Sky Like Bone: a serial killer thriller

by V. J. Chambers

  Liddel came back into the room with two tall cups of steaming coffee. She set them both down on the table, one in front of Wren’s seat and one in front of hers. “There’s no one on the other side of the mirror.”

  Wren just smirked. “Like you’d tell me if there was.”

  “We’ve got no reason to question your story,” said Liddel.

  “I did use the gun, though,” said Wren.

  “So did Douglas Sanders, say our lab guys. Lots of times. The gunshot residue is pretty pronounced.” Liddel shook her head. “No worries. I’m not trying to peg you for a crime. We spoke to the FBI. They know you’re out here. You always this paranoid or just after being through a harrowing experience?”

  Wren laughed, coming back over to sit down. She picked up her cup of coffee.

  “So,” said Liddel, “I think I’ve got everything that happened. And I should let you know that we’re picking up Gloria Bryant.”

  “Oh, well, that’s good,” said Wren. “But did I mention that she and Doug were talking about some gathering at his place? So, she might be there.”

  “Well, it’s morning. She’s probably at home,” said Liddel. “But if we can’t find her there, we will look at Sanders’s place. We’re going to interrogate her—well, I’m here to offer you lead on that if you want.”

  “Me?” said Wren.

  “This is your case,” said Liddel. “And far be it from me to be the local yokel who steps in and mucks everything up for the feds.”

  “Well…” Wren shook her head. “I don’t know if this is a federal case. We thought this was connected to a cult, but the way they shot us, it wasn’t ritualistic. They kept it secret from the other members of their organization. And I don’t know if the evidence bears out…” She rubbed her forehead. “To be honest, I don’t know why they shot us at all.”

  “And when you say ‘they’—”

  “I’m only including her because she was obviously aware it was happening and she was helping to dispose of bodies. She may not have pulled the trigger, but she was in on it. I don’t know that anyone else was, however. I don’t see any evidence to connect Paul Watkins to this. He was banned from the Love Over Want campus, as near as I know.”

  “Right, well, as you say, it’s a puzzle. And if you want first crack at unraveling it, it’s yours.”

  Wren thought about it. She really didn’t have a lot of experience with interrogation. But she was more familiar with the particulars of what had happened than anyone, and she would likely stand the best chance of getting through to Gloria. “All right,” she said. “But I wanted to go back to the hospital to see Caius. He’s, um, my boyfriend.” She only hesitated because the word seemed stupid to describe what they were to each other. It sounded so high school.

  “Of course,” said Liddel. “You go and see him, and hopefully, by the time you’re back, we’ll have brought her in.”

  WREN peered down at Reilly’s inert form. He was bandaged all over, and he had an IV sticking out of his arm, and she didn’t like it. Despite his bulk, he seemed too small lying on that hospital bed, and she felt her heart go out of rhythm in painful terror.

  She hadn’t let herself be afraid for him out there, not truly. She’d had moments of being frightened, but she’d pushed them down.

  Now, there was no reason to do that, and she felt the full force of it rip into her body.

  She had to sit down. She sat in the chair by his bed.

  He was still unconscious, but he was okay. She took one of is hands in her own, the one not connected to an IV. She held his hand and lay her head down on the edge of the bed.

  She cried.

  It went on for a while. It was a good cry, sort of cleansing, and she’d needed it, because she’d been pushing it down for too long. Once it was all out, she sat up and found a tissue. She mopped at her face and took deep breaths until she felt calm again.

  The tears had been good. It had washed away the last of the badness.

  She went back to Reilly and kissed his forehead. “I’ll be back, okay? You wait for me here.” She straightened, and then turned away. She was lucky that the hospital was only a block away from the police station, and it was easy to walk back and forth.

  “Where you going?” came Reilly’s voice.

  She turned back to look at him. “You’re awake.”

  He smiled. “I’ve got some amazing painkillers going on. Wow.”

