The Moses Legacy Read Online Free PDF

all over the table. As the twins giggled, Daniel and his sister exchanged a smile. It was her quiet way of thanking him for keeping the little ones entertained.
    By the time he’d got to the Egyptian army drowning in the Red Sea, Shari had gone off to the couch and fallen asleep and May was finding it hard to keep her eyes open. Julia came over and asked her if she wanted to go to bed. May nodded, gave Daniel a hug and then went off to her room with her mother.
    Amidst all the noise and clatter in the room. Daniel almost missed the sound of his mobile phone ringing.
    â€˜Hallo,’ he said, moving to the hallway so that he could conduct a proper conversation without having to strain to hear the other end of the line.
    â€˜Hallo Danny,’ said a woman’s voice faintly.
    â€˜Yes?’
    â€˜It’s Gaby. Gaby Gusack.’ She didn’t normally call herself Gaby. But she made an exception for Danny – sometimes.
    â€˜Oh, hi Gaby.’
    Two memories swept over him in quick succession: the almost-forgotten fifteen-year-old girl with a crush on him from his days as a PhD student and the tall, supremely self-confident woman that he had worked with on a recent archaeological dig in Jerusalem.
    â€˜Listen, I’m calling from the University of Cairo. I’m with Professor Akil Mansoor.’
    â€˜The head of the Egyptian Antiquities Authority?’
    â€˜That’s right. He’d like to speak to you.’
    Daniel was familiar with some of Mansoor’s statements, as well as his deeds, and he hadn’t exactly warmed to him. But if Mansoor wanted to speak to him, then evidently there must be some matter of mutual interest, and Daniel had no desire to seem rude to anyone, let alone a fellow academic.
    There was some movement at the other end and then a man’s voice came down the line.
    â€˜This is Akil Mansoor. The reason I’m calling you is that we have found something out here that may be of interest to you and we’d like to fly you out here to take a look at it. It will all be at our expense of course, and first class, naturally.’
    Daniel smiled at the attempt to bribe him with first-class travel. But he was intrigued and wanted to know more.
    â€˜Can you give me some idea of what this is about?’
    â€˜I would prefer to tell you when you get here. But I can promise you that it will be of considerable interest to you.’
    Daniel felt awkward. ‘The problem is I have several lectures to give here and I also promised my nieces that I’d take them to Stonehenge as their birthday treat.’
    â€˜It needn’t be a long visit. Possibly even just a day or two. We would be ready to reward you handsomely.’
    â€˜It’s not a matter of money. It’s a matter of time. I mean, I can come, it’s just that it would be a lot easier if it were in a couple of weeks’ time.’
    â€˜Unfortunately, time is of the essence. Besides, I think this is something you’d really be excited about if you saw it. I’d rather not say what it is over the phone, but I can tell you that it appears to be an artefact of considerable interest to Jewish history.’
    Daniel sensed the excitement in Mansoor’s tone and he knew that this was a man who wouldn’t take no for an answer. The words could have been hyperbole, but the fact that a man of Mansoor’s position and prestige had called him out of the blue and extended such an invitation was telling in the extreme. And the invitation also had the imprimatur of Gaby behind it. That was the tie-breaker.
    â€˜Okay,’ he said, intrigued.

Chapter 5
    â€˜How many years has it been?’ asked Harrison Carmichael as they stood surrounded by the shrubs and flowers in the back garden of the seven-room detached house in Hertfordshire. He had been shown here by Roksana, the young Polish maid who had opened the door for him. The garden was Carmichael’s favourite part of the