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Or was it the pounding of my heart?

Footsteps, I hoped, because soon the sound faded away

“You really think soet in?” I asked as we ht “Maybe it was just one of the guards Turning out the lights because he thought nobody was using them”

“Guards,” Stefan scoffed “What guards? There is one guard on duty, at thein without buying tickets”

“Okay, who has access to this part of the palace?”

“Dozens of people,” he fretted as he reached through the gate and fuuides Docents But it’s dark and dirty down here, so everybody avoids it” Finally I heard the lock click open

“Almost everybody,” I corrected “So who knohat’s in the treasure room?”

He shook his head, then pushed the iron grille open “Nobody, really Just the three of us My boss — a petty bureaucrat — knows I found some bones, but he has no idea how important they are And he’s not inquisitive”

“Well, somebody’s inquisitive,” I pointed out “Maybe we need a security camera to find out who Or maybe we should move the bones someplace more secure” He frowned, and didn’t reply; instead, he heaved the gate shut with a clang, then snapped the lock back into place

We’d left the treasure chamber only minutes after we’d heard the furtive sounds above us Stefan was clearly jumpy, and I was exhausted, so we’d decided to stop for the day and resu

“Let me play devil’s advocate about the bones,” I said as we recrossed the cavernous cellar, or dungeon, or whatever it was, by flashlight “How could that possibly be the skeleton of Jesus?”

“Sshh,” cautioned Stefan

I lowered my voice to a murmur “First off, Jesus died at thirty-three,” I went on “This guy’s way older than that Coes in the vertebrae, Miranda” We reached the bigger staircase, which would restore us to the world of light and air

“Maybe he just put a lot of wear and tear on his spine,” she countered “A carpenter? Back in the days before Black and Decker? That’s heavy lifting, man Bad for the back Remember the skeleton frouy died at forty, plus or minus, but his spine looked sixty”

“But his cranial sutures didn’t,” I pointed out “They were still very rugged This guy’s look like they’ve been sealed and spackled He’s older than I am; I’d bet my belt sander on it”

She laughed, but there was no time for a retort because by then we’d reached the top of the staircase, stepped around the velvet cordon, and rejoined the tourists The maneuver made me feel like one of the costudos in the shrubbery when it’s time to work the crowd

Leaving the palace, we crossed the plaza and headed back through the tunnel to the parking garage Except for us, the corridor was e Thomas,” I persisted, “but what about the Resurrection? If these are the bones of Jesus, he didn’t rise from the dead”