SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE CASE OF THE WANDERING CORPSE
One day at the Temple of Jerusalem, an unusual sight is seen. The High Priest Joseph Ben Caiaphus sees a gentile to the door.
“So remember, Mr. Holmes, I want results. I'm willing to pay your high fees, but only if the results warrant them.”
“My dear High Priest, I can assure you that success is guaranteed. I have never failed to solve a case.”
“Very well. Now I have to get back to my work.”
“And I will start on mine. Watson! Lestrade! Do cease your sight seeing. The game is afoot.”
Dr. Watson and Inspector Lestrade of Scotland yard come over. Dr. Watson apologizes. “Sorry, Holmes. But we weren't just sight seeing. We were getting some information as well.”
“Oh really? What sort of information?”
“First off, during the hours He hung on the cross, it was strangely darkened throughout the whole area.”
“Solar eclipse?”
“Couldn't have been. Eclipses only occur at the New Moon, and Passover is at the Full Moon. Then, at the moment He died, a minor earthquake hit.”
“Casualties?”
Lestrade adds information he uncovered. “Just some bumps and bruises. A bit of smashed crockery, and that sort of thing. But in the Temple, the curtain dividing the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place ripped in half.”
“Ripped, you say, not cut?”
“I had to get it on hearsay I am afraid. One of the Levites told me. It's in an area where gentiles, like us, aren't allowed. In fact, ordinary Jews aren't let in there either. Some priests go into the Holy Place daily. But only the High Priest can enter the Most Holy Place, and he only goes in once a year. In fact, he enters with a rope tied to his ankle, so in case he faints or has a heart attack, they can pull him out without entering. However, I had one of the lesser priests look at it carefully, and he said it was definitely ripped. And what's even more interesting, he said it looked like it had been ripped from top to bottom. No one could have gotten in there in the first place, and certainly not with a ladder. Further, I was shown a sample of the material they're going to use to patch it. He wouldn’t let me touch it. It certainly looked like it would have taken a Samson to tear it, and he's been dead these 1200 years.”
“Interesting, as you say, but peripheral to the case at hand. Let's go to the scene of the crime.”
Watson was confused. “Crime? I didn't know resurrection was against the law.”
“It is certainly against the laws of nature, if not of the state. But there are other possibilities to consider. Fraud, body snatching…”
Lestrade was interested. “Really? Who do you suspect?”
“My dear Inspector, did you sleep through all your classes at Scotland Yard's School of Criminology? You can't suspect anyone before you have found out who the suspects are.”
“Oh. Yes.”
“Remember my famous dictum: Never formulate a theory before you have gathered all the facts. Here we are, The tomb. First, let us eliminate the obvious, so we need no longer pay attention to it. And when it comes to finding blatant facts that can be ignored, no one matches you Watson. What do you see?”
“The basic set up is a small cave, it looks like it was carved out by man rather than a natural cave. It's not very roomy. It would only hold four bodies at most. As you probably know, the custom is to let the corpse decay on one of these stone shelves for a year, to the point where it is just a skeleton. The bones are then interred in an urn or stone box called an ossuary, leaving the shelves ready for the next body. I don't see such urns, so it is likely a new tomb. Correct so far, Holmes?”
“Yes. Note also that the walls are solid. No suspicious cracks, or other signs of secret passages that you are so fond of putting in your accounts of these little exercises in deduction. What do you make of the shelves?”
“This one appears to be the only one used so far. The burial wrappings are still here.”
Close. This other one was used as a table to hold the spices, ointments and wrappings, as you can tell by this smear here. And this thread is undyed linen. Common enough sort. Dare say it came from one of those burial cloths there.”
Lastrade was unconvinced. He shook his head and pointed to the burial cloths. “Linen may be common, as you say, but that doesn't look right.”
“To which of the two particulars do you refer?”
Dr. Watson nodded. “I think I see what he means. The cloths are, well, hollow. Its like they were wrapped around a body, forming a mold. But then the body was removed, without disturbing the shape. Which I'd say was impossible, since the myrrh they used in the linens is a very good natural glue. Under normal circumstances, you'd have to cut your way out of the cloth.”
Homes agreed. “That is the first of the two points I referred to. The cloths show no sign of one wriggling out of them. It's too perfect. Too good of a mold. Here's another point, gentlemen. Note the cloths, closely. While the shape is perfect, the embalming isn't. There isn't as much myrrh and spice on it as would be expected.”
Lestrade was smug. “That's where solid police work comes in. I found that the burial had to be rushed, as the Jewish Sabbath starts at sunset, unlike our English midnight. Perhaps they just didn't have enough time to do a good job.”
