Acclamation for Books of Van R. Mayhall Jr.
The Last Sicarius
For fans of the award-winning Judas the Apostle and newcomers to the Cloe Lejeune series, Mayhall once again delivers a smart, fast-paced thriller with exotic landscapes, a fascinating dose of biblical history, an intrepid heroine, conniving evildoers, twists and turns, and just the right touch of humor that will keep you turning the pages.
—Anne Dubuisson Anderson,
writing and publishing consultant
A rare opportunity to engross yourself in an historical thriller that takes you from New Orleans to the Vatican to the Holy Land … The action is often intense, and the characters leave you waiting to read about their next adventure. The Last Sicarius truly grabs you and doesn’t let you go until the final page.
—Bill Profita, radio talk show host,
107.3 FM, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Judas the Apostle
A thriller with theological underpinnings, set both in steamy south Louisiana and in the Old City of Jerusalem … a fascinating fictional exploration of the least understood and most maligned figure in the salvation story … this is the most original work of fiction I have edited.
—Catherine L. Kadair, freelance editor
Most Christians and many religious scholars accept the story that Judas betrayed Jesus for money. But did he? The author offers the reader a religious mystery every bit as gripping as The Da Vinci Code. Set in south Louisiana and covering three continents, this crisply written debut novel is a page-turner full of suspense, with a fascinating look at the motives of one of history’s most loathed villains. Judas the Apostle presents the possibility of alternative groundbreaking biblical history that is also a compelling read.
—Jim Brown, author and syndicated talk show host
(produced by Clear Channel Communications and syndicated by Genesis Communications, Minneapolis, Minnesota)
An edge-of-the-chair thriller, a stunning history and geography lesson, and an unparalleled glimpse into the past of one of history’s most maligned figures … Judas the Apostle tells a great and truly plausible story, against the rich and often diverse tapestry of Louisiana, America’s most colorful and mysterious region.
—Bill Profita, radio talk show host,
107.3 FM, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
This is a page-turner with both mind and muscle. Its thrills and intrigue are offered up with an equal dose of historic heft. It carries you along as it makes you reconsider the well-worn stories you thought you understood.
—Anne Dubuisson Anderson,
writing and publishing consultant
Mayhall, a Baton Rouge attorney, has done the one thing in this book that is essential to keep a thriller thrilling: he has created a bad guy who is truly evil. The Kolektor lives in a bunker under a fake antiquity store in Jerusalem and he is without conscience. He cares only for what he wants. Mayhall has a clear and uncluttered writing style well-suited to the thriller genre. His plot is good. He does his homework on the history of his subject.
—Greg Langley,
“Judas Has Compelling Plot, Attractive Local Setting,”
The Advocate, October 9, 2012
“Louisiana Author Spins Thriller about Judas Iscariot”
—The Hammond Daily Star, November 9, 2012
The reader is transported to exotic locales throughout time, including ancient Masada, North Africa during World War II and modern-day Jerusalem and Lyon, France. South Louisiana readers will enjoy iconic venues in the book that include numerous scenes at LSU in Baton Rouge, Madisonville, Lake Pontchartrain and the Tchefuncte River.
—The Point Coupee Banner,
“Louisiana Author Examines the Role of Judas in New Thriller,” November 22, 2012
Van R. Mayhall, Jr. has penned a fascinating thriller packed with twists and turns. Ancient language expert, Dr. Clotile LeJeune’s quiet life is shaken when she learns her estranged father has been murdered. She travels to her home town to unlock the mysteries of a 2000-year-old oil jar inscribed with the name ‘Judas Iscariot’ that her father left her. The race for answers takes her on a dangerous quest across three continents in order to discover the identity of Judas Iscariot.
—Legatus Magazine, February 2013
Mayhall has spun a highly original, suspenseful and atmospheric thriller. It is a savvy story of academia, archeology and theology, but you can also taste the warm Louisiana thread that runs through it like a good flavor—the Tchefuncte River, the LSU Campus, the elements of close family ties and the influence of religion.
The story weaves a mystical spell in the timeless story of good against evil that is hard to resist; Judas the Apostle joins my personal rank of books that I call one-sitting reads.
—Jeanne Frois, “Worth Watching: Judas the Apostle,”
Louisiana Life, March–April 2013
A linguistics professor’s inherited relic sets an arms dealer on her trail in Mayhall’s debut religious thriller. The conversations are weighty but never burdensome thanks to thriller genre conventions: a formidable villain with a penchant for taking artifacts that aren’t his; a murder, a kidnapping and a face-to-face showdown; and lots of suspense—indeed, simply opening the jar takes quite some time. The brilliantly open ending steers clear of definitive answers but provides adequate closure. A solid thriller with an invigorating religious theme.
