Lamb The Gospel According to Biff Christs Childho - By Christopher Moore Page 0,28

me the solution to our problem."

"And the message is?"

"You remember when we were little, the game we used to play with the lizards?"

"Sure I do. But the message is?"

"You remember how I was able to bring them back to life."

"A great trick, Josh. But getting back to the message..."

"Don't you see? If the soldier isn't dead, then there was no murder. If there was no murder, then there is no reason for the Romans to harm Joseph. So all we have to do is see that the soldier is not dead. Simple."

"Of course, simple." I studied the lizard for a minute, looking at it from a number of different angles. It was brownish green and seemed quite content to sit there on Joshua's palm. "Ask him what we're supposed to do now."
Chapter 6
Chapter 6

When we got back to Nazareth we expected to find Joshua's mother hysterical with worry, but on the contrary, she had gathered Joshua's brothers and sisters outside of their house, lined them up, and was washing their faces and hands as if preparing them for the Sabbath meal.

"Joshua, help me get the little ones ready, we are all going to Sepphoris."

Joshua was shocked. "We are?"

"The whole village is going to ask the Romans to release Joseph."

James was the only one of the children who seemed to understand what had happened to their father. There were tear tracks on his cheeks. I put my arm around his shoulders. "He'll be fine," I said, trying to sound cheerful. "Your father is strong, they'll have to torture him for days before he gives up the ghost." I smiled encouragingly.

James broke out of my embrace and ran into the house crying. Mary turned and glared at me. "Shouldn't you be with your family, Biff?"

Oh my breaking heart, my bruised ego. Even though Mary had taken position as my emergency backup wife, I was crestfallen at her disapproval. And to my credit, not once during that time of trouble did I wish harm to come to Joseph. Not once. After all, I was still too young to take a wife, and some creepy elder would swoop Mary up before I had a chance to rescue her if Joseph died before I was fourteen.

"Why don't you go get Maggie," Joshua suggested, taking only a second from his mission of scrubbing the skin off his brother Judah's face. "Her family will want to go with us."

"Sure," I said, and I scampered off to the blacksmith's shop in search of approval from my primary wife-to-be.

When I arrived, Maggie was sitting outside of her father's shop with her brothers and sisters. She looked as frightened as she had when we first witnessed the murder. I wanted to throw my arms around her to comfort her.

"We have a plan," I said. "I mean, Joshua has a plan. Are you going to Sepphoris with everyone else?"

"The whole family," she said. "My father has made nails for Joseph, they're friends." She tossed her head, pointing toward the open shed that housed her father's forge. Two men were working over the forge. "Go ahead, Biff. You and Joshua go on ahead. We'll be along later." She started waving me away and mouthing words silently to me, which I didn't pick up.

"What are you saying? What? What?"

"And who is your friend, Maggie?" A man's voice, coming from near the forge. I looked over and suddenly realized what Maggie had been trying to tell me.

"Uncle Jeremiah, this is Levi bar Alphaeus. We call him Biff. He has to go now."

I started backing away from the killer. "Yes, I have to go." I looked at Maggie, not knowing what to do. "I'll - we - I have to - "

"We'll see you in Sepphoris," Maggie said.

"Right," I said, then I turned and dashed away, feeling more like a coward than I ever have in my life.

When we got back to Sepphoris there was a large gathering of Jews, perhaps two hundred, outside of the city walls, most I recognized as being from Nazareth. No mob mentality here, more a fearful gathering. More than half of those gathered were women and children. In the middle of the crowd, a contingent of a dozen Roman soldiers pushed back the onlookers while two slaves dug a grave. Like my own people, the Romans did not dally with their dead. Unless there was a battle ongoing, Roman soldiers were often put in the ground before the corpse was cool.

Joshua and I spotted Maggie standing between her father