The Edge of Darkness Page 24

  “I’m always happy to receive money, Dr. De La Rosa.”

  FIFTY-TWO

  AFTER THE GRAVESIDE service, Bob Wagoner invited everyone to come to the social hall of the Preston Community Church.

  “The women of the church have prepared a luncheon for all of you. We know some of you have traveled a great distance to honor the memory of Paul. And we count it a privilege to provide food and a place for you to visit with one another. They should be ready to serve you in about fifteen minutes.”

  Murphy was standing toward the end of the lunch line when Summer Van Doren approached. She was wearing a tailored black pantsuit, which was enhanced by her beautiful blond hair.

  “I saw how broken up Shari was at the funeral. I understand that she and Paul had been going together for quite some time and then went through a period of separation. How is she doing?”

  “It’s been hard on her. She really has no family close by for support. The church members have been quite kind.”

  “Do you think it would be all right if I asked her to come to my place for the weekend? At least she wouldn’t be alone. We could talk and do some girl things together.”

  “I think that would be wonderful. I know that Shari would be open to that. She’s had a tough time. She hardly left Paul’s side because she didn’t want him to be alone. She’s got to be exhausted.”

  Murphy’s cell phone began to go off.

  “Excuse me,” said Murphy as he stepped out of line to get some privacy.

  “Murphy here.”

  “Michael, this is Levi.”

  “Where are you calling from?”

  “I’m in Tel Aviv. I just got the word about Paul Wallach and the attack on Shari. How is she holding up?”

  “The shock of him dying has finally settled in. Besides being half scared to death by Talon, I think she’ll do okay. She is a very strong person and has a firm faith in God.”

  “Please tell her I’m thinking about her.”

  “I’ll pass that on for you.”

  “About another matter, I have finally received permission from the Israeli government to explore the Temple of Dagon at the original Ashdod site.”

  “That’s great.”

  “I’m sorry for the delay. There has been a lot of red tape because of the murder of Moshe Pearlman. Investigators locked up the murder site while they tried to figure out what happened. They scoured the area for any evidence. All they could find were a few tire tracks.”

  “Did you go to the site?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “What’s there? Can you see much of the temple?”

  “Not really, Michael. There are only a couple of stone walls and several mounds of dirt.”

  “That’s it?”

  “As far as I can see. I don’t know why anyone would come to this location. Do you still want to come?”

  Murphy thought for a moment. It sounded like a lost cause, but his gut told him to go and see for himself. “Yes. There must be something there that everyone is missing. I’ll schedule a plane flight and let you know when I’m coming. Can you send me some digital photographs of the site?”

  “I’ll e-mail them to you tomorrow. I’ll look forward to seeing you. By the way, did you ever get in contact with Methuselah?”

  “As a matter of fact, I did. I met with him twice, and it wasn’t easy getting past his six bodyguards. If he hadn’t given the okay, I never would have gotten near him. There’s no question that he is quite eccentric. He’ll talk freely with you for a while and then he just shuts down the conversation and walks away.”

  “It sounds like he likes to be in control.”

  “There’s no question about that. He did provide some new information, however. Talon is not acting alone. He’s employed by a group of people known as the Seven. Have you ever heard of them?”

  “No, I’ve never heard them mentioned before. I’ll check into it for you. Maybe someone else with the Mossad has information on them. Did you get any other information about them?”

  “Nothing else was mentioned other than the fact that Methuselah hates them and is trying to get revenge on them for killing his family.”

  “We never did get any leads on who was responsible for the Israeli plane crash that killed his family and the up-and-coming Israeli leaders. If he believes it is this same group, I’m sure that our intelligence people will want to hear about it. I’ll let you know what we find out. In the meantime, you be careful.”

  Murphy stepped back into line with Summer.

  “It was my friend Levi. We were discussing an upcoming expedition.”

  “Is it the one you mentioned to me about the Temple of Dagon?”

  “Yes. I’ll be leaving shortly for Israel.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Not really … other than being a friend to Shari while I’m gone.”

  “No problem with that. It’ll be fun to get to know her better. Don’t worry about her. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

  There was a warmth in Summer’s deep blue eyes and her gentle smile that stirred something inside of Murphy.

  She is one amazing lady.

  FIFTY-THREE

  MURPHY ALWAYS CHOSE an aisle seat when traveling by plane. In case of an emergency, he didn’t like the idea of being boxed in. He also hated to climb over people or make them move if he wanted to go to the restroom or simply stretch a little on a long flight. Sitting in the same seat for ten to twelve hours was not his idea of fun.

  He was standing in the aisle when the flight attendant walked by. “Excuse me, miss. How much longer before we arrive in Israel?” She paused and looked at her watch. “About another five hours, sir.” Murphy stifled a groan and thought, People who like to travel just haven’t traveled enough.

  He sat down and began to piece together the events that had been occurring. The Seven had used Talon to sabotage his efforts to discover Noah’s Ark. They had stymied him in his efforts to ascertain information from Dr. Harley B. Anderson about the birth of some boy. They had ordered the death of Laura, Stephanie Kovacks, and Shane Barrington. Isis, Shari, Vern Peterson the helicopter pilot, Levi Abrams, and he had narrowly escaped death at the hands of Talon or his hired men. Many other people like Paul Wallach had inadvertently stepped into the line of fire. But the question remained: What was the extent of the Seven’s dark plans?

