by John Lyman
Walking out into the sunshine, Leo stood at the edge of the pool before diving in and swimming down over the bottom. The cool water felt good against his skin in contrast to the hot water of the shower. He felt invigorated as he surfaced and began to swim the length of the pool. The rhythmic strokes increased his heart rate, causing the tension to melt away as the endorphins kicked in. Lev was still slogging away in the next lane when Leo finished his brief but fast-paced workout and climbed from the water. Drying his hair, he joined John at the outdoor bar and helped himself to some eggs and orange juice.
John spread some cherry preserves on his toast and asked the cook for some more coffee. “This place is like a resort. I could get used to living here.”
Leo nodded in agreement. “Lev wasn’t kidding when he said he lived comfortably. I wanted to speak with you before we talk to him this morning, John.”
“What’s up?”
“I think we need to leave for the desert soon, today if possible. I have a feeling there is a time element to all of this. We’ve got to move quickly if we want to locate whatever it is we were sent here to find.”
“I agree. A few more days of this, and we’ll never want to leave.”
Lev bypassed a towel and let the water drip from his body as he left the pool to join Leo and John. “What a great way to start the day. Maybe after we’re finished with our work in the desert, we can all go on holiday together on my yacht.”
John rolled his eyes. “You have a yacht?”
“Technically, it belongs to the company my family left to me.” He laughed and flicked some water off his tan belly. “But I’m the only one who’s allowed to use it.”
Leo raised an eyebrow and fixed Lev with a practiced questioning stare. It was a talent he had acquired through years of listening to student’s excuses as to why their term papers were late. It was becoming obvious that Lev was very wealthy, but Leo could see that most of his money went to taking care of others and trying to do God’s work here on earth. “I thought you said you lived comfortably but not lavishly.”
Lev gave Leo a conspiratorial wink as a staff member walked up and shoved a cup of coffee in his hand. He paused to gaze out over the dunes at the sparkling sea while breathing in the aroma of the coffee and taking his first sip. “Have you two thought about your next move?”
“We were just discussing leaving for the desert as soon as possible,” Leo said. “We have the coordinates provided by the Bible code now, and I think today would be a good time to head out there.”
“You’re probably right. I was going to talk to you about how you wanted to proceed. Might as well just jump in and go for it. If you don’t mind, I’d like some of my people to go with you. This is still a dangerous country, and running around out in the desert without backup is a recipe for disaster.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Leo said. The realization that he had no idea about how to proceed was slowly dawning on him. “What do you have in mind?”
“We talked among ourselves last night after you went to bed. What we’re actually doing here is attempting to mount a major archaeological project in a matter of days. We’re going to need all the help we can get. Whatever is out there in the desert won’t reveal itself easily. I’m sending Alon and Ariella with you, along with some staff members from the villa as support personnel. That should get you started while I finish getting the rest of the expedition together here and join up with you in a few days.”
Leo finished his juice and set his glass down on the bar. “That’s more than generous, Lev. Father Morelli knew what he was doing when he sent us to you. Is there anything John and I can do to get things rolling?”
“You can grab some of those pastries over there. The vehicles are already out front waiting for you.”
John threw a look of surprise in Lev’s direction. “Wow, you don’t waste any time, Professor.”
Leo climbed off the bar stool and smiled at Lev. “Why do you always seem to be one step ahead of us?”
“My motives are not entirely selfless, Father. I’m just as interested as you are to see what’s out there. It’s going to take all of us working together to see this through. Go get ready, and I’ll meet you out front.”
After dressing and grabbing their backpacks, Leo and John stepped through the large front doors of the villa to the sight of several sand-colored vehicles of various shapes and sizes. A new Land Rover was at the head of the convoy, followed by two large four-wheel-drive military-looking trucks and a large out-of-place-looking vehicle that resembled a motor home. Lev was busy consulting with Alon and Ariella next to the strange looking vehicle, while staff members from the villa loaded boxes of equipment into the trucks.
Leo walked over to the motor home and admired the polished silver exterior before peering up the stairwell inside. The diesel engine was idling, and he could feel the cool air created by the air-conditioning blowing from within. The interior of the front section of the vehicle was sheathed in stainless steel and resembled a commercial kitchen, while the entire rear portion held refrigerated walk-ins for perishable foods and living accommodations for the chefs.
“What in the world is this, Lev?”
“I bought it from a rich Texas oil man. It’s a combination mobile kitchen and living quarters. His company was doing some exploration out in the desert, and he sold it to me after they were through. Those oil men like their comforts out in the field. You can prepare enough food for an army with this thing.”
“Wow!”
Leo turned to see John standing behind him staring at the motor home. “You really love that word.”
John laughed. “Well, it gets my point across.”
Lev walked over to one of the trucks and looked inside. After conferring with one of his staff, he returned to join Leo and John. “Everything is loaded in the trucks. You have everything you’ll need until the rest of the expedition arrives. Better get going so you can set up camp before dark.”
