Temple: The Prophecy of the Hidden Treasure (Brian Sadler Archaeological Mysteries Book 7)

by Bill Thompson

  He'd been patched up by American doctors on the USS Nimitz and given a couple of weeks to recover. Since his capture, he'd been the topic of conversation in extensive meetings between newly appointed US ambassador to Israel Ardelia Lloyd and Prime Minister Shigon. President Harrison joined the discussions by phone from time to time, trying to sway the Israeli leader to send Tariq to the United States for trial. The primary issue was that of capital punishment. Although the USA hadn't executed a federal prisoner in over a decade, the chance of Tariq's receiving the ultimate punishment for his crimes in Israel was even more remote. There hadn't been an execution there since Holocaust mastermind Adolf Eichmann was hanged in 1962.

  Shigon at last reluctantly agreed to let Tariq go, not because of capital punishment but because he felt the attention directed toward such a public trial could create major problems. Tariq was a hero to militants, a brave warrior in the fight for jihadism. If his trial were held in Israel, there would be riots, bombings and acts of terror – a nightmare Shigon simply didn't care to tackle.

  The logistics for Tariq's relocation were kept under tight wraps. By the time the news media learned that he would face trial in the United States, he was already behind bars at ADX Florence, a facility in Fremont County, Colorado, that was the most secure "supermax" prison in the country. Packed with extremely violent prisoners considered too unstable, high-profile or risky to be placed in other facilities, the men here faced the tightest security possible.

  Two terrorists – Zacarias Moussaoui, one of the 9/11 conspirators, and Ramzi Yousef, who was behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing – were currently incarcerated at ADX Florence. The warden was careful to assign Tariq a solitary confinement cell far from these men whose motives had been so like his own.

  Four guards surrounded Tariq as he sat in front of a video camera during his arraignment. The district court in Denver had been selected for the trial, given its proximity to the prison should Tariq be required to appear in person. The courtroom was the same one where Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was tried, convicted and sentenced to death in 1997.

  Given the notoriety and importance of the trial, the judge was determined to make no mistakes. For most Americans, there was only one goal – justice followed by swift retribution. Tariq appeared on a huge screen in the courtroom and announced in English that he wished to plead guilty and waive all his rights.

  "I did all the things I am accused of doing, and I am proud of my actions," he continued. "I only wish that I could have rid the world of more infidels, especially the leaders of the Great Satan. Allah has a special place for servants such as I, and I willingly submit to death, secure in the belief that Allah in his infinite wisdom will swiftly destroy the United States of America."

  The judge told Tariq he was going to appoint an attorney to ensure he understood the implications of what he was requesting and the rights that were available to him under the American legal system. He spat on the ground and cursed the judge. He refused to speak to his attorney and muttered verses from the Quran as his legal counsel explained what options he had available.

  Two weeks later the judge asked Tariq if he understood his rights.

  "I have a right to justice," he screamed. "Kill me, you son of a whore!"

  There was the mandatory presentence investigation, this one abbreviated by the defendant's fervent desire to be executed. Five months after his first court appearance, Tariq appeared on the screen. This would be his last visit to the courtroom. He was impassive as the judge sentenced him to death by lethal injection. He waived his right to appeal and the judge ordered him to be transferred as soon as reasonably possible to the US penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, where his sentence would be carried out.

  On a sunny day in June, the most wanted man in the world lay strapped to a gurney in a small room. "Allahu Akbar!" he screamed as the warden gave the order to start the drugs flowing. Minutes later, Tariq entered the place he would spend eternity.

  Only five months had passed between the day Tariq's trial began and the day he was executed. It was the speediest trial since the Wild West era of "Hanging Judge" Roy Bean, and its swift conclusion was praised by everyone who had hoped for justice.

  Tariq was gone, but others would take his place. Al Qaeda and ISIS were not dependent on one man, as awful a creature as he had been. The terror would continue and so would the hunt for Abdel Malouf and Brian Sadler.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Eight months later

  The stately Roman columns standing amid the ruins of Beth Shean gleamed like huge white sentinels standing guard over the treasure of a nation. Brian used enormous floodlights to illuminate the beauty of this ancient city that was thriving three thousand years ago, in the days when biblical heroes like David and Solomon ruled Israel.

  Brian had wisely chosen to film the show at night, the glow from carefully placed lighting casting a supernatural aura over the scene and adding to the feeling of mystery and intrigue. An estimated four million viewers worldwide were mesmerized as the documentary began. The Hidden Treasures of Isaiah, the deep-voiced narrator echoed as an overhead shot of the ruined city bathed in light faded into a panorama of golden objects that had been found in the cave.

  And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

  The show began with a tribute. Brian introduced himself and Dr. Rebecca Kohl and then the screen displayed a photograph. It was a street scene in the Old City of Jerusalem with a man standing in front of a building. On the awning above the shop's entrance were words in Arabic and English – Abdel Malouf, antiquities dealer. Brian had found the picture in Abdel's shop.