  His thoughts turned to Methuselah. Why had he wanted Murphy to discover the Temple of Dagon? How would it really damage the Seven even if Murphy were able to retrieve the Golden Jar of Manna and Aaron’s Rod? Unable to solve that riddle, Murphy began to think about his recent experiences with J. B. Sonstad and Madame Estelle and the demons.

  Evil seems to be increasing and the Seven are right in the middle of it.

  Eventually Murphy dozed off and fell into a restless sleep.

  The cabin speakers startled Murphy.

  “Please stow away your tray tables … straighten your seat backs … and be sure that your seat belts are securely fastened. We are on our final decent to the airport. We should be arriving in about twenty minutes. You may want to adjust your watches; the time in Israel is now seven thirty-two A.M.”

  Murphy was glad the trip was over. His large body was crying to get out of the cramped seat. Someone out of the Spanish Inquisition must have designed these things.

  The plane tipped slightly to the right and he could see the tall buildings of Tel Aviv-Yafo, the largest city and major commercial center in Israel. It had become one of the most modern cities in the Middle East. As they descended lower, he saw the many rows of modern apartment buildings that lined the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It had been several years since he was last in Tel Aviv.

  Levi Abrams met Murphy just inside the terminal. He had on a big smile when he saw him. They embraced and patted each other on the back.

  “How was your flight?”

  “Long, as usual. I’m glad to get my feet on the ground.”

  “Give me
your passport. I’ll get you through customs without having to stand in line.”

  “I do like your style, Levi.”

  “Michael, I know you’ve had a long trip and are a little tired. Do you want to get a motel and rest a little bit, or are you game to move on toward Ashdod?”

  “Let’s get some breakfast and then drive on to Ashdod. I feel like time is of the essence.”

  “Do you have some more information about something that’s going to happen?”

  “No. I just have a gut feeling that this is an important expedition. Have you discovered any information about the Seven?”

  “No one has ever heard of them. There’s absolutely no record of their existence. Are you sure Methuselah isn’t just playing games with you?”

  Murphy had considered that possibility. “I doubt it. Not this time.”

  “Well, I’ve assigned another Mossad operative to watch the Temple of Dagon site. His name is Gideon. He’s observing the area from a distance. He’s a good man who knows how to stay out of sight.”

  It did not take Murphy and Levi long to go through customs. Almost everyone knew Levi, and those who did not recognized the identification of the Mossad.

  “Better order a big breakfast, Michael. There are no fast-food restaurants where we’re going.”

  FIFTY-FOUR

  THE TRIP SOUTH from Tel Aviv to modern Ashdod took about thirty minutes. From there Levi and Murphy headed east about four miles to the site of the Temple of Dagon.

  “What do you think is going on, Michael?”

  “I’m not sure, Levi. It all started when we began searching for the Bronze Serpent of Moses. You know, the one that was broken into three pieces. We found a manuscript written by a Chaldean priest named Dakkuri that mentioned the Bronze Serpent. This led us to a map that described a place called the Horns of the Ox. Laura had an uncanny ability to read and understand maps, some sort of an intuitive sense of geological transformation through time.”

  Levi was listening intently.

  “We eventually discovered a cave that was filled with ancient clay amphora jars. They’re the kind that are bulbous in shape with two handles that stick out like ears from their narrow necks.”

  Levi nodded his head in acknowledgment.

  “Laura found one that had been sealed with a plug made out of wax. We took out the plug and found a coarsely woven cloth. Wrapped inside of it was a preserved piece of cast bronze about twelve inches long and two inches in diameter. It was tapered like a snake at one end and broken off at the other. It took us a while, but we eventually discovered it was the tail end of the Bronze Serpent of Moses.”

  “What an incredible find!”

  “Yes, we could hardly believe that we found something so ancient and so meaningful to us. We were so excited we could hardly contain ourselves. I thought we’d both need sedatives to calm down.”

  “I would have been excited, too. What did you do with it?”

  “We took it back to the Parchments of Freedom Foundation.”

  Levi had a strange look on his face. “Did you find any other sections of the Serpent?”

  “Yes, we did. It was Isis McDonald that helped discover it. It was found in the town of Tar-Qasir, south of Babylon. We discovered a way into the sewers that ran under the city The middle piece was being worshiped by a group of cultists. We retrieved the middle section at the risk of our lives.”

  “What happened with the middle section?”

  Murphy was beginning to wonder why Levi was asking all of the questions.

  “The middle section eventually made its way to the American University in Cairo. It is under the care of Fasial Shadid, a professor of ancient culture and ancient writings, and his assistant Nassar Abdoo.”

  Levi continued with his questioning. “And that’s the end of the story?”

  “Not quite. The tail section was stolen … twice.”

  “Twice?”

