Cleansing

by Roy A. Teel, Jr.

  Once the blade had passed through her throat, the two that had held her straight laid her down in the silver bowl, which was now empty. The knife wielding robed person took both hands and pulled the chest cavity open, and with a few quick swipes of the knife removed the child’s still beating heart and held it up for all to see. The steel rod was run through Emily’s body, and she was placed on a spit that was hand turned. The smell of the burning flesh and the crackle of both the fire and the burning body sent a plume of smoke high into the air as blood and other bodily fluids dripped into the flames and coals.

  The heart was placed in the bowl and was filleted into thin sections and given to each robed figure. The speaker came down from the podium and took a piece of the flesh and said, “This is my body and blood. Consume this in remembrance of me.” After the words had been spoken, the meat was consumed, and Emily’s blood from the silver bowl was passed from person to person and each drank of it. The speaker took the podium again and said, “The blessed bloody day of the Lord is nearly upon us. We must move with great haste to gain more souls to sacrifice as a pleasant offering to Yahweh, so that his second coming can be ushered in, and the new Jerusalem can come down from the heavens. So, Yahweh, as is written in second Timothy, chapter four, verse one, ‘I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.’ We must move quickly for the sake of all mankind. I have charged you with a great commission as our Lord charged Peter when he said, ‘Upon this rock I shall build my church.’ I have been ordained by Yahweh to usher in his second coming, and those who follow me know that they follow the apostle of Christ.”

  There was a rousing round of yeahs through the group, which had grown from a few dozen to a sea of robed faces. The group broke up. It was twelve thirty, and they took down their podium and other items and left the Psalm on the wall and Emily’s remains burning over the white hot fire

  Chapter Four

  “You have to use that pretty mouth for

  something more than talking, Chris.”

  The silence of the bedroom was broken by the ringing of John’s cell phone. He sat up in bed and said, “Swenson.” Jim’s voice came across the other end of the line. He was groggy and asked, “Do you ever fuckin’ sleep?” “I was asleep. What’s up?” “A forest ranger found the burnt remains of a child in the hills above Monte Nido.” John stood up and said, “Right in our back yard? They are killing these kids right in our back yard?” Jim was quiet for a moment then gave John the coordinates for his GPS and asked him to come.

  Sara was sitting up in the bed and asked, “Another one?” John nodded. “Do you think it’s the Swan girl?” John nodded again. “Where?” Sara asked, putting on her robe. “Monte Nido…the hills above it.” Sara walked over and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge in the wet bar. She sat down on the bed and said, “This is far beyond what law enforcement can deal with, isn’t it?” John was dressed. He looked at her and said, “Way beyond.” “So, how is the Eagle going to catch this psycho?” John walked out the bedroom door, and as he did he answered, “Psychos, Sara, psychos, and I don’t know.”

  John walked down to Jade’s house and pounded on the front door. She called out that she was coming, and John called out to her that he was waiting. He heard the dead bolt unlock, and Jade opened the door and walked back into the foyer of the house. She was nude, and her hair was going everywhere. “Rough night?” John asked. Jade didn’t get a word out when he heard Chris call out to her, “Is everything okay, Jade?” Chris came walking out of the bedroom nude and saw John standing in the foyer. The look on Chris’s face was enough for John. Chris stood frozen, and Jade had her hands on her hips and said, “Yes, John…I had a rough night getting laid. I have needs you know. What’s got you up at this hour?” “Dead kid.” Jade walked back to her bedroom as she spoke. “I’ll ride with you to the scene. I assume that it’s the same type of crime scene we have had in the other cases?” John just stood there staring at Chris before breaking the awkward silence.

  “Have you received the results from your bar exam?” “Um…yeah…I mean, yes sir…I passed. I received the letter yesterday.” “When are you supposed to head for Quantico?” “I haven’t received my orders yet, but I would assume soon.” John looked on at Chris standing nude. As a lifelong bodybuilder, Chris had a magnificent build, which is why John hired him to be his trainer. Now, the kid was done with school and ready to start his career in the FBI. “How long have you and Jade been seeing each other?” Chris was visibly uncomfortable with the question. “Um…what time is it?”