  The camera zoomed in on the photograph as Brian acknowledged his friend's contribution to this project and explained that without Malouf he would never have known about the treasures of Isaiah. He described Abdel as a colleague, a worthy opponent in bidding contests for priceless objects of art, and a man genuinely interested in the preservation of history. There was no mention of Abdel's disappearance, his possible ties to al Qaeda or any speculation as to his whereabouts.

  Brian explained how close Abdel's shop was to the Temple Mount – the place where Hebrew scholars believed the temple would be rebuilt someday. He and a film crew started in front of the gallery and then walked along the Via Dolorosa, a street Brian described as an example of how the various religions were intertwined. Today in what is called the Muslim Quarter, Jesus carried a cross on this very street on the day of His crucifixion. Brian walked up to the Temple Mount, where the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque stood proudly on the same broad platform where the temple of the Jews was built, destroyed, rebuilt and destroyed again.

  "The treasure we're about to reveal was here," he explained. "It was here when King Solomon built the First Temple, it was here when King Cyrus helped the Jews build the second one, and perhaps if it's God's will, those treasures will be in the Third Temple when it is rebuilt on this site in the end times."

  Brian realized this part would highly offend the Muslims, who were always outraged at any thought of a temple supplanting the sacred shrine that had been there for thirteen centuries. But this part was important. This production was a history of the Jews and their treasure. He was lucky to have even been allowed to film on the Muslim-controlled Temple Mount. It only happened after Prime Minister Shigon himself made a formal request to the PLO. Brian wasn't sure how that had happened or if Harry had also been involved in discussions with the Palestinians, and he never asked. All that mattered was that permission was granted, the filming was done quickly in case someone changed his mind, and that was that.

  The next forty-five minutes of the documentary was a Ten Commandments-style movie explaining the history of the Israelites and their treasure. It was a fascinating glimpse into the past. Production staffers who watched this part as it was being edited remarked of having goose bumps w
hen the narrator relayed the history of a captive people released by a Persian king and given back the treasures of their temple – the most sacred and important relics of a civilization.

  Jews, Christians and Muslims alike could relate to the next part of the story because it was woven into the religious history of each. The narrator spoke in a mysterious, haunting voice as viewers watched the great prophet Isaiah predict that someday far in the future a king named Cyrus would free the Jews from Babylonian captivity. A hundred and fifty years later that prophecy was fulfilled. Cyrus, the ruler of Persia, appeared next, speaking the words of Second Chronicles. "The Lord, the God of heaven, has ... charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you ... may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up."

  This preview to the unveiling of the treasure continued with a clip showing Cyrus protecting the Jews, bringing them back to Jerusalem and returning treasures that had been stolen when the First Temple was destroyed. Brian's description of the building of the Second Temple – for which King Cyrus footed the bill – revealed a massive structure that stood proudly on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as a tribute to the God of the Israelites.

  After a commercial break, Brian and Becky Kohl were center stage. Dressed in the khakis they'd worn when they visited the cave and a scarf hiding her nasty scar, each of them spoke about the events leading up to the discovery. Brian turned to an easel behind him, where an object covered by a cloth rested.

  "Abdel Malouf knew about the hidden treasure for years," he began, "but he removed only one piece. He was an Arab who spent years protecting the treasure of the Israelites. For Abdel, this wasn't about religion, or internecine conflict, or one man's beliefs versus another's. This was about history."

  "This is the only piece Abdel removed from the cave," he said, pulling away the cloth with a flourish and revealing the golden plate. "He wrote a letter that explains what it is."

  At this point the screen split; on one side was a close-up shot of the plate itself and on the other was a portion of Abdel's handwritten letter in Arabic. The narrator read the words in English, the last part of Abdel's letter that had affected Brian so greatly when Becky translated it that evening in the hospital room.

  I doubt anyone will find anything in the cavern more significant than this golden plate. I took it from the cave the day I first laid eyes on the wonders of the hidden treasure of Isaiah. It is the most precious of all objects in the cavern, a chronology of the treasure from the very beginning, and it is the only thing I have removed in all these years. It is a priceless artifact that must always belong to the Jewish people. The inscription is in three parts. The first is the most astounding – the words of King Solomon himself, written by his scribe three thousand years ago. They describe the First Temple and the religious objects inside it.

  A second set of words in ancient Hebrew is the work of an unknown person. He records the decree of Cyrus of Persia that the Israelites shall be freed from Babylon and the temple rebuilt in Jerusalem. These words proclaim Isaiah's prophecy about Cyrus and the treasure of the temple. "At last we restore these holy objects to their rightful place," it reads. Those words were written in the sixth century before the birth of Jesus Christ, two thousand five hundred years ago.

  Last are the words on the reverse, written in Aramaic at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70. They weave a woeful tale of treasure taken from the temple under cover of darkness as Jerusalem burns. The priests and followers piled wagons high, covering the sacred icons with cloths and guiding their donkeys through the crowded streets until they were at last outside the burning city. They turned and watched their beautiful temple go up in flames, then made their way to Beth Shean, where they had long ago created a hiding place in case of just such an event.

