“And until we find the third missing fragment—call it the ‘X’ fragment, or 7QC, or whatever you want—until we place that last part of the puzzle into this picture we are never going to be absolutely sure about the full meaning of this ancient piece of writing—isn’t that correct?”
“You never have absolute certainty in science. But I am confident that there is no further writing that is missing from this piece.”
“You would place all of your professional integrity behind that statement?”
“I certainly would.”
Having placed Reichstad’s credibility squarely in his sights, Will got ready to squeeze the trigger.
“I listened carefully to your testimony,” Will noted casually, “regarding what you knew about the origins of the 7QA fragment. Where it came from. Cave 7. The Bedouin. Your contact with Azid. I took very good notes. Now my question is this—are there any more facts you can add about the way that the fragment had been preserved in cave 7 when the Bedouin found it?”
“No, Mr. Chambers. I was very complete in my testimony. I’ve given the jury—and you—a description of everything I know.”
“Everything?”
“Yes, that is what I said.”
“I was just interested, then, in the jar.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. The jar.”
“What jar?”
“The jar in which the 7QA-7QB fragment was stored for some two thousand years. Until one day the Bedouin, as a young boy, found it. In cave number 7 at Qumran. That jar.”
“Well, it is a good assumption that it was kept in a jar.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because many of the fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls were likewise found in earthen jars.”
“But you never said anything in your testimony here today about knowing that the fragments in this case had been stored in a jar.”
“Well, that was certainly understood…”
“By who? By you?”
“I always assumed that fact.”
“And therefore you omitted that fact in your testimony—because you simply assumed it?”
“I don’t know what you are getting at, Mr. Chambers.”
“Simply this: I have read every paper and article you ever authored about the 7QA fragment. Not one of them ever mentions that the fragment had been stored in a jar. Not one. You do agree with that?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Mr. Chambers. You have seen how many professional scholarly articles I have authored in my career. I can’t possibly recall every detail just because you want me to.”
“I have them right here—organized in my notebooks by date and by source. I would be glad to spend all day going through them with you, Dr. Reichstad. Is that going to be necessary?”
Judge Kaye came to life again, and broke in. “No, we are not going to do that, are we, Dr. Reichstad? Let’s cut to the chase. Why don’t you just tell us—do you recall ever writing about the fragment being found in a jar by the Bedouin?”
“Not that I can recall, no.”
“Thank you,” Will added. “But beyond even that—you never, at any time, ever wrote that fact that the 7QA fragment had been stuck to the bottom of a jar?”
“I suppose that’s true, though I don’t think it is at all important to this case—one way or another.”
“Oh, but it is,” Will responded. “Dr. Beady testified earlier, quite clearly, that you and he had discussed that the papyrus fragment was discovered by the Bedouin, stuck to the bottom of a jar. Now is that a fact? Is that what Azid told you shortly before his death?”
“I don’t recall.”
“Do you know why Dr. Beady—one of your trusted research associates—would make that up?”
“Certainly not.”
“Any reason to believe that Dr. Beady lied about that?”
“No, not in the least.”
“But you do recall ever telling him that?”
“No, I don’t.”
“The most important archaeological discovery about Jesus of Nazareth in the history of the world—according to you—but you can’t recall whether it was found in a jar or, if it was, whether it had been stuck to the bottom and had to be pried loose by the Bedouin?”
“I can’t recall ever hearing those things from Azid or anyone else. But in any event, I really don’t see the point.”
“Let me help you there,” Will said more intensely. “Would you agree that if you came by this 7QA fragment in an honorable way from Mr. Azid, and Mr. Azid told you the details of how the fragment was originally found—that is, stuck to the bottom of an ancient jar—would it be reasonable to expect that you would have published that information in one or more of your many writings about 7QA?”
“Perhaps.”
“But if you came by 7QA from Mr. Azid in a dishonorable way—and if Mr. Azid was in fact tortured before his death and gave up all the details he knew about 7QA while electricity was being shot into every orifice of his broken body, then perhaps you would be very hesitant to share such details, would you not?”
“This is preposterous! Where do you get those bizarre ideas, Mr. Chambers? From the grocery-store tabloids?”
“No,” Will responded calmly. “From the two members of the Israeli police who are scheduled to testify for the defense next week. That’s where I get those ideas.”
Reichstad made an unsuccessful attempt to dismiss Will’s comment by smiling at the jury. But he could only manage a twisted smirk.
“Dr. Reichstad, let’s at least leave this matter this way: One of your own witnesses, who is a trusted scientific associate, has testified under oath that you told him about 7QA being stuck to the bottom of a jar; you, on the other hand, deny even knowing about that. Would you agree that we have a mystery on our hands, then?”
“You have it backwards, Mr. Chambers. Angus MacCameron is the one who believes in mysteries, not me. I believe in facts.”
“Well then, let’s talk about another mystery. The mystery of the humiliating party. Do you recall testifying earlier today about your friends and colleagues yelling ‘murderer,’ and ‘fraud,’ at you as a result of reading the MacCameron article?”
