The Cairo Codex

The Cairo Codex
is a riveting novel that portrays the unique bonds between two powerful women separated by millennia. Their relationship foreshadows a seismic shift in the Egyptian landscape. A splendidly researched and original historical novel that evokes the beautiful prose and exotic setting of
The Red Tent.

—Jeffrey Small, Bestselling Author of

The Jericho Deception
and
The Breath of God

Lambert’s life in Egypt was the stimulus for this multi-layered historical novel.
The Cairo Codex
combines the three great religions of the Middle East with modern and historical characters, suspense, and the challenges of life and politics in present day Egypt. This creates an altogether fascinating narrative that is hard to put down!

—Dr. Waguida El Bakary, former Associate Dean,

American University, Cairo

The most rewarding experience for any author is to
know
that you have written a great book and that perceptive readers will be able to share your story and enjoy your talent. Such is
The Cairo Codex
—a spell-binding novel of Egyptian history, religion, romance, and politics.

—David Appleby, composer, author of

Bravo Brazil!
and
Music of Brazil

I loved
The Cairo Codex
. After reading the Prologue, I was hooked and immediately felt propelled into Cairo. The writing is strong, as are the characters and story. Bravo! I’m looking forward to the next adventure of Justine Jenner.

—Paul Williams, archaeologist,

U.S. Department of Interior

The Cairo Codex
takes us into two worlds, one of an ancient time when one notable woman began to influence history, and another when Dr. Justine Jenner discovers a connection between that world and her own. Readers gain insight into the world of archaeology—a world that, to the uninitiated, may seem a quiet, interesting and ordered world of discovery and scholars. Instead, we find the intrigue and thrill of a more sinister underworld where individuals will do almost anything to either steal the glory of a new discovery or hide a truth that may change the way we think forever. Is anyone right to trust anyone?
The Cairo Codex
can’t be put down until the end of the last page and leaves you wanting more.

—Baroness Miranda Taxi,

Il Pero
, Arezzo, Italy

The Cairo Codex
merges the past and present into a brilliantly original story. Through an accident of fate, Justine finds herself with a stunning primeval text bound to disrupt the sensitive balance of religion, politics, and history. Lambert deftly weaves ancient and modern Egypt into a novel of intrigue, love, and adventure.

—Diane Zimmerman, author,

The Power of the Social Brain
and

the forthcoming
Cognitive Capital

In this compelling novel, the lives of two women, two thousand years apart, become intertwined when the ancient diary of one is found by the second, a young archaeologist, during a violent earthquake in a crypt in Old Cairo. Among the incendiary words contained in the lost diary is an indication of the impact of Buddhism on what would become Christianity and Islam. An original and splendidly researched work of fiction,
The Cairo Codex
encompasses religious and political intrigue in a riveting historical novel.

—Jacquelynn Baas, author,

Smile of the Buddha
and

The Mind of the Buddha

Also by Linda Lambert:

The Constructivist Leader

Who Will Save Our Schools

Women’s Ways of Leading

Building Leadership Capacity in Schools

Leadership Capacity for Lasting School Improvement

PUBLISHED BY WEST HILLS PRESS

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced—mechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopying—without written permission of the publisher. Trademarks: West Hills Press, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of West Hills Press, LLC, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Cover images ©
123rf.com/Bartosz Wardziak
,
©
istockphoto.com
/ IZI1947

All of the characters and events in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by West Hills Press, Atlanta, Georgia

All Rights Reserved

ISBN-13: 978-1933512341

Printed in U.S.A.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This novel is dedicated to my son, Tod Taylor Green, whose creativity inspires me and loving spirit nourishes me. Tod’s knowledge of introspection and meditation provided insight into the power of reflection informing the three major religions discussed in this novel.

I also dedicate
The Cairo Codex
to my mother, Lucretia (Lucrezia) Mae Lashmet, who is portrayed as living the life she had yearned for: imaginative, artistic, and free.

Tod and my daughter, April Smock, had a special relationship with my mother. Together, they shared many creative qualities and seemed to understand things about the world that escaped more ordinary mortals.

Lucretia died in August 2001.

Delhi is a great place—most bazaar storytellers in India make their villain hail from there; but when the agony and intrigue are piled highest and the tale halts till the very last breathless sprinkle of cowries has ceased to fall on his mat, why then, with wagging head and hooked forefinger, the storyteller goes on: “But there was a man from Cairo, an Egyptian of the Egyptians, who”—and all the crowd knows that a bit of real metropolitan devilry is coming.

—Rudyard Kipling,
Letters of Travel

T
HIRTEEN WORN STEPS DESCENDED
to the uneven marble floor of the crypt.

As Justine ducked into the cool air of the cave at the back of St. Sergius Church, she felt as though she were stepping back two thousand years. Nadia, her UNESCO host, had offered to give her a tour of Old Cairo, but she’d set off on her own this morning instead, eager to reacquaint herself with a city that held so many memories of her childhood visit.

Her boot bumped an electrical cord snaking up the stairs, sending two bare bulbs swinging from side to side, shadowing the crypt with patches of light and dark. She took each step with deliberate slowness, allowing her body to absorb the holy site where Mary, Joseph, and Jesus had supposedly made their home after their flight from Palestine.
Myth or fact . . . or something in between?

The last time she was here, the crypt had been closed because of groundwater that had seeped in after the ’92 earthquake. She and her mother had sat at the top of the marble steps, staring at the water below. “This is a story of history and magic . . .” her mother began, as she often did. While her mother had unraveled the tale of the goddess Isis, Justine had let her mind slip back to what might have been the ordinary lives of extraordinary people in this lonely place.

She could see now that at one time the crypt had served as a three-aisled chapel with an altar near the front wall. She ran her fingers across the smooth plastered walls surrounding four marble-crowned columns and supported by a roughly hewned wooden ceiling, almost feeling the pulse of stories untold. Shadows painted haunting images across the walls.
Perhaps ghosts or saints watch over this holy place
. While she wasn’t a religious person, she could, like her mother, be swept up in the power of the historical moment.

She shivered. Somehow, despite the emptiness of the crypt, she was certain that it was here that she would find answers to the questions that drove her, questions that had been pushing against her mind since she was an adolescent.

So what was she seeking?