The Eighth Veil

by Frederick Ramsay

  “Don’t be absurd. Of course not, but this man is passing himself off as a rabbi and he has no training, no learning. He cites no authority.”

  “Do we license rabbis now? I didn’t know. Where is it written one must study with Gamaliel, or with Shammai, or anyone else for all that, before one may teach? As regards the request by the queen to turn over Menahem, the king’s long time companion, to Pilate for disposition of punishment, there was no firm evidence then, none at all now, to convict him of anything more serious than befriending a servant girl. The Prefect would have been perfectly amenable to meting out some penalty, even knowing the man’s innocence. For him a quick political gesture endorsed by me was all he ever wanted. The question of guilt had nothing to do with it, you see?”

  “But…. I have been reliably told you found a knife in the bath the day after they found the dead girl and it has been positively identified as having belonged to Menahem. Is that not evidence enough?”

  “As far as that goes, you are correct, a knife was found and it did belong to Menahem, but it was not the murder weapon. It was placed in the bath after the deed had been done by someone wishing to implicate an innocent man, in this case Menahem. That man has been found out and has been dealt with. Since then there has been a second murder and if I do not soon return to my investigations there may well be a third.”

  “Pilate wished you to turn this man over and you did not do it. It could have been a poor decision on your part. We continue to exist as a Nation at the sufferance of Rome. Should it be necessary to preserve the Nation would it not be better to sacrifice one man, even an innocent one?”

  “I cannot believe you, as High Priest, would ever condone the spilling of innocent blood simply for political expediency.”

  “No? Even so, we have an obligation to those who will follow us, to the future.”

  “I must go. Time passes and my killer grows desperate.”

  “Desperate? He will have fled the city by now, surely.”

  “No, I believe he’s still here and getting more agitated by the hour. He wants something he knows I have and he will stop at nothing to get it. Perhaps I should leave it in your hands for safe keeping.”

  “My hands? Certainly not. Are you mad? He might try to attack me. What is it he wants that is so dangerous?”

  “Oh, I have no doubt he would attack you or anyone else for the bauble, for that is what it is. He has already killed for it twice. And, as he is not a believer, he will show no respect for either the High Priest, the Rabban of the Sanhedrin, or the Law. Sad but true. We allow too many people of questionable backgrounds into our city to share our hospitality, don’t you think?”

  When Caiaphas stopped sputtering and calmed down a bit, Gamaliel sat and looked him in the eye.

  “High Priest, I know how much you wish to rein in this rag-tag gang of reformers and their rabbi. But under our Law, we can do nothing more than prefer charges, try him in the Sanhedrin, and perhaps flog some sense into or exile him and the rest of them, maybe a little of both. If we do, however, I am sure it will accomplish nothing. As soon as this rabbi is gone another will take his place and another after that. Let him be. At some point he will say or do something serious enough so that even his closest followers will not be able to defend him. Then you may act.”

  “But—”

  “Trust me on this, my old colleague. We have had what? Ten generations of men, who would be, indeed some were even declared to be, Messiah. They come and they go. Only we, the Sanhedrin, the backbone of the Nation, only we endure. We must continue to do so or all is lost—the city, the Temple, everything. Do not spend what little currency we have on this man. Not yet.”

  Gamaliel rose and left Caiaphas pondering and alone. Enough of that for now. He knew his killer lurked somewhere in the shadows and he would have him. He hurried to the palace where Barak awaited him.

  Chapter XXXIV

  “Excellency,” the old man began.

  “Ha Shem, Barak, you have news for me? Is something amiss? You look worried.”

  Barak’s face looked like a map of the wilderness, lines crisscrossing it like so many goat paths. Something, it appeared, had him agitated.

  “No, no, I thought you would be here earlier and when you didn’t show up, I wondered. Then, one of the men who provide the kitchen with garum said he thought he’d seen you in the street near the Temple and you had been arrested by the High Priest or someone from the Temple. He said—”

  “Nothing to concern you. The High Priest is in a state over one of the local rabbis and wanted me to confront and suppress him.”

  “I imagine I can guess who. Well, you see the news of your arrest, only it wasn’t, of course, gave me cause to worry, Excellency, that you might not return I mean. At any rate, there is no news to report today. Chuzas says he has not yet arranged to have Menahem made available for you yet again. I am not sure why that is so and the guards have given up their search for Graecus, of course—”

  “Of course.”

  “Sir? Oh, I see, yes, and the queen is reported to be very angry at you for failing to turn Menahem over to the Prefect. They say she has since informed the High Priest about what you did, or rather did not do.”

  “I thought as much. Rest easy, Caiaphas and I have had that conversation as well. The queen’s anger can’t be helped. I suspect she has reasons we can only guess at. It can’t be easy married to this king and to have a daughter like the Princess Salome. Now, I have a question for you and I must ask it out here where it is not likely we’ll be overheard.”

  “Yes, Excellency?”

  “I am curious about all that intricate lattice work in the room assigned to us to conduct our interviews. How is it arranged?”

