The Holy Grail Code - A Gripping Mystery Novel, page 1
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The Holy Grail Code
Ehud Peled
Copyright © 2022 Ehud Peled
All rights reserved; No parts of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information retrieval system, without the permission, in writing, of the author.
Translation: Sharon Singer
Contact: peledu46@gmail.com
ISBN
Contents
Preface
1. A Fighter Jet Falls from the Sky
2. Five Graves
4. In Eldad’s Office
5. In the TV Studio
6. Yigal and Shuali Taking a Ride
7. Once Again, Ilana’s Astute Eyes Peer into the Studio Camera
8. At the Bedouin Encampment
9. The Next Morning – on the Hill
10. Back to the Program
11. At the Studio Production Lab
12. At Rambam Hospital
13. At Internal Medicine Ward C
14. The CEO of the TV Channel has Summoned the Director of Programming for an Unusual Conversation
15. An Unexpected Phone Call
16. Shmarhayu Rothman
17. In the Lab at the Technion
18. Morning Meeting at the Studio
19. Once Again, at Shmaryahu Rothman’s Place
20. At the Studio, Ilana Recaps
21. Digging Hoshea Hill
22. Meanwhile, Outside
23. Yigal and the Cameraman are Walking Around in the Cave
24. Two Weeks Later, the Follow-Up Program Airs on TV
25. In the Studio, Yigal Interviews Itzik Who is Sitting with His Back to the Camera
26. At the Knesset, Jerusalem
27. In one of the Knesset Hallways, Ilana Walks Up to MK Zeev Levi
28. Gethsemane, East of the Old City Walls
29. The Old City, Jerusalem
30. The Intercontinental Hotel, Jerusalem
31. At the Studio, Ilana and Yigal Continue to Examine What is Known Thus Far
32. Rabbi Yehuda Amar Meets Yigal at his Office at the Northern Command Base
33. The Technion Institute, Haifa
34. At The Small Café Near the TV Station. Ilana Questions Yigal About His Meeting with the Military Rabbi
35. Once Again at the Technion Laboratories
36. At the Fire Station
37. The Cemetery in Haifa. The President of the Technion gives a Eulogy Over an Open Grave
38. Ilana and Yigal – Another Attempt to Assemble the Pieces.
39. Yigal Rings the Doorbell at Professor Shmaryahu Rothman’s House. The Professor’s wife, Leah, Opens the Door
40. At the TV Offices. Another Team Meeting.
41. Back to the meeting between Yigal and Professor Shmaryahu
42. The Discussion Continues in The Production Office
43 A Week After the CEO’s Harsh Words, Ilana Goes on Air Once Again
44. Yigal Visits the Antiquities Shop
45. Ilana Visits the Armenian Church in Jerusalem
46. At the President’s Residence, Jerusalem. Dozens of Journalists and TV Crews are Preparing for A Press Conference. Ilana and her Team are there too.
47. In the Mysterious Basement in Jerusalem. The Committee Reconvenes
48. At the Office of Mr. Yoram Shalev, Director General of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
49. Ilana, Yigal, and an Unknown Young Woman Sit on The Studio Panel
50. The Next Day. Press Conference. Behind the Microphones Sit the Director of Programming, Ilan, and Ilana
51. The Plane of the Holy See lands at Ben Gurion Airport
52. At the home of the Grand ‘Gadol’ Rabbi Shlomo Elnathan, Bnei-Brak
53. In the Car Making its Way from Bnei-Brak to Jerusalem, the Two Committee Members Discuss their Meeting with the Grand Rabbi
54. A Black Car is Passing Slowly Down Mea-Shearim Street
55. At the President’s Residence
State Hall – the Official Reception for the Holy See’s Emissary
56. In the Studio, Ilana and Yigal wait for the Farewell Ceremony for the Cardinal, Broadcast Live from the Airport
57. Epilogue
Preface
Was the Holy Grail in fact flown to the Vatican packed in a brown briefcase? Where is it hidden today? And will it ever be revealed to the public eye?
The diligent investigative reporter Ilana Peres and the senior Police officer Victor Elbar kept their promise to one another and met over a cup of coffee. Though pleasant and relaxed, the conversation offered no help in solving the mystery.
Ilana eventually realized that the secret of the Grail is not the main mystery in this strange affair. She tried once again to find Dina, the technician from the genetics lab at the Technion, but she had disappeared without a trace.
Ilana thought to herself that if it was indeed the Son of God who drank from the goblet at “the last supper,” then it would be a thousand times better for the secret to remain buried forever. Juicy myths are much more powerful and long-lasting than simple dry facts.
So, where and who keeps the data and strange symbols that dotted the sheets of paper coughed out by the genetic laboratory’s computer and that rose to the sky in smoke and flames?
Perhaps it is buried in the most secret and secured vault in the State of Israel, next to the secret code that would be used to activate the nuclear device (possessed, according to foreign sources, by Israel), and one cannot possibly imagine which of these codes, in universal historical terms, has the greater potential for causing damage: the physical-chemical – or the biological-divine.
