The Advocate Read online

  Praise for Randy Singer

  “Singer, the attorney-author of several solid legal thrillers, turns in another winner. . . . Singer’s many fans will be lining up to read this one.”

  BOOKLIST ON DEAD LAWYERS TELL NO TALES

  “Singer’s latest courtroom drama is full of twists and turns, second chances, and spiritual redemption. The author’s experience as a trial attorney is evident in the details and realism throughout. He allows the reader an up-close view into the legal system.”

  ROMANTIC TIMES ON DEAD LAWYERS TELL NO TALES

  “This riveting and thought-provoking legal thriller is sure to please Singer’s fans and earn him new ones.”

  LIBRARY JOURNAL ON DEAD LAWYERS TELL NO TALES

  “Singer skillfully loosens the strings and reweaves them into a tale that entertains, surprises, and challenges readers to rethink justice and mercy.”

  PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ON THE LAST PLEA BARGAIN

  “Another solid, well-crafted novel from an increasingly popular writer. . . . Its nonfiction origins lend the book an air of reality that totally made-up stories sometimes lack.”

  BOOKLIST ON THE LAST PLEA BARGAIN (STARRED REVIEW)

  “The Last Plea Bargain is a superbly written book, hard to put down, and easy to pick back up.”

  THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

  “Singer’s superbly researched plot charges out of the starting gate on page 1 and doesn’t rest until literally the last page.”

  CROSSWALK.COM ON THE LAST PLEA BARGAIN

  “If you’re looking for a mystery full of rich details and realistic scenarios, you will enjoy Singer’s latest. It is easy to see why Singer reigns with Christian legal thrillers. You’ll be guessing till the end.”

  ROMANTIC TIMES ON THE LAST PLEA BARGAIN

  “Intricately plotted, Fatal Convictions is . . . an exciting legal thriller with international overtones. In addition to the action and rich cultural information, realistic characters carry the action to its exciting conclusion.”

  FAITHFULREADER.COM

  “Singer’s legal knowledge is well matched by his stellar storytelling. Again, he brings us to the brink and lets us hang before skillfully pulling us back.”

  ROMANTIC TIMES ON FATAL CONVICTIONS

  “Get ready to wrestle with larger themes of truth, justice, and courage. Between the legal tension in the courtroom scenes and the emotional tension between the characters, readers will be riveted to the final few chapters.”

  CROSSWALK.COM ON FATAL CONVICTIONS

  “Great suspense; gritty, believable action . . . make [False Witness] Singer’s best yet.”

  BOOKLIST (STARRED REVIEW)

  “A book that will entertain readers and make them think—what more can one ask?”

  PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ON THE JUSTICE GAME

  “Singer artfully crafts a novel that is the perfect mix of faith and suspense. . . . [The Justice Game is] fast-paced from the start to the surprising conclusion.”

  ROMANTIC TIMES

  “At the center of the heart-pounding action are the moral dilemmas that have become Singer’s stock-in-trade. . . . An exciting thriller.”

  BOOKLIST ON BY REASON OF INSANITY

  “Singer hooks readers from the opening courtroom scene of this tasty thriller, then spurs them through a fast trot across a story line that just keeps delivering.”

  PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ON BY REASON OF INSANITY

  “[A] legal thriller that matches up easily with the best of Grisham.”

  CHRISTIAN FICTION REVIEW ON IRREPARABLE HARM

  “Directed Verdict is a well-crafted courtroom drama with strong characters, surprising twists, and a compelling theme.”

  RANDY ALCORN, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SAFELY HOME

  Visit Tyndale online at www.tyndale.com.

  Visit Randy Singer’s website at www.randysinger.net.

  TYNDALE and Tyndale’s quill logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

  The Advocate

  Copyright © 2014 by Randy Singer. All rights reserved.

  Cover photograph of coin copyright © by JosA Carlos Pires Pereira/Getty Images. All rights reserved.

  Cover texture copyright © by Lost&Taken. All rights reserved.

  Designed by Dean H. Renninger

  The author is represented by the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard St., Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, www.alivecommunications.com.

  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version,® NIV.® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

  Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

  Some phrases that appear to be Scripture are an amalgam or paraphrase written by the author.

  The Advocate is a work of fiction. Where real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales appear, they are used fictitiously. All other elements of the novel are drawn from the author’s imagination.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Singer, Randy (Randy D.)

  The advocate / Randy Singer.

  pages cm

  ISBN 978-1-4143-9130-4 (hc) — ISBN 978-1-4143-4860-5 (sc)

  1. Jesus Christ—Trials—Fiction. 2. Jesus Christ—Crucifixion—Fiction. 3. Lawyers—Fiction. 4. Trials—Fiction. 5. Legal stories. I.Title.

