believe.”
Pilate shrugged and smiled. “Although it seems it’s not working well at the moment.”
“Where’s your genius Hebrew? Shouldn’t he be here sorting out the strands of your predicament by now? Has he had second thoughts and deserted you?”
“He is punishing me, if you must know. I forced him into helping me. He would rather not, given a choice, so he is making me sit like a naughty schoolboy. He hopes I will think of something helpful and, failing that, feel rueful. So far, I have done neither.”
“He wants to have someone view the body of Aurelius. Where is Aurelius?”
“He is laid out on a slab one level down and is guarded by one of my legionnaires, so I have access to him if needed. Cassia thought that assigning my people to the less dignified tasks in the fort would add to my overall humiliation. Actually, it will help me. We have, if we need it, access to everything and every place necessary to investigate my problem.”
“Except the principals themselves.”
“Well, yes that is true. Cassia and his accomplices will not readily acquiesce to requests for an audience and to be questioned, but there is a way around that too. In fact, that is where you come in.”
“Me? I thought you only needed me for—”
“Patience, my friend…Ah, I believe our sleuth has arrived. Enter, Rabban.”
Chapter X
Guided by Marius, Gamaliel and Loukas entered Pilate’s fetid cell. He did not stand to greet them. Gamaliel did not expect he would. Even in peril of his life, he would not give up his innate sense of superiority and official preeminence. Gamaliel pulled up a stool and sat without waiting for his permission.
“Do you suppose we could find a more salubrious place to do this, Prefect?”
“You do not find this room agreeable, Rabban? Every day you wander about the Temple Mount in a miasma of smoke created by the burning flesh of countless sheep, goats, birds, and bulls, yet you find this distasteful?”
“Yes, very. Is there?”
“I will see what I can do, but for the moment we must continue to meet here. Who have you brought with you?”
“This is my colleague and friend, Loukas. You have met once before, I believe. Among his many talents he is a Physician, and he is here to assist me.”
“I did not bargain for more than just your presence, Rabban.”
“Recall that I told you earlier I would need him and you agreed. So, here he is. He will inspect the dead man for me and also help with my poor Latin.”
“I have given you the boy and Rufus for that. Why another Latin speaker?”
“As I said, it is not that I don’t trust you, Prefect, but I suspect both the boy and Rufus will have a Roman bias. I am afraid they will hold back some of what they hear in the mistaken notion that it casts them or their allegiance to you in a bad light. Or they may decide that a particular bit of information is not important and leave it out. Besides, even I can tell the boy’s Latin is barely better than mine.”
“Redacting the conversations? Possibly, but shouldn’t that be their prerogative?”
“No. I do not want my information filtered by their biases. So, I require my own check on their reporting.”
Pilate twisted in his chair. “Did you hear that, Rufus? The Rabban thinks you might leave something out. Would you?”
“He would if he sensed it incriminating to you,” Gamaliel snapped while Rufus composed his answer.
“I see. Well, that would please me.”
“It might also doom you. Truth has many facets, Prefect, and if one only looks at those that please, you will miss it.”
“Philosophy, as I pointed out earlier, is the purview of the Greeks. Do not burden me with it now.”
“You must read the Proverbs in our Scripture. You will find that Greeks are not the only people who speculate on the meaning of life and how best to live it.”
“Some other day, Rabban. Now you must be about the business of finding irrefutable proof that someone else, not I, killed
Pilate shrugged and smiled. “Although it seems it’s not working well at the moment.”
“Where’s your genius Hebrew? Shouldn’t he be here sorting out the strands of your predicament by now? Has he had second thoughts and deserted you?”
“He is punishing me, if you must know. I forced him into helping me. He would rather not, given a choice, so he is making me sit like a naughty schoolboy. He hopes I will think of something helpful and, failing that, feel rueful. So far, I have done neither.”
“He wants to have someone view the body of Aurelius. Where is Aurelius?”
“He is laid out on a slab one level down and is guarded by one of my legionnaires, so I have access to him if needed. Cassia thought that assigning my people to the less dignified tasks in the fort would add to my overall humiliation. Actually, it will help me. We have, if we need it, access to everything and every place necessary to investigate my problem.”
“Except the principals themselves.”
“Well, yes that is true. Cassia and his accomplices will not readily acquiesce to requests for an audience and to be questioned, but there is a way around that too. In fact, that is where you come in.”
“Me? I thought you only needed me for—”
“Patience, my friend…Ah, I believe our sleuth has arrived. Enter, Rabban.”
Chapter X
Guided by Marius, Gamaliel and Loukas entered Pilate’s fetid cell. He did not stand to greet them. Gamaliel did not expect he would. Even in peril of his life, he would not give up his innate sense of superiority and official preeminence. Gamaliel pulled up a stool and sat without waiting for his permission.
“Do you suppose we could find a more salubrious place to do this, Prefect?”
“You do not find this room agreeable, Rabban? Every day you wander about the Temple Mount in a miasma of smoke created by the burning flesh of countless sheep, goats, birds, and bulls, yet you find this distasteful?”
“Yes, very. Is there?”
“I will see what I can do, but for the moment we must continue to meet here. Who have you brought with you?”
“This is my colleague and friend, Loukas. You have met once before, I believe. Among his many talents he is a Physician, and he is here to assist me.”
“I did not bargain for more than just your presence, Rabban.”
“Recall that I told you earlier I would need him and you agreed. So, here he is. He will inspect the dead man for me and also help with my poor Latin.”
“I have given you the boy and Rufus for that. Why another Latin speaker?”
“As I said, it is not that I don’t trust you, Prefect, but I suspect both the boy and Rufus will have a Roman bias. I am afraid they will hold back some of what they hear in the mistaken notion that it casts them or their allegiance to you in a bad light. Or they may decide that a particular bit of information is not important and leave it out. Besides, even I can tell the boy’s Latin is barely better than mine.”
“Redacting the conversations? Possibly, but shouldn’t that be their prerogative?”
“No. I do not want my information filtered by their biases. So, I require my own check on their reporting.”
Pilate twisted in his chair. “Did you hear that, Rufus? The Rabban thinks you might leave something out. Would you?”
“He would if he sensed it incriminating to you,” Gamaliel snapped while Rufus composed his answer.
“I see. Well, that would please me.”
“It might also doom you. Truth has many facets, Prefect, and if one only looks at those that please, you will miss it.”
“Philosophy, as I pointed out earlier, is the purview of the Greeks. Do not burden me with it now.”
“You must read the Proverbs in our Scripture. You will find that Greeks are not the only people who speculate on the meaning of life and how best to live it.”
“Some other day, Rabban. Now you must be about the business of finding irrefutable proof that someone else, not I, killed
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