“I'm so happy. I've missed you so much,” Jenna said “What about Ashi? Is she going back to Bhutan?”
“She's going to stay with me.”
“In your house? Really? Doesn’t she have some family in Bhutan? Why doesn’t she want to go back? Does she want something from you?” Jenna’s words were fast and clipped. Ty could imagine the disapproving look on her face.
“What can she possibly want?”
“You’re staying in a beach house and then coming home to a gorgeous home. You’re rich. Who wouldn’t want to be around you and perks that come with being rich,” she demanded.
Ty laughed. “She doesn’t care about money or things.”
“Yeah, right.”
There was silence.
“Jenna?”
“It’s not right. I don’t like it.” Her voice became shrill and Ty could picture her stamping her foot in frustration.
“My father thought Ashi had some valuable information, something that could help him on his quest,” Ty explained.
“Yes, but what does that matter now?” Jenna asked, without stating the obvious end of the sentence, “...now that your father is dead.”
“I want to pick up where my father left off. I'm going to continue his research.” Ty felt a little ridiculous. It was one thing to think it when he was alone but it was another to announce it to Jenna. Does she think I'm crazy?
“What about your safety? It seems very dangerous.”
“I'll take many more precautions than my dad did.”
“I don't know,” Jenna said. “When are you coming back?” she asked in a tiny voice.
“Before school starts. I have to get some safeguards in place.” Ty did not add that when he and Ashi went back, all his fears would accompany them. He wanted this feeling of complete safety to last as long as possible. “I’ll be home soon,” he added before hanging up.
****
The sun was nearly overhead, blazing by the time he sat down inside with Vincent's computer. He checked the e-mail first and felt his heart skip a beat when he saw Grand Master had replied to his email:
I knew you were still alive somewhere. By the way, great idea- faking your death. What took you so long to reply? No matter. Check out Ezekiel. - The Grand Master.
Ezekiel? Do I know Ezekiel? Zeke? That rings a bell, Ty thought, wondering who he should be checking out.
Ashi entered the house with an empty mug in her hand. “I will make some tea. Would you like some too?”
“That would be great. That’s my drink, ever since Bhutan. Look, Grand Master wrote back.” He turned the computer so Ashi could see. “I can't figure out who Ezekiel is though.”
“Ezekiel is a book in the bible. I finded the bible online. I read it online.”
“Wow. Did you really read the whole bible in one night?”
The day before, he filled Ashi in about the Templar mystery to give her a brief overview, as well as sort his thoughts in his head. Now it occurred to him that Ashi might actually be useful in the investigation.
“No, almost whole bible. I finish tonight.”
“Let's check out Ezekiel like Grand Master suggests,” Ty said, searching for a bible website. “Do you remember what it was about?”
“Sure, I just read it last night. God is mad for all the bad things the people do.”
She put the teakettle on the stove and sat next to Ty, looking at the computer. “We need to find something in Ezekiel that has to do with the Templars or the Rex Deus.”
They slowly skimmed through the book, Ty waiting at the end of each page for Ashi to catch up.
“You will be disgusted with yourselves because of your sins and iniquities, God said,” Ty read aloud. “And, He's got jealous anger too.”
“Yes, look. Here God says certain Levites can not be priests anymore because they desert him and worship idols.”
“I wonder what Levites are,” Ty said.
“The Israelites were made up of twelve tribes. The tribe, Levi, was the priest tribe. Moses and his brother, Aaron, were from the priest tribe. Then in the bible, in the Book of Numbers I think, God said all the priests should be descended from Aaron. Aaron’s last name was Ha Cohen. To this day, anybody named Cohen or something like Cohen is from the priest line, but also is directly descended from Aaron,” Ashi explained.
“I can't believe you know so much.” Ty shook his head.
“Oh, it is all here to read in bible. Besides, I am smart,” Ashi said with a smile.”
“Apparently, and you are modest too. Now what about this?” He pointed and read, “Those priests belonging to the tribe of Levi who are descended from Zadok are the only ones who are to come into my presence to serve me.”
