by D. L. Hicks
He hung up.
J.D. stared down at the phone in his hand. He had no alternative; Dash was right – standing here like a stale bottle of piss was helping no one.
He returned to his car, looking back at Charlotte’s house one more time. Things weren’t right between them – there was no denying that – but he had been her partner for years now, and knew her like the back of his hand. Her accusations had stung, but that could be dealt with later; right now, she needed him to act.
Something about the scene in front of him made the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
He didn’t like it one bit.
CHAPTER 41
Charlotte had kept quiet in the back seat of Jack’s car, her mind running through every possible scenario she could think of. The frightening thing was, they all ended badly.
‘And … here we are,’ Jack said, sliding the car into park with a jolt. Charlotte could see him leaning forward, peering through the windscreen at something in front of them. Then he flopped back into his seat and laughed. ‘It couldn’t be more perfect.’ He released his seatbelt and climbed out the driver’s door.
As he did so, Charlotte heard a distant voice, raised with authority, yelling something. Was that Joseph?
Jack reached in and grabbed Charlotte, sitting her up and sliding her off the seat. He forced her onto her feet as a muffled reply came back. In the semi-darkness of the car park, it took Charlotte a few seconds to acclimatise to being upright again, take in her surroundings, and comprehend the scene in front of her.
They were parked out the front of the church, where eight or nine long concrete steps led up to the large and ornate doorway. Just inside the entry, Joseph was standing in a dressing gown and slippers. A small bulb glowed from the architecture above his head, shedding enough light for her to see that he had blood smeared on his hands. Then his eyes fell on her and bewilderment spread across his lined face. ‘Charlotte? What’s going on?’
‘We’ve come to pay you a little visit, Father,’ Jack said, his voice now lower and rasping. ‘Remember me?’
Charlotte brought her gaze up until it settled on her brother and, more to the point, the spectacle that surrounded him. Sprawled behind him in the entryway was another female victim, clearly deceased. Revulsion and shock were written across Joseph’s face. Even with her years of experience she was still overwhelmed by it, so she could only imagine what was twisting through Joseph’s mind right now. A victim on his doorstep, sirens in the distance, and his sister being held hostage at knife point by a lunatic.
There was a glint of recognition in Joseph’s eye. ‘It’s you,’ he said, watching as Jack escorted Charlotte across the distance that separated them, closer and closer. ‘I don’t know what you’re doing here, but let her go – she’s got nothing to do with … whatever this is. It’s between you and me.’
‘Oh, so brave for one so stained,’ Jack said, not bothering to hide his disgust. ‘You are correct there, Padre – this is between you and me, but Charlotte here has plenty to do with it as well. Besides, she’s my little bargaining chip – and a smart man never lets those go without a fight.’
He walked closer, still holding the knife to Charlotte’s throat, pressing it in slightly. ‘Oh. My. God. You haven’t killed another one, have you Father?’ Jack said, his breath close to her ear. ‘What do you think about that, little sis? Maybe I’ve been telling you a pack of lies – maybe Joseph really is your man.’
Charlotte ignored him, trying to slow her heart rate and remain calm. The electrical tape on her wrists had begun cutting into the flesh it was stuck to, and she grit her teeth. She was on high alert, waiting for any opportunity to make a move, but she knew that Jack held all the cards – at the moment, anyway.
‘You lying prick,’ Joseph cried. ‘You killed this girl, same as you killed those other girls, and you are going to pay the price for that, in this world or the next.’
‘Oh, right, of course,’ Jack replied, nodding his head in false agreement. ‘We all pay for our sins eventually, don’t we, Father – you included. But we’ve got plenty of time to get into that; first, we need to sort out this little situation a bit better. I need you to move away – down towards us, that’s the way,’ he said as Joseph started inching down the stone steps, his eyes not moving from Jack. ‘Now sit down on the last one, and don’t even think about doing anything stupid or I will slit her throat. You don’t want to see Charlotte bleeding out like that poor bitch, do you?’