  “Yes. It was housed at the Parchments of Freedom Foundation. One day Isis’s assistant, Fiona Carter, decided that she would clean up Isis’s office. She came back to the Foundation and found two dead guards. They had been killed by falcons. She then searched the storage area where valuable antiques were kept. The tail end of the Serpent had been stolen.”

  “That’s the first time. And the second?”

  “Well, after several months, a strange package was dropped off at the Parchments of Freedom Foundation. It had been hand-delivered and had no return address. It was addressed to Isis McDonald. Inside the package she found the tail section of the Bronze Serpent. There was no note and no one knows who returned it or why. I personally think it sounds like something Methuselah would do. The second theft just occurred recently. Three guards were killed. One by a falcon, one had his throat slit, and the third had a broken neck. We know it was the work of Talon. Why are you asking all of these questions, Levi?”

  “Michael, have you heard about the middle section?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Our operatives in Egypt got word that the middle section of the Bronze Serpent had been stolen from the American University Both Fasial Shadid and Nassar Abdoo were killed.”

  Murphy didn’t need to hear the details. He knew. It was Talon’s handiwork.

  “I’m so sorry to hear that. That must mean that Talon has two of the sections of the Serpent. I wonder if he will try and get the head section? It’s supposed to be somewhere at the bottom of a shaft in the Pyramid of the Winds.”

  “What would he want with all three pieces?”

  “I’m not sure. The Serpent may have significance to evangelical Christians, but I’m not sure it does to anyone else. They believe it is a talisman with mysterious healing powers. My guess is that Talon will try to put the pieces together somehow. I think the Seven must have some plan for it. Maybe it will become a symbol of worship. In the wrong hands, it could be used to make people believe that they may be healed from all types of illness and disease. Pastor Bob Wagoner and I have been talking about that possibility.”

  “It’s good that you came, Michael. My bet is that if he has two pieces of the Bronze Serpent he’ll try to get the third. Maybe we’ll have some opportunity to catch Talon and put an end to his killing.”

  Levi paused for a moment and reached for his cell phone.

  “We’re getting close to the site. Let me call Gideon and let him know we’re almost there.”

  “Gideon. This is Levi. We’re almost at the site. Have you seen any activity?”

  “All is quiet around the broken-down walls. No one’s been around other than some farmers in the nearby olive groves and vineyards. About an hour ago three vehicles drove up to an olive grove about a quarter of a mile away. Seven people got out and went into the grove. They may be workers. I don’t know.”

  “Where are you located?”

  “My car’s parked out of sight in a vineyard. I have binoculars and am positioned where I can see what goes on at the site and in the valley.”

  “Why don’t you get in your car and meet us near the broken walls. We should be there in about five minutes.”

  FIFTY-FIVE

  THE VALLEY WAS QUIET as Levi and Murphy drove in. They could see a large mound in the distance with some ruins. There was a car parked there and a man leaning against it. They turned off the highway onto a dirt road that led toward the mound. As they got closer, Levi spoke.

  “That’s Gideon. He’s been with the Mossad for thirteen years.” As they got out of the car, Levi went up to Gideon and gave him a hug. He was about five foot eight inches tall with a dark complexion, jet-black hair, and thick, dark eyebrows. Although he was not an exceptionally large man, he seemed very powerful. The muscles on his forearms and biceps rippled.

  “Gideon, this is my good friend Dr. Michael Murphy from the United States.”

  Murphy shook hands with Gideon. He had an iron grip and a big smile that made his bright white teeth stand out.

  While Levi talked to Gideon, Murphy be
gan to look around. To the north of the site he saw the three cars that Gideon mentioned. They were parked next to the olive orchard. No one could be seen.

  “What do you think, Michael?” Levi asked. “Looks deserted. Nothing but temple rums. It doesn’t look like there’s anything here.”

  Murphy checked the outer wall. “Nothing out of the ordinary.” He turned and looked at the other wall, which was about twenty feet away, and he became more animated.

  “Levi. Look at the other wall. See anything unusual?”

  “I’m no archaeologist, but it looks just like an old stone wall to me. They all look the same.”

  “Look how the hillside rises behind the wall. The hillside looks like it was cut out. I wonder if there might be something behind the wall.”

  Levi and Gideon walked forward, looking at the wall with new eyes. The three began to carefully examine all of the stonework.

  Gideon was the first to speak. “Dr. Murphy. Come and look at the mortar around these rocks. It looks different.”

  “Good work! You’re right. Whoever put the mortar in did a fairly good job of trying to make it look like the original but the color is just slightly off.”

  Murphy took out a knife and began to chip away at the mortar.

  “This is fresh. It hasn’t had time to harden to its full strength.”

  Levi went back to his car and took out a short shovel. He began to knock loose the mortar and pry away some of the rocks. Within about five minutes there was a hole in the wall. Murphy took a small flashlight out of his backpack and shined it into the hole.

  “It looks like a fairly large cavity behind the wall, maybe six feet wide and at least that tall. Let’s tear out some more rocks.”

  The discovery made them all excited and they began to work harder. After about ten minutes they had a hole large enough to crawl through. Gideon got two more flashlights out of the trunk of his car.

  “Are you ready to go m?” asked Murphy.