Rory scowled, but didn’t object.
Lourds took the boon flute from Hu. ‘This is a gudi, a truly rare find in the Jiahu dig. They’re made from the wings of red-crowned cranes. They were used to make music, probably in sacrificial rites as well, and most certainly in bird hunting. But I’m sure you already knew that.’
Self-consciously, Rory dropped his gaze, then held up a hand in surrender. ‘All right. Fine. Have it your way.’
‘Thank you.’ Lourds smiled. ‘As we dig these things out, carefully, we’ll show them to you. Take as many pictures as you want, as much footage. Interview me, Professor Hu, or any of these graduate-level students accompanying us.’
‘The students?’
‘Yes, the students. As of this moment, they’re the foremost experts in the field on this find.’
15
‘Lev, you know you shouldn’t be here. It’s dangerous.’
Smiling slightly, unwilling to admit how scared he was these days — not even to himself — Lev Strauss shook his head. ‘I am here with you, Ezra. How could I not be safe?’
Ezra Goldstein sat on the other side of the small table at the back of the café. In his late-twenties, he was far too serious for his years. The Mossad made them that way these days, though. When Lev had been with the intelligence agency, they had still been solemn, but there were times when they could play.
‘This isn’t funny, Lev. The work you’re doing, what you’re looking for, it’s important.’
‘You really think so?’ Lev tore off a piece of his bagel and popped it into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, but these days he didn’t taste much — his stomach always stayed sour with fear. He wasn’t afraid of what might happen to him. Rather, he was afraid of what might happen if he failed at his self-appointed task. ‘Because I don’t think your taskmasters take what I’m trying to do any too seriously.’
‘Whether they do or not, I’m here.’ Ezra met Lev’s gaze with an earnestness that almost shamed him. ‘I’m with you, Lev, and I’m putting my life on the line every time you walk out of your flat.’
That made Lev feel bad because he knew it was true. ‘I know, and I apologize, but I can’t sit inside those four walls the rest of my life.’
‘Don’t think like it’s going to be for the rest of your life. Think like it’s just going to be for a few more days.’
‘Is it? Is that all it’s going to be? Because I’ve invested over a year of my life in this search so far, my friend, and I’ve got precious little to show for it. Even your superiors have doubts about this.’ Lev sighed and dropped the remains of his bagel onto his plate.
‘You should eat.’
‘I can’t. Nothing tastes right.’
‘Don’t taste it. Eat it. Your stomach doesn’t care if anything tastes good. It just wants to be fed.’ Ezra sat there, fit and trim, broad-shouldered, and probably with a gun tucked at the back of his waist under his long-tailed shirt.
He was a man of action, a man of possibilities, and in that moment, Lev resented the younger man for that. On days like this, when he was filled with anger and fear, Lev’s missing left foot ached something fierce. He wanted to reach down to massage it, but he’d left it somewhere in the Dead Sea region.
‘I have to get out and walk.’ Lev tried the bagel again. He still couldn’t taste it, but he didn’t care. Eating it gave his hands something to do. ‘I need to walk so my mind will work. Staying in that apartment causes me to freeze up.’ He peered over Ezra’s shoulder.
In the distance, the Western Wall stood at the foot of Temple Mount. The familiar gold dome atop the temple gleamed in the fading afternoon light. Pedestrians — many of the tourists, not citizens — walked along the sidewalks.
The way Ezra saw the world, all of them were potential assassins. It was a view that would keep him alive for a while.
‘You were in the Gaza Strip only a few days ago.’ Ezra sipped his tea and watched the café’s diners.
‘Under careful watch.’ Lev shook his head. ‘That wasn’t like truly being out.’
Ezra started to say something, then hesitated.
‘Tell me. You might as well. If you don’t, you’ll be around me the rest of the day acting like you’ve got something stuck in your throat.’
‘You remember the men we had guarding you in the Gaza?’
A chill ghosted through Lev, and he knew something bad had happened. ‘Yes.’
‘Two of them went missing after we got you out of there.’
‘What do you mean?’
Without inflection, Ezra went on. ‘They were captured, tortured, and killed.’
‘My God.’
‘Their heads and feet were received by their families today.’
Sickness swirled in the pit of Lev’s stomach.
Ezra leaned forward and tapped the tabletop. ‘Some people know what you’re after, Lev. And they believe what you’re searching for exists. That has caught the attention of my superiors. That is why they won’t believe I am letting you walk around the city today.’
‘Why was I not told?’
‘They did not want to burden you.’ Ezra shrugged. ‘I thought you should know. Maybe you will take the matter of your safety a little more seriously.’
Lev’s head swam. ‘I need to get out of here.’
‘Back to the flat?’ Ezra’s firm gaze told him no other answer was acceptable.
‘Yes.’ Lev pushed up from the table.
‘Have you paid attention to the television reports coming in from the Himalayas?’ Ezra walked on the outside of the sidewalk, his eyes always roving and watchful. He was an excellent bodyguard. Lev knew the signs from having worked personal-security detachments.
‘No.’ Lev walked easily, with no trace of a limp. His prosthesis had been with him for more than thirteen years, and had become part of him long ago.
‘According to your file, you knew Professor Thomas Lourds.’
For a moment, Lev’s heart sank, thinking of the two guards in the Gaza whose names he couldn’t remember. Thomas Lourds was one of the most vibrant men he’d ever met, and a good friend. The world was a better place with him in it. ‘Has something happened to Thomas?’
‘No, he’s fine.’
‘Then I still know him. Thomas and I are old friends.’
‘Evidently he’s had a bit of good fortune.’
Lev smiled a true smile then. ‘Knowing Thomas, I’m not surprised. He was always the luckiest man I’ve ever known. What has happened?’
‘He discovered some kind of forgotten temple in the Himalayas. The story has been all over the media. I’m surprised you didn’t know.’
‘I’ve been studying the books and the notes I’ve gathered for this last year. There’s been little time in my life for anything else.’
‘The news broke concerning the story three days ago.’
‘He found something?’
‘Ancient artifacts that date back to 5800 BC, according to the BBC reports I saw.’
‘In the Himalayas?’
‘Yes.’
Lev shook his head. ‘Only Thomas could do something like that.’
In the small flat, Lev sat with Ezra and watched television. Lourds’s find in the Scholar’s Rock Temple was on the BBC news channels. The British were making the most of their scoop, but other media agencies had swooped in on the story as well.