Joseph shook his head, his bleary eyes as wide as saucers. Jack and Charlotte, still several metres away from him, began walking up the other side of the steps. Joseph got to the bottom step and sat down. Charlotte was glad he seemed to be staying calm; now was not the time for heroics.
As they reached the top step, she got a better look at the woman, slumped in the corner like a broken marionette. She couldn’t help but notice the similarities to the other victims – young, healthy, attractive, left to die. From a distance, she could see two white paper rectangles covering the woman’s eyes, which she had no doubt contained the biblical quote.
In that moment, she was certain the killer was Jack, her boyfriend, and not Joseph, her brother. What sort of a fucked-up world was she living in?
Jack spun Charlotte around and shoved her down onto the top step. Positioned behind her, he was keeping her under his control while at arm’s reach. ‘Now, that’s a little better,’ he said, standing atop the steps like a preacher, his subordinates seated in front and below him. ‘You comfortable, Father? ’Cause we’ve got a lot of talking to do.’
Joseph gave a stiff nod and stared out into the near-empty car park. Charlotte knew what he was thinking, because she was thinking the same: Where the hell are the police?
As if she had spoken of the devil, there was a screeching of tyres and two sets of headlights bobbed into the car park – one belonged to a marked police divisional van, the other to an unmarked black sedan. As their headlights lit up the scene, both vehicles slid to a violent stop and the drivers’ doors flung open almost simultaneously.
‘Well, looks like the cavalry has arrived,’ Jack said, increasing the pressure on Charlotte’s bound hands as he leant over her, the knife pressed firmly into the side of her neck. ‘Let’s see what these heroes want to do.’
Frozen in position, Jack, Charlotte and Joseph waited to see how the police would react. The three of them – two uniformed, one not – gathered in front of their vehicles, the headlights silhouetting them.
Charlotte recognised J.D. immediately, and her heart leapt.
‘Listen up!’ J.D. yelled, still ten or fifteen metres away. ‘We need everyone to stay calm, okay? No one has to get hurt here.’
Jack laughed, a maniacal cackle Charlotte had never heard before, and she was reminded again just how little she knew about the man she’d thought she loved.
‘Certainly, sir, whatever you say,’ Jack yelled back, the pitch of his voice wavering. ‘But what about the dead girl – it’s a bit too late for her, isn’t it?’ He laughed again, the only one to see any humour in his words.
J.D. took a few steps forward, and Charlotte could see him unlocking the mechanism on his holster, his right hand coming to rest on his firearm, ready to draw it in an instant.
‘Stop right where you are!’ Jack said suddenly. Charlotte could feel the hand that grasped her wrist was slippery with sweat. ‘Not one step closer or I start slicing, hero. Get back to the car and give us some room.’
J.D. stopped, his hands held up in an outward display of conciliation. ‘Relax, mate, relax,’ he said. ‘We’re only here to help – to stop anyone else from getting hurt.’
‘Then stay the fuck back – we’ve got some talking to do,’ Jack said.
‘I can’t do that, I need to—’
‘Get the fuck back now!’ Jack screamed, increasing the pressure of the knife on Charlotte’s throat. She winced as she felt a sharp sting and a trickle of blood run down the side of her neck.
/> ‘Okay, okay.’ J.D. backed off immediately. ‘Just stay calm. What about Father Joseph – can he come with me?’
‘Not a chance.’ Jack’s voice had taken on the disgusted tone he used whenever he talked about Joseph. ‘I’m running the show here, not you, so just get the hell back and let me do what I have to.’
J.D. took a few more steps backward until he hit the bumper bar of his car with his hamstrings. ‘Right, I’ve done what you asked,’ he yelled. ‘How about letting the priest go? A sign of good faith, huh?’
‘How about you shut up and leave us alone!’ Jack yelled. He knelt down behind Charlotte then, maybe to reduce his potential as a target. ‘There’s no such thing as good faith – anything to do with faith is bad, right, Father?’
From her position, Charlotte could see that Joe was still looking about blankly, as if somehow removed from the events that were unfolding around him. A sheen of sweat covered his face, and she could see patches where it had drenched the pyjamas he wore under his dressing gown. Of more concern was the grey pallor of his face, as if he could pass out at any moment.
