The Resurrection of the Body (15 page)
Read The Resurrection of the Body Online
Authors: Maggie Hamand
I was sitting in my office at night, the lamp shining on my desk, the cross on the window ledge shining dully in the dimness. I was writing in my notebook. I was trying to make sense of everything that had happened, was trying to record it, perhaps as a book.
I paused before picking up my pen. The only thing that still bothered me was the missing body. That, out of
everything
that had happened, was inexplicable. Or was it? Stone had showed, on reflection, a remarkable lack of interest in following up the case, except for throwing wild accusations at me or at my congregation. There had been something odd about his behaviour from the beginning. It
occurred to me that I might have been deliberately set up. It was possible that this man had been a terrorist, an assassin or a spy, involved in illegal business in London. Perhaps he was involved with secret arms deals for some new Middle Eastern state; one certainly read enough about such things in the papers. That would fit with the lack of identification on the body, and the fact that no one had ever claimed it. If MI5 had removed the body, or if it had anything to do with any of the intelligence services, then there was certainly no way that the truth would come out. Even the police might be told nothing, except perhaps a nod and a wink not to pursue the case any further.
Everything that had happened had been the result of a series of extraordinary coincidences. That was obvious. Had the death taken place at any other time and in any other place no one would have thought twice about it. It was clear that on that day, in the Good Friday service, I had been highly suggestible. My overcharged emotions had led me astray, into magical and irrational thinking.
And this is very odd, when you come to think about it. There must be some reason why these potent myths still exercise so much power over us. The most real thing we know about the life of Jesus is his death. We know, because it is recorded in other works of history, that he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, dead, and buried. Because he died we know that he must have been born, but otherwise we know very little about him. From recent historical research, we can be fairly certain who he was, one of many itinerant Jewish teachers of the time, in contact with the Essene monasteries perhaps, preaching
the message of salvation and the imminent coming of the Messiah. Perhaps he was just a good man, inspired and eloquent, trying to make a better world. He believed, like others, that there are spiritual rather than just material values and that if we can live by faith we can make things better. While we throw out all the other beliefs, about heaven and hell, the end of the world and the second coming, the resurrection and eternal life, we can still go on with that.
I picked up my pen and began to write. As I did so, I became aware of a faint noise inside the church. There was the sound of something banging, something being dropped, someone moving about. Instinctively I felt in my pocket for the keys. They were there, and the church was locked. I thought rapidly. Surely a burglar couldn’t have got in without some breaking glass? Could someone have picked the locks? I had better investigate.
I meant to get to my feet and go to look, but I didn’t. I have done the same thing when woken in the night,
hearing
a sound which might have been a burglar, knowing that I won’t be able to sleep until I’ve gone to look but unable to tear myself out of bed and do so. So I sat, pen poised, and listened.
I could hear footsteps, quiet but distinct, crossing the church floor. They came to the door, and then I heard them continue, without the tiniest pause, along the
corridor
. There is a door between the church and the corridor, and I knew it was locked. I had locked it myself, not half an hour ago, after locking up the other side of the church and checking all the lights were off.
I knew that something strange was happening, but this time I was not afraid. Rather I felt excited, expectant, and for some reason the light in the room seemed to become brighter and clearer, as sometimes happens when you are very tired and your perceptions seem to alter, as if you were calling up some extra resources from the brain. I didn’t look up from my desk, but I knew that somebody was there, had come into the room, and I could hear behind me his quiet, steady breathing.
Nothing moved. There was a long, long silence in the room.
His voice came softly, caressingly, out of the darkness. He said, ‘I believe you have been wanting to speak to me for some time.’
First published in the United Kingdom by Michael Joseph, 1995
Paperback edition published by The Maia Press, 2008
This ebook edition first published by Arcadia Books in 2012
All rights reserved
© Maggie Hamand, 2012
The right of Maggie Hamand to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
ISBN 978–0–9573304–1–2
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