Indisputable Proof

by Gary Williams

  “Bloody hell! We’ll never see it now!” Jade yelled as the last air bubbles popped on the surface where it had submerged. A shark fin broke the water and cruised nearby. The desperation in Jade’s face caused her cheeks to flush.

  While Jade and Diaz stared out at the water in disappointment, Tolen turned to where the stone had rested. He moved to the recess at the center of the small island. He stopped and looked down. Of course. He turned back to the others. “The stone wasn’t the clue.”

  Jade and Diaz turned at the same time. Jade asked, “What do you mean?”

  Where the sphere had been locked in place, the depression appeared bottomless. The massive stone had plugged a hole two-and-one-half feet in diameter. Tolen looked into the dark opening. Then he looked at Jade with a slight smile. “The stone was the doorway. There are stairs leading down.”

  CHAPTER 20

  September 11. Tuesday – 5:44 p.m. Northwest Coast of Costa Rica

  With flashlight in hand, Jade lowered herself through the circular hole. There was a small stone platform four feet below the opening. One at a time, they dropped down to it. Tolen opted to go last, searching the shadows of the cave for movement to ensure they were alone. Just before he lowered himself, he happened to look at the water in relation to the small island. What was once an area nine feet across had compressed to roughly seven feet in diameter. The island had shrunk. Also, he noticed the circular hole was polished at the edges and beveled inward. A sticky substance, like sap, rimmed the edges.

  Suddenly, the design of the tiny island with the stone sphere made sense.

  He lowered himself through the hole. The steps were braced by the stone wall on the right. The left side of the staircase was open, and their flashlights revealed a small manmade room to that side with perfectly carved stone walls.

  Once on the platform, they proceeded down the steps in single file, stooping to avoid hitting their heads on the ceiling until they were low enough to stand erect. A malodorous aroma thickened as they descended.

  Only after they had reached the bottom of the sixteen-step staircase and looked about the enclosure with their flashlights did they discover a corridor leading from the room. Before going any further, Tolen looked at his watch with concern.

  “What is the matter?” Diaz asked.

  “The tide is rising. The stone sphere sealed this opening for two millennia, and now that we’ve uncorked the chamber, it will soon flood with seawater once the incoming tide rises over the island. There is no way to stop it. My best estimate is we have thirty minutes. If we stay down here any longer, we’ll drown in the incoming tidewater.”

  “Then let’s get going,” Jade urged. “We have a tunnel to explore.”

  Diaz was less than enthusiastic and stared at his watch. Before he could object, Jade began moving away.

  With their flashlights stabbing the darkness, Tolen and Diaz followed her down the narrow tunnel leading away from the entry room. The corridor was tight with a seven-foot ceiling. The passageway had been carved from the rock and the walls and ceiling were perfectly symmetrical. Tolen reached out and touched the surface of the side wall and found it coarse. There had been no attempt to smooth the walls here.

  Tolen was amazed at the architectural prowess of whoever had designed this place. If the water above was naturally resident in the cave as they suspected, then how were the builders able to orchestrate this complex? The tides would have made it impossible. He realized his original assumption was incorrect. The only way to build this underground facility was to do so prior to water ever being allowed inside the cathedral cavern. He theorized the entire area was most likely constructed from a preexisting mount in the deep floor of the cave whose base was well below sea level. From the top, which was now the tiny humped island, the builders had most likely burrowed straight down, carving out the corridors and rooms. They could then have cut an opening in the side of the cathedral room somewhere near the base which allowed the seawater, and the sharks, inside. He marveled at the ingenuity and wondered if this had been Joseph of Arimathea’s creation or whether he was the benefactor of some native Costa Ricans’ ability. It was an answer he would probably never know.

  The tunnel went on for some way. They reached an intersection where a perpendicular corridor cut across their path. Jade looked to Tolen silently as if to ask his opinion on which way to go. When he offered no suggestion, she turned right and led them down another straight hallway similar to the first. It was much shorter, and they soon reached a dead end. They retraced their steps, reached the intersection, and continued across. Again, they arrived at a wall which marked the end of the tunnel. They returned to the intersection, and continued up the original corridor.

  Other than the manmade entry room with its stairs, and the corridors, they had seen nothing of archaeological significance: no artifacts, carvings, decorative nuances, or artwork; nothing to suggest these austere passageways held anything more than open space heavy with dust and stale air.

  Tolen watched as Jade trained the flashlight beam ahead. Her pace had quickened. He could sense her anticipation. Truthfully, he had been experiencing the same swell of sanguinity, yet the farther they went, the less confident he became. It brought to mind the Egyptian Pharaohs and the preponderance of tomb raiders who had plundered and wrecked the lavish, treasure-filled crypts in the Valley of the Kings. It was hard to dismiss the possibility that, even if Joseph’s tomb had once been here, it had been robbed in antiquity. Chances were, they were hundreds, if not thousands, of years too late. It was a grim thought.

