“Well.” Nicodemus finally broke the silence. “What do you think of my humble garden?”

“It’s amazing,” I marveled, “absolutely amazing, all of it!”

“I like to come out here and sit, as we do now, when the worries of the day become more than I can bear. Here, close to the great stone, it is possible to put everything in its proper perspective, and those things which seemed so important in the marketplace become as transitory and insignificant as a grain of sand.”

“I have never seen its equal. Although my profession is words, I can’t think of a compliment worthy of what you have accomplished here.”

“Even if you could, I would not be deserving, Matthias. It is my chief gardener who has made this place his life’s work.”

“Perhaps Matthias would like to meet him,” Joseph urged.

“I would indeed.”

Nicodemus was gone for only a few moments, returning in the company of a giant almost as large as Shem. He was not a young man, and his dark, heavily lined face was marred by two ugly gray scars, one across his left cheek and the other beneath the mouth. Sword cuts? His long straight hair was tied into a ponytail, and his beard protruded from his chin as if all its hairs were made of stiff wire. When he saw us he slowed his walk and fell behind Nicodemus, staring self-consciously at the ground as if he were searching for any straggling weed that would dare to show itself in his garden.

“Matthias,” Nicodemus said proudly, “here is the man responsible for all these gifts from God you see growing here. His name is Shobi.”

“Shobi,” I began, “this place is a miracle of—” Bang! Delayed reaction. Double take. Shobi? Where had I heard that name before? Shobi? Shobi!

I swung around toward Joseph. “Can it be …?”

“It is he, Matthias. The Temple officer who ran, with the other three, to take the news to Caiaphas that the tomb they had been guarding was empty.”

“The high priest told me that three of them took their own lives and the captain, Shobi, disappeared!”

Joseph nodded. “He has remained here with Nicodemus, secluded from the outside world, for six years. I promised you one more witness when we departed from the house of the widow Mary, remember? Shobi has agreed to talk with you, but there is one stipulation—mine, not his. Only two or three trusted friends know that he is still alive and in the employ of Nicodemus. Whatever else you may do, during your stay in Jerusalem, you must not violate his trust. If the high priest knew that Shobi was here, he would undoubtedly have him put to death under some pretense. Do you accept my terms?”

As soon as I nodded, Joseph rose and motioned for Shobi to sit next to me on the bench.