The Solomon Scroll

CHAPTER 16

Selena's reputation as a renowned lecturer in ancient Middle Eastern and Oriental languages opened doors at the British Museum kept closed to the public. The museum housed one of the greatest collections in existence of Middle Eastern artifacts. There had been a time when British expeditions bent on exploration and discovery had covered the globe. Crumbling ruins no one cared about turned out to be treasure houses of statuary, treasure, carvings and cultural items from lost civilizations.

The world had changed since the days of empire. Many of the acquisitions had become controversial. As far as Nick knew, the scroll they were interested in wasn't one of them.

Nick and Selena were met by a man in his fifties wearing a conservative worsted suit. He wore glasses with designer frames that had probably cost close to a thousand dollars. He had a thin, aristocratic face with an expression as though there had been too much lemon in his tea and sported a thin, sandy mustache that reminded Nick of pictures he'd seen of British officers during World War I. He introduced himself as Sir Peter Wainwright. Wainwright was the man in charge of the Department of the Middle East.

"I must say, it's a genuine pleasure to meet you, Doctor Connor. I haven't seen much in the journals from you lately. Your treatise a few years ago on classical Greek was quite intriguing."

"Thank you, Sir Peter. I've been looking forward to meeting you. This is my personal secretary, Nicholas Carter."

Nick and Selena had agreed before going in that he would play the role of gofer and assistant. She'd laughed at his look and promised not to send him out for coffee.

"How do you do?" Wainwright shook hands with Nick.

"Pleasure," Nick said.

Wainwright's handshake was limp and slightly damp. Wainwright turned back to Selena, dismissing him. Nick resisted the urge to dry his hand on his pants.

"I understand you're interested in our scroll by Ephram."

"That's correct."

"May I ask why that scroll in particular? We have many fine examples of Aramaic scrolls."

"I was curious about the reference to the Queen of Sheba," Selena said. "The museum catalog mentions its presence. There's no further information except to date it to the first century CE."

Wainwright pursed his lips. "Space in the catalog is at something of a premium. It was felt that it merited only a listing."

"And the content?" Selena probed.

"It's a rather uninspired travel diary. Perhaps it's better if you look at it yourself. I confess that I have never read it."

"Then how do you know what's in it?" Nick said.

Selena gave him a warning look.

Wainwright sniffed.

"There are good people under me upon whom I rely," he said. "My specialty is cunieform."

"Of course," Nick said. "A foolish question."

Selena looked at him again. He smiled at her.

"This way," Wainwright said.

He led them past two winged lions with human heads flanking a short hall. The hall ended at a magnificent wooden gate placed against the wall.

"Those are from Nimrud in Iraq," Wainwright said. "About 860 BCE or thereabouts."

"Impressive," Nick said. "Those lions would look pretty good on the entrance to somebody's driveway."

Selena rolled her eyes. Wainwright ignored him. They came to an unmarked door. Wainwright took out a set of keys and opened it. He led them through a room filled with shelves stacked with packaged and boxed and numbered artifacts. They came to a wooden work table. Wainwright reached up to a shelf above it.

"Here we are," Wainwright said. "You're in luck. The Ephram scroll was recently prepared for display as an example of the day to day tedium of a trading caravan from the period and writing typical of the era. And of course there's the brief mention of the Queen of Sheba. That adds interest. There's damage, however I'm told it's quite readable."

The ancient parchment had been unrolled and mounted flat in a glass box filled with inert gas. It was about four feet long and a little over a foot high. Rips and holes broke up the narrative in several places. The last part of the scroll was little more than fragments. Narrow lines of tiny writing covered the visible surface.

"Where was it discovered?" Selena asked.

"In Egypt, during the nineteenth century," Wainwright said. "It was found with several other scrolls in a villa dating from the time of Cleopatra."

"When the Romans were there."

"Yes."

"Do the Egyptians want it back?"

"They do. They've been waiting for it, along with everything else we have here that came from Egypt. I'm afraid they'll have rather a long wait."

"This is a very odd construction," Selena said. She pointed at a section of writing where something seemed to have eaten part of the parchment. "I've never seen anything quite like it before."

"I don't read Aramaic," Wainwright said. "I'll take your word for it."

"I'd like to photograph this if it's all right with you. It's going to take some time for me to make an accurate translation. I'll be sure to send you my results and comments if you'd like."

"Of course, Doctor Connor." Wainwright looked at his watch. "Tea time. Would the two of you care for a cup of tea?"

"That would be wonderful. Thank you, Sir Peter."

"How do you take it?"

"Milk on the bottom, please."

Wainwright nodded approvingly. "And you, Mister Carter?"

"I'll take a coffee if you have one," Nick said. "Black."

Wainwright sniffed again. "I'll see what I can do. Let me go find someone to get it for us."

He left them at the table and disappeared between the shelves.

"Are you deliberately trying to piss him off?" Selena asked when he was out of earshot. "First that crack about the lions and now you want coffee?"

"He's annoying," Nick said. "I don't like the way he looks at you. Besides, I don't like tea that much."

"You're hopeless."

Selena took out her phone and began photographing the scroll.

"What does it say?" Nick asked.

"Like I told Sir Peter, it will take me a little time to translate it. From what I can see, it's just what he said, a diary of a trading expedition south into the Arabian Peninsula from Jerusalem."

"Carrying the body of Solomon?"

"There's no mention that I can see," Selena said. She pointed. "This is the reference to the Queen of Sheba. It's in that section that's torn and there's something strange about the way it's written. I'll have to study it to make any sense of what it means."

Wainwright returned. "Have you managed to complete your pictures, Doctor Connor? I've asked that tea be laid out for us in the canteen."

"I'm almost done." She took two more pictures and put her phone back in her purse. "I could use a nice cup of tea."

An hour later they were coming down the steps of the museum. Neither Nick nor Selena noticed the tall man who glanced at them as he passed them going up.