04 The Edge of Darkness (9 page)

EIGHTEEN

MURPHY’S CELL PHONE began to ring as he drove into the teacher’s parking lot at Preston University. He glanced at the caller I.D. display and smiled.

“Good morning, Levi. To what do I owe the pleasure?” “Michael, I’ve got some good news and I’ve got some better news.” Murphy laughed as he got out of his car and started to walk. “Far better than bad news and worse news. Fire away. What’s the good news?” “The good news is … if you can break away around twelve o’clock, I’ll buy you lunch.”

“I’m free. Where would you like to meet?”

“How about the Shaw Towers Dining Room? I’m—working on
some security issues with the owners there and part of our deal is free lunches for me and any guests.”

“Aha, now I understand your generous offer to treat.”

“You know I was born in Israel,” said Abrams, and they both laughed.

“Okay, so what’s the better news?”

“I think I’ve discovered who the mysterious Methuselah is.”

Murphy stopped in his tracks and his jaw fell open. He stood in stunned silence for several seconds.

“Hello? Michael? Are you there?”

He finally recovered enough to speak. “That’s … that’s great! Who is he?”

“At lunch, Michael. At lunch.”

“Are you kidding? You drop this bombshell, and now you’re going to keep me in suspense until lunch?”

“That’s the idea, Michael.”

It was hard for Murphy to concentrate on his class lectures. Methuselah’s true identity was a mystery he’d been trying to solve for years. And now Levi had the answer.

Even though he had never actually gotten a good look at Methuselah, Murphy did know a few details about him. He knew that he was a large, gray-haired man in his sixties who walked with a limp. Tyler Scott, a prisoner at the Cannon City Penitentiary, had shared that information with him. He knew that he had a habit of clicking his tongue and also had a high, cackling laugh—that sadistic sound that had taunted Murphy on numerous occasions.

He also knew that Methuselah had a vast amount of knowledge about the Bible and biblical artifacts. And he knew that he had to be very wealthy to be able to plan the types of elaborate games and tests of skill that he had put Murphy through.

Levi was waiting outside the restaurant when Murphy arrived. They shook hands, went inside, and sat down at a table.

“Well?” said Murphy.

“Well, what?” replied Levi with a big smile on his face.

“Who is he?”

“Let’s order lunch first.”

“You really know how to torture a man, don’t you, Levi? Did they teach you that in the Mossad?”

“Yes, and much more. Demolitions, marksmanship, mind control…”

“Okay, okay. I give up.”

“So easily? Just when I was having so much fun.”

Murphy made an exasperated sound, but they ordered their meal, and at last Abrams became serious.

“The fingerprint you sent me was a right index finger. I ran it through all of our criminal files and came up empty I then ran it through our civilian files and found a match.”

“Is he an Israeli?”

“Actually, he’s an American who has dual citizenship … as well as Taiwanese citizenship.”

“That sounds strange.”

“It gets stranger. According to our records, he, his wife, and three children were on an Israeli plane that was blown up in 1980.”

“I vaguely remember that.”

“As I dug deeper, I found out that he and his family were on their way from New York City to Tel Aviv for a vacation. Also on the plane were some up-and-coming Israeli leaders. It is our belief that a terrorist group wanted them dead and smuggled a bomb on board. Methuselah and his family were just innocent passengers that happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“How did he survive?”

“The bomb was detonated while the plane was on its final approach
into the Tel Aviv airport. We believe the terrorists were hoping that the pilot would lose control and crash into the terminal building, killing thousands of people. However, it didn’t happen that way.

“Sounds like the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York.”

“Similar … except no one tried to take control of the plane. The terrorist was a suicide bomber. The bomb exploded near the right wing, blew out the side of the plane and caught the engine on fire. The whole plane dipped to the right but the pilot was able to stabilize it and bring it in for a landing.”

“Heck of a pilot.”

“He was, but even so, he overshot the runway and skidded across a road and into a field. They might have made it if it weren’t for a steel transmission tower. The left wing caught it and sent the plane into a spin. The plane spun into another tower, breaking off the rear section of the plane. Methuselah’s seat was near that area. He and about a dozen people were tossed out of the plane while still in their seats. He was one of only three survivors.”

“What happened to the rest of the passengers?”

“The plane burst into flames, and everyone in the front of the plane, including Methuselah’s family, was burned alive. Those in the broken-off rear section were electrocuted when the electrical transmission lines dropped on the plane.”

“Tragic.”

“It was a terrible disaster. Our records indicate that Methuselah was in a Tel Aviv hospital for nearly three months recuperating.”

Murphy thought about Laura, and the pain he had felt at losing her. He felt a strange kinship for Methuselah, having lost his wife and three children. But he still wanted answers.

“So who is he?”