At that point J-Fox Sherman leaped up to object. Judge Kaye motioned to both attorneys to come up to the bench, outside of the hearing of the jury.
“Your Honor, Mr. Chambers is way out of bounds,” Sherman sputtered. “You bifurcated this trial. No testimony is supposed to come out at this stage of the case about humiliation to Dr. Reichstad, or damage to his reputation.”
“But your own client opened the door to that issue, Mr. Sherman,” Will shot back at the opposing attorney. “He went on, in great detail, about that party and what was said. That door ought to swing both ways.”
“Look, Jay,” the judge responded, “your client swung that door wide open. I am sure you advised him about my bifurcation order. And then he chose to violate it. Mr. Chambers wants to capitalize on this. That’s called trial strategy. Objection overruled. But Mr. Chambers—don’t go too far with this.”
When both attorneys had resumed their positions, Will continued.
“About the party. There was some drinking?”
“Yes.”
“Everyone having a good time?”
“Until the comments about the MacCameron article came up. And then I was humiliated.”
“Dr. Reichstad, I want you to listen very carefully to my next question. Here it is: When your friends cried out ‘murderer,’ and ‘fraud,’ were they, as well as you, all laughing and making merry about it—making it into a joke?”
“Absolutely not. I was devastated. Mortified.”
“Was Kathleen Aberscombe there that night, at that party?”
“Yes,” Reichstad said.
“If she were here—would she agree with your recollection of the party? Or would she agree with how I have characterized the party?”
“She would agree with me. But she isn’t here,” Reichstad declare
d. “I happen to know that she is in Turkey, with her husband.”
“No, Dr. Reichstad, she is not. I would represent to you that her husband fell ill. Her trip was delayed. And I was able to serve her with a subpoena, to come and testify next week when the defense puts on its case. And I know what she is going to say, because I have a sworn affidavit from her.” Will lifted up a typed document in his right hand.
Sherman jumped to his feet again, but Judge Kaye cut him off.
“I’m not making decisions about defense witnesses right now,” the judge said firmly. “I have looked at Mr. Chambers’ witness list for this first phase of the trial—and Mrs. Aberscombe’s name is not on it. On the other hand, I’m sure she was not listed in this phase of the case because Mr. Chambers assumed that Dr. Reichstad would not violate my bifurcation order by talking about the details of that party at Harvard. So Mr. Sherman, sit down. And Mr. Chambers, please get to the point.”
Will Chambers looked into Reichstad’s eyes. They both knew the same thing. It was a roll of the dice. If the judge ultimately prevented Aberscombe from testifying in the defense case, Reichstad could say anything he wanted to about the party, without fear of being contradicted. But if Aberscombe did testify, not only would the jury see him as a liar—but he also might be facing a criminal perjury prosecution.
Will pressed in. “Was there, in fact, great laughter and joking and merriment when the words ‘murderer’ and ‘fraud’ were uttered at that party?”
“Someone may have been laughing.”
“Several people?”
“Perhaps.”
“Almost everyone?”
“I didn’t count noses.”
“Did your wife begin laughing so heartily that tears welled up in her eyes?”
“I think she may have had too much to drink.”
“In fact, there were gales of laughter at that party as you and your scholarly friends made fun of my client—Reverend Angus MacCameron?”
“Angus MacCameron deserves ridicule from the scholars of the world—he took that chance when he decided to write that ridiculous article against me.”
“But you think the article—and the allegations—were ridiculous?”
“Absolutely!”
“As did your friends at that party?”
“Anybody with scientific sophistication believes MacCameron is a joke.”
“Including all your friends at that party?”
Reichstad leaned back in the witness chair. He smirked slightly and rotated his head and his neck, as if he were relieving a cramp.
“We were joking—yes. It was a party.”
“So then—you lied, under oath, when in your deposition you testified in these exact words,” and with that Will Chambers read from the transcript of Reichstad’s deposition:
There was a voice raised from a corner of the room…it sent chills down my spine, and it literally broke my heart…
The voice shouted out, ‘Murderer! Murderer!’…
That other voice said ‘fraud!’”
“I did not lie!” Reichstad shouted out.
“Was that statement that I just read from your deposition—was it the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” And with that, Will lifted up the affidavit from Kathleen Aberscrombe and displayed it prominently in front of Reichstad.
“Maybe my deposition testimony was not entirely accurate in all its details,” Reichstad finally responded. “I had gotten very little sleep. You were badgering me. I may have made mistakes. I had been very busy with a complicated research project before coming to the deposition.”
“A ‘complicated research project’? In other words, you become more of a liar the busier you get—is that what you are saying?”
Sherman howled out an objection, but Judge Kaye beat him to the punch.
“That’s enough! Mr. Chambers, I’ve given you plenty of rope. But you are getting perilously close to hanging yourself—and your client. That question is ordered stricken. The jury will disregard it.”
Will nodded, apologized to the court, and then positioned himself directly across from Reichstad and smiled at him as he launched into his next cross-examination attack.
“When you testified under oath at your deposition, you said that you had identified for me every single book that you had ever authored. Were you being truthful?”
