The Last Testament (51 page)

They hugged, a long, tight hug, and then shyly, like teenagers at summer camp, they exchanged email addresses. Neither had a physical address they could be sure of. When Maggie began to say goodbye, he placed a finger over her lips. ‘Not goodbye,’

he said. ‘
L’hitraot
. It means “Until we see each other again”. And we will. Soon.’ And then they kissed, until both of them knew that promise was not vain.

Now a distant grandfather clock struck ten, the clock no doubt a parting gift of the British who had built this Government House when they ruled Palestine. Maggie could hear a sudden surge 436

SAM BOURNE

of noise outside: the sound of several cars pulling up, and a press ruck, questions being shouted, bulbs flashing. A minute or two later, and the same thing all over again. Maggie straightened her papers one last time.

Then, the sound of footsteps down two corridors. From opposite directions she could see the leader of the Israelis and the leader of the Palestinians walking, each man alone, towards this room. She took a deep breath.

She shook both their hands, then invited them to shake hands with each other and gestured for them to take their seats.

‘Thank you, gentlemen,’ Maggie Costello said, aiming a warm smile at both of them.

The smile was genuine. It was the smile of a woman who, at long last, was back where she belonged.

She cleared her throat. ‘Shall we begin?’

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

They say writing is a lonely business, but it’s not completely true.

Writers rely on people who are willing to share their time and wisdom – and I am delighted to have a chance to thank some of them here.

John Curtis, Keeper of the Department of the Ancient Near East at the British Museum, and one of the very first to sound the alarm at the looting of Iraq’s heritage following the invasion in 2003, patiently explained the full extent of that tragic series of events. His colleague at the Museum, Irving Finkel, was kind enough to tutor me in the customs of the Abrahamic period and the rarefied field of old Babylonian cuneiform writing, a subject in which he may well be the world’s leading authority. The sample of cuneiform that appears in this book was his handi-work, while some of Shimon Guttman’s experiences as a scholar echo those of Dr Finkel. I am greatly indebted to him for both his learning and his energetic backing for this project.

Insight into the extraordinary international trade in stolen antiquities came via Karen Sanig of London lawyers Mishcon de Reya, along with former Detective Sergeant Richard Ellis, the founder of Scotland Yard’s Art and Antiquities Squad. I hugely admire their determination to fight a crime that seeks to deprive 438

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

civilization of some of its greatest treasures. I’m also grateful to Dr Rupert L Chapman III, formerly Executive Secretary of the Palestine Exploration Foundation and to Edward Fox, whose book
Palestine Twilight
explains so well the political charge generated by archaeology in the Middle East. The staff of BA Cargo at Heathrow and of HM Revenue and Customs could not have been more helpful.

I was introduced to Second Life by my
Guardian
colleagues Aleks Krotoski and Victor Keegan, Vic generously playing Virgil as he guided me through the depths of that mysterious under-world. Once again Tom Cordiner and Steven Thurgood were ready to share their limitless wisdom on matters computing.

On the Middle East itself, I owe a debt to the hundreds of people, Israeli and Palestinian, I have met while studying or writing about this region over two decades. Many of their stories inform this one. Particular thanks are due to Dr Meron Medzini; Aryeh Banner of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation; Chris Stevens of the US State Department; Doug Krikler; and my old friend, Marshall Yam, who offered a pivotal thought just as I was first shaping this story. Both of my parents, Michael and Sara Freedland, along with my father-in-law Michael Peters, read an early draft, giving valuable advice along the way.

At HarperCollins, Jane Johnson is the kind of editor every writer would kill for: eagle-eyed, enthusiastic, demanding and with a maddeningly consistent habit of being right. She and Sarah Hodgson form a dauntingly capable team.

Three individuals deserve special thanks. Jonathan Cummings is not only able to ferret out the most obscure nugget of information at lightning speed, he has also become a cherished comrade and co-conspirator. Jonny Geller is the godfather to this entire project, having believed in it from the very beginning, nudging it along with regular doses of sage advice. I’ve said it ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

439

before and I’ll say it again: he’s the best agent in the business, a model friend – and none of this would have happened without him.

