites you visited?’

Daniel went through the sites, from memory, stumbling a couple of times.

‘Now tell me about the incident at the Tomb of Ay – the one in the western Valley of the Kings. And don’t just tell me about the incident itself, I want to know what happened after that – right up to you getting picked up by the patrol boat.’

Daniel recounted the story as best he could: from being locked in, the attempts to call for help, the escape, the shooting incident with the police, the message on Mansoor’s phone, the journeys to Cairo and Taba and the dramatic escape from Egypt by powerboat. The only thing he left out was what they had found in Mansoor’s office and his intention to visit the Samaritans.

Dov Shamir sat there in silence, looking at him. Daniel wasn’t sure what to make of this and wondered whether Shamir didn’t believe him. Perhaps he’s just trying to give me time to remember more details.

Eventually, Shamir spoke. ‘Who do you think locked you in?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘I never said you knew. I asked you who you think locked you in.’

‘I can’t think… I mean, I can’t imagine who would want to.’

‘You’re not in the least bit curious? Someone tries to kill you and you’re not curious as to who that might be… or why?’

‘I haven’t really had time to think about it, to be honest.’

‘No? It took you six days on the felucca to get to Cairo and four days to get from Cairo to Taba by camel. That’s ten days since you were locked in the tomb. And you mean to say that in all that time you haven’t thought about who locked you there?’

Daniel was unsure whether to reveal his speculations about the plague or Harrison’s cryptic statement that might support those suspicions. At this stage, he didn’t know whether to trust Shamir or not. So he took a more cautious line.

‘The only thing I could come up with was that someone wanted to stop me from translating the various documents in Proto-Sinaitic script that Mansoor and the Egyptians have accumulated.’

‘But you have no idea who that might be?’

‘Well, quite frankly, I think even that theory is too silly for words. I mean, who would want to suppress such knowledge? A rival academic who’s working on it but hasn’t got enough to publish yet? Some religious nutter who thinks that we shouldn’t tamper with the past, but simply accept the scriptures?’

‘I notice that you haven’t asked about what happened to Akil Mansoor.’

‘We heard on the radio that he was recovering in hospital. Has there been any development since then?’

‘Yes. He has since made a full recovery.’

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. ‘And what about that hysteria about me and Gabrielle carrying some disease? I notice that you haven’t put us in quarantine.’

Shamir smiled. ‘We’ve established that this health scare was a bit of a misunderstanding.’

Daniel was dubious about this. Mansoor had said there was an outbreak of disease at the dig site. Could it have been food poisoning after all? Was the quarantine just a panic response? An unnecessary precaution? If so, what about the curator at the British Museum?

‘It was a misunderstanding that very nearly got me and Gaby killed.’

‘I know. But then again your somewhat unconventional solution to the problem also very nearly got you and Professor Gusack killed.’

‘So do we know what our legal status in Egypt is?’

Shamir pursed his lips and thought for a moment.

‘You’re still technically in breach of Egyptian law because of the manner of your departure. But then again you’re not the first Jew to flee from Egypt with the army in hot pursuit.’

They couldn’t help but exchange a smile at that one.

‘What about Israeli law?’ Daniel asked with some trepidation. ‘Are we in any trouble over our somewhat unorthodox method of entry?’

‘Under ordinary circumstances you would be. But I have some discretion in this matter and we have no intention of prosecuting you… or deporting you.’