  She laughed. “That’s the first thing you say to me? Well, when you’re feeling better, I’ll tell you all about the tripping teenage boys I had to deal with to get help.”

  “The what?”

  “It’s a story,” she said. “But I’ve got to head back to the station, because they’re bringing Gloria Bryant in, and we need to get to the bottom of all of this.”

  “Gloria?” he said. “What’s she got to do with it?”

  “Oh, you probably weren’t conscious when she came in,” said Wren. “She helped Doug carry our bodies out to the van. They talked a little, but I don’t understand why they were doing it.”

  “Wow, so Gloria was in on it all along. What about Watkins?”

  “He wasn’t there,” said Wren. “I feel as though, if he had been part of it, Doug would have wanted his help disposing of the bodies.” She stopped and considered. “I guess he was just going to dump us out there. He didn’t bring a shovel. I hope he didn’t bring a shovel. If there was a shovel in that van and I could have used that as a weapon, then I’m going to feel really stupid.”

  “I don’t know about a shovel,” said Reilly. “I was out of it.”

  “Why are we talking about this?” she laughed. “You don’t worry. You focus on feeling better, okay? Don’t think any bad thoughts at all.”

  “This isn’t my first gunshot wound, Delacroix,” he said, shaking his head at her. “Come on, give me some credit.”

  “I know, but…” She had to stop, because otherwise she would start crying again. She drew in a long, steadying breath. “It was scary, okay?”

  “I’m fine,” he said.

  “Um, you’re not. You’re really badly wounded. But you’re going to be okay.” She feathered her fingers over his face.

  He caught them and kissed her fingertips. “Of course I am. Go get Gloria Bryant.”

  She nodded. “I will.” She started to pull away.

  He gripped her hand and tugged her back. “Hey, Wren? I do want to say I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry for what?”

  “For not pulling out.”

  She furrowed her brow. He said this before, and she hadn’t been able to compute it, but now a heavy feeling was descending onto her, sinking into her skin and settling in her abdomen.

  “I’m sorry I came inside you,” he said. “I really don’t know what the hell happened with all of that, but I should have at least had the decency—”

  “Stop.” She tugged her hand out of his.

  He gazed at her.

  Her hand went to her stomach. She didn’t mean to. It was as if it moved of its own accord. “I can’t think about this right now.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I mean, it’s probably fine. It was one time. I’m sure you’re not…”

  Pregnant.

  “Probably not,” she said. “But I really can’t think about this right now.”

  “I mean, I feel like it doesn’t even happen right away. Like they would have to be alive in your body when you ovulated, and that might not even be for days, so—”

  “Cai.” Her voice was sharp.

  “Yeah?”

  “Stop.”

  He nodded at her. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” She looked down at the floor.

  They were quiet.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  GLORIA Bryant’s eye makeup was smudged underneath her eyes, and her hair was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail. She had been crying. She sat in another of the interrogation rooms, fiddling with a pencil that had been left out on the table.


  When Wren came inside the room, Gloria looked up, and then burst into fresh tears.

  Wren handed her a tissue box, which was sitting near the door.

  “You’re alive,” said Gloria.

  “Clive isn’t,” said Wren, sitting down across the table from her.

  “But Cai?”

  “He made it,” said Wren.

  “Oh, that’s so good,” said Gloria. “I never wanted anyone to die.” She sobbed loudly into her tissue for a while and Wren waited.

  Eventually, Gloria quieted.

  “Let’s start by talking about Harmony Peterson,” said Wren.

  “Oh, God,” said Gloria. “She was like you. She was trying to expose us. She came to Doug and told him that she had an offer from a journalist to sell her story about Love Over Want, and it would have been the end of us. Can you imagine? Occult Orgy Group Charity?” She gestured in front of her as is she was laying out a huge headline. “But I didn’t want to kill her. And Doug said that we were only going to scare her.”

  “Wait, let’s go back,” said Wren. “If she knew that Doug wouldn’t be happy, why did she tell him about it?”