  “How? I don’t understand.”

  “As you well know, people who wish to listen to us can sit behind it without being seen. What was the purpose of placing it there and how has it been used in the past? I assume you will know as you were in the old king’s service before this one.”

  “Oh, I see. It was built by the old king, as you suspected. He prided himself on his ingenuity, you know. He would stand behind the screen to spy on people who were scheduled to come before him. He thought they might reveal things in their conversations while they waited for him. He thought he could gain an advantage in any negotiations that might follow. That sort of thing.”

  “Did it work?”

  “At first, I think so. You would have to ask the steward to be sure, but there are no secrets in palaces and soon everyone knew about the trick and were careful about what passed their lips in that room. I do not think the Romans ever knew. Whatever we might have felt about our king, we would never betray him to Caesar’s people.”

  “I see. That is very commendable. Is there anything else?”

  “The room also was used to hold small receptions and the like, with food and drink and sometimes entertainment. It would depend on who he met and how important they were or he thought they were.”

  “I see. How does one enter the spaces?”

  “Oh, well there are only two that can be used. The space to the left opens directly from the royal apartments. The king, the queen, or the princess can slip in and out without anyone knowing. The screens are set on the two side walls. The ones with the entrances to the corridors are decorative only, you know, to make all the walls match. There the fretwork is set directly on the stone behind so there is no hiding space behind them. Of course the depth of the arch in the middle of each would show you that.”

  “And the screens on the right?”

  “It is a similar space as to the left but the only entrance is from the basement, not the rooms behind the wall.”

  “Really? Tell me again. How were these hiding places to be used?”

  “As I said, the first Herod would like to watch his guests before he greeted them. If there were to be refreshments or entertainment, the servers or performers would approach through the basement to the other staircase and emerge th
rough the center archway, which has or had a working door. Herod did not want the servants to be crowding the corridors, you see.”

  “That’s all?”

  “No, actually, the more important use fell to the palace guards. King Herod feared for his life and he nearly always had armed guards in the space that led to the basement in case something untoward happened. They could rush in and protect him.”

  “So, the guards would know?’

  “That was back in the old king’s time, Rabban. I do not know about these new ones. I suppose they would. They must be acquainted with the palace and its points of access to do their job.”

  “Yes, of course they would. How about the other door? Is the door set in the left wall operable?”

  “I do not know. I believe it serves only as a decorative item to complete the symmetry with the other walls. But that may have been changed since. Shall I try it?”

  “No, I don’t think that will be necessary just now, but that would mean, if the king or whoever sat behind the left-hand screen wished to enter the room, he would have to exit back through the royal area and come around to the far entrance.”

  “Yes.”

  “And the people called to serve the guests or the guards would enter through the door to the right.”

  “Yes.”

  “That is interesting. We must go to that most fascinating room and have a look at those wonderful hiding holes.”

  “I’m not so sure that is a good idea. Suppose the king or the queen is seated in one?”

  “We will pass on the left-handed area for now. It is not the one that interests me. I want to inspect the one to the right.”

  Barak looked doubtful. “I don’t think anyone has looked in there for forty years.”

  “I think you may be wrong. But if that is true, then we shall be the first to do so in four decades.”

  Nothing had changed since their last visit to the room. Gamaliel, instead of taking his place at the table, stepped close to the wall and inspected its construction. It had been painted vermillion originally, but either age or the composition of the paint had darkened the hue to a deep ox blood. He peered through one of the spaces and realized that the inner surface of the lattice had been covered with a gauzy material that further prevented anyone from being seen as long as no light was allowed in the space. As nearly as he could tell, the walls behind were painted the same color and had faded as well, but not as much. Apparently the sun’s rays that poured through the glazed slits in the ceiling had some effect on the fading.

  He made his way slowly around the room chatting with Barak and making sure that if anyone sat behind the screens they could hear him and know of his intention to open at least one door. He might have imagined it, but he thought he heard footsteps, the scrape of a shod foot against a gritty stone floor, to the right. He paused and then, with effort, pulled open the door that accessed the right hand area. As he expected, it was empty. He glanced at, but did not step close to, the stone steps that led down into the cellars. He had what he needed. Now it came down to selecting the proper time. The longer he waited, the more desperate his man would become and the greater the likelihood he would make a mistake.

  And the guards knew about the space. He smiled. He would have his man after all.

  Chapter XXXV

  Loukas would have blamed the Moirai, those Greek entities who determined the shape, length, and end to the thread of life. Pilate would have called down the Fates, but Gamaliel simply assumed the Lord had a plan. However or whoever would now shoulder the blame, the Lord, some goddesses, or just the workings of one man going about his business, his attempt to talk with Menahem was met with yet another delay. Chuzas bustled in to join him in the interview room just as he completed his survey of the lattice work.

  “Chuzas, have you made the arrangements for me to—”

  “Rabban, excuse me, but I have an urgent message—”

  “Another? Can’t it wait?”

  “Sorry, no. I have been charged to find you and tell you to make yourself available to speak with the king.”

