They were all in it together. The killer and the people enabling him.
"That doesn't make any sense," said Adrian, his forehead wrinkled.
"I really don't have the time to explain," she said, running down the stairs and sprinting toward her car. She wanted to go and make the arrest right away.
"Wait!" Adrian held the car door open as she got behind the wheel and tried pulling it close. "Hear me out!"
"What is it?" she asked, impatiently.
Adrian took the USB out of his pocket. "I have the results of the VMD."
Her face softened and she let go of the door handle.
"I went a step further and sent the fingerprints obtained to every state in America to see if they matched with any prints in their criminal databases."
Alice listened, transfixed.
"A match turned up in the state of Ohio." Be reached inside his pocket and took out a folded piece of paper. Smoothing it out, he handed it to her. "Does this ring a bell?"
Her stomach flipped when she laid eyes on the man in the photograph. She recognized the dragon tattoo on his arm right away. Her eyes trailed over the long blonde hair and the clear blue eyes. The jaw was covered in a light stubble but the dimple in his chin was still visible.
She looked up at Adrian. "Father Thomas?"
"Turns out he wasn't always the holy man he pretends to be now," said Adrian. "He worked as a nurse in a hospital in Ohio but was fired from his job when he slashed a guy's throat in an argument. Surprisingly, he managed to stay out of prison claiming that he did it in an act of self-defense."
Her head reeled from the revelation.
"That strand of hair you found in Eric's car, it could be pure chance. He could have picked up Marie for sex and later dropped her off."
Alice looked him in the eyes. "Do you want to come and say a prayer with me?"
He hesitated. "It's been a long time since I have been inside a church," he said, nervously.
"It’s been a long time for me, too," she said, pulling the door close. “Let’s go.”
He thought about her offer for a moment, let out a sigh, and went around the car to get inside the passenger seat.
Alice revved the car; it took a while to start. Even after getting it fixed, it wasn’t ever going to be in the same condition as before. She hoped it would not fail her that night as she stepped on the pedal and whizzed away from the motel.
***
Dark clouds had gathered at the horizon. A light drizzle had started by the time they got to the church. Alice looked up at the edifice submerged in the darkness of the night, its silhouette coming into focus now and then, illuminated by bolts of lightning flashing in the sky.
She walked up to the large oak door and banged with her fist. It took a long while for Father Thomas to open up.
He gave them a puzzled smile. “I was not expecting visitors at this time of the night.” He gazed at the dark skies. “Looks like there is a storm coming. Are the two of you looking for shelter?”
Alice gave him a steely look. “We were hoping you could answer some questions about Michael Lewis.”
“Of course. You will always find me of service to the armed forces. After all, I have deep appreciation for all that you do to keep the city safe and I would do everything in my power to help you.” A toad-like smile rippled across his face making him look all the more menacing.
He stepped aside, letting them in. Alice walked inside with a jittery Adrian in tow.
She was surprised to find the inside of the church drenched in darkness as well. “Power outages are common in this weather. Maybe we could make do with the light from the candles.” He disappeared inside his office and emerged a moment later with a burning candle stick in hand. It warmed the pews and altar in its soft glow and cast deep shadows under the Father’s eyes and the hollows of his cheeks, giving him an uncanny resemblance to the devil.
“Now how is it that I could help you?” he asked, calmly.
“Did you happen to run into Michael the night he was killed?” she asked.
He thought for a long while. “Not that I remember. No, I don’t think I did.”
“Because I have reason to suspect that you were at the club talking to him over drinks.”
The priest chuckled. “I know I may come off as rather progressive when compared to other clergymen but I assure you I am not that open minded when it comes to religion.”
His composure baffled her. How could he remain so calm while being interrogated for possible murder?
Weren’t all psychopaths that way? Slaves of their monstrous urges and unafraid of consequences.
“Could you explain why your fingerprints are all over the garbage used to dump the bodies?”
The question unnerved him. Alice felt a sense of achievement to see his confidence chip.
“I am not sure I understand,” he said.
“It’s really going to do you no good to deny your crimes at this point,” said Adrian. “Just confess to the murders and hand yourself over. It is the best thing you can do for yourself right now.”
Thomas was in no mood to give up easily. “I think you are making a horrible mistake,” he said, keeping up the pretense of innocence.
