The Wolf and the Lamb Read Online Free PDF Page A

Prefect.”
    “If I were not in the position I currently hold, would you dare to speak to me in that tone? I will answer for you. You would not. You would be choosing your words with great care. Mind you, you would have said the same thing, but you would have treaded only so close to the line you have just now crossed.”
    “That is very observant of you, Excellency. I cannot tell you how delightful it felt. I might ask for your forgiveness later. Then again, I might not. If I walk out of here now, it is a near certainty I will never see you again.”
    “I am counting on you not walking out and on receiving that apology later.”
    Gamaliel sighed. Pilate was right. If the Prefect could persuade him of his innocence and convince him that not acting on his behalf would bring about an injustice, he would not abandon him.
    “There are other reasons why I cannot accept your commission, if that is what this is.”
    “Oh, yes, many. I am fully aware of the limitations placed on you. But do I have another choice? I do not. You, in spite of your stiff-necked religiosity, burn for the truth. If anyone can unravel this business, it is the Rabban of the Sanhedrin. Besides, none of my people will touch it with a barge pole. Yes, you will be severely limited. On the other hand, you will be free enough. Tell me what you need.”
    “I need nothing, Prefect. I cannot do this. Your people will not speak to me. How can I possibly interrogate them as to their whereabouts on that day? I cannot even roam freely about this building. My Law and yours will not permit it. If I can do none of these things, my hands are tied. You are expecting a miracle.”
    “I am expecting only that the shrewdest man in the land will do his best to uncover the truth.”
    “And if I fail?”
    “My enemies and your countrymen will rejoice. Imagine. Finally they will have something in common.”
    “You are being needlessly cynical, Prefect. Your more immediate danger lies with me. It is clearly more in my interest to fail than to succeed. Why then would I try?”
    “Rabban, Rabban, sometimes you are so innocent. You will only fail if you cannot, after applying yourself diligently to the problem, find the truth. It is your nature to pursue it as a dog will worry a bone.”
    “I have no familiarity with dogs or their worries.”
    “Your people regard them as pariahs, yes, I know. Too bad for you, but the imagery stands. It is your nature to do the right thing.”
    Gamaliel closed his eyes. He’d been had, no doubt about it, and the prospect of attempting to pry the truth from this race of self-satisfied despots would be nearly impossible. He tried once more to dissuade the Prefect from burdening him with the task which closely resembled farming the cracks between paving stones.
    “Tell me, then, Prefect, with your authority usurped, how do you expect me to interview those who might be involved? How will your people take the news that I have discovered that one of them is a murderer, for example?”
    “As to the latter, not well, I imagine. But in the end, they will accept it because they believe in the law and the untrammeled application of it. Then they will probably hound you to death.”
    “You are not making this easy for me.”
    “Very well. I will give you Rufus. If it appears that your investigation wanders down that particular path, then he—and not you—will have discovered it. It might save your life and would certainly garner him a promotion.”
    “I will need more than this Rufus as surrogate.”
    “Name it.”
    “To begin, I will need my friend, the Physician Loukas, to inspect the body. Can you deliver the corpse to me? Then, I will want him full time to assist me as well. He is sufficiently Hellenized to pass as one of you, and he can move about the Fortress without attracting the attention I would. I will send him to the place where the body was found as I need a full understanding of it. Also, his Latin is passable so he can help