  Ahead, Jade’s light struck a solid milky-white wall, darkened in green patches where lichen grew. They had reached the end of the corridor. Her body language said it all: shoulders slumped, gait slowed. By the time they neared it, Tolen thought she might collapse in frustration and disappointment. He felt a similar dampening of his spirits.

  A fascinating if not odd irregularity in the corner of the wall became visible as they approached. On the left side, a squared area had been cut inward where the side wall would have normally joined with the rear wall. Tolen noticed a similar gaping groove on the right side in the wall. Both notches ran from floor to ceiling. There appeared to be enough room to squeeze inside between the rear wall and the side walls.

  Jade turned to Tolen with renewed optimism. Diaz seemed restless.

  “Pick a side,” Tolen encouraged.

  Pausing only for a second to decide, Jade wedged herself in the slot on the left and momentarily pushed her head beyond the end of the wall and out of sight. She drew back with an elated smile. “We can get through. The corridor continues on the other side of this wall.”

  She led them through. What they had thought was an end wall had turned out to be a simple partition. The corridor ran on in a straight line. Jade angled her light from the stone floor and into the distance. To her dismay, the corridor reached a doorway ahead which opened into a dark room.

  Jade hurriedly led the small group forward, walking faster now. Tolen felt his own anticipation building again. Diaz lagged behind, mumbling his discord, harping about the lack of time left.

  Jade pressed on, breaking into a trot. The corridor spilled into a spacious room with a pitched ceiling which slanted upward and away. The expansive area was as large as a small house with a floor of polished stone. One wall had a low stone bench carved into it. Other than that, the side walls were bare. The back wall contained an exquisite fresco of a lush, tropical landscape covering the entire surface. Tolen could make out the focal point of the painting: an oasis set atop a sandy hill accentuated with bright, dazzling colors which seemed wet from fresh paint, as if the artwork had been recently completed. The room was immaculately preserved.

  “Oh my god,” Jade exclaimed. “Look at that stone. Do you know what that is?”

  It took a moment for Tolen to realize where
Jade was focused. At the base of the fresco, just right of the center of the wall, was a circular stone, the size and shape of a semi-truck tire. It was pressed flush against the wall. He had originally overlooked it, since it was camouflaged against the artwork, blending into the desert scene.

  “What is it?” Diaz asked.

  “It’s a Jewish rolling stone,” she said in awe, unblinking. Jade was too mesmerized to offer any further explanation.

  Diaz turned to Tolen with an unspoken plea for clarification.

  “It’s a disk-shaped stone that sealed Jewish tombs, carved from rock during the Second Temple period in Israel. The practice ended in the first century,” Tolen said. “Although most tombs to date have been found with square blocking stones, four burial caves in and around Jerusalem have been found with these round stones.”

  “Is this the type of stone that sealed the tomb of Jesus?” Diaz asked. His voice took on a sudden air of respect.

  “There’s considerable difference of opinion among biblical scholars. The Bible mentions a very large stone which took two or three men to move. In contrast, a single man could move a typical rolling stone. Consider Jade’s deciphered text that the Costa Rican spheres were created to pay homage to the stone that covered Jesus’ tomb. It therefore stands to reason the stone sealing Jesus’ tomb was completely round and considerably larger.”

  Jade strolled forward, keeping her light fixed upon the stone. Tolen could almost see her mind poring over the possibilities. The only reason to have a rolling stone slotted against the wall was to cover a low opening leading to a tomb: Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb.

  Tolen and Diaz joined Jade at the stone. Together the threesome easily rolled it to the side. Sure enough, a circular hole penetrated the thick wall behind. A puff of stale air wafted out. Jade ignored it as she dropped down and quickly scurried through on her hands and knees, aiming her flashlight ahead.

  As Tolen lowered and prepared to enter, they heard Jade’s muffled voice.

  “Don’t come in,” she said. “It’s a small tunnel that dead ends. There’s…something ahead.” There was a pause. “Oh my God!”

  “Are you okay?” Tolen called out. He could see the heels of her shoes ahead. She was moving awkwardly, wobbling from side to side, backing up. “I’ve found it!”

  Seconds later, she trundled out, backing clear from the opening. She tugged at a square stone box which slid onto the smooth floor. Jade sat on the ground, breathing heavily, staring at the box. Sweat had beaded on her cheeks. “It’s his!” she intoned breathily. “See the inscription?” Jade pointed to the side of the box.

  Tolen recognized the writing as Hebrew.

  “Joseph of Arimathea,” Jade read it aloud. “My God, we did it!”

  “It’s his ossuary,” Tolen said with understanding. Together he and Jade lifted the stone lid while Diaz looked on. The moment it was opened, a fetid smell rushed out. Diaz shined his flashlight inside.

  Recognizing the contents, Diaz quickly crossed himself several times. “Madre de Dios,” he said softly in reverence.

  Inside was a heap of blotchy brown bones; human bones of every ilk and shape. In one corner lay an intact skull with its empty, shadowed eye sockets staring at them.

  “This is incredible,” Jade uttered breathlessly.

