“Oh, yes. Before sunrise, each of us carrying a sack filled with spices and other things passed through the gate nearby and walked the dirt road northward until we reached that ugly hill where the Lord had been crucified. Three upright poles were still standing, but the crosspieces on which the poor men’s hands had been nailed had been removed along with their bodies.”

“On that road north, did you meet anyone?”

“To our great disappointment, no. We had been hoping to find someone along the way who might help us move the stone at the tomb. After we had passed Golgotha we began to lose our courage, for the sun had not yet appeared and there were many strange shapes and shadows among the trees and bushes. Still, we entered the garden, jumping at every noise, and soon passed near a fire whose logs sent up sparks and smoke in the soft breeze, and we wondered who had been there during the night. Then we came upon the tomb, and we saw that the great round stone had been rolled away from the opening.”

“Did that frighten you away?”

“Oh, no. At first we thought that perhaps Joseph had taken the Lord’s body elsewhere, for final burial, but had he done such a thing we knew he would have come and told us. Then I told Mary and Salome that someone must have stolen the body, and holding fast to each other the three of us knelt down so that we could see inside the grave. Salome screamed first and I almost fainted. Sitting on the stone floor, inside, was a young man dressed in a long white garment, and when he saw us he cried out in fright! I remember jumping back and striking my head against the stone. All of us dropped our bags and ran, tripping and falling in the wet grass many times before we were gone from that place. Behind us we could hear the stranger in white shouting, ‘Be not afraid. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified …’ and that is all I remember, because by then we were on the road and running as if wild pigs pursued us. I arrived back here before the others and went immediately upstairs to tell Peter and John that someone had stolen the body of our Lord.”

Only the clatter of hard peas, tumbling from their open pods into Mary Magdalene’s bowl, disturbed the quiet of the courtyard. Now I was struggling with myself, trying hard to keep my composure. I was close to important evidence, new evidence, and I could not afford to let my anxiety betray me, either through the sound of my voice or the look on my face.