Page 11 (1/2)
TWENTY
LONDON
1:20 PM
MALONE CLIMBED FROM THE TAXI AND STUDIED THE QUIET street Lots of gabled façades, fluted side posts, and flowery sills Each of the picturesque Georgian houses seemed a serene abode of antiquity, a place that would naturally harbor bookworht at home
"This where he lives?" Pam asked
"I hope so I haven’t heard froiven three years ago"
The afternoon was cool and dry Earlier, he’d read in The Tiland was still in theBean had not followed them from Heathrow, but perhaps someone else had taken up the task since the man was clearly in coht Strange still having Pa of aardness He’d asked for it by insisting she come
They cliered in the foyer, out of sight, watching the street
But no cars or people appeared
The bell for the flat on the third floor gave a discreet tinkle The olive-skinned hy, with ash-white hair and a square face Brown eyes cauest, and Malone noticed an instant of repressed exciterin of welco of you the other day"
They warmly shook hands and Malone introduced Paht was dimmed by thick lace curtains and Malone quickly absorbed the decor, which seemed an intentional mismatch-there was a piano, several sideboards, armchairs, lamps adorned with pleated silk shades, and an oak table where a coulfed by books and papers
Haddad waved his arm as if to embrace the clutter "My world, Cotton"
The walls were dotted withwas barely visible Malone’s gaze raked them, and he noted that they depicted the Holy Land, Arabia, and the Sinai, their ti froinals, all interesting
"More of enial exchange of ss have changed That’s why I’m here" He explained what had happened the day before
"Your son is okay?" Haddad asked
"He’s fine But five years ago I asked no questions because that was part of oing on"
"You saved ht to buy me the truth"
Haddad led them into the kitchen, where they sat at an oval table The tepid air hung heavy with a lingering scent of wine and tobacco "It’s complicated, Cotton I’ve only in the past few years understood it e, I need to know it all"
An uneasy understanding passed between theed What was once appreciated between two people became uncomfortable But Malone knew Haddad trusted him, and he wanted to reciprocate Finally the older man spoke Malone listened as Haddad told theht with the Palestinian resistance, trying to stop the Zionist invasion
"I shot ot He came to see my father Unfortunately that blessed soul had already killed hi hi, full of hate, no patience, and he spoke nonsense So I shot him" Haddad’s eyesanything" The Palestinian paused "Then, fifty-some years later, incredibly, another Guardian visited nificance
"He appeared atthat the first man said in 1948"
"I’ht? The question formed immediately in his mind "From the library? Am I to be offered an invitation?"
"How do you know that?"
He told the o As he spoke, Haddad tried to assess his guest He ith coal-black hair, a thick mustache, and sun burned skin that bore the texture of tawny leather Neat and quietly dressed, with a manner to er man sat silent and Haddad decided this time he, too, would be patient Finally the Guardian said, "We’ve studied your writings and your published research Your knowledge of the Bible’s ancient text is iinal Hebrew And your arguments on the accepted translations are persuasive"
He appreciated the compliment Those came few and far between in the West Bank
"We’re an ancient band Long ago the first Guardians saved reat effort From time to time-to those, like yourself, who could benefit-we’ve offered an invitation"
Many questions formed in his mind, but he asked, "The Guardian I shot said that the ere fighting back then wasn’t necessary That there are things more powerful than bullets What did he mean?"
"I wouldn’t know Obviously your father failed to appear at the library, so he never benefited froe-and we did not benefit from his Hopefully, you’ll not fail"
"What do you ht to use the library you h the hero’s quest" The man produced an envelope "Interpret these words wisely and I’ll see you at the entrance, where it will be my honor to allow you into the library"
He accepted the packet "I’ journey?"
"You’ll find the strength"
"Why should I?"