1
A Fighter Jet Falls from the Sky
On Sunday, August 21st, 2022, around noon, two fighter jets took off from Ramat David Airforce Base. The two planes circled at a high altitude over the Western Galilee as they practiced navigation and target detection.
It was one of the hottest days of the year and the two planes, chasing each other’s tails, looked like small black dots in the sky.
Suddenly the muffled sound of an explosion rolled from the sky while a small flame burst from the tail of one of the jets. Due to what would later be determined as a “technical fault combined with human error,” one of the planes went into a tailspin and crashed on a desolate hill east of Highway 70, near the town of Shfaram, drilling a large crater as it hit the solid ground.
2
Five Graves
For over a decade now, Ilana Peres has been presenting her TV program: “As a Matter of Fact.” Based on extensive research, Ilana’s programs deal with unusual facts and strange incidents. That evening, Ilana, well-groomed and eloquent as always, begins her show with a somewhat dramatic tone:
Ilana: “Good evening. For over ten years now, I have been presenting this program. Though our programs usually bring you strange and unusual events, tonight’s story is unlike anything we have ever done before. The story we will be bringing to you tonight is indeed strange, incredible, and borderline fanciful.
“It all started a few weeks ago. Our team of investigators received scraps of rumors about five mysterious funerals, held in a Kibbutz cemetery in the Western Galilee.”
Kibbutz Ramat Hatzafon Cemetery
A deadly silence engrosses the small and well-kept cemetery of Kibbutz Ramat Hatzafon. The only sound heard is a slight whisper of the wind blowing in the tops of the pine and cypress trees. Ilana strolls down the gravel path, examining the headstones. She reaches five fresh graves grouped together on the outskirts of the grove. There are black, yet to be engraved plaques placed atop four of the graves, with lettering appearing in white chalk: “John Doe 23 August 2022.” The fifth plaque reads “Jane Doe 23 August 2022.”
Ilana brushes away a light strand of hair from her forehead, and turns to the camera:
“We are now in the cemetery of Kibbutz Ramat Hatzafon. As you can see, we have found five fresh graves. Four men and one woman. They were all buried on the same day, August 23, 2022. Are they victims of an unfortunate series of road accidents? Initially, that is what we thought. However, a brief investigation we conducted discovered that on Tuesday, August 23, 2022, the date inscribed on the burial signs, as well as the entire week preceding it, there were no car or work accidents involving five fatalities. The fact that the graves do not bear any names also speaks volumes. We met with Mr. Isaiah Shohat, the manager of this Kibbutz cemetery.
With tombstones standing in the background, Isaiah seems a bit mortified during the impromptu interview.
Ilana: “Are you the person in charge of the Kibbutz cemetery?”
Isaiah: “Indeed.”
Ilana: “Why are these five graves on the outskirts of the grove?”
Isaiah: “This plot is intended for the burial of non-Jews.”
Ilana: “Who are the five deceased buried here?”
Isaiah: “I don’t know.”
Ilana: “Are there other unnamed gravestones in this cemetery?”
Isaia
h: “There is one grave of an unknown person who was killed in 1948 during the War of Independence.”
Ilana: “Do you know the circumstances of these people’s deaths?”
Isaiah: “No.”
Ilana: “And it doesn’t seem a bit strange to you to bury five people in your cemetery without knowing who they were?”
Isaiah: “I just work here. You can ask Eldad – the kibbutz manager.”
4
In Eldad’s Office
Early noon. The green patches and well-kept gardens of the Kibbutz seem deserted while all of its members are seated under their air conditioners, escaping the heat. On one of the pathways, Ilana approaches Henya, a short, tanned, slow-walking old Kibbutz member, carrying a five-tier tiffin lunch box.
Ilana: “Good afternoon. Could you please point me to the Kibbutz Manager’s office?”
Henya: “If he’s already left for lunch, he would be in the dining hall now, and if he hasn’t left for lunch yet, you would probably find him in his office on the first floor of the two-story building.”
Since all the houses in the Kibbutz were red-tiled bungalows, the two-story rectangular building with a flat roof stood out like a sore thumb. On the door of one of the rooms downstairs is fixed a small wooden sign reading: “Community Manager.” Ilana knocks lightly on the half-open door and enters.
Ilana: “Good afternoon.”
The manager looks up from a pile of papers. He immediately recognizes the person standing in front of him.
Eldad: “Ilana Peres!? What a surprise! Such an honor! What are you doing here? I am an avid fan of all your shows. The inquiry into the poor health of the wild animals pushed away from their natural habitat by urban renewal construction projects was a true masterpiece.”
Ilana: “Thank you. I just came from your cemetery. I was there with Isaiah.”
Eldad: “Yes, Isaiah... an excellent guy, but you know... a little...,” the community manager moves his finger near his head in the familiar circular motion.
Ilana: “I understand. I wanted to talk to you about those five fresh graves.”
Eldad: “Yes...” His kind tone is now spiced with notes of tension.
