Crescent Dawn (Dirk Pitt 21)

“Somebody needs to turn up the ocean breeze today,” he said with a tired smile. Then, gazing at Sophie, he asked, “I presume this is an official visit?”

Taking a drink, Sophie nodded in reply.

“Any particular concerns?”

“A bit of overstated publicity in yesterday’s Yedioth Ahronoth,” she said, retrieving the newspaper article from a shoulder bag. Passing the article to Haasis, she coldly eyed Sam drain his can of soda and snatch a second from the cooler.

“Yes, a local reporter stopped by for an interview a few days ago,” Haasis said. “His story must have been picked up in Jerusalem.”

He smiled at Sophie as he passed the article back.

“Nothing wrong with a little publicity for some proper archaeology,” he said.

“Nothing, that is, except a brazen invitation to every thief with a shovel,” she replied.

Haasis waved his arm through the air. “This site has been plundered for centuries. Any ‘Roman treasure’ that was buried around here is long gone, I’m afraid. Or didn’t your agent think so?”

“What agent?” Sophie asked.

“I was up in Haifa for a meeting, but my students said an antiquities agent stopped by yesterday and surveyed the project site. Stephanie,” he said, calling over his shoulder.

One of the girls at the screened box hurried over. A gangly coed of barely twenty, she stood before Haasis with a look of devotion.

“Stephanie, tell us about this fellow from the Antiquities Authority who came by yesterday,” he asked.

“He said he was with the Robbery Prevention Unit. He wanted to check the security of our artifacts, so I gave him a tour of the site. He seemed most interested in the harbor excavation and the papyrus document.”

Sophie and Sam looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

“Do you recall his name?” she asked.

“Yosef something. He was kind of short, dark-skinned, with curly hair. Looked Palestinian, to be honest.”

“Did he show you any identification?” Sam asked.

“No, I don’t think so. Is anything the matter?”

“No, not at all,” Haasis said. “Thanks, Stephanie. Why don’t you take some drinks down to the others?”

Haasis waited until the girl left with an armful of cans, then turned to Sophie.

“Not one of your agents?” he asked.

Sophie shook her head. “Certainly not from the Robbery Prevention Unit.”

“Maybe he was from the national parks authority, or one of your own regional offices. These darn kids don’t seem to remember anything these days.”

“It’s possible,” she replied in a doubtful tone. “Can you show us your excavation sites? I’m most interested in the tomb. As you know, the grave robbers around Jerusalem have created a cottage industry as of late.”

Haasis smiled, then jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “It’s right behind us.”

The trio stood and walked around to a wide trench that ran behind the chairs. A sprinkling of red

plastic markers was pinned into the ground surrounding a small section of exposed bones. Sophie recognized a femur among the remains embedded in the dirt.

“There’s no formal tomb. We’ve just uncovered a single grave at the edge of the site. It’s really unrelated to the diggings here,” Haasis explained.

“What is this site?” Sam asked.