The Temple Mount Code

42

Alice called while Lourds was at his desk in the hotel room, poring over the mysterious book. The fact that the answer — and a map — lurked somewhere within its pages felt unnerving. Everything was within his grasp, yet he couldn’t close his hand around any of it.

He welcomed the distraction of the phone call. ‘How have you been?’

‘Well enough.’ Alice sounded exhausted.

Lourds stood and paced as he talked. Concentrating on tomes and scrolls was backbreaking labor, made even harder when the frustration levels peaked.

‘You’re safe?’ He lifted the curtain and looked outside, surprised at how dark it was. He’d spent the afternoon with Namati, Miriam, and Reza, taking in the sights of Tehran as the professor pointed them out. Then he’d returned with Miriam to the hotel and taken a nap. He’d been working on the book ever since.

‘I am. I absconded with several million euros and hired a private security company out of Britain. All ex-SAS soldiers who don’t think highly of Klaus’s pro-Iran position. I’m thinking of the money as my early divorce settlement.’

Lourds chuckled. ‘Just remember that Von Volker is a dangerous man.’

‘I’m safe, but I worry about you, Thomas. You’re the one sticking your head in the lion’s mouth. I saw what happened at Ben Gurion.’

‘We came through it all right.’

‘I didn’t see much of the young lady accompanying you, but she looks very pretty.’

‘I hadn’t noticed.’

Alice laughed. ‘For a world-renowned linguist, you lie pathetically.’

Feeling a little uncomfortable, Lourds chuckled. ‘All right. Perhaps I have noticed. She took me shopping today.’

‘Seductress.’

‘Actually, our clothes burned up in the taxi, and we were pressed for time.’

‘A woman only takes a man shopping for one reason. To have him watch her dress.’

‘I believe there are two reasons. I offered to pick up the tab since she’s a college student, and replacing the clothing would have been a hardship for her.’

‘How very gallant of you. I suppose you insisted on going along to see how your money was being spent.’

‘Nope. I tried to stay at the hotel and squeeze in another couple hours of sleep. She insisted I go along to save time. Or to give her more time.’

‘Then I return to my initial supposition. You were getting vamped.’

‘I didn’t feel as though I was getting vamped. I usually know these things.’

‘I beg to differ. As I recall, even with the history between us, I had to make the first moves and even flag them for your attention.’

Lourds sighed. ‘Okay, okay, stop. I’m tired, and I’m not at my best for wordplay. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this book Lev found, and I’m getting my butt kicked.’

‘No help in Tehran?’

‘Not really. Maybe I should say, not so far. Lev left a note that made him sound like he was convinced the professor I’ve been in contact with here knew something or had something.’

‘Then maybe I can help brighten your day.’

Smiling, Lourds paced a little more energetically. ‘You found something?’

‘Perhaps. I went through the Islamic artifacts as you suggested. As it turned out, Lev had collected seven figurines of al-Buraq.’

‘Special fascination?’

‘According to his records, which Klaus also arranged to get, five of these figurines were recent purchases. Do you have a timeline on when Lev found the book you’re translating?’

Lourds checked the notes in his journal. ‘Lev acquired the book in Cairo in January of this year.’

‘Five of these figurines were collected from the month of May. The most recent acquisition was in July.’

‘Why the interest in al-Buraq?’

‘He was the winged horse that took Mohammad to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.’

‘But that’s not enough—’

‘A further detail of interest: all five of these figurines are supposedly modeled on an artifact sculpted by one of the builders who worked on the Dome of the Rock. A man named … Sahih al-Maliki.’

‘I saw that name mentioned in the book, but I haven’t had time to research him. He was just listed as one of the men who helped build the Dome of the Rock.’

‘I researched al-Maliki.’

‘Good woman.’

‘There’s not much information on him. In addition to helping build the Dome of the Rock, he left behind a few sculptures.’

‘More flying horses?’

‘Al-Maliki only made the one al-Buraq. Want to guess who owns it?’

Lourds sat in his chair and felt as though a lightning bolt had zinged through him when the pieces started dropping into place in his mind. ‘Professor Hashem Nabi Namati.’

Alice sounded surprised. ‘You already knew that? Lev spent seven weeks tracking the manifest on that piece.’

‘I didn’t know that, but I saw a statue of al-Buraq on one of the shelves in Namati’s office only a few hours ago. I suspect Lev saw it too, and that’s why he verified the authenticity of the piece. Is there any mention of why Lev went to such trouble?’