  John laughed as Jade reappeared from the back master bedroom. She saw John and Chris in what she thought was a standoff and said, “I was horny. Chris didn’t have to work, so I got him over here, got him hammered, then fucked the shit out of him.” She patted Chris on his bare ass and said, “I had a good time, kid, but you don’t measure up to Mr. Swenson… if you know what I mean.” She was staring at his non-erect penis. John shot her a dirty look, and Jade said, “What? It’s the truth. He’s still a kid. He hasn’t learned to fuck yet. But he has good equipment, so he just has to learn how to use something other than his cock.” She was putting on her medical examiner’s coat and picking up a case on the floor in the foyer. “You have to use that pretty mouth for something more than talking, Chris. If you’re going to please a woman, you need to use that tongue on the right spots on a woman…or a man…I never asked you. Do you go both ways?”

  John let out a laugh, and Chris looked horrified. “I’m straight, Jade.” She headed for the front door, talking all the while, “Huh…you might try having sex with a man. You’ll learn a lot, and if not, then the only way you’re going to get good at oral sex is practice, practice, practice.” Jade’s voice was fading as she walked up the walk and out to the driveway and John’s truck.

  John looked at Chris and said, “I’m in charge of your orders to Quantico. Meet me in my office at nine a.m. I need a second set of eyes on a case. I will give you a temporary shield and ID, and we can go over some case work.” “I don’t think I’m ready for this yet, John.” “It’s sir…and there is only one way to get ready in this line of work, and it’s in the line of fire. I will see you at my office at nine.” John walked out, and Chris gave a weak okay as John closed the door.

  Jim was standing near the edge of the hilltop when John and Jade pulled up. He put the cigarette he was smoking out with his fingers as he was in a dry, brushy area and said, “What the fuck? You bed Jade. Now you’re her chauffeur?” Jade shot him a dirty look and walked on over to where the yellow tarp was spread. John walked up to him and said, “Why can’t you let it die?” Jim let out a loud laugh and said, “Oh, yeah, that’s what I’m going to do. Let the fact that you got laid by Steve’s widow, Jade, and Sara die. Are you out of your fuckin’ mind? Steve got it. You got it, and I ain’t got it. There’s no way I’m ever letting it go until I get some of that.” John started for Jade and the yellow tarp and said, “There’s only one thing I can promise you, Jim, and that is you aren’t ever getting any of that.” He pointed to Jade, who was bent over looking at the crime scene.

  “Talk to Barbara. I’m sure she has a friend or two that you have the hots for. Maybe she would get one of them to throw you some action.” Jim followed behind John complaining, “I want some young pussy, not old pussy. Jesus! Don’t you know anything?” There was a rock outcropping behind where the remains of the child laid. There, on a sheared off rockface, was Psalm twenty-six, carved into the sandstone. John read it out loud, and for a fraction of a second, the scene fell silent.

  “Psalm twenty-six

  Vindicate me, O LORD,

  for I have walked in my integrity.

  I have also trusted in the LORD;

  I shall not slip.

  Examine me, O LORD, and prove me;

  try my mind and my heart.

  For You
r loving kindness is before my eyes,

  and I have walked in Your truth.

  I have not sat with idolatrous mortals,

  nor will I go in with hypocrites.

  I have hated the assembly of evildoers

  and will not sit with the wicked.

  I will wash my hands in innocence,

  so I will go about Your altar, O LORD,

  that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,

  and tell of all Your wondrous works.” NKJV

  John looked around when he had finished reading and saw teary eyes as everyone went about their work. John called to Jade and said, “I’m certain that the body is that of the Swan girl. You’re going to have to get DNA from the family to confirm.” Jim whirled around and said, “John, you can’t just tell those parents that we think we found their kid burned alive.” John was looking at the wall and said, “She wasn’t burned alive. They cut out her heart while she was alive and then consumed it.” “They? Fuckin’ they? Who the fuck is they?” Jim asked. “The group that’s doing these ritual killings.” Jim was pissed and asked, “Did you become a fuckin’ clairvoyant overnight? Did the almighty come down and visit you in your bedroom in Malibu? How do you know that this is a ritualistic killing all of a sudden?”