Ilana: “Do you know who is buried there?”
Eldad: “No. We bury ‘outsiders’ in our cemetery sometimes – that is, people who are not residents of the kibbutz. We own a license for that, of course. I mean, it’s not a business, there are many expenses. We receive a one-time payment, and then we take care of gardening and maintenance for life, or rather death... you know what I mean.”
Ilana: “And don’t you feel strange burying five nameless people, without knowing a single thing about them?”
Eldad: “And if they were called Jacob or Zelig – would that mean I know anything about them? As soon as a client, if you can call it that, presents us with a death certificate and an official burial permit, we provide the service. We are an established cemetery, and everything is done by the book.”
Ilana: “And who was the ‘client’, as you noted, in this case?”
Eldad clears his throat: “Under any circumstances, I am not supposed to disclose that information. It is a question of the deceased right to privacy. I’m sure you would understand. I can only tell you, in general, that the person who handled this matter was a Prime Minister’s Office official.”
Ilana: “Can you elaborate?”
Eldad: “ Sorry. As far as I’m concerned, in order to have a burial, four conditions are required: First – a corpse. Second – a death certificate. Third – a burial license and approval, and fourth – payment. Beyond that, it’s not my business to investigate who the deceased were and under what circumstances they died.”
Ilana: “May I ask, just out of curiosity, how much you charge?”
Eldad: “Fifteen thousand Shekels plus VAT, including burial fees from the National Insurance. It covers the plot, digging, burial, a tombstone and ongoing maintenance. It’s really not a business. We only do this in special cases. Mainly when it comes to burying people who weren’t Jewish, or whose religion is unknown. As you probably know, cases like that can be problematic sometimes.”
Ilana: “Yes. Thank you for your time.”
Ilana gets up from her chair and extends her arm to shake Eldad’s hand. The community manager picks up a business card from a small mesh basket on his desk and hands it to Ilana.
Eldad: “If it’s really that important to you, this guy might be able to help you.”
Ilana: “Who is he?”
Eldad: “A lawyer. He showed up here after the funeral. He too was asking for information. I didn’t share with him anything that I didn’t share with you. Perhaps he found out more details since then.”
Ilana: “Thank you.”
The two shake hands and say their goodbyes.
5
In the TV Studio
In the studio, Ilana continues to outline the story.
Ilana: “The first mystery that we addressed was the accident. An accident in which five people died can’t be overlooked. To our surprise, we did not find any reports. Not in the press, not on television, and not even the police... The mystery was solved by chance. Our investigator Yigal Eshet will share with us his amazing findings right after these messages.”
After a brief and not so creative series of commercials, Ilana returns to the screen.
Ilana: “We’re back. At this point, we have more open questions than answers. Nevertheless, we decided to move ahead and run with this broadcast, in the hope that one of you, the viewers at home, will be able to help us shed some light on the obscurities we will be discussing tonight. In the meantime,” Ilana gestures with her palm to a handsome, dark-haired man sitting next to her, “We sent Yigal, our investigator, to trace the mysterious accident in which four men and one woman were killed. Tell us, Yigal, what you found.”
Yigal: “Actually, it turns out that in addition to the five dead, apparently there was also one injured person in the accident. A few days ago, I joined an interesting trip in the company of a young lawyer named Zeev Shuali.”
6
Yigal and Shuali Taking a Ride
On one of the main streets of the Carmel neighborhood in Haifa, the young ambitious tort lawyer Zeev Shuali makes his way in a black lifted Jeep. He feeds off of the “eternal hunting grounds” aka, the Israeli roads system which is known to provide much sustenance to the legal system in general, and to lawyers specializing in property and bodily injury claims as a result of road accidents, in particular.
Atty. Shuali is what people would call a “lone wolf.” However, on that day, Yigal an investigator for the TV program “As a Matter of Fact” is sitting by his side. Yigal had reached Shuali the day before when he dialed the number given to Ilana by the Community Manager of Kibbutz Ramat Hatzafon, and after explaining the nature of his inquiry... he asked to join him as part of an item to be aired, regarding “the plague of traffic accidents.”
Atty. Shuali naturally relished the opportunity to gain such wide exposure with little investment on his part and invited Yigal to join him on a “routine drive.”
His 4x4 280 horsepower jeep is equipped with several antennas as high as a Division Commander’s vehicle, topped with a sophisticated radio, Atty. Shuali uses to tune in on all traffic police frequencies.
At that moment, Shuali picks up a message from the Zvulun police dispatcher.
Dispatcher: “Unit Five, what is your location? Over.”
Patrol officer: “Dispatch, this is Five. By the Tel-Hanan ice cream shop.”
Dispatcher: “Five, throw away your ice cream and go immediately to Yagur junction. There’s been a bad accident.”
Shuali does not need to wait for more reports. Being the experienced hound he is, all of his senses are heightened instantly. He makes an illegal U-turn in the middle of the street, turns up the volume on the receiver, and rushes toward the scene of the accident.
Another report comes in within minutes:
