Angel of Israel by David Holmes

Author:David Holmes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Paranormal Mystery, Jewish fiction, private investigator, hard-boiled mystery, paranormal thriller
Publisher: DS Holmes
Published: 2019-02-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Skipping lunch, I walked the darkened halls of the Religion Department. Minus the scent of incense, the odors were similar to that in the cathedral, with the addition of the distinctive aroma of old hardcover books, pages yellowed with age. At the half-open door to Father Anthony’s office there was also the smell of pipe tobacco. I glanced at a No Smoking sign on the wall before rapping my knuckles on the frosted glass upper section of the door.

“Come in,” a man’s voice boomed.

I saw the professor close a window and tap a pipe’s bowl into a heavy glass ashtray. The elderly Jesuit was known to be in his mid-70s and bore a striking resemblance to the late British academic and popular writer, JRR Tolkien. Father Anthony wore a black tunic with clerical collar, dark gray wool-blend slacks, tasseled loafers and a light gray wool sport coat with leather elbow patches. He wore his white hair longish at the back and sides, his shoulders somewhat stooped.

Shambling to a cluttered wooden desk, he settled onto a sturdy wood chair and indicated a maple armchair in front of the desk. “Can I offer you some liquid refreshment?”

I had dressed in dark brown slacks, long sleeve maroon pullover sweater and a camel’s hair blazer. For footwear I’d tied on a pair of crepe-soled desert boots. Unbuttoning my blazer, I sat down on the offered chair. “What have you got, Dr. Alighieri?”

Father Anthony opened a lower drawer and brought out an unopened bottle of sherry. “Bottled at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. I’ve been saving it for a celebration.” He shrugged. “At my age, one cannot afford to wait long.”

“A small glass, thanks.”

The professor opened the bottle and poured amber liquid into two glasses, neither one small. Passing a glass across the desk, he said, “I have heard about some of your adventures, Toby Israel. Some on the faculty have described you as a kind of Indiana Jones of the religious world.”

“I’m sure they are being facetious.”

“Half-facetious, I think. Well now, what can this old man do for you?”

“I’m in need of information, specifically on the role of angels in this world.”

“Word is, you have practical knowledge in this area. Why ask an academic?”

“Call it background. Perhaps my adventures have grown more exotic in the telling. The truth is, my so-called expertise in the realm of angels is quite limited.”

“Humility is a rare virtue here, Mr. Israel.” He drank down half his sherry. “My research suggests that the spiritual world—what we commonly refer to as Heaven—is a highly structured place. The angels are immortal souls—intellectual beings with bodies fit for that dimension—and fall into distinctive orders or hierarchies.” Warming to the subject, the teacher leaned back in his chair, hands folded on his chest.

“There are, of course, the archangels, seven of them who live in the presence of God Almighty. We know the names of four: Michael, leader of the armies of the Lord and patron angel of the Israelis; Gabriel, second in

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