Читать книгу The 13th Apostle - Richard Heller - Страница 21

A few minutes later

Muslims for World Truth (MWT)

Video Production Studios

London

News of Ludlow’s death was shocking but not surprising. It made all the sense in the world. Maluka, himself, with the able assistance of Aijaz, had had similar plans for the Professor. Only the presence of two large and very muscular young men, apparently making their way to Ludlow’s apartment a few steps ahead of him and Aijaz, had deterred Maluka from his immediate objective.

As they left, he and Aijaz had spotted two others, dressed in the same white jeans and sweaters as the first two. The second pair waited at the elevator door.

At the time, Maluka considered that the men might have been hired to protect Ludlow and the diary. As far as he knew, no one had intentions of taking the diary by force. And Maluka had known nothing of McCullum’s Angels of Death. Now he knew better.

They had come, they had killed, but, apparently, they had not obtained what they had sought. From all reports he had accessed, official and otherwise, Maluka found no mention of the oven safe or, as per Peterson’s description, the diary within.

The thought that a team of professional killers had failed to persuade the old Professor and his wife to reveal the diary’s location perplexed Maluka. Another thought, however, concerned him more.

While Ludlow had lived, DeVris had been kept within a modicum of restraint. The DeVris-McCullum connection had blossomed with the Professor’s retirement and move to England. Nevertheless, the threat of Ludlow’s ever-watchful eye and his willingness to report any obvious infraction to the Museum administration, had kept DeVris from doing any real and permanent harm.

Now, with Ludlow completely out of the picture, the fate of the diary and the scroll would lie entirely in DeVris’ hands. If, indeed, the scroll proved to bear witness to the existence of Jesus as nothing more than a mortal man, it would matter little to DeVris. Though the manuscript might contain proof of Islam’s most sacred teachings, DeVris was quite likely to simply sell it off to the highest bidder whether their intention was to disclose the manuscript’s sacred message or keep it hidden forever.

“We cannot wait,” Maluka informed Hassan. “Ludlow’s death is a sign from Allah that the time has come for action. Focus on the girl and the American. There will come a time when they will follow the trail dictated by the contents of the diary. We shall let them lead us to the scroll. Then we shall claim that for which our people have waited far too long.”

“What if the scroll bears false witness?” Hassan asked. “Suppose it claims that Jesus was, indeed, the son of God?”

“Then it shall be melted down and returned back to the earth, where it belongs.”