Holmes decided to let him have his minor triumph. “That, in and of itself, may prove vital.”
Watson missed the point. “How so?”
“Those in a hurry can't spare time to cover their tracks.”
Lestrade thought he was on a roll. “Good point. Since the only way in or out is this door, I think I'll go dust it for finger prints.”
Holmes was amused. “Is that another example of solid police work?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I just mean that it is blazingly obvious that the only result of dusting sandstone is a waste of dust. It has no smooth surface for finger prints to adhere to.”
“Oh. Well, how about foot prints?”
“I checked them on the way in, naturally. Before we added ours, I saw three sets by the doorway. The first exited without entering. The second came to the door, but didn't enter. The third entered and then left. Farther out were the hobnailed sandal prints of several Roman soldiers, a few women, and then dozens of sets farther yet.”
Watson was trying to move the door. “Speaking of the door, have you noticed the size and weight of it? It would take several men to open it.”
Just then a news boy was passing the graveyard. “Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Deceased Descendent Of David Divinely Delivered! Resurrection Rising Reveals Real Royalty!”
Holmes snapped to attention like a retriever on a hunt. “Watson! The paper! There may be vital clues!”
“You're right, Holmes. I'll take one of those, boy.” He found that he didn’t have to come back in as the others had exited the tomb. “Look at this Holmes. Jesus has appeared to a woman named Mary of Magdala and 10 of those Apostle fellows who always followed Him about.”
Lestrade was confused. “10? I thought there were 12 of those Apostles?”
“According to the paper, one of them, Thomas Didymus, was missing at the time, being over at his twin brother's house. He says he won't believe it unless he see the actual wounds Jesus received. The 12th was Judas Iscariot. He seems to have committed suicide over the affair.”
“Doctor?”
“Yes, Holmes?”
“Would you be so kind as to inform us of what these alleged events are that Thomas refuses to believe?”
“Oh, yes. It seems that while the Apostles were in a locked room, Jesus was suddenly there without having come through the door, or the shuttered windows. At first they thought He was a ghost, but he sat down and had lunch with them.”
“Lunch?”
“Yes. Fresh fish from the local lake. It's called either the Sea of Galilee or Lake Tiberius, depending on who you ask.”
“Watson, why would the name of a lake depend on who you asked?”
“The Romans renamed it after the emperor, but the locals stick with the original name. I gather the Romans and Jews don't get along all that well.”
“That could prove significant.”
The Dr. looked outside. “Say, that girl over there looks familiar. Can't imagine why though. I don't know anyone out here.”
Lestrade also thought it was odd. “Hmm. You're right. There is something strangely familiar about her.”
Holmes put his finger on it. “Perhaps it's because she looks exactly like her picture in that newspaper you hold in your hands, Doctor.”
Watson and Lestrade both blushed. “Oh.”
“Lestrade, why not make yourself useful. Invite her over here. I have a few questions to ask her.”
Dr. Watson was peeved. “Holmes, why couldn't I go ask her over?”
“Because Lestrade is a policeman with a badge. He can make it official and he looks harmless. You, on the other hand, look like a masher. She might think you are trying to get fresh with her and run off.” (Lestrade returns with Mary Magdalen) “Ah. You I believe are Mary of Magdala. I am Sherlock Holmes, a private inquiry agent that the High Priest has asked to investigate this alleged resurrection matter. You've met Inspector Lestrade, and the strange looking fellow making goo-goo eyes at you is Doctor Watson. No need to fear him, he's quite harmless.”
“Ah. What is it you wish to know?”
Lestrade suggested. “Why don't you start from the beginning?”
“I was born in Magdala in the 10th year of Augustus…”
Holmes interrupted. “Ahem. I believe he meant at the beginning of the matter at hand. The newspaper says that you were a witness to this crucifixion?”
“Yes I was. John the Apostle, Mary Jesus' mother, and John's mother Mary Salome, the wife of Clopas Zebedee was there with me.”
Lestrade mumbles as he takes notes. “So that's Mary, Mary, Mary and John were there. That's a lot of Mary's. Is that significant, Holmes?”
“Only of your lack of knowledge. Mary, or Miriam, was the sister of Moses. These names go in and out of fashion every couple of generations. Deborah, an Old Testament Prophetess tends to alternate with Mary. You'll also find that there are also quite a few Anns, Annas and Joannas in this present generation. Do continue, Miss.”
“Right. While hanging there He asked John to take care of his mother. He said He was thirsty, so one of the soldiers took a long stick and a sponge full of wine that had gone off for Him to drink.