Finally, my wife Sarah. Her enthusiasm and excitement for this story never flagged, even when work on it kept me chained to the desk for too many hours. She read the manuscript with insight and care, suggesting multiple improvements. She is a source of constant encouragement, laughter and love. Like this book, my story has a heroine – and it is her.

About the Author

SAM BOURNE is the literary pseudo-

nym of Jonathan Freedland, an award-winning British journalist and broadcaster. He has written a weekly column for
The Guardian
since 1997, having previously served as the paper’s Washington correspondent. His work has also appeared in
The New York Times
,
The
New York Review of Books
, the
Los Angeles Times
,
T he
Washington Post
,
Newsweek
,
T he New Republic
, and
T he Jewish Chronicle
, and he presents BBC Radio 4’s contemporary-history series
The Long View
.

For nearly two decades he has covered the Middle East conflict, and in 2002 he chaired a three-day dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, which was sponsored by
The Guardian
. The participants in that meeting went on to broker the 2003 Geneva Accord.

Freedland is the author of the
New York Times
bestselling novel
The Righteous Men
, also a number one bestseller in the UK, which has been translated into thirty-one languages, and the nonfiction works
Jacob’s Gift
and
Bring Home the Revolution
. He lives in London with his wife and two children.

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

ALSO BY SAM BOURNE

The Righteous Men

Credits

Jacket art: underground passage © Glasshouse Images; running man

© Photonica/Getty Images; cobblestone effect within type © Alamy

Copyright

THE LAST TESTAMENT. Copyright © 2009 by Sam Bourne. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader April 2009

ISBN 978-0-06-186642-5

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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• Title Page
  
• Dedication Page
  
• Contents
  
• Prologue
  
• Chapter One
  
• Chapter Two
  
• Chapter Three
  
• Chapter Four
  
• Chapter Five
  
• Chapter Six
  
• Chapter Seven
  
• Chapter Eight
  
• Chapter Nine
  
• Chapter Ten
  
• Chapter Eleven
  
• Chapter Twelve
  
• Chapter Thirteen
  
• Chapter Fourteen
  
• Chapter Fifteen
  
• Chapter Sixteen
  
• Chapter Seventeen
  
• Chapter Eighteen
  
• Chapter Nineteen
  
• Chapter Twenty
  
• Chapter Twenty-One
  
• Chapter Twenty-Two
  
• Chapter Twenty-Three
  
• Chapter Twenty-Four
  
• Chapter Twenty-Five
  
• Chapter Twenty-Six
  
• Chapter Twenty-Seven
  
• Chapter Twenty-Eight
  
• Chapter Twenty-Nine
  
• Chapter Thirty
  
• Chapter Thirty-One
  
• Chapter Thirty-Two
  
• Chapter Thirty-Three
  
• Chapter Thirty-Four
  
• Chapter Thirty-Five
  
• Chapter Thirty-Six
  
• Chapter Thirty-Seven
  
• Chapter Thirty-Eight
  
• Chapter Thirty-Nine
  
• Chapter Forty
  
• Chapter Forty-One
  
• Chapter Forty-Two
  
• Chapter Forty-Three
  
• Chapter Forty-Four
  
• Chapter Forty-Five
  
• Chapter Forty-Six
  
• Chapter Forty-Seven
  
• Chapter Forty-Eight
  
• Chapter Forty-Nine
  
• Chapter Fifty
  
• Chapter Fifty-One
  
• Chapter Fifty-Two
  
• Chapter Fifty-Three
  
• Chapter Fifty-Four
  
• Chapter Fifty-Five
  
• Chapter Fifty-Six
  
• Chapter Fifty-Seven
  
• Chapter Fifty-Eight
  
• Chapter Fifty-Nine
  
• Chapter Sixty
  
• Chapter Sixty-One
  
• Chapter Sixty-Two
  
• Chapter Sixty-Three
  
• Chapter Sixty-Four
  
• Epilogue
  
• Acknowledgments
  
• About the Author
  
• Also by Sam Bourne
  
• Credits
  
• Copyright Notice
  
• About the Publisher