“And Zadok was...?”
“Zakok was descended from Aaron, Moses’ brother. He was the first Cohen or first high priest who served in Solomon's temple. That was the first temple,” Ashi replied.
“The original temple. So the Sons of Zadok must have been the priests at the temple in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the second temple.”
“And the Sons of Zadok ran away and became the Rex Deus.”
“Yeah. Dad told me about ongoing research, which examines the DNA of people who are descended from Cohens to see if they really have one common ancestor—Aaron. If the Rex Deus were really descended from the high priests in the Jerusalem Temple, that DNA test would show they have similar DNA to Cohens. A DNA test could be used to identify someone as being descended from a high priest instead of being of European descent.” Ty paused. “I think this is what Grand Master wanted me to read from Ezekiel…about the Sons of Zadok.”
Ashi thought for a minute. “But what about rebuilding the temple? So much of this book is about a new temple.”
“I think it's just symbolic. It means when all the Israelites are back together in their land.”
“I don't know,” Ashi said doubtfully. “Then why does it have so much information about how the temple should look. “See, there are exact measurements for every little bit, how many rooms, how many pillars. I think this is exact design for a solid, new temple.”
“Ezekiel saw this in a vision, Ashi. I really don't think it means a real temple.”
At that moment the teakettle whistled. Ashi smiled, shrugged her shoulders and got up to pour the tea.
****
The next day, Sam picked up Vincent’s files from a secure storage facility and brought them to Ty at the beach. Ty perused the boxes.
“Here's the one I want.” He picked up a box and brought it over to the table. “Here Ashi. It's for you.”
“Me? What is it?” She looked at the sides of the box.
Ty scissored the top open and pulled out the packing material. “Here, look. Now we can Google and research and e-mail at the same time.”
Ashi's hands flew to her mouth. She could not look away from the computer. “A laptop for me? Thank you. Thank you. It wonderful! I...I...”
“I think she likes it,” Ty said.
“Good call, I'd say.” Sam stood with his arms folded over his chest.
Ashi was already plugging it in and starting it up, ignoring them.
“Well, here are all the files. And, I grabbed all the books on the top shelf behind the desk like you told me.”
“Thanks, Sam. I wasn't thinking straight after my dad...I didn't even think about his files.”
Sam jerked his thumb in Ashi's direction. “She knows how to work that?”
“She's so smart, it's scary. Let's face it. She learned English in two months, real good English too,” he joked. “Now she's learning everything about my dad's work. She wants to help me.”
Sam nodded. “I'm glad she's with you. You shouldn't be here alone. Oh, and by the way, you aren't going to need a housekeeper. At this time, anyway.”
“I didn't know I needed a housekeeper.”
“I figured no judge was going to let two underage kids live alone. I thought I was going to have to placate the judge by telling him you'd hire a live-in housekeeper.” He shook his head. “I was wrong. What is the world coming to? The judge was okay with your living by yourself. I certainly didn't bring up Ashi.”
“Good. That's a relief.”
Ashi's eyes were visible over the top of the computer, moving between Ty and Sam.
Sam put his hand on Ty's shoulder. “Be careful with it. Someone is willing to kill for something Vincent possessed.” He smiled and called over Ty's shoulder, “Enjoy your computer,” Sam said as he pulled the door after him.
Ashi immediately jumped up and hugged Ty. “Now I have computer. How do you do this? Thank you! Thank you!”
Ty’s blood rushed through his body. He disentangled her arms from around his neck, thinking, Why am I so affected by her hugging me? I am only a friend to her.
Ty took a step backward and said, “When I called Sam yesterday and asked for my dad’s research, I asked him to pick up a laptop. I'm glad you like it. I can tell how much you like it by how much you butcher the English language. ”
“I find something already. Let me show you.” She pulled his hand, dragging him toward the computer.
I might be just a friend to her but I love how excited she is about the computer, Ty thought.
She had Googled “Ezekiel” and “New Temple.” “Amazing, yes?”