Lestrade looked up as he wrote it. “That was kind of him.”
“Not really. Preventing their dying of thirst makes the torture last longer, so they can stay up there for up to a week.”
Holmes nodded. “I had noted the significance of this. Please go on.”
‘Right after that Jesus yelled out, ‘It is finished!’ and died.”
“You are sure He was dead?”
“Oh yes. That was when the earthquake struck. The Roman Centurion in charge said that this really must have been the Son of God. When the clouds broke up, they saw it was nearly sunset. To make sure that they don't profane the Sabbath by having people hanging on crosses, they broke the thieves' legs.”
Lestrade didn’t understand. “Why would they do that?”
Watson beat her to the answer. “Oh, I know that one.”
Holmes raised an eyebrow. “You amaze me, Doctor. Pray elucidate.”
“The Jewish day begins at sunset. So the Sabbath starts on what to us is sunset Friday. Moses' law says that you can't leave a person hanging over night. The Romans generally ignore that during the week, but do compromise for the Jewish sacred days. Now while you are on a cross, you have to lift yourself up with your feet so you can breath. After a while your rib muscles and diaphragm can't do it on their own. If you break the prisoner's legs, they can't push up and slowly strangle.”
Holmes pointed with his pipe. “But they didn't break Jesus' legs.”
Mary explained. “That's because they could see He was already dead. One of the soldiers wanted to make sure, so he stuck Him in the chest with a spear. Out came a little blood then water.”
Holmes was curious. “Is that significant, Watson?”
“Why, yes. That means He died of a massive coronary thrombosis. He literally died of a broken heart. Pray continue, madam.”
“Joseph of Aramathea and Rabbi Nicodemus had already gone to Governor Pilate for permission to bury him. I watched them take the body and some aloe, myrrh and linen wrappings to bury him in Joseph's new tomb. The High Priest sealed the tomb and put a 16 soldier squad on guard.”
Holmes frowned. “Now he didn’t mention that to me. Why would he do that?”
“4 groups of 4 soldiers taking turns through the night. 4 are on close guard, 4 are on active patrol of the near area, while the others rest or nap nearby, ready to join them at a moment's notice.”
Holmes commented. “Interesting detail, but I meant why guard a grave?”
One day at the Temple of Jerusalem, an unusual sight is seen. The High Priest Joseph Ben Caiaphus sees a gentile to the door.
“So remember, Mr. Holmes, I want results. I'm willing to pay your high fees, but only if the results warrant them.”
“My dear High Priest, I can assure you that success is guaranteed. I have never failed to solve a case.”
“Very well. Now I have to get back to my work.”
“And I will start on mine. Watson! Lestrade! Do cease your sight seeing. The game is afoot.”
Dr. Watson and Inspector Lestrade of Scotland yard come over. Dr. Watson apologizes. “Sorry, Holmes. But we weren't just sight seeing. We were getting some information as well.”
“Oh really? What sort of information?”
“First off, during the hours He hung on the cross, it was strangely darkened throughout the whole area.”
“Solar eclipse?”
“Couldn't have been. Eclipses only occur at the New Moon, and Passover is at the Full Moon. Then, at the moment He died, a minor earthquake hit.”
“Casualties?”
Lestrade adds information he uncovered. “Just some bumps and bruises. A bit of smashed crockery, and that sort of thing. But in the Temple, the curtain dividing the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place ripped in half.”
“Ripped, you say, not cut?”
“I had to get it on hearsay I am afraid. One of the Levites told me. It's in an area where gentiles, like us, aren't allowed. In fact, ordinary Jews aren't let in there either. Some priests go into the Holy Place daily. But only the High Priest can enter the Most Holy Place, and he only goes in once a year. In fact, he enters with a rope tied to his ankle, so in case he faints or has a heart attack, they can pull him out without entering. However, I had one of the lesser priests look at it carefully, and he said it was definitely ripped. And what's even more interesting, he said it looked like it had been ripped from top to bottom. No one could have gotten in there in the first place, and certainly not with a ladder. Further, I was shown a sample of the material they're going to use to patch it. He wouldn’t let me touch it. It certainly looked like it would have taken a Samson to tear it, and he's been dead these 1200 years.”
“Interesting, as you say, but peripheral to the case at hand. Let's go to the scene of the crime.”
Watson was confused. “Crime? I didn't know resurrection was against the law.”
“It is certainly against the laws of nature, if not of the state. But there are other possibilities to consider. Fraud, body snatching…”
Lestrade was interested. “Really? Who do you suspect?”