  Tolen turned to Diaz. “It was an ancient Jewish custom to collect the bones of a corpse after it had lain on a stone bench for one year. Most likely, that stone bench,” Tolen said, pointing to the side wall where the low fixture had been cut. “The bones were then placed inside a box such as this, called an ossuary.”

  Diaz gazed at the bones in the box and crossed himself yet again. “I know what an ossuary is, but this is unholy. We should not be disturbing this man’s remains.”

  Jade looked at Tolen. He could read her eyes. As overwhelming as this find was, her unvoiced question loomed: where was the stone jar that the clue from the Harvard sphere had referenced?

  Tolen reached in the box and gently shuffled the bones around, searching to see if a small jar might be resting underneath. The bones were dry and splintered—a metacarpal here, an ulna there, a cracked tibia next to a broken femur. Pieces were piled deep. As he moved the brittle bones aside, he could not help feeling a sense of wonderment that he was touching the remains of Joseph of Arimathea.

  It was not textbook archaeological protocol, and he knew it, but the tide was rising, and they were running out of time. He hesitated, then lifted the skull from the box and examined it closely.

  I’m looking into the face of Joseph of Arimathea, he thought.

  Diaz backed away as if the skull were about to come to life and release a demonic force upon them. Tolen turned it toward Jade. Her expression was impossible to read. It was somewhere between archaeological exuberance and hallowed reverence. Tolen carefully placed the skull back inside the ossuary.

  Diaz was pacing to the side. He was obviously uncomfortable with their situation.

  “There’s nothing here,” Tolen finally said. He looked at his watch. “We don’t have long before this place begins to flood.”

  “Then where is the stone jar? It’s got to be here somewhere.” There was desperation in Jade’s voice. They returned the lid to the ossuary and she rose, moving about the room. The only sound was Jade’s light footfalls as she stalked about like a lioness in distress. For a second, she stared at the wall-sized fresco then lowered her eyes in deep thought.

  Suddenly, Tolen heard a faint, almost indistinguishable noise. It was constant, and both Jade and Diaz lifted their heads when they also heard it. It was coming from outside the room, somewhere up the corridor. He withdrew his pistol and silently motioned for each to turn off their flashlights. Pressing against the wall to the side of the doorway, Tolen spun and quickly shined his flashlight up the corridor, gun aimed at the light’s beam. Diaz had taken position behind him.

  The corridor was empty. Tolen could see the partition wall they had circumvented. A gurgling sound was now audible. He lowered the beam and looked to the corridor floor where water was snaking lazily past either side of the partition wall and running toward them in lines like fingers stretching out.

  The tide had already breached the tiny island above and water was entering the underground caverns.

  CHAPTER 21

  September 11. Tuesday – 6:10 p.m. Northwest Coast of Costa Rica

  Diaz cringed at the advancing flow of water. “I thought you said we had more time?”

  Tolen checked his watch. “I overestimated.”

  Jade stood to the side listening to the men exchanging words. Then, as if she had not heard their conversation, she resumed her scrutiny of the colorful wall.

  “Jade, I know this is disappointing, but we have to leave now,” Tolen urged, walking to her and gently grabbing her uninjured arm.

  She shrugged away from him with determination. “Not until we have the next clue. It’s here. I know it is.”

  Tolen sensed her frustration. She refused to look either man in the eye, and her slack posture indicated she had doubts about her own claim.

  “Jade!” Diaz shouted. “Do you want us all to drown down here?”

  She ignored him.

  Tolen stood beside her, gazing at the painting. Deep down, he was also reluctant to abandon their only opportunity to continue the search. He thought for a moment. “We’re not using logic. The directions were in the parchment clue, remember?”

  “The clue…,” Jade repeated with a slight lift of tone.

  Tolen quoted it from memory. “It said, ‘Search for the three stone jars. They will be found when you look for what was offered on the first day.’ ”

  “We don’t know what that means, remember?” Diaz said, his face contorted in frustration.

  Tolen pondered the sentence. “C
onsider Joseph’s time. What would have been offered on the first day?”

  “On the first day of what?” Diaz asked.

  Jade’s face went blank.

  Diaz walked away in a huff. “You’re going to seal our doom if we don’t get out of here, and I, for one, am leaving,” he said as he headed toward the doorway. He hesitated at the entrance, though, and looked back at the others, waiting.

  “The end game,” Tolen said with sudden realization.

  Jade gave him a quizzical stare.

  “Jesus’ cache is the end game. The niches in the cathedral cave above, each holding a tiny replica of the crucifixion cross; and consider how the corridors of this underground complex intersect. That’s why there was a perpendicular tunnel even though it led to nowhere. It wasn’t functional; it was cut to form a cross: another way to pay homage. True, this is the tomb that held Joseph of Arimathea’s remains, but everything is decidedly focused on Jesus Christ,” Tolen said. “Therefore, it stands to reason the clue is referencing the first day of Jesus’ life.”

  A knowing look blossomed across Jade’s face. “The Three Wise Men; the gifts the Magi brought to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem!”