by Tom Haase
“This is very kind of you to say. We still haven’t been able to be reinstated in the academic world,” Bridget said.
“That may be true, but I think I have a proposal that may alter that situation. I'm giving you credit for the discovery of the Bible of Constantine. You will also keep that substantial check, and we'll fail to mention that. That'll give you new credibility, perhaps not rehabilitation to your previous positions, but at least the first step on that road.”
“Most kind of you,” said Scott.
“Father, didn't you have something else you wanted to say?” Gerti asked.
Schultz cleared his throat.
“I have a proposal. I think you are wasted in the academic world. You have twice proven your ability to do source research and find things that no one else even knew existed. I think you should exploit that ability. My proposal is that I will fund any expedition that you think will provide us, both of you and both of us, great monetary return. I would suggest that you keep Monsignor McGregor out of our future endeavors.”
“What do you guys think?” Gerti asked.
Scott and Bridget stood up eager to start on a new venture. They all raised their glasses together.
“Here's to our future.” Schultz smiled.
Gerti smiled, too, and grabbed Scott's hand.
Epilogue
Papal Jet
Over the Atlantic at 35,000 Feet
Jonathan sipped on his champagne. He felt satisfied, both with the beverage and with the outcome of the venture to find the last known Bible of Constantine. What would be the result of his find in Rome? He believed that he could now return the book to the church and it would guard the Bible's secret as the Bishop of Jerusalem had sworn to do all those centuries ago. The three prelates who grilled him at the Vatican could now relax, in particular the head of the Jesuit order. The Bible again had been returned to church control. This thought brought a small upturn in his lips.
“Hey, why are you smiling?” Grossman asked.
“I feel like we have accomplished a great feat. I'm now ready to relax,” Jonathan said.
“You sure pulled it off. How did you know they would have switch the briefcase when we barged in?”
“As I told you, they would never give up and would do everything to protect their find this time. That's why we went to the shops where we thought Scott went, but found only Bridget and then we bought the same things she did. That tracker is magic.” Jonathan took another swig of his drink.
“You were right about the Donavans reckoning the time would be about eight for someone to show up. How did you know someone would come with the Bible?”
“I didn't,” Jonathan said. “I just had a hunch and a prayer. Someone had to have it as all the people and places we examined didn't.”
“When you ordered me to intercept the girl outside the house, I thought you were crazy. All we had to do, take it and run,” Grossman said.
“You miss the point, my friend,” Jonathan said. “If we did that, the Donavans would be on our trail immediately. By paying five hundred dollars for the girl to deliver our case that we’d locked, we bought time to get away. The Donavans would be concerned that we could come back for them if we discovered in a few minutes the book they gave us to be a fake. So they had to get out of there quick. They knew they possessed the original Bible. Consequently, we ensured a comfortable departure for ourselves.”
Grossman forced open the locks on the briefcase and handed the book to Jonathan.
Jonathan opened it to the second page and viewed the Latin inscription and the mark of the Emperor Constantine exactly the same as the one the old priest in the Vatican Museum had shown him. He closed it and replaced it in the case.
“Rome will be pleased. And as I promised, a check will go to the Donavans for their assistance. That is the least I could do for all their efforts. Without them we would have never found the Bible.”
“What will happen to the Donavans when they find out about the switch and what will Mr. Schultz do?” Grossman asked.
“I'm sure they will come out on their feet. They always do.”
THE END
* Continue with Matt and Bridget The Donavan Chronicles series are the:
Secret of the Thorns
Secret of the Assassin
Secret of the Bibles
Secret of the Icon
And the prequel to the series:
Secret of the Oil
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Afterword
The author took some latitude in the chase scene in Israel. There is no bus service to Gaza from Jerusalem, but it made the story move along. All other events relating to history are deemed as accurate as I could make them.
Thank you for reading Secret of the Bibles. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing this novel.
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Table of Contents
Start Reading
Historical Events
About the Author
Copyright
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Chapters
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67
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Copyright
Secret of the Bibles
Copyright 2013 by Tom Haase
All Rights Reserved
This is a work of fiction. Characters, incidents, places anb vd dialogue are drawn from the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be constructed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No portion of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical article and reviews.
All inquires can be made to: [email protected]