Book of JUDAS

Chapter Three-4

Philip and Simon turned to look at Felix. His expression remained unchanged except for the perceptible traces of sadness that lined his eyes as he stared at the screen. It was only then that they fully realised the depth of their grandfather’s long-standing friendship with the Bairstow family. Sir Lawrence continued with the story.

“My good friend Felix will explain to you what happened in the week following my return to England. He, like his father before him, also knows the current whereabouts of the Judas Scrolls.”

Simon glanced across at Felix Bairstow who nodded his acknowledgement.

“Incredibly, something happened two weeks ago that made it imperative that I see you as soon as possible…” said Sir Lawrence, trailing off miserably. The brothers sensed their grandfather’s sadness; he knew he wasn’t going to survive until their planned arrival and now they knew it too.

“The Judas Scroll writings tell of a labyrinth buried below the ground that leads to a temple where the Book of Judas itself is protected. When the labyrinth was sealed, three messengers were each given fragments of bone that resembled narrow, crooked needles just over a foot long. When assembled, the ancient script refers to them as the “arkheynia” or the bone necklace. The fragments are clearly identifiable and at one end of each piece of bone is a sculptured, smooth, round head dyed blood red. The scroll states that when the three fragments of bone are connected and placed over the map the path to the labyrinth will become clear…”

Philip shook his head in amazement at the story he was hearing. If it were anyone other than his grandfather narrating the episode, he would struggle to believe it.

The whole thing’s incredible, he thought, simply incredible.

“The guardians of the labyrinth then entrusted the fragments of bone to the three messengers were who were told to travel as far away as they could in different directions − of course, I would have continued to search for the labyrinth containing the Book of Judas but without those fragments of bone the map’s utterly useless. In the beginning, I naively thought it was going to be possible and I spent years researching the whereabouts of the “arkheynia” by tracking every single artefact and cataloguing every single relic contained in the archaeological museums around the world. After five years, my hopes were building when found two of the bone fragments. Unfortunately my hopes were short-lived and since that success I’ve devoted a large part of my life to finding the third key but to no avail… In fact I’d given up any hope of ever finding it until a few weeks ago.”

Sir Lawrence was clearly excited by the developments. He became more animated and there was an added vigour to his speech.

“As part of my regular research, I obtained a copy of the South China Morning Post. I opened it up and there were colour photos of divers on the deck of a ship displaying the relics they’d brought to the surface from a shipwreck off the coast of Surithani in Thailand. Imagine my surprise, when I investigated their findings closely and saw that in the centre of the display was the final bone fragment with the smooth, red sculpture at the head. Unbeknown to these divers the implications of their discovery were enormous.”

Sir Lawrence lay back against the pillows behind him. He was clearly exhausted but desperate to finish the story and tell the brothers all he could.

“Simon, Philip… you must understand that my death will trigger off a renewed attempt to reclaim the scrolls by the Vatican,” he warned. “Both of you will find your lives in grave danger until the myth surrounding the Book of Judas is resolved. Until then, you will never be safe… Be warned that those seeking the truth will not just be from the Vatican but from other more sinister quarters. You must think hard and do what you consider to be right − but I truly believe that to save yourselves, the only course of action is to solve the mystery… You must think about it. If you decide to go ahead, I want you to go and see a friend of mine − Professor David Palanski. He’ll give you the full facts behind the Book of Judas and tell you about those who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on it.”

Sir Lawrence realised he was approaching the end and peered mournfully into the camera lens.

“I am sorry… So very sorry that I have left you in this situation. Since your parents died I’ve done my best to look after you and I thought I could handle this myself… And now, only when it’s too late, I realise that I was wrong.”

He turned away from the camera.

Simon sat staring at the screen. He was deep in thought. The palms of his hands were pressed together as if in prayer and contemplation of life itself. His chin rested tiredly on the points of his fingers as he listened to his grandfather’s final words. Simon already sensed that what they were hearing would change his and Philip’s life, possibly forever. He loved his grandfather but at that moment all he could feel was frustration borne from the fact that he hadn’t felt able to trust or confide in them earlier. Resentfully, he listened to the last few minutes of his grandfather’s speech.

“Whatever you decide, I want you to do one thing for me… Anna Nikolaidis is my friend Demetri’ granddaughter. Unknown to her, I set up a trust fund with her as the sole beneficiary and, so far, I have managed secretly to sponsor her career… She has followed in Demetri’s footsteps and has the makings of a fine archaeologist,” he informed them proudly. “Please take great care of her… If you decide to solve the mystery then take her along with you… Her knowledge will be invaluable to you.”

That explains the unknown beneficiary, thought Philip sardonically, recalling Bairstow’s earlier reading.

Sir Lawrence looked at the camera one last time.

“I love you both dearly, never forget that… I have tremendous faith that you will choose the right path… And remember,” he said, offering some final advice, “from now on trust no one. They will be watching you…”

They watched Doctor Gifford enter the screen before it suddenly went blank. Speechless, Simon and Philip stared at each other.

“Your grandfather was a very clever man,” said Bairstow, breaking the silence. “I know he was devastated to be leaving you alone with his legacy. He desperately wanted to be here to help you.”

“What I don’t understand,” asked Philip candidly, “is that if he has been in possession of these secret scrolls for so many years, why was my grandfather safe? Why wasn’t his life in constant danger?”

“I agree. It doesn’t make sense,” added Simon, looking puzzled.

“Let me explain,” said Bairstow, who had resumed his seat behind the desk.

