The group of men climbed over a few half-built walls and walked across rickety hand-made bridges. Don waited for a couple of minutes before he followed with Luke nearby. Eventually they came upon a makeshift outdoor room with a deep fire pit. A bright, blazing fire roared increasing the ominous rumblings in Don’s gut.
Behind the fire sat a large table that looked as if it was intended to be some sort of an altar. Behind that was a gigantic statue of Lucifer. The flickering light from the fire made the statue’s eyes glitter. It almost looked alive. Don felt the hair on his arms stand on end.
Don squatted and took cover behind a pile of abandoned refuse a few yards away from the fire pit. He observed Luke hiding behind a similar pile concentrating on the scene in front of him.
The group of men took out red hoods similar to the white ones worn by the Ku Klux Clan and put them on. After that, a few of the attendees pounded drums to commence a ritual. The black hoods worn by the hostages were then ceremoniously removed. That’s when Don noticed that the clothes of the forlorn victims were filthy, their shoes tattered, and their hair dirty and straggly. They were homeless!
The hostages were tied with ropes and the group of men chanted in rhythm to the drums as they lifted one of the homeless men up onto the table. One of the kidnappers brandished a tactical knife with a large blade and held it over the homeless man as he chanted.
The homeless man cried out, “Please don’t hurt me! Please let me go!”
Don didn’t wait to see more. He jumped up and roared, “Freeze! This is the police! Drop your weapons or we’ll shoot!”
Pandemonium broke out. Like a hurricane blasting a house apart, the group scattered. Several of the men had guns and before they knew it, Don and Luke found themselves in a gunfight.
The homeless man curled up as much as he could, trying to make himself as small as possible given his restraints.
The men tried to advance on the detectives, but their aim was poor, so their bullets winged from the refuse. Slowly, between bullets whizzing near them, Don took turns with Luke moving forward. Their choreography involved aiming, firing, ducking, and rolling.
In the distance sirens blared, growing closer. Soon their attackers were down and wounded. The detectives confiscated their assaulters’ weapons and Don called for several ambulances while he watched Luke provide first aid to the more seriously injured. None of them were dead, at least not yet.
As Don went to help one of the hostages, a bullet zipped by his head. He dropped, rolled, and pointed his gun. Then he heard a shot from a different direction and a groan from the man who fired first. That man was hit in the shoulder. He staggered and went down. Looking towards the sound of the shot that brought him down, Don sucked in his breath when he saw Kate standing there with her gun pointed at the fallen man. Luke rushed forward and grabbed the man’s gun, cuffed him, and checked his wound.
Don stared at Kate. “What are you doing? Are you nuts? How did you get here? Get down so you don’t get hurt!”
Still holding her gun, Kate crouched down and shouted back. “I’m backing you up, that’s what I’m doing! And I think we all still need to take cover because a couple of those guys got away and they might double back like this one did and kill us all!”
Just then, a group of officers ran up to help. Don took charge. “Okay, while some of you help the wounded, we need men to guard against anyone who might come back and attack. A couple of you take the homeless men in for questioning. Zach Daskalis will want to be there. Give him a call. And get a forensic team down here. Call in the K-9 unit so we can round up anyone who escaped.” A grimace masquerading as a smile appeared on his lips as he added, “You might want to tell Forensics to bring coffee. This is going to be a long night.”
Don observed as officers read the injured detainees their rights, loaded them into ambulances, and took them to hospitals.
When he was satisfied the operations were going in the right direction, he turned toward Kate. Her gun was at her side and he noticed Luke making his way toward her from the other end of the fire pit. Don strode up and glared at her. “How did you get here? Did you follow us from the hotel?” His voice sounded loud and gruff.
“I ran down the stairs and got into the back of your car before you got down the elevator,” she confessed.
Don’s voice climbed a few more decibels. “What were you thinking? We are professional detectives investigating a murder! This isn’t a game, Kate!”
“I know it’s not a game! Two of my friends are dead! I have to live in a hotel because I might be the next one to get an axe buried into the back of my skull by devil worshipping jerks! Guess what? If you think that I’m the kind of person to just sit around and let someone devastate my life, then you are wrong!”
“Yeah, you’re right, I am wrong. Because until a few minutes ago, I thought you were an intelligent woman!”
Luke put a hand on Don’s shoulder. “Take it easy, Cheeto. She’s not hurt and this all turned out as well as it could.” He turned to Kate. “My partner has a right to be pissed. I understand that you lost your friends but getting into our car without us knowing is against the law. One of the reasons why is because we’re trained to deal with dangerous people, but you’re not.”
Kate put one hand on her hip and looked at the ground.
“Where’s your gun?” Luke demanded.
She held it out so that he could see it.
“Is it still loaded?”
Not able to hide her sheepishness, Kate emptied it.
Luke ran a hand over his head. “All right. Let’s give Kate a ride back to the hotel and get to the station so we can talk to Mr. Treavor and the rest of these lunatics.”
Luke held open the back door of the Crown Vic for Kate, then planted himself in the front. Don turned the ignition switch and gravel flew as he turned the car around. “Hey Cheeto, we’re not responding to a call. Chill out. Do I need to drive?”