Levi leaned in close and spoke quietly. “Have you ever heard of the Zasso Steamship Lines, the Zasso Bank of International Trade, or Zasso Enterprises, Inc.?”

“Who hasn’t? The Zasso companies must be worth billions.”

“The fingerprint you gave me matches Markus M. Zasso. He is the owner and president of all the Zasso corporations. He survived the plane crash. And get this: His middle initial ‘M’ stands for Methuselah.”

“Are you sure about all this? Where did he get a name like Methuselah? Zasso is an Italian name.”

“I thought you might ask. I found out that Methuselah inherited the steamship lines and all of the other companies from his father, Mario Zasso. During the 1930s and 1940s, Mario Zasso became very wealthy in shipping and international trade. His ships were used by the United States in the Pacific during World War II.”

“What about the name Methuselah?”

“I’m not sure, but I think it must have come from his grandfather, Marcello Zasso. The grandfather became a naturalized citizen during the 1920s. He underwent some type of spiritual conversion and joined a theological seminary and later became a missionary to China. His son Mario was born in Taiwan. I think that the grandfather must have had a strong influence on his son and on his grandson. Maybe that’s the source of Methuselah’s interest in the Bible and biblical artifacts.”

“Makes sense. And his wealth gave him the opportunity to study about archaeology. I guess he got bored and had nothing to do but set up traps for me to escape from.”

“There may be more to it than that, Michael. There must be some method to his madness. Markus Zasso does not do things haphazardly. He is a hard-driven businessman that has something he wants to accomplish.”

“Did you find out anything else about him?”

“Well, obviously he owns homes and businesses around the world. He even owns a chain of fancy hotels in exotic places. But did you know that he also owns a home about two hundred twenty miles from Raleigh?”

“Here in North Carolina?”

“No. Down at Myrtle Beach.”

“Do you have the address?”

“It’s an out-of-the-way estate off Arrowhead Road, just off of North Kings Highway and south of Briarcliffe Acres and the Dunes. It’s between the Arcadian Shores Golf Club and the Dunes Golf and Beach Club.” He smiled. “You want me to draw you a map?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“I assume you plan to pay him a visit?”

“The thought had occurred to me. But I’ll bet he’s pretty well protected.”

“That’s putting it mildly. He’s better protected than Howard Hughes ever was. He always has highly paid bodyguards close by. You can’t get within fifty feet of the guy. He makes anyone bringing his meals taste the food … just in case there’s poison in it.”

“It’s probably impossible to get into his estate then.”

“Pretty much. But there is still one possibility. Every day, he likes to go down to the beach and sit in a lawn chair and look at the ocean.”

“How did you find that out, Levi?”

“We have our ways.”

“Do you also have ways of obtaining a recent photograph of him?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. What’s it worth to you?” he said with a smile.

Murphy counted the money in his thin wallet. “How about a dollar fifty?”

“That’s just the price I had in mind.”

Abrams pulled out a picture of Methuselah sitting in a lawn chair on the beach, surrounded by six large bodyguards. They were in swim shorts and Hawaiian shirts, with telltale bulges under their armpits.

“Do those bulges under the shirts mean what I think they mean?”

Levi nodded. “Most of them carry automatics. They are very well paid for what they do, and they take their job seriously. Even if you didn’t recognize Methuselah from a picture, the small army of bodyguards would probably tip you off.”

“Since he has so many homes around the world, do you know whether he would be there now or not?”

“Our sources indicate that he has been there for the last twenty days. We have no way of knowing how long he will remain there. He has his own private jet, and several assistants that travel with him and help to keep his business running smoothly.”

“I probably couldn’t get close to him anyway. He’d recognize me.”

“Has he ever met you in person? Close up, I mean.”

Murphy considered this. “Not exactly. But he might have pictures of me.”

“He probably does. Even so, I’ll bet that you could get real close to him.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you have the element of surprise. He thinks he’s safe and no one knows who he is. You can exploit his false sense of security. In the Mossad, we use the element of surprise to throw the enemy off balance. Remember the raid on Entebbe in Uganda, when they hijacked an Israeli airliner and held the passengers hostage? No one expected us to sweep into a foreign country and rescue the prisoners. They were taken completely off guard. I think you could do the same thing with Methuselah.”

“That’s a thought, Levi. There’s nothing I would like better than to leave right now and go confront him. But I have a few things to do first. You were right. You had some good news and some better news. Maybe I can put an end to the life-threatening bouts with Methuselah.”

The food arrived and Levi dug in. “So who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?” he said between mouthfuls.

Murphy wasn’t sure if he was talking about the food or the priceless information he’d just received.

NINETEEN

MURPHY PULLED INTO the twenty-four hour parking lot at the airport. He let out a sigh as he got out of his car. He didn’t like the idea that he would only be able to spend part of the day with Isis. His schedule just permitted him to book a quick turnaround flight to Washington and back to Raleigh late that same night.