  PS3619.I5725A68 2014

  813'.6—dc23 2014001578

  ISBN 978-1-4143-9078-9 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-4143-8450-4 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-4143-9079-6 (Apple)

  Build: 2014-04-10 13:27:49

  In memory of Lee Hough,

  agent and friend.

  “Every time I think of you,

  I give thanks to my God.”

  PHILIPPIANS 1:3, NLT

  Contents

  Cast of Characters

  Part 1: The Student Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Part 2: The Mentor Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Part 3: The Nazarene Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Part 4: The Senator Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Part 5: The Vestal Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Part 6: The Gladiator Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59


  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Part 7: The Conspirator Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 70

  Part 8: The Apostle Chapter 71

  Chapter 72

  Chapter 73

  Chapter 74

  Chapter 75

  Chapter 76

  Chapter 77

  Chapter 78

  Chapter 79

  Chapter 80

  Chapter 81

  Chapter 82

  Chapter 83

  Chapter 84

  Chapter 85

  Chapter 86

  Part 9: The Witness Chapter 87

  Chapter 88

  Chapter 89

  Chapter 90

  Chapter 91

  Chapter 92

  Chapter 93

  Chapter 94

  Chapter 95

  Chapter 96

  Chapter 97

  Chapter 98

  Chapter 99

  Chapter 100

  Chapter 101

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  Cast of Characters

  • Historical figure

  * Fictional character

  † Based on a historical figure about whom little is known

  ‡ Based on a historical figure whose name is unknown

  * Adrianna—a Vestal Virgin selected as matron by Emperor Caligula in AD 38

  • Agrippa—grandson of Herod the Great; appointed to rule over Judea and Samaria by Emperor Claudius

  • Agrippina the Younger—sister of Caligula, fourth wife of Claudius, and mother of Nero

  • Annas—former chief priest of Israel who wields influence at the trial of Christ

  † Andronicus—a leader of the church in Rome

  † Apronius—Roman senator tried for treason during the reign of Tiberius

  • Caiaphas—chief priest of Israel during the trial of Christ

  • Caligula—emperor of Rome from AD 37–41

  * Calpurnia—a Vestal Virgin, matron of the house from AD 28–38

  † Cato—Roman senator who serves as consul in AD 36

  • Chaerea—a member of the Praetorian Guard assigned to protect Caligula

  • Claudius—emperor of Rome from AD 41–54

  * Cobius—Roman gladiator from the same school as Mansuetus

  • Cornelius—Roman centurion in Caesarea

  † Crispinus—Roman senator who makes his fortune as a delator, prosecuting other senators for treason

  * Flavia—a Vestal Virgin selected by Emperor Tiberius

  † Junia—a leader of the church in Rome

  * Lucian Aurelius—a boyhood friend of Caligula who later becomes a member of the Praetorian Guard

  • Lateranus—Roman aristocrat pardoned and restored to his position by Nero

  * Longinus—Roman centurion with Pilate during the trial of Christ

  • Macro—prefect of the Praetorian Guard from AD 31–38

  * Mansuetus, the gladiator—one of Rome’s great gladiators during the reigns of Tiberius and Caligula

  * Mansuetus, the son—a promising young advocate named after the gladiator

  • Marcus Lepidus—a leading Roman senator during the reign of Tiberius

  * Marcus Serbius—loyal childhood friend of Theophilus

  • Nero—emperor of Rome from AD 54–68

  † Onesimus—a slave to Philemon of Colossae and companion of the apostle Paul

  • Paul of Tarsus—an apostle and leader in the early church

  • Pilate—prefect of the Roman province of Judea from AD 26–36

  † Procula—wife of Pilate

  ‡ Quintus—Roman centurion in charge of the execution of Jesus

  † Rubria—a Vestal Virgin selected by the Emperor Caligula in AD 38

  • Sejanus—a prefect of the Praetorian Guard and de facto ruler of Rome after Tiberius withdraws to the island of Capri

  • Seneca the Younger—Roman philosopher and statesman

  * Sergius—Roman soldier assigned to guard Paul

  † Theophilus—a renowned Roman advocate who serves as an assessore for Pilate in Judea and later represents Paul in front of Nero

  • Tiberius—emperor of Rome from AD 14–37

  • Tigellinus—prefect of the Praetorian Guard from AD 62–68 and friend of Nero

  CHAPTER 1

  IN THE ELEVENTH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF TIBERIUS JULIUS CAESAR AUGUSTUS

  I was fourteen years old when I learned what it meant to be crucified.

  We hauled our own crossbeams, the twelve of us, students of Seneca the Younger, dragging them at least five miles down the cobblestones of the Appian Way. The day was hot and dry. Dust settled in our mouths and noses. I ground my teeth and felt the fine particles of dirt. I licked my dry lips, trying to moisten the thick white spit at the edge of my mouth. Sweat trickled down my face. Seneca marched ahead of us, carrying nothing but his waterskin, his sweat-soaked tunic sticking to his thick back. My own tunic was wet and grimy. My sandals squished with every step.