“No, I’m good.” Don took a deep breath but his knuckles were white.
Luke watched him for a few seconds then took out his phone. “I want to text Sabrina to let her know her man’s safe.”
The window for the cage to the back seat was open and Kate watched Luke’s face soften as he texted his wife. She noticed his ring. “Do you have any children?” She was surprised when her voice shook a bit.
Luke looked back and a big grin spread across his face. “Yes, I do. I have the absolute cutest daughter on this planet. Without a doubt. Here, let me show you.” He held up his phone so Kate could see a picture of Lucy. Kate leaned forward and studied it.
“She really is cute. I’d say the world better watch out about ten years from now.”
Luke looked at the picture and grinned. “Don’t you worry about that. Her daddy will be the one watching out, just like always. Lucy Malone is well protected.” He kissed his daughter’s picture and stared at it again.
Kate watched Luke stare at the photo of his daughter the exact same way all parents look at photos of their children. His expression reminded her of Alicia’s face when she looked at her children’s photos. And now her friend was gone. She pounded the seat next to her.
Luke exchanged glances with Don then turned around. “Uh, what’s wrong?” he asked Kate.
“I…I can’t believe what I just saw. Those men…that statue…then when they put that poor, defenseless man up on the table and took out that knife…that just sucks!” She pounded the seat again.
“You’re right. It sucks.” Luke paused. “And not only that, but now I have to spend all night interviewing these looney tunes, and I’m hungry!”
Don snorted. “All right. I’ll grab us some food. You get the party started at the station.”
“Fish tacos from Billy’s!” Luke looked at his partner and grinned.
“Can’t argue with that. Th
ose fish tacos have fueled us through many hours of crime fighting.”
Don dropped off Luke and turned to Kate. “Billy’s is on the way to your hotel. All right with you if I grab the food first?”
“Sure.”
Don drove with Kate to Billy’s Tavern. They found a table and ordered the fish tacos for take-out and a couple of Cokes to drink while they waited.
Kate excused herself to go the ladies’ room and Don took a big sip of Coke. He sat back, closed his eyes, and relaxed as he felt the cool liquid slide down his throat. Man, what a day.
Kate came back and sat down. She stirred her soft drink and stared at a commercial playing on the TV above the bar. In it, an actress was crying. “You know, I’ve always wondered how those movie stars still look so pretty while they cry. And their make-up doesn’t run down their face. How does that work?”
Don smirked. “Who knows? Maybe they have some special scientific makeup.”
Kate studied her glass and giggled. “I can see them selling it in the store.” She held up a menu card from the table sideways, pretending it was a case of makeup. In a nasal tone she said, “Hello, Ma’am. We are having a special today on our famous Stone Face makeup. For a mere $500 an ounce, you too can have a face of granite!” Then she leaned back in the booth and laughed so hard her shoulders shook. “You must think I’m nuts,” she said through guffaws.
Don smiled. “I take the fifth.”
Kate sat up straighter and regarded her Coke again. Her smile faded. “Do you see stuff like what happened tonight very often?”
“We see the underbelly of society more often than most, Kate. There are some bad people out there.”
Kate was silent for a minute. “Humans can be so awful. But they can be so beautiful, too.” The corners of her mouth turned up. “Luke was so cute when he showed me that picture of his little girl. And that beauty of a parent’s love contrasted with the hate of the devil worshippers is just so hard to understand.”
“Reminds me of a story I read once. About a boy who’d been in a Jewish concentration camp. He remembered the acts of kindness that occurred every day. In spite of the evil.” Don poked the ice in his glass with a straw. “He became fascinated by goodness. He realized goodness and love are the ultimate power inside reality.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.” Kate twirled her hair around a finger. “Actually, I think that’s why Jesus came. He showed us the beautiful way to live. Then he suffered a horrific death, but he came back to life so that the story of his triumph over evil would carry on. So that we wouldn’t forget.” Her eyes glinted. “But we forget all of the time, even to the point of people worshipping the devil.”
Don was quiet for a minute. “I suppose people get so wrapped up in their day-to-day lives that it takes over and they forget about the higher level.”
Kate’s eyes widened and she leaned forward. “I know, that’s the problem. So many people think of life as an idle game, a festival for profit.” She snorted. “You see where that’s getting us.”
She sat back and held up an index finger. “Just imagine what the world might be like if there was a deeper awareness of God’s word.” She tilted her head. “A church service is just one hour per week to help you deliberate on words that are zoomed in on goodness. One hour to get you re-focused in the right direction. In the direction of love.” She paused. “Is that really asking too much?”
Don studied Kate for a couple of minutes, considering her words. “I hear what you’re saying, but you are aware that there are really good people out there who don’t go to church, right?”
“Yes, I know that.” She sighed. “I guess I get a little too zealous sometimes.” She shrugged. “It just seems like a positive way to combat all of the hate.”
Don chewed on the inside of his cheek for a minute. “You can’t control the way people live their lives or what they believe. All you can do is just be the best you can be.”