He longed to spend more time with her. Ever since their time together searching for Noah’s Ark on Ararat and their hunt for the Handwriting on the Wall in Babylon, he had found himself thinking about her constantly. It was wonderful to begin to care about another person. He still wore his wedding band, a reminder of Laura. But maybe it was time …

When he was settled in his seat, and the plane began its ascent,
Murphy slowly slipped the ring off his finger and read the inscription on the inside. OUR LOVE IS FOREVER. He closed his eyes and saw Laura’s face.

The airplane hit some slight turbulence and Murphy opened his eyes. The plane bounced for a few moments and then leveled off.

That’s what I’ve been doing… bouncing in emotional turbulence for a while. I think Laura would have wanted me to level off
.

He caressed the wedding band between his fingers, and then slipped it into his pocket. His finger bore a band of lighter-colored skin where the ring had been.

Guess I’m officially in a transition period
.

He laid his head back on the seat and closed his eyes.

The direct flight from Raleigh to Washington was quick. It just seemed long to Murphy.

At dinner Murphy could hardly take his eyes off of Isis. Her beautiful long red hair cascaded down the shoulders of the black dress that so perfectly accentuated her petite, well-toned body. Her green eyes sparkled, and as he listened to her soft Scottish accent, he couldn’t help but smile.

“What?”

Murphy stared into her eyes. “I think you look beautiful tonight.”

She smiled shyly and, for the first time, seemed to notice his bare ring finger. “Michael, I’m glad you came. I know we could have talked over the phone, but this is so much better.”

“I agree,” he replied. “Besides, I’ll use any excuse I can find to see you.”

Murphy noticed a slight blush in her cheeks. She quickly changed the subject.

“You asked me about someone named King Yamani. I went to volume two of the
Records of Assyria
. They were collected and translated by Lukenbill. In paragraph sixty-two it mentions King Yamani.”

Murphy smiled. It was one of the things he liked about Isis. She was like a bulldog when it came to discovering some detail in an ancient manuscript.

“In the seventh year of King Sargon’s reign, he was requiring that tribute taxes be paid to Assyria. That same year, a man named Yamani seized power in the town of Ashdod. The name Yamani means ‘the Greek.’ He proclaimed himself king and attempted to start a rebellion against Sargon and his taxes. He approached Pir’u, the king of Musru, for help.”

“I’m not familiar with his name.”

“Yamani was Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Yamani also solicited aid from the nation of Judah. Hezekiah was king at the time. It seems that Isaiah the prophet urged him to not get involved and he did not join Yamani.”

“That all makes sense.”

“What does, Michael?”

“There is only one mention of King Sargon in the Bible. I was just reading about this the other day while doing some research. It’s in the book of Isaiah. It suggests that one of Sargon’s supreme commanders was sent to attack Ashdod and captured the city”

“You’re right. The name for the commander is ‘turtan.’ It is not a personal name, but a title that refers to a high military and administrative official, second in rank to the king.”

Isis removed a piece of paper from her purse and unfolded it. She began to read. “Listen to what it says in the
Records of Assyria
. The rebellious king Yamani fled to Ethiopia to seek a safe haven but ran into trouble. ‘The king of Ethiopia, who lives in a distant country, in an inapproachable region … whose fathers never—from remote days until now—had sent messengers to inquire after the health of my royal forefathers, he did hear, even that far away, of the might of Ashu, Nebo, and Marduk. The awe-inspiring glamour of my kingship blinded him and terror overcame him.’ It seems that the Ethiopian king did not want trouble with Sargon. It goes on to say, ‘He threw
him [Yamani] in fetters, shackles and iron bands, and they brought him to Assyria, a long journey’”

Murphy’s face lit up with sudden realization.

“What is it, Michael?”

“It’s Methuselah. His note said, ‘In the town of King Yamani a great mystery has been solved—I Kings 8:9.’ It all makes sense now. The reference in I Kings refers to Aaron’s Rod that budded and the Golden Jar of Manna. They were missing from the Ark. The town of King Yamani is the city of Ashdod. Ashdod is where the Philistines first took the Ark of the Covenant after they captured it, the city that was the home of the Temple of Dagon. I think that Methuselah is trying to say that Aaron’s Rod and the Golden Jar of Manna were taken out of the Ark in Ashdod … and that we may still find them there.”

Murphy sat forward, his eyes wild with excitement. He looked like a little boy in a candy shop trying to decide which piece to eat first.

“The second note Methuselah left me said, ‘Thirty degrees northeast of the altar … press the king’s head.’ That must refer to some sort of secret passage or hiding place.” He looked at Isis. “What do you know about Ashdod?”