  I had started out carrying my crossbeam, hoisting it across my thin shoulders, but I soon gave up and dragged it like most of the other students. It weighed nearly as much as me. The rough wood chafed my back, so I switched it from one shoulder to the other as I pulled it along. The only one who wasn’t dragging his beam was Lucian, two years older than the rest of us and built like a gladiator. He balanced his beam on his shoulders, yet even Lucian was starting to stoop from the load.

  To make it seem real, Seneca had arranged for a Roman legionnaire to bring up the rear. He was a humorless man, stocky and unshaven with nasty breath and a spiteful attitude. This was his chance to bark orders at the sons of aristocrats as if we were common slaves. If we stopped, he gave us a hard shove and cursed us. He took big gulps of water, taunting us with how refreshing it was, then spit much of it on the ground.

  “When my parents learn of this, they’ll have Seneca’s head,” Lucian said under his breath.

  I was sure Seneca wasn’t worried. His job was to mold us into young men fit to be Roman senators or commanders or magistrates. This was nothing compared to the military training that many of my contemporaries would be facing in a few years. Still, we were the sons of senators and equestrians, so we cast annoyed glances at each other. Who does this man think he is, humiliating us this way?

  Caligula had the lightest beam to carry. Naturally. He was my age but a few inches taller, with spindly legs and a long, thin neck. His head, topped off with curly red hair, seemed oversized for his body. Caligula had a mean streak, so I generally kept my distance. There was an unwritten rule that he was never to be crossed—not because we feared the spoiled young man himself, but because we feared his family.

  His full name was Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus. He had been born on the battlefield in Gaul, the son of the great general Germanicus and his wife, Agrippina. It was the soldiers who had dubbed him Caligula, which meant “little sandals.” He became a good luck charm of sorts for Germanicus’s troops, and they would let him march into battle with them, staying near the rear of the lines. He was the great-nephew of the emperor and might one day be emperor himself if his mother managed to poison all the right relatives.

  He was also a bully.

  He had been taunting my friend Marcus earlier in the walk, taking his frustrations out on the smallest among us. Now he was just plain tired.

  “This is outrageous,” Caligula said more than once. Unlike Lucian, he said it loud enough for Seneca to hear. Yet our teacher ignored him and kept on walking. A few times Caligula stopped, and the legionnaire pushed him, though not as hard as he shoved the rest of us.

  I kept my head down and focused on each step, counting to one hundred and then starting over again. I was in my usual spot at th
e front of the class, not far behind Seneca.

  It was nearly noon when Seneca finally stopped by an open pasture on the side of the road near a small, cool stream. I dropped my beam on the ground and bent over, hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.

  Seneca allowed us to get a drink and told us to sit on our crossbeams. He stood in the middle of our little band. The sun nearly blinded me as I looked up at him.

  Seneca wiped the sweat from his eyes and began the day’s lesson. The legionnaire stood next to him, arms folded across his chest, scowling.

  “You have all heard of the Third Servile War,” Seneca said, “when Spartacus led a two-year slave rebellion against Rome. The Senate didn’t take the slave rebellion seriously until it became clear that Rome itself was under threat.”

  Some of my friends fidgeted on their beams, trying to get comfortable after the long walk. Not me. I could listen to Seneca all day. His curly hair, round baby face, and small blue eyes made him seem as harmless as a child. But he had a commanding voice, and I loved his wit and cynicism in the same way that I imagined Cicero’s students had once loved him. Armies destroyed people, and gladiators entertained them, but orators like Cicero and Seneca inspired them. One day I would do the same.

  “Marcus Licinius Crassus was the richest man in the Senate, perhaps the richest man in Roman history,” Seneca continued. “He had more than five hundred slaves and was an expert in architecture. He knew how to control fires by destroying the burning buildings and curtailing the spread of flames to nearby homes. When fire struck Rome, Crassus and his men ran to the flames and offered an option to the surrounding property owners. They could sell to young Crassus on the spot at a discounted rate, or they could watch their houses go up in flames. As soon as they shook hands on the deal, Crassus’s slaves would extinguish the fire, and Crassus would reap his rewards.”

  “Brilliant,” Caligula said.

  Seneca shot him a look, but I knew Caligula didn’t care.

  “At the height of his wealth, Crassus was worth more than 200 million sestertii. And because he had built his fortune on the backs of slaves, he had a great incentive to quash Spartacus’s rebellion. Since Rome’s best generals were fighting in foreign lands, Crassus raised his own army to march against Spartacus and the rebel slaves. The first several battles did not go well for Crassus. At the first sign of trouble, his men abandoned their weapons and fled. To improve morale, Crassus revived the ancient practice of decimation. Lucian, what does that mean?”