Alice took a step forward, looking him dead straight in the eyes. “You had me confused for a long time. I kept looking at the victims and I could see no connection. But I can see it now.”
He looked at her impassively. Unmoved by her little speech.
“They all have one thing in common. They all had a secret. Jeffery a closeted gay and Marie working as a prostitute — deviant behavior frowned upon by the Church. What I want you to tell me is why did you kill Michael? What was his secret?”
Thunder and lightning flashed outside as it began raining heavily. White light filtered inside the church from the large mullioned windows. A gust of wind made the candle flame flicker momentarily.
“The boy was lost, I’ll admit it. Experimenting with drugs and fornicating with women. His mother was deeply concerned that he had deviated from the path of God. But I swear I do not have anything to do with his murder. These . . .these fingerprints that you are talking about . . . someone is trying to frame me . . . it is a conspiracy against the Church . . . against Holy men carrying out the work of God!” he stammered.
“I bet you have always been able to talk your way out of difficult situations,” she said. “Too bad it’s not going to work for you now.”
He became livid. “You do not have enough evidence to arrest me,” he said through gritted teeth.
Alice glanced at his forearm. The sleeve had been slightly rolled up, revealing the tail of the dragon. His eyes followed her gaze. He quickly tugged his sleeve over the tattoo and stumbled backward, terrified.
“I guess I’ll see you in court,” she said. She turned around and began striding down the aisle toward the door.
As Adrian turned to follow her outside, the priest lunged forward, grabbing him by the neck and yanking Adrian toward him. Alice spun around and saw Father Thomas holding a trembling Adrian by the neck with a knife pressed against his skin. “Whatever I did, I did it for the right cause. I won’t let a couple of heathens tell me that I was in the wrong for killing sinners!” he yelled.
Alice glanced at the terrified expression on Adrian’s face and slowly raised her hands in surrender.
“Take out your weapon and place it on the floor,” he instructed.
Alice reached for her holster. She unsnapped the flap covering her Glock Gen 5. A bolt of lightning struck the sky outside the window and a strong gale blew through the church knocking over the candlestick placed atop the altar.
It fell at Father Thomas’ feet and the flame caught the end of his cassock. He let go of Adrian, the knife falling from his hand and landing with a loud clang. He flailed his arms trying to put out the fire. Alice used the opportunity to grab her gun and point it straight at him as he struggled to put out the flames. Adrian scrambled toward her.
; The priest succeeded in putting out the flames and looked up in bewilderment at Alice who had her gun leveled at him. “Call for backup,” she told Adrian who took out his cell phone and dialed 911.
***
Father Thomas pleaded not guilty in court for reasons of insanity. However, a psychologist determined that he was lying about his mental condition. He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms in jail with no possibility of parole.
Hoping to find forgiveness for his crimes, he later confessed to the murders admitting that the real number of victims ranged in the hundreds. He further admitted that he’d had the car that he used to pick up his victims destroyed by a car crusher to eliminate evidence tying him to the murders.
EPILOGUE
Tyler could not shake the man’s picture out of his head. He was unnaturally quiet on the ride back to Virginia. Alice could not understand what had gotten into him. They managed to catch the Butcher who had terrorized the people of Needles and claimed innocent lives for decades. While the others celebrated her achievement, he had not so much as cracked a smile.
Adrian made them pull over at a gas station as they drove out of California and into Arizona. Naomi went to use the bathroom while Adrian disappeared inside the shop. Alice found herself alone with Tyler in the car and plucked the courage to talk to him about acting so aloof.
“You don’t seem too happy about going back home,” she said.
“There is just a lot on my mind,” he said, curtly.
The terse response threw her off and almost made her clam up. “What’s wrong?” she prodded. He was acting rather strangely and she could not seem to put her finger on what was bothering him.
He didn’t seem to hear her. There were a thousand thoughts swirling inside his head. At the age of eight, he found himself trapped inside a well for hours until he was finally rescued. He had told her his memory of the accident was fuzzy and he could not recall how he had ended up there. What he did remember with astonishing clarity was the face of a man staring at him from above.