—Kirkus Reviews, June 2013
Page after page, Mayhall’s dialogue and crafting of suspense draw readers into the mystery of a two-thousand-year-old jar and the murders it has incited.
A fast-paced, changes-at-every-turn intellectual thriller, Judas the Apostle is a quality novel that grabs and won’t let go until the final page is turned. From the first chapter, where protagonist Cloe Lejeune’s elderly father is murdered, through the discovery of what lies in the two-thousand-year-old jar that has sat on her father’s mantel her whole life, the novel takes the reader on a ride of discovery as each chapter unfolds.
—ForeWord Review, Clarion Review. Five Stars (out of five)
THE LAST SICARIUS
Copyright © 2014 Van R. Mayhall Jr.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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ISBN: 978-1-4917-2106-3 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4917-2108-7 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4917-2107-0 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014900764
iUniverse rev. date: 02/03/2014
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
AD 70
PART I THE KOLEKTOR
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CHAPTER 1
AD 2013 JERUSALEM
CHAPTER 2
TURKISH-ARMENIAN BORDER
CHAPTER 3
RIO DE JANEIRO TWO MONTHS LATER
CHAPTER 4
MADISONVILLE, LOUISIANA TWO MONTHS LATER
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
PART II THE CAVE OF JARS
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
CHAPTER 46
CHAPTER 47
CHAPTER 48
CHAPTER 49
CHAPTER 50
CHAPTER 51
CHAPTER 52
CHAPTER 53
CHAPTER 54
CHAPTER 55
CHAPTER 56
CHAPTER 57
CHAPTER 58
CHAPTER 59
CHAPTER 60
CHAPTER 61
CHAPTER 62
CHAPTER 63
CHAPTER 64
CHAPTER 65
CHAPTER 66
CHAPTER 67
CHAPTER 68
CHAPTER 69
CHAPTER 70
CHAPTER 71
PART III THE PLACE OF THE SKULL
CHAPTER 72
CHAPTER 73
CHAPTER 74
CHAPTER 75
CHAPTER 76
CHAPTER 77
CHAPTER 78
CHAPTER 79
CHAPTER 80
CHAPTER 81
CHAPTER 82
CHAPTER 83
CHAPTER 84
CHAPTER 85
CHAPTER 86
CHAPTER 87
CHAPTER 88
PART IV THE STRONGHOLD
CHAPTER 89
CHAPTER 90
CHAPTER 91
CHAPTER 92
CHAPTER 93
CHAPTER 94
CHAPTER 95
CHAPTER 96
CHAPTER 97
CHAPTER 98
CHAPTER 99
CHAPTER 100
CHAPTER 101
CHAPTER 102
CHAPTER 103
CHAPTER 104
CHAPTER 105
CHAPTER 106
CHAPTER 107
CHAPTER 108
CHAPTER 109
CHAPTER 110
CHAPTER 111
CHAPTER 112
CHAPTER 113
CHAPTER 114
This book is dedicated to Mama Lo, now and forever.
PROLOGUE
AD 70
Elazar ben Yair, leader of the Sicarii, stood on the battle ramparts of the Fortress Antoina in Jerusalem, gazing out at the chaotic scene below. Fire, smoke, and ruin lay all around him outside the wall. The fortress, which had been built by Herod the Great and named for Herod’s patron, Mark Antony, still stood, ironically, against the Roman legions attacking the sacred city. The outer areas of the city had been overrun by Titus and his men. The fierce hand-to-hand fighting was now all within the old defensive walls of the city. The Romans had breached the outermost third wall and were working with their battering rams on the second one. It was only a matter of time.
Elazar turned away from the mayhem and saw his lifelong friend and second-in-command, Jacob, studying the soldiers below. Jacob was a student at heart, but he was also a warrior and had fought bravely the first time the Romans assaulted the fortress. The key to conquering the Jews was the temple, the path to which ran through the fortress. The Romans wanted the fortress because it overlooked the temple complex and would make a superb platform from which to assault the heavily fortified temple. The Jews had fought valiantly to defend it. Elazar knew a last stand would be made by the Zealots in the temple complex itself.
“Damn the Zealots,” Elazar muttered.
“What’s that, Elazar?” called Jacob.
“I was just looking at what’s become of Jerusalem and thinking, but for the Zealots, this did not have to happen,” replied Elazar.
“But the Zealots have fought courageously at every engagement, and without them we would not have been able to hold out so long,” observed Jacob.
