‘It’s a wonder they got along.’
‘I think it was probably the idea of creating something lasting and unique that drew them together. Jerusalem had been conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate army at the time the Muslims overran Syria. Rome had already been battling the Persians during that time. That was in AD 637, shortly after Mohammad’s death in AD 632. The Dome of the Rock, Masjid Qubbat As-Sakhrah, was intended to be a shrine for pilgrims, not a mosque.’
‘I didn’t know that.’
‘An education is a wonderful thing. The Umayyad caliph, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, assigned Salam and Haywah to build the Dome over the Foundation Stone. You’re familiar with that?’
‘In Hebrew, it’s called Even haShetiya. And it’s also called the Pierced Stone.’
‘Because of the small hole in it that enters a cavern beneath the rock.’
‘They call that the Well of Souls.’
‘Correct. According to Muslim beliefs, during the end of days, the Foundation Stone will join with al-Hajaru-l-Aswad, the black stone of Mecca that lies in the Kaaba, which is supposed to have come from the time of Adam and Eve.’
Miriam looked at him quietly. ‘Have you given much thought to the end of the world?’
‘Not much. If you ask me, dwelling on that is both wasteful and depressing.’
‘Why?’
‘The end of the world? Most depressing thing ever, don’t you think?’ He smiled.
She laughed, a pleasant sound in the nearly silent first-class compartment. ‘All right, I’ll give you that, but why do you think trying to figure anything out about the end of the world is wasteful?’
‘We’re talking about the will of God here. Figuring it out isn’t going to give you the power to change it. And most religions agree that the end isn’t something meant to be realized by mortal men until such time is upon them.’
Shifting in the chair, Miriam thought for a moment. ‘So, as a record of Yazid ibn Salam, this book is unique because so little is known about him.’
‘The fact that so little is known about him also works against us.’
‘How?’
‘Verifying the authenticity of the authorship of this book is going to be next to impossible.’
‘So we have to take it on faith.’
‘Amazing how much of that is involved in our little adventure, isn’t it?’ Lourds shook his head. ‘Lev believed he was onto something important. I believe in Lev. And we all have to believe in this book.’ He brushed at the cover and ran his fingers over the brass corner pieces. ‘I have to admit, I do like the way it’s constructed.’
‘Read some more of it.’
Glancing at her and seeing she was once more curled up in the chair and looking sleepy, Lourds smiled. ‘Bedtime story?’
‘Something like that.’
‘All right.’ Lourds paged through the book and made a selection. ‘It is said: “The Caliph in Jerusalem sought to build for the Muslims a masjid that should be unique and a wonder to the world. And in like manner, is it not evident that Caliph Abd al-Malik, seeing the greatness of the martyrdom of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and its magnificence, was moved lest it should dazzle the minds of Muslims and hence erected above the Rock the dome which is now seen there.”’
He kept reading, absorbed in the story and searching for clues amid the complexity of the language. He didn’t know Miriam had gone back to sleep until he felt her head sag onto his shoulder. Then he covered her with his blanket, left the book in his lap, and closed his eyes. Sleep came for him in a rush, and he dreamed of the many times he’d visited the Temple Mount, never once suspecting that he would be drawn into a mystery that involved it.
In the back of the plane, Mufarrij sat quietly and thought about entering the land of his enemies. When he had seen the attack at the checkpoint while waiting for the flight at Ben Gurion International Airport, he’d worried that Lourds might be killed and the trail all but washed away. Then, when he’d discovered the American professor had survived, he’d worried that Lourds might cancel his trip altogether.
Mufarrij had stood back in the waiting area until Lourds had booked a later flight, then bought a ticket for that same flight. The police and security people had held Lourds for a while, but eventually they’d released him, as they’d released all the other people who’d been present during the attack.
If some of the travelers to Istanbul and to Tehran hadn’t been killed in the attack, seats would not have been available for Lourds and his companion, or for Mufarrij.
God provides, Mufarrij reminded himself as he watched the first-class-section doorway. From his position, he could see the woman’s arm on her chair. He kept focused on that and bided his time.
While in Tehran, he would be in constant danger because of the price on his head, but he had gotten adept at slipping into and out of that country over the years. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard knew him by reputation, by the long line of dead men he’d left in his wake, but almost no one had seen him in the flesh. Any pictures they had of him were years out of date.
Under the circumstances, he knew he couldn’t feel any safer than he did at the moment.
Things would change in Tehran. He felt that in his bones.
40
‘This is the captain. Please be advised that we’ll be landing in approximately twenty minutes. Put your seats in the upright position and return the trays. Temperature on the ground is twenty-two degrees Celsius. The local time is six fifteen. On behalf of Tehran, I bid you welcome.’
Lourds struggled to wakefulness, wiped at his eyes, yawned, and checked his satphone to make sure it had made the time change. He glanced at Miriam. ‘Want to grab breakfast at the hotel? Or get something in the airport?’
‘I can wait till we reach the hotel if you can. Things will be less stressful there.’
Before Lourds could ask her what she meant, she pushed up from the seat.
‘I’ll be right back.’ She walked down the aisle to the bathroom with her toiletry bag.
A few minutes later, she returned wearing a black hijab and burqa. Lourds stared at her.
‘What?’ She smoothed the burqa as she sat.
‘You’re Muslim?’
‘No.’ Miriam scowled. ‘And if I was, I wouldn’t buy into any part of religion that oppressed women.’
‘Then why are you wearing all that?’
‘Camouflage. And it’s worn under protest. If we’re going to meet with Professor Namati, there’s a good chance that he believes the modesty of women should be protected. If he’s a progressive thinker, we’re still meeting him at the university, and his peers might not feel so progressive. Then I’ll be protecting him as well as myself. And you.’
‘Oh.’ Lourds felt uncomfortable. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘For what?’ Miriam tucked the ends of the headdress, so the garment wouldn’t easily fly away.
‘I didn’t think about the pressures you would be under in this country when I asked you to come.’
Miriam focused on him, giving him a serious look. ‘Does that mean I get top billing on any paper we do on this?’
Surprised, Lourds laughed. She joined him.
‘No.’
‘So maybe I should think I’m wearing the hijab for you as well? Since you’re going to repress my valuable contributions to this?’