Operation Scheherazade
by Sinbad

Chapter 12

After the King's abrupt departure, the spectators and autograph hunters rapidly dispersed and as the Taylors made their way back to the car Roger made a suggestion.

“Have you seen the Roman city?”

Ricky had, several times, but his father knew that, so he assumed the question had been directed at Maureen. And so did Maureen, who replied “No, I haven't. Should I?”

“Oh, yes. There's a lot to see. Would you like to stop there on the way back?”

So the decision was made, and without consulting Ricky. He noticed, and resented it, and then shook himself out of his resentment. After all he quite liked wandering around Jerash, or Gerasa the Romans had called it. It was one of the ten cities of the Decapolis, a confederation of Greek-speaking cities in the region east of the Jordan. It is thought that Gerasa was founded by Alexander the Great for veterans of his army. Greek influence persisted after Rome took over domination of the region in the first century BC.

They drove the short distance to the car park just off the road that divides the modern village of Jerash in the lush green valley to one side from the splendid Roman city ruins on the dry and dusty hilltop on the other. And having parked they made their first stop the restaurant next to the car park where they enjoyed an air-conditioned coffee break and a snack. Ricky stared out of the window and noticed a number of other vehicles arrive in the car park, probably from the hill climb like themselves. Groups dressed for sightseeing, in fashionable western dress. All except one car, a black Mercedes diesel of the type that all the taxi drivers used, though this one was no taxi – it was much too well cared for. The driver was alone in the car, unlike all the other vehicles that had arrived while Ricky watched. And he got out and stood a moment, scanning the car park, until he saw the Taylors' Land Rover. And then he looked up to the restaurant and Ricky felt as though his eyes were burning into him, although the tinted glass and the bright sunshine should have made it impossible to see into the interior from his viewpoint.

He left his car and made his way from the car park up the steps towards the restaurant. Ricky felt an irrational fear. He told himself it was silly but it gripped him and wouldn't let go. He felt uneasy about this man. Why was a man dressed for the office, alone in Jerash? Why wasn't he in brightly coloured short-sleeved shirt, light trousers and a camera around his neck like everyone else? And again he told himself he was being paranoid – the man had a perfect right to dress how he wished, and maybe didn't have friends or family to bring in his car. But Ricky couldn't help but remember the warning from Mr Farquharson, and the goatherd's report about the man skulking around the picnic. If he had been followed here, then someone was going to a LOT of trouble to find him.

He didn't mention it to his father, who seemed besotted with Maureen, but determined to keep an eye open for greysuit man. Not for the first time, he missed Chris, he could have discussed it with him.

He finished his bottle of Pepsi and his slice of cake long before the two adults had finished talking and sipping coffee and gazing adoringly into each others' eyes, and had to sit patiently while the level of coffee in their cups dropped slowly, imperceptibly, until finally it was Maureen who stood up precipitately, nearly overturning her chair in the process, and announced:

“Let's go and see the sights, then. You coming, Ricky?” and she held her hand out for Ricky's. At twelve years old, Ricky was well past the age of trotting along beside an adult holding hands, but he glanced at his father who was looking daggers at him and gesturing to him to take Maureen's hand, so he did, and tried not to mind as she took him by the hand out of the restaurant, down the steps to the beginning of the Roman street below.

They walked along the cobbled street and Maureen commented on the things that caught her eye. The ruts in the road that the passage of Roman chariots had worn into the cobbles; the raised pavement at either side of the road with the ruins of shops butting against it, the columns that would have supported a portico, making a covered arcade out of the pavement area. She chattered excitedly to Roger about these things and Roger clearly took pleasure in explaining them. Ricky, however, had heard the explanation many times before, and although he enjoyed visiting the Roman ruins, he found himself irritated at the childlike excitement of this woman who aspired to a relationship with his father.

His attention wandered, and he watched the lizards skittering around, running up the vertical surface of big stone columns and then suddenly stopping stock still as though they were trying to avoid being caught moving. Perhaps that was what they were doing – many predators would have seen them moving but had eyesight too poor to pick out a dusty brown lizard stationary against a dusty brown stone column.

After a while, Maureen dropped Ricky's hand in order to gesture more effectively to Roger, having spotted the temple of Artemis on a rise at the end of the street. Ricky took the opportunity to move away. The adults didn't notice his absence, so he walked ahead of them to the amazing forum, the wide open space, oval in shape, with a nearly intact colonnade marking its periphery. Here a number of other tourist parties were walking around, turning as they scanned this remarkable edifice thousands of years old. Ricky walked along the outside of the colonnade for a bit, lizards scuttling away as he approached, having been sunning themselves on the hot stones. When he got half way round the perimeter of the forum, he left the colonnade and walked back straight across the middle of the forum towards where Roger and Maureen were still talking. He didn't want his father to worry about him so he made sure his father saw him, that he was nearby. And he caught sight of greysuit man. He was stood looking blankly at one of the ornate carved sections of wall and he continued standing there until Ricky turned away and made as if to walk on.. Greysuit man walked on too, only to stop when Ricky turned back and waved.

Quickening his pace, Ricky soon arrived back where he had left his father and Maureen. They were still there, but now joined by some German friends of his father and a Danish couple they had with them. So Ricky was relieved to be able to shelter from whatever danger greysuit man represented, in the midst of such a comfortingly large group which included a number of burly capable men – and his father.

Now thoroughly rattled, Ricky spent the rest of the walk around Jerash glancing nervously about him, expecting at any moment to be shot, or grabbed and abducted. None of these thing happened, indeed he never saw greysuit man again. Maureen was completely unaware of Ricky's discomfort and was enthralled by the Roman town, and especially by the theatre which she insisted on calling an amphitheatre, though Roger did correct her – the seating formed a semi-circle around the stage, not a full circle so it couldn't be an amphitheatre. Ricky could share her enthusiasm, the theatre was one of his favourite places here. He loved to imagine a play in progress on the wide stone stage, with various entrance points along the back wall and even some cubbyholes from which actors could pop up from under the front of the stage. It's a big structure, seating around a thousand people, and there's another smaller theatre at the other end of the town, which is one of the best indicators there are of the size, wealth and importance of Gerasa the Roman city.

But today Ricky's enjoyment of sitting high on the seating area on a stone bench and listening to his father on the stage way down below, hearing him clearly because of the excellent acoustics of the theatre, was spoiled by his anxiety about greysuit man. He came close to telling his father everything. If only Chris were there, he could have discussed it. He wondered what Chris' advice would be, and decided Chris would want him to keep the secret if he could. So he didn't tell his father, he just kept very close to him for the rest of the day.

Eventually it was getting late and the sun was about to set so they headed back to the cars and the parties bade each other goodbye and Roger and Ricky and Maureen returned to Amman in the Land Rover.




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