  “She wanted Doug to pay her off instead. Pay her to be quiet. She was blackmailing us. Even so, I still didn’t want her to be hurt. I really don’t know how it got out of hand. I wasn’t even there. I’m at home, alone with my dogs, and Doug calls, and he’s all, ‘Get down here, Gloria.’” She mimicked Doug’s voice. “So, I get there, and…” She collapsed in tears again, yanking out tissue after tissue from the box.

  “And?”

  “And she was dead,” said Gloria.

  “So, you’re telling me that you had no foreknowledge that Doug intended to kill her?”

  “No, none,” said Gloria. “None at all. I was blindsided by her body.”

  “Why did Doug call you, then?” said Wren. “Murder’s a big secret. Why did he trust you with it?”

  “I…” She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

  “Because he made me help with the body,” she said.

  “He couldn’t move Harmony Peterson’s body on his own? He needed your help.” Wren raised her eyebrows. “Because when I think of a person who I’d call to help move a body, you come to mind.”

  “I don’t know,” said Gloria, and she began to sob more loudly.

  Wren was pretty sure that Gloria was lying. But this was probably because Gloria was smart. She knew that there was no way she wriggled out of this, not when Wren was a witness to her helping with the bodies and talking to Doug. But if she minimized her involvement in it and claimed that Doug had threatened her, she might be able to plead the entire thing down to a minimal charge. Hell, with her money, who knew if she’d even see jail time?

  Wren could push, but she also realized that Gloria was here without a lawyer, and if Wren pushed too hard, she might clam up entirely.

  And then Wren cocked her head to one side. Well, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that this was a cult thing. If so, Gloria might really be a victim. Wren leaned back in her chair. “You don’t think Doug wanted the body for any… magical reason.”

  Gloria lay down the tissue, eyes wide. “We’re not like that. It’s not that kind of magic. It’s more about changing the inside of a person, you know?”

  Wren nodded. “So, this had nothing to do with the Order of the West Temple? I’m sure you’re aware that being involved in multiple murders isn’t going to be great press for Love Over Want.”

  “Well, it won’t matter. I won’t be part of it anymore.” Her face twisted. “I live for that place. It’s everything to me. Without it, what do I have, anyway? A big, empty house? Money? A bunch of fake friends who only care about their manicures?” She grimaced. “I am going to miss my dogs, of course. My poor, sweet babies.”

  Wren was thinking about Krieger’s assessment of this woman. He had been pretty right on. The way Wren figured it, Love Over Want was the only thing that mattered in Gloria’s world. A threat to it had made her willing to move mountains to protect the place. Or to commit murder.

  “So, where were we?” said Wren. “Oh, yeah, you were explaining why you didn’t report the murder of Harmony Peterson?”

  “I thought I’d be in trouble for it,” said Gloria. “Doug said we were in it together. He said that we would both go to jail for the rest of our lives. He said it was an accident, and that the gun just went off, and… and… well, turning him in wouldn’t bring Harmony back, would it?” Gloria let out another sob. Then she looked up, and it was as if a light bulb had just gone off over her head. “And he threatened me,” she said in a clear, cold voice.

  “Oh, did he.”

  “Yes,” said Gloria, nodding. “He had already killed one woman, and he knew where I lived. He knew everything about me. He made it clear that he would get to me if I betrayed him.”

  “But if you went to the police, they would have protected you, don’t you think?”

  “I couldn’t trust that,” said Gloria. She sat up straighter. “Besides, he could have gotten to me other ways. Magical ways, from within the walls of prison.” Her mouth curved into a satisfied smirk.

  “You just said that the magic—”

  “Well, I could never do it,” said Gloria. “My spells for love and companionship and meaningful relationships, they never worked. I turned inward, and I thought there must be something broken within me, something that needed mended. But Doug, there has to be some reason for his meteoric rise.”

  “Rise to be the head of a charity organization in a volunteer position?”