“Ashdod is the fifth largest city in Israel, founded in 1956 and located between Tel Aviv and Gaza on the coast. It’s becoming a very important seaport for Israel. Over fifteen thousand tons of cargo pass through there each year. Its population is about a quarter of a million people.”

“It’s coming back to me now. In 200-4, two suicide bombers killed ten people and injured sixteen at the Ashdod port.”

“I remember that, Michael.”

“As I recall, two eighteen-year-old Palestinians hid themselves in a container that was delivered by truck. The investigators found food remains and five unexploded grenades in the container. They were from the Jabalya Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip. They detonated
their bombs, killing ten people and wounding sixteen. The Hamas and Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack….”

Murphy trailed off. Something Isis had said troubled him.

“But, hold on, if the city was founded in 1956, this can’t be the location.”

“The original site of Ashdod is about three to four miles inland. The city was conquered by the Macedonians under Alexander the Great. At that time it was known as Azotos.”

“You’re brilliant. I can’t believe you’re giving all this information from memory.”

Isis blushed again. “In 163 B.C., Judas Maccabaeus came into the city and destroyed the Temple of Dagon. In 1-48 B.C., Jonathan and Simon burned down what was left of the temple. There have been a number of excavations at the site. They have discovered at least twenty-two strata of continuous settlements of the city Maybe Methuselah has discovered something new there.”

Isis caught Murphy’s grin.

“What are you smiling at?”

“I was just thinking how archaeological findings keep pointing to the truth and reality of the Bible. The more we discover, the stronger our faith becomes.”

Isis seemed to withdraw a little.

“What’s wrong?”

“You keep talking about the truth of the Bible. And you get so excited about these new discoveries. I don’t know how to relate to it all. I sort of believe that there is a God. Everything we see couldn’t just pop into being without a Creator. But you seem to talk about God like you know Him personally.”

Murphy hesitated for a moment. With a heavy heart, he remembered that Isis had not yet made a leap of faith.

“You can know Him the same way I do, Isis. All you have to do is believe that God revealed Himself through Jesus Christ. Jesus took upon Himself the burden of everyone’s sins. With His death on the
cross, He paid the penalty for everything we have ever done wrong. But then Jesus arose from the dead so that we too could have eternal life with him. All anyone has to do is to receive this information… and believe it by faith and ask God to come into his or her life and change it. That’s what it means to be saved.”

“I don’t know, Michael. All that faith stuff seems to work for you but not for me. Jesus appears to be a nice person, a great teacher, and a wonderful example. But to believe that he is God is a big leap of faith. I don’t know if I am ready to make that type of commitment.”

Murphy found himself in silent prayer, asking God that he might have the right words to say.

“Each person must come to that decision by themselves. No one can take that step for you. I wish I could, Isis. Let me share a verse out of the Bible with you. It is found in the first chapter of the Gospel of John. It says, ‘To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.’ That’s all a person has to do. Believe and receive. Isis, you’re an avid reader. All of this is made wonderfully clear in the Gospel of John in the Bible. I’m sure that you would enjoy searching this out for yourself.”

Murphy sensed her uncertainty. He didn’t want to put on any pressure, so he changed the subject.

“I want to thank you for all the hard work and effort you have gone to in finding information about King Yamani. I’m going to ask Levi to get us permission to go to the Ashdod site and do some exploring. If we can find Aaron’s Rod and the Golden Jar of Manna, it will be a terrific discovery. But if they should fall into the wrong hands, people might try to use those artifacts as objects of worship or believe that they have some sort of magical powers.”

Murphy looked at Isis and smiled.

“How about some dessert?”

Murphy talked about the possibility of finding Aaron’s Rod and the Golden Jar of Manna as Isis drove him to the airport. They also spoke of Talon, but she said she’d been careful and so far there’d been no sign of him. Other than that, she said little during the drive.

When they arrived, Murphy was surprised to see how many people were unloading vehicles and preparing to travel at that late hour. He got out and so did Isis. She came around to the passenger side to say good-bye.

“You’re so quiet. Is there something wrong?”

She looked at him for a moment before she spoke.

“I don’t want you to leave. I feel so lonely when you’re not around.”

Murphy reached out and pulled her close, drowning in her green eyes. He leaned in and kissed her, and she responded with equal passion. Time seemed to stand still as they held each other tightly.

Suddenly there was the honking of a car and a man’s voice.

“Hey, Mack! Why don’t you just go to a motel?”

Murphy looked up to see a taxi driver leaning out of his window. Murphy looked at Isis, who was laughing. He held her again and kissed her. He didn’t want to let her go. Slowly they parted and Isis got into the car. He watched from the curb as she drove away.

He turned and walked through the revolving doors and headed for his departure gate, in a daze all the while. He shook his head.

What’s happening to you, Murphy?