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cried. “He’ll execute all of you when he finds out about this!”
    The captain ignored her. “Are you going to tell us, old man?”
    “Not unless you give me some more information than—” “Hold him.” One of the soldiers seized Hilkiah from behind and pinned his arms behind his back. The captain untied the small wooden club strapped to his belt and rammed it into Hilkiah’s stomach. Dinah screamed. She threw herself in front of the captain to shield her grandfather.
    “No! Stop! Don’t hurt him!”
    The captain flung Dinah aside. “Someone come in here and hold this girl,” he called. Another soldier ran in from the living room and grabbed Dinah, clamping his hand over her mouth. She struggled in vain to free herself.
    “Now tell me where your grandson is.”
    “No . . .” Hilkiah moaned.
    “Come on, old man. You’re wasting my time.”
    Dinah watched in horror as the captain clubbed her grandfather again and again. Please, God! Make them stop! Hilkiah doubled over, groaning helplessly.
    “This is your last chance,” the captain warned. When Hilkiah didn’t answer, the captain bludgeoned him in the head until blood poured down his face. The soldier holding Hilkiah let go, and he slumped to the floor.
    “Can you still hear me, old man?” the captain asked. Hilkiah curled into a ball, moaning in agony.
    “Maybe this girl knows something,” the soldier holding Dinah said. The captain turned to her.
    “Do you want to watch your grandfather die?” He gave Hilkiah a vicious kick. “I’m going to ask you the same question I asked him. Where’s Joshua ben Eliakim?”
    Dinah had no qualms about telling a lie to save her grandfather’s life. She waited until the soldier eased his hand off her mouth. “He’s at the palace with King Manasseh.”
    “No, he’s not,” the captain said. “And this is what will happen every time you lie to me.” He crouched beside Hilkiah and lifted his head, then smashed it against the stone floor, again and again.
    “Stop!” Dinah screamed. The soldier quickly covered her mouth. She felt her legs buckle beneath her, but the guard held her suspended in the air, her legs dangling uselessly. She was going to vomit all over his hand. Dear God, where was Abba? Where were all the servants? Why didn’t somebody help them?
    Her grandfather lay sprawled on the floor, unmoving. A dark puddle of blood slowly spread beneath his head. His robes were askew with his tunic bunched up around his knees, and his bare legs looked pale and shriveled. Dinah moved instinctively to cover him, to tuck his robes around him so he would be warm, but the soldier held her tightly in his grasp.
    “I’ll kill you next, girl. Where is your brother?”
    She felt the hand uncover her mouth. “Help me!” she screamed. The captain grabbed her throat with both hands and choked off her cries. He squeezed tighter and tighter until Dinah’s lungs felt as if they would burst. She felt the pressure building in her head. Her vision turned gray, then faded to black. She writhed in the soldier’s arms as the terror of suffocation overwhelmed her. One second before she would have fainted, the captain loosened his death grip. Dinah drew a deep, gasping breath.
    “This is your last chance,” he told her. “Next time you die. Where is he?”
    Dinah couldn’t think. Who were these murderers? Why did they want Joshua? If she didn’t tell them where he was, she would die. But if she told them, Joshua would probably die. They meant to kill all of them.
    Hilkiah uttered a faint groan, and the captain turned and kicked him again. They were waiting for her answer. But Dinah couldn’t remember any words or how to string them together into sentences. She tried to talk, but all that came out was a babbling moan of terror.
    Her killer’s hands circled around her throat again and squeezed. She couldn’t breathe. His fingers were crushing her windpipe. Time slowed as stars of light exploded, then swam through