In Pilate's chambers by John Fischer

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Pilate, but there's someone here to see you… says he wants to do something with the body."

"What body? Don't you know it's after hours? Send him back tomorrow."

"The body of that Jewish messiah," said the temple guard with the slur of a man who had already started on his happy hour before he left the office. Pilate looked at him with disgust. He would have ripped the man's job out from under him right then and there if he hadn't been one of Caesar's appointments. All of his problems, it seemed to Pilate, were Caesar's appointments.

"I wouldn't have bothered you except that he is a rather prominent man from Arimathea. I'm sure he will make it worth your while," he said, patting his coin belt and pulling back his lips to reveal a Cheshire-cat smile fat with the feathers of its own fresh bribe.

"All right. Bring me my robe and send him in. Wait a minute… you aren't talking about that Jesus character, are you? The one we crucified this afternoon?"

"Yes," said the guard, as Pilate's personal valet help him into his robe. "That's the one."

"Impossible. No one dies that quickly on a cross. Have you any confirmation?"

"No, sir."

"Well, I'm certainly not going to give anyone the body of a criminal without confirmation of death. Get me the centurion in charge of today's operation." He waved the guard away.

"Jesus… the 'King of the Jews,'" he reminded himself under his breath. "Will I ever be done with this man?"

Pilate adjusted his robe and strolled to the window while the footsteps of the guard disappeared down the hall. It seemed to him that the sun went down early on this day. It was one day he would just as soon forget anyway. He wondered why it felt like the middle of the night.

"Gaius," he said to his valet, "what time is it?"

"It's time to close the office, sir."

"But why is it so dark?"

"It's been this way since the middle of the afternoon, sir. I don't know why. Nothing but dark clouds without rain."

Suddenly a centurion guard appeared at the entrance to the room.

"How did you get here so fast? Why aren't you at the site? What's going on here? Am I the only person who knows it's not the middle of the night?"

"Sir, we left the site an hour ago. I gave most of the men the night off. We broke the legs of two of them. Strangest thing, though. The other one is already dead."

"The Jew?"

"Yes, sir."

"Will you vouch for that?"

"Sir, I personally shoved my spear right up to his heart. He was dead. No breath. No movement. Strangest thing: Blood and water came out. Never saw that before."

"Blood and water?" Pilate walked back to the window and thought. Lots of things happening today that people had never seen before. What was going on?

"How many guards are there now?"

"Two, sir. The crowd has fairly dispersed. Only a couple of women crying over the dead one."

"Very well. You may go. Guard, bring me Mr. Fat Belt from Arimathea."

The temple guard flashed his toothy smile again, but Pilate only stared at him.

"Thank you, Your Honor, for seeing me after hours," Joseph said nervously as he hurried into the room. "I am prepared to make it worth—"

"No need. I have already washed my hands of this matter, and I do not wish to dirty them again. What is it you want?"

"We would like the body of Jesus of Nazareth for burial. I have a tomb on my property already prepared."

"Why tonight? He can come down tomorrow with the others."

"Your Honor, if you would, please. Our custom is that no work be done on the Sabbath. Today is our Day of Preparation. I have made all the proper arrangements. I will take care of everything."

Pilate noticed Joseph's clothes and wondered what interest a well-to-do businessman would have in a poor country preacher whose luck had obviously run out.

"Are you related to him?"

Joseph hesitated and then surprised himself with what on the one hand was a lie but on the other was the most certain truth he had ever spoken.

"Yes."

"All right. You may have your dead man, but you will have two guards with you to ensure that the body gets put in that tomb and sealed properly. Guard, fetch me the centurion again!"