‘I … don’t know what you mean,’ he said softly. ‘I’m just a priest – I only try to help people.’
‘Try to help people?’ Jack snapped, his voice rising. ‘Is that what you call it, you creep. You helped me all right – helped me live a fucked-up life, helped me become a monster. That’s how you helped me, you worthless piece of shit.’
Joseph’s face fell, confusion muddling his features. ‘Please, I don’t know what you mean,’ he stuttered. ‘I tried to listen to your confession – I wanted to help you. You chose not to go down that path – I don’t know what else you expected me to do.’
‘Is that what you think this is about, you senile old fool? You’re stupider than I thought. You need to have a good think about who I am, Father, because I am the ghost of your past come back to haunt you. Think about all those dirty, nasty secrets you have in your life – those creaking skeletons in your closet. I am one of those skeletons – one that you created. You and your twisted friend together.’
Joseph looked like his head was about to explode, utter bewilderment plastered across it. ‘You have to stop talking in riddles,’ he said. ‘If you think I’m responsible for something, you’re going to have to tell me what it is.’
‘You know, Father, you just don’t want to say – especially in front of your pig sister. But how about I give you a clue? Think back to the eighties – when you first started doing this crap you call work. Any memories from back then cast a shadow over that heartless soul of yours?’
Charlotte watched Joseph closely, searching for any hint that he knew what Jack was referring to. So far, so good.
‘Please – I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just tell me.’ Joseph’s weary face was pleading, anxious to set things right.
‘Okay, I’ll play your game,’ Jack said, his voice cold. ‘In fact, I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. Let me take you back, Father, to the late eighties, when you shared a parish with Father Alan Watson. Ringing any bells yet?’
Joseph nodded slowly, his face reddening in recognition. Charlotte’s breath caught. It couldn’t be true.
‘You might recall two altar boys back then – Ben and Johnny? Well I am Johnny, all grown up now. See, that’s a big problem with what you were doing back then – you forgot that the kids you molested would one day grow up.’
Joseph hung his head, his shoulders slumping. Charlotte’s heart was pounding. What was going on? Did Joseph know about this? Just who was this person she knew as her brother?
‘You destroyed my life, you dirty fucker – that’s why I’ve decided to destroy yours,’ Jack said, emotion bubbling in his voice. ‘You preyed on vulnerable, innocent young boys with your sickness, and week after week you tore pieces of my life away, until I was left with nothing. All so you and your twisted mate could get your rocks off. You selfish fucking prick. You ruined my life. I hate you with everything I have, and I have made it my mission in life to hunt you down and make you pay for what you did.’
Charlotte could sense Jack was almost in tears, his voice quivering as he spoke. This was clearly a moment he had been working towards for decades – an opportunity to speak out against his attacker, something most victims never got the chance to do. Against her wishes, she felt herself sympathising with him – if what he was saying were true, the revulsion she held for her brother was beyond explanation.
‘But … the women,’ Joseph said shakily. ‘Why? Why slaughter innocent people like that? What did they ever do to deserve that?’
‘Deserve?’ Jack shouted. ‘You think this is about what people deserve? Your mate Father Watson got what he deserved, and I can’t say I’m sorry about that. But did you ever stop to think if I deserved what happened to me? I was a child! Those women played a huge part in bringing you to your knees. And judging from where we sit now, I’d say my mission is accomplished.’
‘Wait … there’s something you need to understand, I—’
‘I understand perfectly!’ Jack screamed, his voice reverberating off the church’s stone walls. The police officers reacted to the outburst, all three drawing their firearms in anticipation, keeping them pointed low at the ground. ‘I’m the one who went through it, remember? You sit there all smug, still hiding behind your arrogance, and you dare to tell me I don’t understand? It’s you who doesn’t understand, Father, and you never have – that’s your problem.’
The police maintained their position, too far away to hear the conversation, but close enough to act if they had to. Charlotte knew that with one of their own in such a precarious position, there was no way they wouldn’t act if things spiralled out of control any further. If she were in J.D.’s position, she would rather die than let her partner down.