  John walked over to the badly burned body and had Jade turn the spit handle until the shell was upright. “The killers were pretty slick with the first couple of killings. They didn’t leave enough evidence for us to see what they were doing. They have gotten more sloppy, and from the looks of this one, they no longer want to hide the fact that they are removing the heart and then consuming it.” John was pointing to the ribs of the child spread wide open and nothing but a hole where her heart should be. “The lungs, or what’s left of them, are there. If the heart had not been removed, it would look like a prune, but it’s not there. This is a ritual killing, and there were a lot of people here for it.” John pointed to the ground around the pit and off in the distance. Jim could see that there were footprints all over the place, and they were both male and female. There were holes where high heels had been, and he looked at John and asked, “So how the fuck are we going to catch these fuckers?”

  John walked back to the rock outcropping that looked out over the sea and Malibu below. Jim followed, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. “You told me last night at the vigil that you are going to speak to the father of Walton, the mega-church guy in Van Nuys.” Jim nodded, exhaling a large amount of smoke. “Yea, I’m going to see him at ten. I sent him an email, and he has made time for me. Why?” John looked out over the sea and said, “I’m coming with you, and I’m bringing a rookie federal agent with me.” Jim took another hit off the smoke and asked, “Who the fuck are you bringing?” “Chris Mantel.” “What the fuck? He hasn’t even been to Quantico yet.” Jim looked hard at John and asked, “Okay…what’s your game? This isn’t about police business anymore, is it?”

  John never took his eyes off the sea as he answered. “The police, the feds. They will never uncover this mess. There’s only one person who can.” Jim took a deep drag off the cigarette and then put it out. “You’re walking a slippery slope here. The Eagle’s walking a slippery slope. You don’t have any idea what you’re dealing with or who you’re dealing with.” “The group is large, but there is one leader who is controlling the masses. The problem is I don’t know if the leader is male or female.” Jim lit another cigarette, snapping his Zippo shut. “Well, whoever the fuck it is has some great mind control shit going on, John, because there’s a large group of people who know this is happening and no one is talking.” Jim stared out at the sea with a thoughtful look on his face, and neither man spoke. John broke the silence and said, “After we meet with the pastor, I want you to fly up to Corcoran State Prison.”

  Jim didn’t look at John. He took a hit off the cigarette and said, “You think this is some spinoff of Richards’ family idea of the sixties?” “Yes…I’m starting to think so. I think someone out here is trying to emulate an age old cult classic.” Jim laughed and said, “And just what the fuck do you think you’re going to get out of that crazy ass bastard?” John turned to Jim and said, “You said you don’t think he’s crazy…you met him, right?” Jim nodded. “Well, the Iron Eagle hasn’t.” Jim’s face changed to one of alarm. “The Eagle is going to kill Richards?” “No…the Eagle is going to interrogate Richards and find out what he knows about what’s going on outside.” Jim put out the smoke and put it in his pocket. He turned to head back to the crime scene and said, “Well, the one thing I will say about hanging out with you, John…it’s never fuckin’ boring.” The two men walked back to the crime scene. They cleared their men to work it, and John asked Jim to join him at his office and meet Chris. He agreed, and the two men left the scene for the federal building on Wilshire.

  Chapter Five

  “… strap on a pair of balls that

  match those muscles and tell us

  everything you can...”

  Annette and George Swan collapsed in screams and sobs when Jade informed them that there was a DNA match between the body found and their daughter, Emily. This was not Jade’s job. She usually wasn’t delivering this news. This was supposed to be done by a detective and a chaplain. She was used to having people come in to identify unknown persons, and that was hard enough. The reaction of the parents was almost the same as those who came in to identify a body, she commented to one of her coworkers when she walked back to her office.