“My dear Inspector, did you sleep through all your classes at Scotland Yard's School of Criminology? You can't suspect anyone before you have found out who the suspects are.”
“Oh. Yes.”
“Remember my famous dictum: Never formulate a theory before you have gathered all the facts. Here we are, The tomb. First, let us eliminate the obvious, so we need no longer pay attention to it. And when it comes to finding blatant facts that can be ignored, no one matches you Watson. What do you see?”
“The basic set up is a small cave, it looks like it was carved out by man rather than a natural cave. It's not very roomy. It would only hold four bodies at most. As you probably know, the custom is to let the corpse decay on one of these stone shelves for a year, to the point where it is just a skeleton. The bones are then interred in an urn or stone box called an ossuary, leaving the shelves ready for the next body. I don't see such urns, so it is likely a new tomb. Correct so far, Holmes?”
“Yes. Note also that the walls are solid. No suspicious cracks, or other signs of secret passages that you are so fond of putting in your accounts of these little exercises in deduction. What do you make of the shelves?”
“This one appears to be the only one used so far. The burial wrappings are still here.”
Close. This other one was used as a table to hold the spices, ointments and wrappings, as you can tell by this smear here. And this thread is undyed linen. Common enough sort. Dare say it came from one of those burial cloths there.”
Lastrade was unconvinced. He shook his head and pointed to the burial cloths. “Linen may be common, as you say, but that doesn't look right.”
“To which of the two particulars do you refer?”
Dr. Watson nodded. “I think I see what he means. The cloths are, well, hollow. Its like they were wrapped around a body, forming a mold. But then the body was removed, without disturbing the shape. Which I'd say was impossible, since the myrrh they used in the linens is a very good natural glue. Under normal circumstances, you'd have to cut your way out of the cloth.”
Homes agreed. “That is the first of the two points I referred to. The cloths show no sign of one wriggling out of them. It's too perfect. Too good of a mold. Here's another point, gentlemen. Note the cloths, closely. While the shape is perfect, the embalming isn't. There isn't as much myrrh and spice on it as would be expected.”
Lestrade was smug. “That's where solid police work comes in. I found that the burial had to be rushed, as the Jewish Sabbath starts at sunset, unlike our English midnight. Perhaps they just didn't have enough time to do a good job.”
Holmes decided to let him have his minor triumph. “That, in and of itself, may prove vital.”
Watson missed the point. “How so?”
“Those in a hurry can't spare time to cover their tracks.”
Lestrade thought he was on a roll. “Good point. Since the only way in or out is this door, I think I'll go dust it for finger prints.”
Holmes was amused. “Is that another example of solid police work?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I just mean that it is blazingly obvious that the only result of dusting sandstone is a waste of dust. It has no smooth surface for finger prints to adhere to.”
“Oh. Well, how about foot prints?”
“I checked them on the way in, naturally. Before we added ours, I saw three sets by the doorway. The first exited without entering. The second came to the door, but didn't enter. The third entered and then left. Farther out were the hobnailed sandal prints of several Roman soldiers, a few women, and then dozens of sets farther yet.”
Watson was trying to move the door. “Speaking of the door, have you noticed the size and weight of it? It would take several men to open it.”
Just then a news boy was passing the graveyard. “Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Deceased Descendent Of David Divinely Delivered! Resurrection Rising Reveals Real Royalty!”
Holmes snapped to attention like a retriever on a hunt. “Watson! The paper! There may be vital clues!”
“You're right, Holmes. I'll take one of those, boy.” He found that he didn’t have to come back in as the others had exited the tomb. “Look at this Holmes. Jesus has appeared to a woman named Mary of Magdala and 10 of those Apostle fellows who always followed Him about.”
Lestrade was confused. “10? I thought there were 12 of those Apostles?”
“According to the paper, one of them, Thomas Didymus, was missing at the time, being over at his twin brother's house. He says he won't believe it unless he see the actual wounds Jesus received. The 12th was Judas Iscariot. He seems to have committed suicide over the affair.”
“Doctor?”
“Yes, Holmes?”
“Would you be so kind as to inform us of what these alleged events are that Thomas refuses to believe?”
“Oh, yes. It seems that while the Apostles were in a locked room, Jesus was suddenly there without having come through the door, or the shuttered windows. At first they thought He was a ghost, but he sat down and had lunch with them.”
“Lunch?”
“Yes. Fresh fish from the local lake. It's called either the Sea of Galilee or Lake Tiberius, depending on who you ask.”