“Yeah, you’re right. You’d think I’d know that by now.” She stared at her Coke and stifled a yawn.
“I should get you back to your hotel room.” Don signaled for the waitress. “Are you all right now?”
Kate dropped her head a little bit and looked at Don through her eyelashes. “Yes, Detective Layden.”
Don sat back and folded his arms. “I’m sorry that I yelled at you, but don’t ever pull anything like that again.”
“I’m sorry that I yelled at you, too.” Kate squirmed. “That really was an awful scene.”
“We agree on that one.” The waitress brought Don a bag with the takeout food. Don signed the check and stood up. “Next stop is the Marriott.” Don dropped Kate off at the hotel, then went down to the station. He watched on the other side of the one-way mirror as Luke interrogated Treavor.
Luke leaned over Treavor. Treavor’s head was down. “So, Treavor, how often do you offer sacrifices in your church?” Luke growled.
Treavor didn’t move.
Luke slammed his fist on the table and raised his voice. “No, let me rephrase that. How often do you kill people in that deserted building?”
Treavor continued to study the table. “They were homeless,” he muttered. “Nobody misses them.”
Luke held onto the back of a wooden chair and squeezed it so tightly that Don thought it would snap from the pressure. Luke was quiet for a number of moments. Then he took measured steps over to a manila folder perched on the edge of the table. He opened it and placed two crime scene photos in front of Treavor. One was of Alicia’s body and the other was of Gail’s.
“So, you got a taste of what it was like to kill people who you thought meant nothing and then you progressed to see what it was like to kill someone who obviously meant something.” Luke’s voice lowered. “These ladies look familiar?”
Treavor’s jaw dropped when he saw the photos. For the first time, a flash of alarm dashed through his eyes.
“You know who they are, don’t you?” Luke leaned forward. “I suggest you start talking, pal. Because we’ve already got you for the homeless men and making the leap to these women won’t be very hard.”
Treavor stared at the photos and gulped. “I didn’t have anything to do with them. Yeah, they were in my section at the restaurant a couple of weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
“That doesn’t mean anything?” Luke bared his teeth and wagged his finger at Treavor. “You got too cocky, devil worshipper. Those ladies pissed you off with their talk of Jesus Christ. So, when they asked you to make a copy of their names and addresses, you made an extra copy for yourself and decided to start picking them off.”
“No, man, you’ve got that wrong. I didn’t have anything to do with that.”
“I’m going to let you sit here for a while. Might help your memory.”
Luke came out of the interrogation room and Don handed him the taco which his partner wolfed down in short order. Still chewing, Luke sat back. “You want to take Falco and I’ll keep after Treavor?”
“Sounds good.”
Luke stepped back in and went after him over and over but got no further.
Don’s interview with Falco met with the same denials.
Shortly before sunrise, the exhausted detectives reconvened outside the interview rooms.
Don spoke up first. “Have you called the team from the crime scene to see if they were able to catch anyone that escaped?”
“Yup. The K-9 unit was on the way.”
Don stretched his arms over his head for a minute. “Maybe some more time in here will break them down. Or maybe we can recover some DNA from the crime scenes.” He looked at his watch. “The good news is that we take the rest of the day off while the shooting at the devil worship scene is investigated. They’ll have to push the paperwork through fast though.”
Luke nodded, then made a
lot of noise as a big yawn overcame him. “I gotta get some sleep. Let’s call it until that investigation is over.” He sighed with relief. “I’m lookin’ forward to a nice, relaxing sleep, like you get when you solve a tough case, you know what I mean?”
Don squinted. “Yeah, I know what you mean, but something doesn’t feel right. I can’t put my finger on it, but something just doesn’t feel quite right.”
“Don’t you even be sayin’ that, Cheeto!”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As he deliberated in his office, the killer squinted while his cigarette smoke coiled around the computer screen. He reached for a white coffee mug with brown stains that sat next to an ashtray filled with butts. The worksheet on the screen was entitled “New United Community Church” and contained a multitude of columns and rows filled with names and numbers. Finally, he sat back in his chair, folded his arms, and smirked. It was all coming together.
A strong sneeze caused a newspaper clipping sitting on the corner of his desk to flutter to the floor. Ah yes. Alicia Kendrick’s funeral was going to be held at St. James Church. Might be time to make another impact. Where did I put that notebook? Reaching into a drawer, he retrieved the mahogany-colored portfolio. Then he pulled out the file containing Alicia’s name and Gail’s name. Time to look on Facebook to see who next would strike his interest.
Chapter Twenty-Five
As Don drove to St. James Catholic church at seven o’clock that night, he observed the full parking lot. In addition, no parking was left on the streets nearby. A black hearse sat in front, leaving no doubt to passersby as to the occasion. A media truck was in front too. When Don pulled into the parking lot Luke commented, “You’ll never find a spot here.”
“Watch me.” Don somehow managed to squeeze the Crown Vic into a spot in the parking lot that was on an unusual incline.
Sabrina was in the car too, and Luke helped her out. “Don Layden, only a crazy man would park here,” she remarked as she stood up and steadied herself in her heels.
Deadly Gratitude Page 12