‘No, but there is something odd in Lev’s notes. He took rubbings of all seven al-Buraqs in his possession. There are also rubbings of other flying horses as well. Lev was searching for something.’

‘Yes.’ Lourds sat at the desk and pondered the pages of the book, imagining how the statue of al-Buraq in Namati’s office would look across the pages. From his estimation, the statue would fit from top to bottom.

‘You’re quiet all of a sudden.’

‘I’m thinking.’

‘Care to share?’

Lourds took a deep breath and let it out. ‘I think I know how this book was coded, and I think Lev had figured it out, too. In order to confirm it, however, I’m going to have to get Professor Namati’s statue.’

Miriam didn’t know what woke her, but she came up from the bed with her fist curled around the Chinese Type 54 pistol she’d gotten from her Mossad contact in Tehran. She’d gotten it from the man when she’d been out shopping with Lourds.

The pistol was modeled on the Russian Tokarev T-33. Chambered in the 7.62x25mm round, the weapon was the equivalent of a 9mm pistol. It came with an eight-round magazine, but the Mossad agent had provided two fourteen-round magazines as well. They were his ‘special gift’ for her, and he wished her well when he left.

In other words, if she had to use the pistol, things would be particularly nasty, and she’d need the extra firepower.

The room was still and silent except for the air-conditioning.

‘You’re imagining things.’ With a sigh, she flipped the safety back on the pistol and tucked it under her pillow once more. She lay there for a moment more, thinking of how the faces of the two men continued to haunt her sleep.

The night wasn’t as bad as others had been. But she still had a lot of it to go. According to the clock on the bedside table, it was only a few minutes after one. She lay there a moment longer, then got up for a drink of water.

While in the bathroom, wood shrieked as screws were pulled loose as the door burst open. Miriam dashed from the bathroom and streaked back to the bed, reaching for the pistol.

A man threw himself at her and wrapped an arm around her ankles. Unable to take another step, she tripped and fell. Catching herself on her hands, she flipped over, freed a leg, and drove it into the face of her captor. The man’s head snapped back, and she slithered free.

In that instant, she recognized him as one of the two men who had followed Lourds and her around much of the day. She got to her feet and leaped toward the bed, then the second man — standing in the broken doorway — lifted a pistol and shot her twice.

Pain pierced her abdomen. Looking down, she saw two hypodermic darts jutting out of her stomach. Before she had a chance to fully realize she’d been drugged, not mortally injured, the drugs whispered through her system and shut her down.

After telling Alice good night, and to get to Jerusalem where he’d be meeting her in the next couple of days if everything went well, Lourds pulled on his khakis and the Oxford shirt he’d worn earlier that day, stepped into his boots, and pulled on his hat. He shoved the book back into its hiding place in the air duct, then headed for Miriam’s room.

He was too excited to sleep, and he wanted her thoughts on how they could steal the al-Buraq statue from Namati’s office. There was no way Lourds intended to give Namati a clue about what he potentially held.

Lourds knew that he — and Lev — could still be wrong about the statue. But he only needed it in his hands for a few minutes to know for certain.

When he stepped out into the hallway, Lourds saw two maintenance men working on the door to Miriam’s room. From the looks of things, the door had been ripped from its hinges.

‘What happened?’

One of the maintenance men looked at Lourds. ‘No English.’

Lourds shifted to Farsi and repeated the question.

‘The door is broken. We are repairing it. You go now.’

Concern for Miriam drove Lourds through the door. The workers tried to stop him, but he was stronger than they were and got through despite their efforts.

Miriam’s room was empty, like she’d never been there.

Lourds wheeled on the men, grabbing the nearest one by the shoulders. ‘Where is the girl?’

‘There was no girl. This room was empty. It had a broken door. We are repairing the door.’

Knowing the man would only keep lying to him, Lourds returned to his room and called the desk.

‘Good evening.’

‘This is Professor Thomas Lourds. I want to know where my companion is.’

‘What companion is that, Professor Lourds?’

‘The young woman I checked in with yesterday morning. Miriam Abata.’

‘Let me check.’ The clerk was silent for a moment before returning. ‘According to our records, Professor Lourds, you checked in alone.’

‘I didn’t check in alone.’

‘I’m afraid I can’t help you any further.’

The phone clicked dead in Lourds’s ear. Panicked now, he started to get the book from the air duct, then realized that if he was picked up, he didn’t want it found on him.

He left the book where it was, but he grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulders. Then he went out, knowing enemy eyes were probably watching his every move.