  Did all the treasure make it? The golden plate doesn't reveal the ending. I am not a Jew, but I have witnessed a miracle. I have seen the temple treasure with my own eyes. For that reason, I believe the God of the Israelites gave His people protection as cart after cart moved along dusty roads until all that could be seen of Jerusalem far in the distance behind them were billowing clouds of smoke.

  Another break followed that spine-tingling part of the program. They were ninety minutes in with just thirty to go, and they were reaching the climax. To demonstrate how he had found it on his first visit, Brian was led blindfolded from the hill above Beth Shean. He took off his hood, shinnied down the rope, stood on the ledge and pointed out the partially obscured entrance. Inside, he stood by the massive Egyptian statues and then started down the corridor, his headlamp the only illumination. As he maneuvered sideways through the tight passageway, he described his claustrophobia on that first visit. The camera recorded his surprise as he popped into the cavern. As he turned the dim light of his headlamp from side to side, the viewers got only a tantalizing glimpse of a glint of gold here and there in the darkness.

  Then the scene switched back to the hill above Beth Shean. It was time to reveal the pièce de résistance.

  He and Becky walked through the brush and weeds, went down the rope and entered the cave. Strings of lights illuminated the hallways as Brian and Becky walked past the statues and went single-file down the corridor. After squeezing through the cramped part, they emerged into the now brightly lit cavern. For the first time, the audience experienced the vastness of the jumbled piles of golden relics.

  It had been almost a year since he and Abdel first set foot here. During that time, Director Kohl's team had painstakingly cataloged and photographed every item in the room. Hours of video footage had been shot. Once the fieldwork was done, some of the pieces were moved to allow access to the entire cache. Like visitors to the house of a hoarder, Brian and Becky had to move some of the objects, creating pathways so researchers could access everything. At times, they were literally knee-deep in the most beautifully crafted pieces ever assembled in one place.

  There were almost two thousand things in the room, most made of gold, a few of silver, copper and bronze, and others bedecked with precious stones. The builder of the First Temple – King Solomon himself – had surely held some of these objects in his hands, Brian told the audience in a hushed voice that demonstrated his awe and reverence for the sacred relics. Other major figures from the Bible – kings, high priests and officials – would have seen these majestic treasures with their own eyes. Perhaps even Jesus Christ had prayed before them.

  With a sweep of his hand around the room, Brian said, "Although it is not in this room, the Ark of the Covenant was once housed in the temple along with these priceless objects. It disappeared sometime before the Jews were exiled to Babylon. Where it was taken and by whom are questions that have never been answered, but just look at what Dr. Kohl and I found here."

  He held up one of the two matching miniature arks, stating his opinion that the pair might have been exact replicas of the original. "Imagine this possibility," he said, his enthusiasm fueling the tempo of the show. "This three-thousand-year-old object might have been made by a man who sat in front of the Ark of the Covenant itself, copying its every line in painstaking detail."

  Next he pointed to a large box with a golden Torah inside.

  "Dr. Kohl, can you tell us where this stunning object might have sat?"

  "Most likely it was prominently displayed on an altar in the Second Temple, twenty-five hundred years ago. It's unique, as are most of the objects in this room. Nothing remotely like this one has ever been found before."

  For the last five-minute segment, Brian introduced Reverend C.R. Faulkner from Miami, a noted pastor and student of eschatology.

  "Does the Dome of the Rock have to be destroyed before the Jewish temple can be rebuilt?" Brian asked.

  "In my opinion, no," the pastor said. "I think the actual site is north of the Muslim shrine and there's plenty of room to build a structure worthy of King Solomon himself. All it takes is cooperation between two of the world's major religions, and I think every
one on earth needs to pray that that might happen."

  Wrapping up, Brian thanked the audience for allowing him to walk with them through the most fascinating storehouse he had ever seen. He promised that soon there would be a museum to properly display the artifacts. The plan was to incorporate the cavern itself into the building, allowing much of the treasure to remain as it was today.

  "You'll have an opportunity to be a part of history," he concluded, standing in the cavern. "I hope you'll join me in making it happen. Thank you and good night."

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Over the months, Abdel Malouf settled comfortably into life as Constantin Stefos. He opened a little antique shop in Camden Town, far from the ritzy parts of London – the West End, Mayfair and Knightsbridge – where the likes of Brian Sadler maintained their upscale galleries.

  Occasionally on his way to a lunch or a meeting, his cab would turn down Old Bond Street and pass the show windows of Bijan Rarities. He wondered if Brian was inside, engaged in some exciting new project. He would have enjoyed walking in, greeting his old friend and catching up over a pint of ale at a nearby pub. Thinking about those streets in Jerusalem's Old City that he and Brian had walked – those streets he would never see again – made him wistful. That life was over. It had to be that way, but it was hard to accept even after all this time had passed.

  He never chased after the important consignments, the ones that he would have jumped on in a second when he'd been Abdel Malouf. He steered away from pieces and auctions that would create publicity, for fear someone would recognize him. Every day that passed was another day that al Qaeda hadn't learned where he was – and one more day in his new identity.