“Yeah. Look at that. Someone built a scale model according to all those measurements in the book of Ezekiel.”
That afternoon Ashi sat on the beach and didn't go swimming once. She slumped down in a beach chair with Vincent's book in one hand, her chin resting in her other hand.
“Are you hot?” Ty asked.
She shook her head, not even looking up. “There is so much to learn. I read so slowly in English.” She sighed and was silent again.
Ty sat nearby, looking through different files, diving into the waves whenever the heat was unbearable.
“I'd like to know what the ring design symbolizes- I just know it signifies Rex Deus,” Ty said.
“You mentioned that one time to me.”
“I was just thinking of the places I've seen it.”
“The man in the hotel in London.”
“Yeah, and the man in the St. Regis that day.”
“Anyplace else?”
“The one time when I was younger, a man was visiting who had the same ring. My dad kicked me out of his study.”
Ashi's eyebrows raised.
“I just remember feeling bad because Dad didn't want me in there.”
Ashi studied his face. “Rex Deus in meeting with your father...more than once. They must give your father some information…or maybe money for his research.”
“Dad didn’t need the money. They could have been getting information from him.”
“I did not even think of that. Do you think we could find one of those men?”
Ty smiled broadly. “Maybe if they find out I'm finishing what my father started, they'll come to me.”
“And what was that guy doing at the St. Regis that day? Was he funding Vincent? Or giving information? Or demanding information? We don't have enough answers.”
Ashi stared at the waves for a few minutes with her book in her lap. “What do you think about Grand Master? Who is he? Do you think he could be Rex Deus?”
“I get the feeling he's an amateur with an incredible breadth of knowledge about the subject. I think of him as someone who read Dad's book and was so fascinated by it that he wants to be a part of discovering the secrets. But he absolutely could be Rex Deus. That could be how he knows all that information.”
“It seems as if he helped Vincent and Vincent helped him...”
“Yes, collaborated with him. Yes, that's how it seems. You know, he wrote some prophecy he found in his notebook. I really wish I could find it. That prophecy was important. I’m sure of it.”
“Do you remember telling me that maybe the treasure was secret, spiritual information?” Ashi asked. “What could that be?”
“Right before the Romans arrived in Jerusalem, James the Just, Jesus’s brother, was a high priest. James was the head of the earliest Christian church, before they even started calling themselves Christians. James kept Jesus’ teachings intact. Maybe the Templars found scrolls of his original teachings.”
“I know a little bit about this Christian religion. Do they not already have the teachings of Jesus in the bible?”
“Ah, this is so interesting. I think his original teachings have been distorted over time. Books were translated from one language to another, leading to errors. And, scribes who were only partially literate would copy the books. When the books are examined, going back in time, they find tons of transcription errors, plus things were deleted or added.
“Why did the people not follow James if he was the leader?”
“James was murdered, thrown from the wall of the temple, just a short time before the Romans conquered and destroyed it. Apparently, the remaining believers either were killed when the Romans came, or were part of this high priesthood who fled from Jerusalem through the tunnels under the Temple. St. Paul survived so many Christians followed him, instead of Jesus’ brother, James.”
“I do not understand how the teachings could be lost so completely.”
“There's another part of the story. In the year 325 C.E., there was an emperor, Constantine. He used the Christian religion as a political way to unite his kingdom. He held the Council of Nicaea, where they decided what the religion was going to be about. They decided church doctrine- what the central beliefs were going to be. They also decided which books about Jesus would be included in the bible and which would not. Whatever books they decided not to include were considered to be heretical. The ones that did not make it to the final cut were going to be searched out and destroyed, for the sake of church unity. Can you believe this happened?”
“So some teachings were deliberately discarded?”
“I don't know. I think the basic, underlying tenet is intact, the religion of love and forgiveness. I think that was Jesus’ fundamental teaching and I think the fundamentals have survived.”
Ashi smiled. “But it would be so exciting if the treasure was writings from the early Christian church, the original teachings of Jesus.”