  “There was a salary for Doug,” said Gloria. “He must have done something to get where he was. Maybe he did do magic with the bodies. I thought it was strange that he never brought a shovel.”

  Wren licked her lips. Could Doug have been using bodies for black magic? Even if so, she didn’t think there was any reason to give credence to Gloria’s idea that the magic had worked in any way. Gloria was making this up to strengthen her own defense.

  “Anyway,” said Gloria, “I knew I couldn’t cross him. I was terrified of him.”

  “I see,” said Wren. “So, how did you become involved in the scheme to kill myself, Clive, and Cai?”

  “I didn’t,” she said. “He just did it.”

  “So, you had no idea that it was planned?” said Wren, folding her arms over her chest. “What about the ritual that night? That was hastily put together.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “You didn’t help him call in people in order to have a ritual for our benefit?”

  “It was supposed to be on the weekend is all. I thought he must have some good reason for moving it up a few days,” she said. “And like I said, I was terrified of him, so I wasn’t about to cross him.”

  “You and Doug manufactured that ritual in order to distract us and get us where you wanted us so that you could kill us.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I mean, maybe that’s what Doug did, but I had no idea, I promise you. I do know that he got weird when he found out you were FBI.”

  “So, he did know,” said Wren. “I knew he knew.”

  “He found that out from Paul, who found it out from Jim and Anna McDonald.”

  Yeah, telling the McDonalds had been a mistake. It had cost Krieger his life.

  “I guess maybe then he decided on a scheme to hurt you,” said Gloria. “But I think it was because he was afraid you’d find out about Harmony.”

  “Did he say this to you?”

  “We didn’t talk about it,” she said. “He shot people and then showed me the bodies.” She sniffed. “He said I had to help him. And I really had no choice, don’t you see?”

  “Right, because he threatened you.”

  “He threatened my life.”

  “But if he killed you, who would help him with the bodies? With your body? Which, to be clear, is the only reason he ever brought you into this at all.”

&n
bsp; Gloria narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know what I think of your tone.”

  “What tone?”

  “Maybe I should talk to a lawyer.”

  Wren spread her hands. “That’s your right.”

  “Yeah, I have a right to remain silent.”

  “You do.” Wren shrugged.

  “Fine,” said Gloria. “Well, starting now. I’m going to be silent.”

  Wren folded her hands into her lap and looked at Gloria.

  “What?” said Gloria. “Why are you looking at me like that? Can’t you go away or something?”

  “Am I making you uncomfortable?” said Wren. “Maybe it’s your conscious speaking. Maybe if you unburden yourself, you’ll feel better.”

  “I won’t,” said Gloria. “Because I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m a victim of Doug. I’m innocent here. I had no choice at all.”

  “SO, what do you think?” said Wren to Liddel.

  “Me?” said Liddel. “You’re the expert on cults.”

  “Actually, I work with serial killers. I’m a profiler,” said Wren. “We just came out here to help Clive Krieger out. But I do know a little about cults. I was actually raised in one. And this doesn’t feel like a cult murder to me. Even if Doug Sanders is crazy like that, he wouldn’t likely have done this on his own and made it so hush-hush. Cult leaders get off on controlling lots of people and getting them all to do their bidding. Sometimes they like to make other people murder for them, but they’re not the types to get their hands dirty, so this seems like it’s your department. A regular, straightforward murder. Well, two murders. But it’s not the FBI’s jurisdiction in any way.”

  Liddel nodded. “Yeah, it does seem like it’s ours.”

  “I guess I’ll bow out then, and leave you guys to it,” said Wren.

  “Obviously, since an FBI agent was killed, we’ll be happy to cooperate in any way we can,” said Liddel.

  “There’s a guy named Johnny Riviera who went missing, and we don’t know if it’s related,” said Wren. “The kind of people who ended up at Love Over Want weren’t necessarily stable, so he could have disappeared for other reasons. But you might want to see if you can discover anything about him.”