“Watson, why would the name of a lake depend on who you asked?”
“The Romans renamed it after the emperor, but the locals stick with the original name. I gather the Romans and Jews don't get along all that well.”
“That could prove significant.”
The Dr. looked outside. “Say, that girl over there looks familiar. Can't imagine why though. I don't know anyone out here.”
Lestrade also thought it was odd. “Hmm. You're right. There is something strangely familiar about her.”
Holmes put his finger on it. “Perhaps it's because she looks exactly like her picture in that newspaper you hold in your hands, Doctor.”
Watson and Lestrade both blushed. “Oh.”
“Lestrade, why not make yourself useful. Invite her over here. I have a few questions to ask her.”
Dr. Watson was peeved. “Holmes, why couldn't I go ask her over?”
“Because Lestrade is a policeman with a badge. He can make it official and he looks harmless. You, on the other hand, look like a masher. She might think you are trying to get fresh with her and run off.” (Lestrade returns with Mary Magdalen) “Ah. You I believe are Mary of Magdala. I am Sherlock Holmes, a private inquiry agent that the High Priest has asked to investigate this alleged resurrection matter. You've met Inspector Lestrade, and the strange looking fellow making goo-goo eyes at you is Doctor Watson. No need to fear him, he's quite harmless.”
“Ah. What is it you wish to know?”
Lestrade suggested. “Why don't you start from the beginning?”
“I was born in Magdala in the 10th year of Augustus…”
Holmes interrupted. “Ahem. I believe he meant at the beginning of the matter at hand. The newspaper says that you were a witness to this crucifixion?”
“Yes I was. John the Apostle, Mary Jesus' mother, and John's mother Mary Salome, the wife of Clopas Zebedee was there with me.”
Lestrade mumbles as he takes notes. “So that's Mary, Mary, Mary and John were there. That's a lot of Mary's. Is that significant, Holmes?”
“Only of your lack of knowledge. Mary, or Miriam, was the sister of Moses. These names go in and out of fashion every couple of generations. Deborah, an Old Testament Prophetess tends to alternate with Mary. You'll also find that there are also quite a few Anns, Annas and Joannas in this present generation. Do continue, Miss.”
“Right. While hanging there He asked John to take care of his mother. He said He was thirsty, so one of the soldiers took a long stick and a sponge full of wine that had gone off for Him to drink.
Lestrade looked up as he wrote it. “That was kind of him.”
“Not really. Preventing their dying of thirst makes the torture last longer, so they can stay up there for up to a week.”
Holmes nodded. “I had noted the significance of this. Please go on.”
‘Right after that Jesus yelled out, ‘It is finished!’ and died.”
“You are sure He was dead?”
“Oh yes. That was when the earthquake struck. The Roman Centurion in charge said that this really must have been the Son of God. When the clouds broke up, they saw it was nearly sunset. To make sure that they don't profane the Sabbath by having people hanging on crosses, they broke the thieves' legs.”
Lestrade didn’t understand. “Why would they do that?”
Watson beat her to the answer. “Oh, I know that one.”
Holmes raised an eyebrow. “You amaze me, Doctor. Pray elucidate.”
“The Jewish day begins at sunset. So the Sabbath starts on what to us is sunset Friday. Moses' law says that you can't leave a person hanging over night. The Romans generally ignore that during the week, but do compromise for the Jewish sacred days. Now while you are on a cross, you have to lift yourself up with your feet so you can breath. After a while your rib muscles and diaphragm can't do it on their own. If you break the prisoner's legs, they can't push up and slowly strangle.”
Holmes pointed with his pipe. “But they didn't break Jesus' legs.”
Mary explained. “That's because they could see He was already dead. One of the soldiers wanted to make sure, so he stuck Him in the chest with a spear. Out came a little blood then water.”
Holmes was curious. “Is that significant, Watson?”
“Why, yes. That means He died of a massive coronary thrombosis. He literally died of a broken heart. Pray continue, madam.”
“Joseph of Aramathea and Rabbi Nicodemus had already gone to Governor Pilate for permission to bury him. I watched them take the body and some aloe, myrrh and linen wrappings to bury him in Joseph's new tomb. The High Priest sealed the tomb and put a 16 soldier squad on guard.”
Holmes frowned. “Now he didn’t mention that to me. Why would he do that?”
“4 groups of 4 soldiers taking turns through the night. 4 are on close guard, 4 are on active patrol of the near area, while the others rest or nap nearby, ready to join them at a moment's notice.”
Holmes commented. “Interesting detail, but I meant why guard a grave?”