"Because in the library you will find answers"
"Mythe Palestinian authorities about that visit I spoke the truth, though I couldn’t ht I was speaking with friends in the West Bank But Israel’s spies heard everything, and the next thing I knew you and I were in that cafe when it exploded"
Malone recalled the day One of the scariest in his life He’d barely ed to extricate the there?" Pae and I had known each other for years We share an interest in books, especially the Bible" He pointed "This man is one of the world’s experts I’ve enjoyed picking his brain"
"I never knew you had an interest," Pam said
"Apparently there was a lot neither one of us knew about the other" He saw that she registered his true e sensed trouble and didn’t trust the Palestinians, he asked forOnce that boe wanted out Everyone assumed he died in the blast So I made him disappear"
"Code-named the Alexandria Link," Pam said
"Someone obviously found out about me," Haddad declared
Malone nodded "The computer files were breached But there’s no mention of where you live, just that I’m the only one who knows your whereabouts That’s why they went after Gary"
"And for that I’m truly sorry I would never want to place your son in jeopardy"
"Then tell e, why do people want you dead?"
"At the tiarding the Old Testament I’d previously published several papers on the then-current state of that holy text, but I was for more"
The lines at the corners of Haddad’s eyes deepened, and Malone watched as his friend seehts
"Christians tend to focus on the New Testament," Haddad said "Jews use the Old I daresayof the Old Testa that the New is a fulfillment of the Old’s prophecies But the Old Testament is important, and there are many contradictions in that text-ones that could readily call its e into question"
He’d heard Haddad speak on the subject before, but this tiency
"Exa versions of creation Two varying genealogies of Ada are laid out Then the flood God tells Noah to bring seven pairs of clean animals and one pair of unclean In another part of Genesis it’s just one pair of each Noah releases a raven to search for land in one verse, but it’s a dove in another Even the length of the flood is contradicted Forty days and nights or three hundred seventy? Both are used Not to mention the dozens of doublets and triplets contained within the narratives, like the differing names used to describe God One portion cites YHWH, Yahweh, another Elohim Wouldn’t you think at least God’s name could be consistent?"
Malone’s memory flashed back a few months to France, where he’d heard similar complaints about the four Gospels of the New Testaree," Haddad said, "that the Old Testa period of time A skillful combination of varied sources by scribal compilers This conclusion is absolutely clear and not new A twelfth-century Spanish philosopher was one of the first to note that Genesis 12:6-at that time the Canaanites were in the land-could not have been written by Moses And how could Moses have been the author of the Five Books when the last book describes in detail the precise time and circumstances of his death?
"And the many literary asides Like when ancient place-names are used, then the text notes that those places are still visible to this day This absolutely points to later influences shaping, expanding, and e the text"
Malone said, "And each tiinalwas lost"
"No doubt The best estimate is that the Old Testament was composed between 1000 and 586 BCE Later compositions came around 500 to 400 BCE Then the text may have been tinkered with as late as 300 BCE Nobody knows for sure All we know is that the Old Testa historical and political circuious views"
"I appreciate all that," Malone said, thinking again about the New Testament contradictions from France "Believe me, I do But none of it is revolutionary Either folks believe the Old Testament is the Word of God, or they believe it a collection of ancient tales"
"But what if the words have been altered to the point that the original er there? What if the Old Testament, as we know it, is not, and never was, the Old Testas"
"I’"
"That’s what I like about you," Haddad said, sood listener"
Malone could see froree, but, keeping to her word, she stayed silent
"You and I have talked about this before," Haddad said "The Old Testament is fundamentally different from the New Christians take the text of the New literally, even to the point of it being history But the stories of the Patriarchs, Exodus, and the conquest of Canaan are not history They’re a creative expression of religious reforo Granted, there are kernels of truth to the accounts, but they’re far ood example At the time of that tale there were only four people on earth Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel Yet Genesis 4:17 says Cain lay with his wife and she becanant Where did the wife come fro? Then, in recounting Adaht hundred ninety-five years, Jared eight hundred years, and Enoch three hundred sixty-five years And Abrahaave birth to Isaac, and she was ninety"
"No one takes that stuff literally," Paue to the contrary"
"What are you saying, George?" Malone asked
"The Old Testament, as we currently know it, is a result of translations The Hebrew language of the original text passed out of usage around 500 BCE So in order to understand the Old Testament, we must either accept the traditional Jewish interpretations or seek guidance from uage We can’t use the forinally interpreted the text, between 500 and 900 CE, a thousand or more years after they were first written, didn’t even know Old Hebrew, so they based their reconstructions on guesswork The Old Testa e, you and I have discussed this before Scholars have debated the point for centuries It’s nothing new"
Haddad threw hi"