  “The king? I thought he did not intend to ever speak with me again. As I recall he was very firm about that. What is so urgent that the king must speak with me now?”

  “It appears he has relented. He does indeed want to speak to you. I believe he wishes to thank you for something.”

  “Thank me, whatever for?”

  “It is not for me to say. He will attend you shortly, he said.”

  As quickly as he’d come, Chuzas disappeared in the direction of the royal apartments. Gamaliel took his seat and waited. He could not imagine what the king had to say to him, and gratitude seemed the last thing he’d expect. Would wonders never cease? First, a show of patent animosity and now an olive branch? He rose when the king swept into the room. Except for Chuzas hovering at his heels he was alone, no retinue. Interesting.

  “Follow me, Rabban,” he said and motioned towards the corridor. Gamaliel guessed the king did not wish to be overheard either. Who else skulked behind that screen? Did the king fear the queen might be lurking there? It must be difficult, living in a palace where no one could be trusted, even with a casual conversation.

  “You wished to speak to me, Majesty?”

  Once in the corridor and well out of earshot of the room and its spider’s web of a wall, the king stopped.

  “I wish to thank you, Rabban, for resisting the pressure applied on the queen’s part to turn Menahem over to Pilate.”

  Menahem again. At every turn this man popped up like a poor relation at meal time. If he didn’t know better, Gamaliel would have sworn the key to the mystery lay at the feet of that old man. In fact, he wasn’t sure it didn’t.

  “There was no cause to turn him over.”

  “No. So I have been told. But even if Chuzas hadn’t told me the knife you found in the bath had not been used to do the deed, I would not have let him go. Guilty or not.”

  “You would defy the Prefect?”

  “I would. He is powerful and has the emperor at his back, but he cannot depose a king and would not try. Not for Menahem.”

  “You are close to Menahem, then.”

  “He has been my confidant and friend for nearly five decades, Rabban. That is a long time and yes, we are close. Growing up in the house of the king, my father, could never be deemed normal, if you follow me. The first Herod had many interests, many enemies, and many wives. Two of my brothers and one stepmother and her mother as well, he put to death as you know. He told me about it at the time, how he had them strangled while he watched. He wanted to make very clear to me what happened to those who plotted against him. I had never thought to do so, and after hearing the story from his lips, never thought to in the future either, you can be sure.”

  “I am guessing, of course, but Menahem served as a stabilizing presence in your life?”

  “You could say that.”

  “Who is he, or where did he come from? And how did he come to be a foster brother, if that is what he was…is?”

  “Who is he? I am not sure. He is very discreet about his origins. Certainly he never confided in me. He did say at one time it would not be healthy for me to know. There were rumors, of course. There always are. The only one I credit has him the son of a Roman woman my father knew when he spent time in Caesar’s court. That would be about the time he petitioned the Emperor Julius to support his bid to become king of Israel. Menahem has those western features, you see.”

  “Yes, that is true.”

  “He arrived when I was in my fifth year. He must have been in his seventeenth at the time and he was much older than I but now, as we both age, I think I have caught up and then passed him. When he speaks about things of the world, he sounds like he is the younger.”

  “The queen also contacted the High Priest about turning him over to Pilate. What is it about Menahem that so annoys the queen?”

  “Ah…” The king let his gaze wander over an unusually designed silk tapestr
y hanging on the wall. “The queen has a very determined personality. She does not like to share with anyone. Menahem is a gentle soul and she resents the fact that I listen to him. She would prefer I only seek advice from her. She also knows that Menahem counseled me not to put aside Phasaelis to marry her.”

  “And the business with the holy man, John?”

  At the mention of the Baptizer’s name, the king blanched. “It was a mistake, Rabban. You must tell the Sanhedrin, the leaders, I did not mean to put the Nation in jeopardy over that man. He annoyed me and spoke untruths about the marriage. I asked the leadership and they all said there were precedents for my union with…well, we had our disagreements. But, as to the beheading, I had foolishly given my word in public and I could not back away. Trust me, I never dreamed the child would ask for such a terrible prize, that she would be so bloodthirsty, or more to the point, let her mother rule her in it.”

  “But she did. No doubt, little will come of it, Majesty. The people in the streets believe him to have been a prophet, but those of us who know the Book remain unconvinced as to that. You may rest easy.”

  “Hearing you say that is a great relief for me.” The king started to leave and then stopped. “Tell me, how are your investigations proceeding?”

  “Well, I think. Can you help in one last thing?”

  “Certainly, if it is in my power to do so.”

  “I do not require power, Majesty, only an answer. Who is the man Graecus?”

  “A king, Rabban, has many favors expected of him and in return, receives many. I cannot always keep the ‘books’, you could say, straight. At any rate, this man came to me with a paper from an old ally who wished me to help him in a transaction of some sort. To be honest I cannot remember what I did or received from him but I agreed to help. I have not had a further interview with the man since and they tell me he has left the city anyway.”

  “I see. So, you do not know him personally?”