“My father met your grandfather for the first time in the week after he returned to England, having smuggled himself and the Judas Scrolls from Qumran. Your grandfather explained the story that you’ve just heard to my father, James Bairstow, who believed him entirely. As you can imagine, at that time, Sir Lawrence was clearly very distraught, not only for his own safety but also for the safety of the scrolls. Together, your grandfather and my father sat down and devised a plan that would prevent the Roman Catholic hierarchy within the Vatican from threatening his life.”

Bairstow stood up and walked over to another cabinet, pulling open its wooden shutters.

“Would you like a drink?” he asked, holding up a decanter and pausing momentarily for their response. He poured three tumblers while continuing his narration. Simon and Philip listened attentively.

“Almost immediately, my father helped him store the Scrolls in a secure place offshore and then they set about writing certain letters,” he said, handing over the whisky tumblers to the brothers before resuming his seat.

“Together they wrote three duplicate letters fully explaining what had taken place one week earlier at Qumran. Each letter contained pictures of the Judas Scrolls with details of how to recover the originals. The three letters were then deposited with three prominent firms of London solicitors with express instructions that if Sir Lawrence failed to materialise on certain dates, or if he failed to call at certain times, then the letters were to be delivered immediately by a senior partner to the listed addressees. The recipients included one eminent politician and two businessmen running large independent media empires.”

Bairstow paused looking thoughtfully at the drink in front him as he recalled the memory of his father telling him the story. It was shortly afterwards that he took over the reins of the family business and the duties towards Sir Lawrence Trenchard that went with it.

“Shortly afterwards, your grandfather received a notification from a Cardinal Deacon in the Vatican requesting a meeting in Rome. After some debate, Sir Lawrence agreed and in a private meeting at a church in Rome he met with two Cardinals. As you would expect, they asked for the Judas Scrolls and your grandfather told them of the arrangements he had put in place to safeguard his life. Your grandfather was under no illusions. He knew that he would still be in grave danger even if he handed them over.”

Bairstow took a sip of his drink and Simon looked up quizzically at him.

“So what happened next?”

“The Cardinals wanted to see what was in the scrolls. They were very keen to know whether the Book of Judas really existed, and whether or not their discovery threw any light on its final resting place. Your grandfather told them what the scribes had written and gave them a picture of the Judas Scroll showing the ancient Hebrew text. Sir Lawrence even assisted them in translating parts so that they understood that no one could seek out the labyrinth without first obtaining the “arkheynia” that were, purportedly, scattered around the globe.”

Bairstow drained the rest of the whisky from his cut glass tumbler.

“After that your grandfather returned to England and, to the best of my knowledge, he had no further direct contact with the Vatican.”

“I don’t understand,” said Simon. “How would he be able to protect us?”

“Ultimately,” replied Bairstow, “I think he felt that if you were honestly unaware of the scrolls he could keep you both hidden from the danger. I am not sure what he had in mind, but I believe he considered some kind of deal with the Vatican whereby the original scrolls would be offered up in return for a guarantee of your safety.”

A momentary silence descended while the brothers thought about what Bairstow had said, and how that translated now their grandfather was dead.

“I’ll leave you to discuss what you’ve seen and heard,” said Bairstow, standing up and making to leave. He collected up the documents concerning the will but left the video where it was.

Philip stood up and extended his arm.

“Thank you Felix… You, like your father before you, have been a good friend to our family – I’m very grateful.”

“We’re both very grateful,” said Simon, also shaking his hand firmly.

“If you want to ask more questions just call me, otherwise I’ll be here tomorrow morning,” he said, reaching the door. “You must also let me know whether you want the contact details for Professor David Palanski and Anna Nikolaidis… Please think about how we’re going to tell her about her inheritance.”

The brothers nodded, thanking him again. Philip followed him through the door to see him out of the main entrance. When he returned to the room, Simon was rewinding the videotape back to the start.

“This changes everything for me,” said Simon, watching Philip take both their glasses and refresh them from the drinks cabinet. As usual, Mrs Vines had been very thoughtful. She had even been kind enough to fill the ice bucket.

“I’m cancelling my flight tomorrow – we have to solve this mystery… I’m going to tell them I can’t resume my assignment till I’ve completed some important family business.”

“Have you thought this through?” asked Philip quizzically, recognising his younger brother’s impetuous streak. “Do you realise what’s involved?”

“Ok, Philip,” replied Simon, noting his brother’s concerned tone. “You’ve seen it and heard it. Whether it’s strange circumstances or fate, who knows, but I believe the discovery of the third fragment of the bone necklace means that it’s our duty to find this labyrinth.”

“Duty?” asked Philip, pointedly. He was tired and rubbed his eyes.

“Listen, we don’t even know anything about this Book of Judas. Finding it could have far greater repercussions than just being a relic hunter’s trophy, Simon… You heard the Vatican’s response. They’re prepared to kill to prevent knowledge of the book from escaping − we’re not talking about some everyday artefact that’s going to end up in some display cabinet in a museum. Do you not see that?” he said crossly.

Simon had not considered this.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Philip repeated. “It’s possible that the world will better off if these scrolls are just handed back to the Vatican and the information in them buried for ever − maybe it’s best if they are destroyed.”

“Ok, maybe you’re right,” replied Simon thoughtfully. “We need to understand more about the Book of Judas before we know what we’re embarking on… Why don’t we go and see this Professor Palanski and see what we can learn from him?”

After a moment’s consideration, Philip agreed that they would fix up an appointment with the Professor in the next couple of days.

Simon leant down to the machine and pressed the start button on the video. They sat back again to watch their grandfather’s story for a second time. Philip put out his hand to touch his brother’s shoulder.

“Whatever we decide, it’s good to see you for a few more days,” said Philip, holding out his glass and smiling.

“You too,” said Simon. Their glasses clinked before their eyes reverted to the television screen.