He smiled ruefully. “At first it was a great struggle on my part to keep from laughing in his excellency’s face. Then he explained that Jesus had told his followers, many times, that he would be crucified for his beliefs but would rise from the dead on the third day. Caiaphas was afraid that some of the disciples might come and steal the body and hide it, after which they would claim that Jesus had risen as he said he would. Convinced of the importance of my mission, I selected three of my most experienced men to watch over the tomb with me.”

“When did you and your guards arrive at the garden near Golgotha?”

“At sundown, the end of our Sabbath.”

“Everything was in order? The stone was in place, covering the mouth of the sepulchre?”

“It was. We then proceeded to seal the tomb, as the high priest had ordered.”

“How was that done?”

“We placed thin strips of ribbon across the stone and sealed their ends, with wax, against the side of the tomb. After we were finished, no one could have moved the great stone without breaking the seals.”

“Then what did you do?”

“The night air was cold, so we built a fire with some dead limbs that had been piled against one of the olive trees in the garden. I then assigned the hours of guard duty to my men, taking the third watch myself. Soon after the first took up his position, near the tomb, the others and myself were asleep under blankets, near the fire. Because of Passover we had already served long hours that day, in the Temple, and all of us were weary.”

“From what Caiaphas has told me, apparently nothing happened out of the ordinary during the first two watches.”

“That is correct.”

“When your time came, did you take your scheduled turn?”

Shobi glared at me, and the blood rushing to his scowling face made his two scars all the more vivid by their contrast. “I did not earn my reputation for integrity and fairness by asking those under my supervision to perform duties that I would not do! I took up my place next to the tomb, prepared to serve my four hours just as the others had done.”

“But something happened to cut short your watch.”

“I shall never forget it!”

“Tell me.”