  Chris had been escorted through the federal building and taken to the seventeenth floor where he was roughed up then handed his temporary ID and badge and escorted to John’s office. He was ordered to sit and wait for Special Agent Swenson. John had been watching the goings on from one-way glass the whole time. He tapped one of his human resources people on the shoulder and smiled as he made his way to his office. Chris was sitting still when John walked in. John said nothing, and Chris sat silent until the silence was broken by Jim walking through the door. “So…what’s up, numb nuts?” Jim was looking at Chris who sat in stunned silence. Jim let out a laugh and put a cigarette behind his ear. He patted Chris on the shoulder and said to John, “This kid reminds me of someone I used to know.” John walked around to the back of his desk with several gray folders and his tablet.

  John said to Chris, never looking up, “So, you have been through HR?” “Um…yes sir...they weren’t very friendly.” “They’re not paid to be friendly; they’re paid to make sure that everyone in this damn building does their job.” Jim sat in the chair next to Chris with a huge smile on his face. John looked up and saw it but said nothing. Jim asked, “Is this your new prodigy, or are you busting my balls? I just drove all the fuckin’ way over here at your goddamn request, Swenson.” The look on Chris’s face said it all. He was terrified.

  John stared laughing and said, “Christopher Mantel, please meet Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim O’Brian.” They shook hands, and Chris said, “It’s an honor to meet you, sir.” Jim sat down and said, “Yeah, yeah. I don’t need your lip prints on my ass. Save them for that asshole.” He pointed at John, who was handing the two men four gray files. John said, “Chris, your credentials expire in one week. You are to report to Quantico for training next Monday, so I only have you for a brief period.” Chris looked down at the files and asked, “What do you want from me, sir. I’m not trained as an agent. I’m a lawyer.” Jim roared with laughter. “Jesus Christ. You turned the guy into a goddamn lawyer? You are a fuckin’ asshole, Swenson.” Jim looked at Chris and said, “You know you don’t have to be a goddamned lawyer to join the FBI, right?” Chris nodded and told Jim he was already going to law school when he met John.

  “Where the fuck did you go to school?” “Pepperdine University.” Jim looked over at John and said, “Dia-fuckin-bolical…you son of a bitch. This is a kid of faith?” John nodded. Chris had a confused look on his face. “A kid of faith?” he asked. Jim n
odded, putting the cigarette between his teeth and chomping like it was a piece of gum. “Oh yeah…Special Agent Swenson and I are not men of faith…we both know a lot about it, but we don’t…let’s say… practice it. So what’s your faith, kid?” “Christian…” Jim nodded. “Yea, okay. Well, that cleared that right up. What kind of fuckin’ Christian are you?” Chris looked at John and said, “I don’t understand the question.” John looked up and asked, “What denomination?” “Oh…well, my mother was a Methodist, and my father is Catholic.” Jim laughed. “Was your father a choir boy?” “I don’t know. I don’t recall him ever going to church.” Jim let out a sigh and said, “Then he was a choir boy.” John said, “Chris, the reason I brought you in before your formal training is to get your view on a killing spree that we have going on in LA.” Chris looked at the markings on the gray files and asked, “Are these case files?” “Yes, they are. Open the top one.”

  Jim opened his as did John. There was a moment of hesitation, and Chris opened his. He looked down at first in horror and then with a look of curiosity. He looked over the file and then began to read the case report and look at the photographs. Jim had been watching him, waiting for him to wretch on the floor, but the kid was engrossed in the file. John asked, “What do you see, Chris?” “An altar and burnt offering to Yahweh. A Psalm of David…well, part of Psalm twenty-six.” John asked, “What do you know about that Psalm?” “It’s a Psalm of Prayer and Divine Scrutiny and Redemption.” “Redemption from what?” “Sin. Sinners. It’s what we would call a ‘cleansing’ Psalm.”