Alon was sitting in the driver’s seat of the Land Rover and watched as Leo approached and climbed into the passenger seat beside him. Ariella and John glanced at each other shyly before climbing into the backseat next to each other. Behind them, the engines of the trucks roared to life, and the convoy began to slowly pull away from the villa under a cloudless sky onto the palm-lined highway.
Ariella seemed distracted as she watched the scenery passing by outside her window. “Have you ever been to Jerusalem?”
John felt his heart skip a beat. “Uh, no, I haven’t.”
She turned and stared at him with her large brown eyes. “It would be a shame to come to Israel and not see Jerusalem. When we get back from the desert, we’ll make some time, and I’ll show you around the city, especially the old parts.”
John couldn’t believe his ears. Was he dreaming? She wanted to show him the city. “Yeah, I mean, great. I’d love to spend some time there.” Especially with you.
Ariella gave him a coy smile and glanced back out the window while they drove on in awkward silence. The highway departed the sandy coastal grassland, and soon they began to see fields of crops on the fertile Mediterranean plain. Alon’s eyes studied every car that passed as the others looked silently out their windows and thought about what they might find in the desert.
The vehicles turned east onto the new six-lane Highway 1 and headed for Jerusalem, drawing curious stares from people in other vehicles. In the subtropical climate, fruit and vegetables grew in abundance, including citrus, avocados, kiwis, guavas, bananas, and mangos. All this bounty came from the region they were passing through. They saw fields of wheat, sorghum, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, along with acres of flowers and vineyards lined with rows of grapevines stretching for miles.
“I never imagined it was so beautiful in Israel,” John said, watching the parade of color pass by their windows. “Have there always been farms like this here?”
Ariella waved her hand in the direction of the fields. “They’ve been doing t
his since 1909. This country is dotted with two kinds of unique cooperative agricultural settlements. One is called a kibbutz. It’s a collective community similar to the one surrounding our villa, where the equipment and housing are communally owned and each member’s labor benefits the whole group. The other, called a moshav, is a farming community or village, where each family maintains its own individual land and any buying and selling are done cooperatively. Both communities are based on social equality and mutual assistance. There is also a security benefit to these communities from the terror groups outside their borders.”
John turned his attention from the scenery back to Ariella. “I didn’t realize the villa was a kibbutz.”
“It’s not one in the traditional sense. My father owns the villa and the houses and land surrounding it. He lets people, mostly students, live there free of charge in exchange for providing security, growing the community’s food, and taking care of the villa. Because we raise almost everything we eat, the food is free. We also own several vehicles that are available for everyone in the community. They use them mostly for going to school or shopping or just a night out on the town. Some of my father’s students are now professors and still choose to live there. We’re like a big family that watches out for one another.”
“Sounds pretty idyllic to me,” John said.
Ariella tossed her long brown hair back over her shoulders. “It is to me. I never want to leave.”
“I’ve lived there for the past five years and feel the same way,” Alon said, keeping his eyes on the road. “Lev’s promised me a house of my own when I get married.”
Ariella giggled. “And when will that be?”
They could see the back of Alon’s neck turning red. “As soon as Nava decides she’s had enough of flying.”
“Who’s Nava?” John asked.
Ariella winked. “Alon’s fiancee. She flies a helicopter in the Israeli army. You’ll meet her soon.”
Rounding a corner at the top of a hill, Jerusalem came into view sprawled out before them. The golden Dome of the Rock reflected the sun in the distance while the vehicles crawled through the city in the midmorning traffic. John felt the electricity of discovery. He knew he had come to a special place on earth and wanted to explore all of it. In addition to the beauty he had encountered, the religious significance was overwhelming.
John rolled down his window and stuck his head out to breathe in the aroma of the city. “Can you believe we’re actually driving through Jerusalem? Wow!”
Leo smiled to himself. Wait until he sees the Dead Sea and the cliffs of Masada.
“What is the name of the desert we’re going to?” John asked.
Alon turned in his seat as they came to a stop at a red light. “It’s called the Negev Desert. It’s a barren wasteland that no one except for nomadic tribes has inhabited since God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.”
“I remember that from my studies. It is a wasteland. The Romans hated the place, and the British hated it even more. Thank God we have an air-conditioned mobile kitchen.”
Everyone laughed and talked as they drove through one of the ever-present checkpoints in Jerusalem until soon the ancient city was behind them. They drove on for a short twenty minutes until they hit Israel’s Highway 90 that ran north and south along the west bank of the Dead Sea. Leo still found it hard to believe that the famous biblical landmark was such a short drive from Jerusalem. They turned and headed south, driving for another hour until they reached a deserted roadside park beside the salt-encrusted bank at the southern tip of the Dead Sea.
Taking advantage of the stop, Ariella grabbed her camera and everyone got out to stretch their legs. The waters of the Dead Sea were the most saline on earth. Jagged, twisted shapes of dried salt rose up from crystalline pools, forming towers that seemed more at home on another planet.
Ariella wanted a visual record of the expedition and began snapping pictures. She had stacks of photo albums at home filled with images of all of the archaeological digs she had been on since she was a little girl.