‘Can I ask you something?’ Joseph said, his head down, his voice barely audible. ‘Why do you think it was me?’
‘Think?’ Jack shot back angrily, grabbing Charlotte by her top and shaking her as he spoke. ‘There’s no think about it. I know it was you.’
‘Please, let me explain for two seconds,’ Joseph said, lifting his head. ‘It’s not what you think, I promise. You say I was involved and, as much as I hate to say it, I was, but not in the way you think.’
Jack’s voice from behind Charlotte was contorted with rage. ‘Don’t fuck with me, Father – you were there when it happened. That’s something no words of yours can ever change.’
‘I know I was there; I admit that,’ Joseph said, staring into Jack’s face, his eyes reddened with tears. ‘Is that what you want? An admission? Fine, you got it. Yes, I was there, but I didn’t do anything to you boys back then, or any boys since. I know you won’t believe me, but it’s true – I swear on my sister’s life.’
‘Your sister’s life?’ Jack shook his head in frustration. ‘You want to promise me something on her life? Because that doesn’t exactly mean much anymore, does it?’ As he said the words, Jack grabbed Charlotte’s wig and wrenched it from her head once more, revealing her stark, bald skin beneath. Joseph was clearly shocked by the sight, and moved towards his sister.
‘Sit the fuck down!’ Jack yelled, his arm slinging around Charlotte’s neck in a headlock. ‘I swear I’ll slice her right here in front of you.’
Joseph froze, halfway to his feet, tears streaming down his face. Charlotte looked down at him from Jack’s chokehold, panic and shame in her eyes, torn between the humiliation of her physical state and repulsion at what her brother might have done.
‘Charlotte, what’s going on? Why didn’t you tell me?’ Joseph’s voice caught on the last word and he let out a long, loud sob of despair.
Stuck where they were, metres apart, all Charlotte could do was look at Joseph and hope that he understood. Perched on the cold, slate-grey concrete steps of the church in the hands of a killer, she realised it didn’t matter how many crooks she’d caught, or how many cases she’d solved. All the aven
ged victims in the world meant nothing when all she wanted was to be held in the arms of someone who truly loved her. And now, all at once, she’d lost both Jack and Joseph.
‘Forget about her!’ Jack said, regaining control of the situation. ‘This is all your fault, Father – you are responsible for the way I am. My past is littered with unconsummated relationships, women who in the end would rather be alone than with me. That’s what happens when you’re a freak. No woman can stand to be with me, not even your dear sister when she’s at death’s door. I want you to suffer like I had to, and seeing you sitting there crying like a baby, trying to defend yourself and your actions almost makes me feel satisfied. Almost.’
Joseph looked at Jack, a steely resolve in his eyes. It was as if a fog had lifted; maybe he had realised if his sister was facing death and her demons, he could too. ‘I admit, I did wrong,’ he said. ‘I was there. I did nothing to stop it – that’s true, and unforgivable. But I swear to you, I didn’t touch you boys like that. Father Watson was a very powerful man in the church back then, and I was young and impressionable. Like everyone else, I did what he told me to – to my own detriment. Yes, I was aware of what he was doing, but I didn’t say anything – I couldn’t. I would’ve been excommunicated from the church, and no one would’ve believed me anyway. Hell, no one even believes allegations like that now, let alone thirty-odd years ago. I promise you, I never touched you or any other boy. Think back, please.’
‘You were there, every time I woke back up,’ Jack said, staying true to his convictions. ‘Every time, you would get us dressed again, pretending like nothing had happened.’
‘That’s because I cared!’ Joseph cried, breaking down again. ‘I tried to help you – to lessen the impact, to be there for you when he had gone. He banished me from that room until it was over. To this day, I still don’t know what went on in there – but I do know I tried to help you when I could. Meaningless, I know, but it was all I could think to do.’
‘No,’ Jack said, but Charlotte felt a glimmer of hope at the hesitation in his voice and she knew he was fighting against himself. ‘I know you were part of it – I’m sure. You’re bullshitting me.’