He locked eyes with Alice and for a moment considered telling her the truth. She held his gaze, waiting for him to speak. He remembered the look of sheer loathing in her eyes when she told him about her stepfather. She seemed much calmer now that they had caught the Butcher; he wondered whether she had found closure by bringing him to justice.Just then the door to the backseat slammed shut as Adrian climbed inside making them jump. “Naomi is going to take a few more minutes,” he told them. “She’s in the store; she can’t decide which flavor of soda to choose.” He sounded annoyed which made Alice wonder whether the two had gotten into an argument.
Tyler looked dead ahead on the road staring at nothing in particular. He could remember vividly now that the man had picked him up and tossed him in the well, laughing maniacally all the while. It was all too much to process. All these years he had lived in blissful ignorance of what really happened. Now that he knew the truth, it terrified him that someone could do something like that to a mere child for sheer amusement.
His phone began ringing. He picked it from the glove compartment. His brow puckered as he glanced at the screen. He killed the engine and stepped out of the car to take the call.
Alice watched him talk on the phone, his face clouding over as he listened to whoever was talking on the other end. The call unnerved him and he returned to the car looking unsettled.
“Could we make a detour back to California for a bit before heading home?” he asked. “My sister just called. She wants me to check on my grandfather’s grave.”
With the others’ approval, he got behind the wheel, turned the car around, and began driving in the direction of California. The cemetery was located atop a hill in a wooded area. They drove in silence up the winding path. Alice stared out the window mesmerized by the idyllic scenery.
Giant willow and oak trees cast their cool shadows over the marble tombstones. Alice could see Tyler’s eyes welling up with emotion as he parked the car and got out, searching for his grandfather’s grave.
He noticed Alice was staring and quickly rubbed away a tear rolling down his cheek. “He was like a father to me. He had been battling cancer for several years now. He had an indomitable spirit, nothing could ever knock him down, but in the end the cancer won and he died six months ago.”
The trudged over a hill toward a large white tombstone shaped in the likeness of a cross. Tyler knitted his brow and stared at the grave as they came near it. Alice could not tell what bothered him at first but once she looked closely she could tell things were awry. The tombstone was knocked over and the earth over the grave uneven.
Tyler narrowed his gaze at the patch of earth beside the tombstone that seemed to have been turned over. “Something is not right,” he murmured.
Alarmed by the discovery, he promptly contacted the cemetery administration to have a word. They tried to assure him that nothing untoward had happened to the grave but Tyler could not get rid of a terrible foreboding taking root inside him. He paid no heed to the administration’s false reassurances and requested them to exhume the casket.
The strange request had the rest of them feeling worried. They were not sure if Tyler was in the right state of mind to request such a thing. They tried to talk him out of it but he was adamant on going ahead with the plan.
The group looked on in anticipation as the excavator came rumbling toward the grave site and began clawing at the earth. Soon they could view the shiny casket underneath the dirt. Alice was surprised to see that it had not lost its lustrous sheen even after being buried for six months.
With the casket in full view, one of the construction workers turned to Tyler and said, “I hope that’s enough to ease your worries.” He lifted his yellow hat and wiped the sweat on his forehead. “Should we go on and fill it up?”
Alice and the others looked on in surprise as Tyler shook his head resolutely. “I want to look inside.”
The construction worker gave him a strange look as if he had gone mad.
“You sure?”
He nodded.
“Okay.” He motioned at the other workers to attach the coffin to the pulley and lift it up. “Prepare yourself. This place is about to stink.”
They stood in a circle around the coffin, staring at it awestruck. Tyler was the first to move. He stepped forward and reached out toward the casket, grabbing the heavy timber lid and lifting it open to look inside.
He opened it a crack and stared inside for a long moment while the others looked on. Finally, he let the lid fall wide open for everyone to see. The group let out a collective gasp. Naomi covered her mouth, her eyes bulging with shock. Alice stood stunned as did Tyler.
Only the construction worker had the guts to speak up. “Well, I’d be damned,” he said, grinning. “I haven’t seen that happen around here. Looks like your grandpa decided to go for a stroll.”
They stared at the empty casket before them. The plush silk lining inside, untouched.
To Be Continued...
The Next Installment
Book 4: Grave Deceit (CLICK HERE)
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John J. Hunter loves to write Mystery and Crime Thriller novellas. His stories can make your heart pound and lead you down a roller coaster of emotion. If you like eerie, spine-tingling, action-packed movies, look no further, as you will feel as though you are in the middle of the scene while reading.
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Scheme Of Sin (Wayne Falls Book 3) Page 8