She motioned to the others to come together. “Group picture everyone.” All the staff members were used to her incessant photo ops, but they usually complied with only a few moans and groans. As the group gathered together and smiled for the camera, a small half-starved dog with matted light brown hair came limping up on the hot, briny pavement and plopped down right next to John.
Leo watched as John reached down to pet the dog. “Looks like someone has a new friend.”
“They always recognize a Franciscan, Leo. Saint Francis was the patron saint of animals.”
“Everyone knows that,” Leo said. “I love animals too. Only humans avoid me.”
“That’s because Jesuits bite.”
Ariella snapped a few more pictures and walked over to join John beside a saltwater pool. He was holding the trembling dog in his arms and trying to give him sips of bottled water. The dog was lapping it up as Ariella reached out to pet him. He turned and began to lick her hand, his brown eyes reaching into her soul.
Fire blazed in Ariella’s eyes. “How could someone leave him all alone out here?”
“I can’t imagine,” John said. “This dog wouldn’t have lasted much longer in this environment. Some people seem to lack basic compassion for other creatures. It’s like their souls are different from ours, like another species. It really makes you wonder.”
“Are you going to keep him?”
“Of course,” John answered. “There’s no way I’m leaving him out here to die of thirst and starvation.”
Ariella looked back at him with a realization that only she was aware of. John now had two new friends.
John looked out at the alien landscape. “Isn’t this where Sodom and Gomorrah once stood?”
“Supposedly stood,” Ariella said. “Some scholars believe Sodom is actually across the border in nearby Jordan, but we’re still in the same neighborhood.”
“Maybe you can title your pictures ‘close to the supposed site of Sodom and Gomorrah.’” John grinned at her with the knowledge that a correction was probably forthcoming.
“I believe the actual site is another twenty miles from here, but who knows. We could be standing in the exact spot. This rest stop might be on top of the ancient city of Sodom.”
“That’s kind of creepy, Ariella.”
“I know. Let’s get going. I can feel the salt sticking to my hair already.”
The group returned to their vehicles, glad to be out of the heat, and soon the small convoy was heading down the highway deeper into the desert.
No one noticed a small car pull in to the rest area behind them and stop. The driver grabbed a camera from the center console and began taking pictures of the salt ponds before turning his camera on the departing vehicles. The passenger pushed his sunglasses back on his head and took out his cell phone. He punched in an international number and waited for an answer.
Chapter 17
The parade of vehicles motored steadily along the paved roadway, everyone mindful of the fact that they would probably not see a gas station in the near future. Extra fuel was pulled behind one of the trucks in a large tank, while another pulled a tank full of water.
In the Land Rover, the abandoned dog now sat happily between John and Ariella in air-conditioned comfort, munching away on some roast beef John had confiscated from the mobile kitchen.
The small convoy traveled south for another fifty miles before it rolled to a stop along the side of the highway. Looking out through the windows of their vehicles, the occupants scanned the vast emptiness of the Negev Desert that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Magnificent desolation. Leo had heard astronaut Buzz Aldrin use the same words to describe the moon when he stepped out onto its surface for the first time.
The Negev Desert was one of the most isolated and desolate places on earth. Ringed with gray mountains in the distance, they could see nothing green. Except for a few hardy species of insects and snak
es, the only signs of life in this arid sea of rock and sand were the Bedouin tribes who still passed through the area, clinging to their traditional nomadic ways.
Two thousand years ago, the Nabataeans controlled the ancient spice and incense route here where the caravans crossed from India and Southern Arabia to the Mediterranean. Scattered ruins of their culture could still be found among the shifting sands. The area had changed little since that time, and for the most part, the Negev remained wild and free from modern civilization.
The motorized caravan lurched forward once more before turning off the paved highway and heading deeper into the desert where there were no roads. They traveled another two hours at an agonizingly slow pace, skirting sheer cliffs that dropped into deep, shadowed canyons before the convoy drove up onto a flat crater-filled plateau. Alon glanced at his GPS and brought the Land Rover to a stop.
“I guess this is it,” Ariella announced from the backseat.
Leo looked out across the forbidding landscape and watched the shimmering waves of heat rising in the distance. “I sure hope so. I don’t think my backside could take much more bumping along over these rocks and holes.”
The other vehicles pulled to a stop around them, a modern-day version of a wagon train in the desert. They dismounted their trucks and stood under the sun, gazing at the strange beauty of the immense wilderness before them.
The desert here was surrounded by cone-like mountains and vertical cliffs ringing their position. Nearby, the plateau ended at the edge of a precipice that dropped several hundred feet into a canyon below. There were stories of people becoming disoriented by the optical illusions created by the canyons running through the flat plateaus and driving right off a cliff before they realized it was there. This was definitely not a place to be exploring after dark.
The color of the loose sand was golden, with red and white patches of soil pushing through in places. The air was still, and the absence of sound was slightly unnerving to those accustomed to lives around people and the attendant noise of TVs, music, and traffic. It seemed peaceful, yet for some reason, the place gave the new arrivals a vague feeling of apprehension. The atmosphere especially affected Father Leo. He looked at the angle of the sun and asked the others to immediately begin setting up camp in a race against the approaching darkness.