“Yes, but the Romans sent Josephus to us to negotiate an end to this madness. What did the Zealots do? They wounded him with an arrow and sent him away. We might have talked our way out of this.”
“You are correct,” said Jacob. “But now the Romans have begun to burn everything and to spare no one. The rumor is that Titus has lost control of his troops, and without discipline, they will burn and kill until there is nothing left.”
“The city is lost, and God forgive me, so is the temple. Nothing can save us absent a miracle,” said Elazar.
“What do we do?” asked Jacob. “The Zealots will insist on some sort of final stand and a glorious death for themselves, which, unfortunately, will also include us.”
“Gather our people tonight,” said Elazar. “Have them bring only food and water. We must travel lightly and swiftly. We will take the secret tunnel out of the city.”
“Elazar, that’s almost a thousand men, women, and children. Can we possibly escape with all of them?” asked Jacob. “The Romans will surely follow.”
“All our people go. Anyone left behind will be tortured by the Romans and then killed or made slaves,” responded Elazar.
“But nowhere will be safe. The Romans will only catch us in the open and make a quick end to us,” said Jacob.
“The Romans will be tied up here for days or weeks with the Zealots and the others, finishing their killing and looting. We will have some time,” responded Elazar.
“The Romans have come this far to put down the rebellion. They will follow us no matter where we go,” concluded Jacob.
“There is one place where the Romans cannot follow,” said Elazar.
“Where? Where is this place?”
Elazar turned back to view the fighting below. For a moment the heat of the flames pressed against his face. “The stronghold! It will be safe,” he said at last.
PART I
THE KOLEKTOR
There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. There is no greater guilt than discontentment. And there is no greater disaster than greed.
—Lao Tzu, The Way of Lao Tzu
CHAPTER 1
AD 2013
JERUSALEM
In a wooded area near the Hinnom Valley, the servant watched as the priest and his Swiss retainers slammed into the Kolektor’s defensive position in the parking area outside Hakeldama, shouting and shooting, assaulting the defenders with automatic weapons. This could only be a rescue party led by the monsignor’s friends along with the Swiss Guard, personal bodyguards to the pope. His master, the Kolektor, had said they would come sooner or later. He knew the Kolektor’s rear guard would fight like trapped rats. Each fighter understood the only choice was victory or death. The Kolektor tolerated nothing in between.
The servant, unarmed, was at the laptop computer in the rear of the panel truck when the cleric and his forces first struck. He had no alternative but to try to hide, so he cowered on the floor, wriggling und
er a tarp apparently left behind by a work crew. A fusillade of bullets began to splatter and ping against the vehicle’s hollow metal walls. He could hear the answering fire of the weapons of the men who had been left to guard the Kolektor’s flank while the Kolektor himself took care of his deadly business in Hakeldama, the Bloody Acre. In a final overwhelming assault, the attackers launched such a volley of bullets that all the windows in the rear and the side of the truck exploded inward, showering the coarse tarp in broken glass. Only the heavy covering protected him from being severely wounded by the ricocheting pellets of broken safety glass. The Kolektor’s men had been cut down where they stood. The way to Hakeldama and to the Kolektor, his master, was open.
Suddenly, there was silence. The servant peeked from below the tarp to see gun smoke and smell gunpowder all around him. Then he heard shouts from the assault team and their hurried footsteps as they converged on the truck and its duplicate next to it. He cowered under the cover again, trying to make himself invisible.
A voice shouted, “Check them!”
“They are all dead, Reverend Father,” a man replied.
“Check the trucks!” someone else yelled.
The servant’s heart pounded in his chest as the door opened and he felt the presence of someone in the truck with him, smelled the stink of the man’s body, and heard boots crunch on broken glass. He held his breath.
“Nothing!” a voice cried out.
Then the man was gone, and footsteps moved away at a rapid pace. The servant slid out from beneath the broken glass–covered tarp and crawled to the front of the truck, where the windshield was still largely intact. Carefully, he peeked over the dash and saw the priest and his Swiss soldiers heading toward the pathway into Hakeldama—after the Kolektor. The Kolektor had told him this was the Bloody Acre that had been purchased by Judas Iscariot himself— the Bloody Acre where the Kolektor had decided to dispose of his hostages, the accursed monsignor, the lady scholar, and her son and uncle.
The servant then saw the monsignor himself, apparently no longer a hostage, speaking briefly to the cleric in charge of the Swiss assault force. Plainly, the Kolektor’s plan to dispose of all of the hostages had not succeeded. The two priests joined their troops, hurrying on into Hakeldama.
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