“Of course. Don’t be insulting.”
“Did you list for me a little book you authored called A New Quest for Jesus?”
“I’m not sure.”
Will showed Reichstad a copy of his typed curriculum vitae that had been given to Will at the deposition. Reichstad’s lawyers had represented that the résumé, drafted by Reichstad, contained all of his professional credentials and publications.
Reichstad glanced at the document for a moment.
“Apparently I inadvertently omitted that book from my résumé.”
“Was it merely inadvertent?”
“Yes, naturally.”
“Not intentional?”
“No!” Reichstad responded with irritation.
“You know who Warren Mullburn is?”
Reichstad studied Will Chambers for a moment before he responded. He straightened up a little in the witness chair, squaring his shoulders and trying to look bored and uninterested in the questions.
“Do you know who he is?” Will repeated.
“Of course. Most of the civilized world has heard of Mr. Mullburn. He is quite famous. Books. Screenplays for science-fiction movies. The world’s third richest man. Inventor of various geological devices for the discovery of oil. And on and on.”
“But you know him better than most. You have met with him.”
“Perhaps.”
“Your research center, in fact, has been funded by millions of dollars from one of his subsidiary corporations. You would admit that?”
“What does that have to do with this case, Mr. Chambers? I object.”
J-Fox Sherman leaped up and joined in his client’s objection.
The judge asked where the questioning was going.
Will Chambers gave three simple words—concise enough to let Judge Kaye understand the legal justification, but without tipping off the witness. Will simply said, “Motive for bias.”
“Overruled,” the judge barked.
“Has your research center received millions of dollars of funding from one of Mr. Mullburn’s corporations?”
“Yes. He believes in the advancement of science.”
“Does he also believe in gaining a share of Saudi Petrol Company, Saudi Arabia’s leading oil company, and one of the largest oil interests in the world?”
“He is in the oil business. Why not?”
“Well, for one thing, OPEC has never permitted Western nations to participate in OPEC meetings; and Saudi Petrol Company has never permitted shared ownership with a Western corporate interest. Are you aware of that?”
“I do read the financial pages. So I suppose I knew that.”
“Is it a fact that you reported your progress on the 7QA discovery to Mr. Mullburn?”
“Yes. He is a controlling shareholder of our research venture. That is entirely appropriate.”
“And Mr. Mullburn was pleased that you had concluded that 7QA disproved the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ?”
“Well, he felt that my interpretations would open up new human understanding.”
“Mr. Mullburn was pleased—because he had announced his conversion to Islam shortly before meeting with Muslim religious leaders in Vienna, Austria, and the Muslims reject the divinity of Jesus—reject him as the Son of God. Correct?”
Now Reichstad was taking more and more time between his answers. He searched Will Chambers’ face in some kind of psychic effort to divine where Will had learned so much about his partnership with Mullburn.
“As a convert to Islam, I suppose he felt gratitude that we had finally disproved that Jesus was one with God, theologically.”
&
nbsp; “And the Islamic leaders in the oil-producing countries—those clerics who exert indirect influence within OPEC—they would have been particularly pleased with the fact that Mr. Mullburn’s well-financed research center, the one that you operate, had supported a major element of the Islamic faith—that Jesus was a human prophet, not a divine Son of God. Correct?”
“Fine. Yes. Everyone here would probably agree with that. That proves nothing.”
“And in addition to being helped by Warren Mullburn, you have also benefited from the assistance of Kenneth Sharptin, Undersecretary of the Department of State, who along with Mr. Mullburn has encouraged the 7QA project?”
Judge Kaye jumped in as he saw the scope of the case now broadening to include the Executive Branch.
“How far are you taking this, Mr. Chambers? Are you asserting some kind of concerted agreement among a high-level State Department official, an oil magnate, and Dr. Reichstad regarding this papyrus fragment?”
“It is my position, Your Honor, that both Kenneth Sharptin and Warren Mullburn provided my client’s opponent with an opportunity, and a motive, to misinterpret, and exploit, the incomplete nature of the 7QA fragment.”
After a few seconds of silence, Judge Kaye looked at Will and said, “You are on very thin ice. I don’t want to hear any half-baked conspiracy theory against a high-ranking State Department official that you cannot absolutely prove. You have been warned.”
Will quickly glanced toward the rear of the courtroom. Jack Hornby was still sitting in his favorite perch at the back. But now he was leaning forward on the bench in front of him; his eyes were trained on Will.
As Will turned back to Reichstad, and continued his questioning, his voice was slow, deliberate, and powerful, as it filled the courtroom.
“Is it a fact that you obtained help from Undersecretary Kenneth Sharptin? And by help I mean this: that he used his considerable diplomatic power to obtain special permission from the Israeli government—the Israeli Antiquities Authority to be precise—to enable you to dig along the St. Stephen’s Gate wall of Old Jerusalem in an effort to locate the tomb whose location is mentioned in 7QB?”
“Is this really necessary?” Reichstad said in a pleading voice to the judge.
The Resurrection File Page 38