No Chance, page 15
"Perhaps we shouldn't be hasty, Valerie," Will said. "We can at least take the next hour or so to speak with Ulrich and get a better handle on his innocence or guilt."
"No," Valerie said. "I know he's not the killer. He doesn't fit the profile."
Will and Charlie looked at each other. "But we don't have a profile yet, Valerie," Will said.
"I do, Will," she said, still looking through the list. "Our killer is a religious fanatic. He's killing victims who all have a connection through Post Tenebrus Lux. I think he's a male, in his twenties or thirties, who had a religiously overbearing parent, and now he's carrying out some sort of revenge for how religion has treated him."
"It's possible, but I really don't think we have enough to say—" Will was cut off promptly.
"We don't have time for this, we have to keep moving, or we're dead in the water. You two are either with me or against me."
"Valerie, I must say, I'm disappointed in your attitude," Will said calmly.
"You're not my father! You have no right to be disappointed or otherwise."
A silence entered the hallway. Valerie immediately wished she could take those words back. Will looked hurt.
"Will ..." she said softening her voice.
"Now is not the time to air our hang-ups," he said, coldly. "Charlie and I can stay here and talk to the suspect if you ..."
"Hold on!" Valerie said, her eyes lighting up. She was looking at the records Father Bryant had sent from the seminary. They were a record of all volunteers and church staff who had worked in Kerry County.
"What is it?" asked Charlie.
"We saw that the victims' names were on the list before we sent it to you," Will said. "But other than either attending, being volunteers, or in the priesthood itself, they all went to different churches and religious institutions around Kerry County."
"It's simpler than that. Much simpler," Valerie said. "This isn't just a list of people, it's a list of places. The various monasteries that are dotted around the Kerry County hills."
"I don't know what you're getting at, Valerie."
Valerie could still hear that Will was annoyed with her. Although he had every right to be, Valerie would have to make up for her harsh words later. Right now, there was a killer to catch.
"Look here," Valerie said, showing the screen on her phone. "There are only two monasteries left where none of the victims had any connection. Two places that have been left untainted by a murder or the murder of someone who went there."
"Do you think someone connected to the other two monasteries is next?" Charlie said, now sounding as though he agreed with Valerie.
"It's as good a pattern as any," Valerie said, certain she was onto something. "We'll need to split up. Will, you go with Sheriff Carter to Ridgewater Monastery, and Charlie and I will head to Whiteheart Monastery. If we can find someone with a link to Post Tenebrus Lux there, we might just save their life."
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
He didn't want to kill within the confines of the monastery, but he knew he had to. If he didn't, the powers that be would not be happy with him. So far, he'd taken a handful of lives, but he'd slowed down now rather than sped up.
First, he'd wanted to catch the woman at the parking lot, but she slipped through his fingers. She was one of the chosen, and since then he'd tried two further times to find an opportunity. But the woman had proven difficult to catch.
He thought he had more time, but just an hour earlier, a vision had come to him. He could not wait any longer for the next victim, and the name of the victim had come to him from the list. And then another immediately afterwards! For the first time, he would kill twice in one night. It was fate that both souls, a man and a woman, would be found in the same place.
The first was to be Father Jonathan Miller, a young priest currently posted to one of two Kerry County Monasteries. The last two that had not been touched by the killer's hands in any way.
It had been simple enough to slip into the monastery grounds. The killer had been there before. He knew that a door in the East gardens was often left open for tradesmen.
It was only a matter of skulking around in the shadows and then slipping inside when no one was around.
Now, he was walking through the quiet halls of the monastery. This one was a place of relative opulence; it did not promote the simplicity and purity of other monasteries in the area. The floors were carpeted with lush fabric, and though electric lighting was used, the lights mimicked candles in their design and appearance.
The killer was sure that Father Miller was somewhere in the building, and so he kept walking, careful to keep his footsteps light. He passed two nuns who were talking quietly and a priest giving instructions to a group of students.
Finally, he saw Father Jonathan Miller walking away from him at the other end of a corridor. The killer followed him silently and quickly, waiting for his chance to pounce.
When it came, the killer moved swiftly, wrapping a cord of rope around the man's throat before he could cry out for help. Father Miller struggled against his grasp, but the killer held tight until the man lay still and lifeless on the ground.
This kill was different. Another vision had come to him. It whispered something. Something terrible. But he had to obey.
The killer took out a knife and carved three words into Father Miller's body: Post Tenebrus Lux—a message from above.
A flash ran through his mind. A vision of the woman he had to kill. A woman he had seen before. He had listened to her horrid words, and it was time for her to pay for them.
With the first kill over, he moved back through the corridors in search of his second victim. But just as he was ready to slip through another door, he saw something through an open window.
A car pulled up outside.
The killer peered through the gap and was horrified at what he saw. Two visitors had arrived at the monastery. He could only see their outline, but they had the air of law enforcement about them, and the killer was now certain that they were there to thwart his plans. He wouldn't let them get in his way. He'd cut them down too.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
"This doesn't look like a monastery," Valerie thought out loud as she and Charlie approached the building. It was white in color, with modern, minimalist architecture, and although it was a large building, it seemed relatively unimposing.
"And what should a monastery look like?" Charlie asked.
"I don't know, like the one we were at earlier. All gargoyles and Gothic windows."
Charlie laughed. "Maybe, but if you ask me, it's nice to go into somewhere that feels a little less imposing. The last two days have had enough of that."
Valerie nodded in agreement just as they both approached the front door. As they did, a bell sounded, and a receptionist appeared to greet them.
"Welcome to the Whiteheart Monastery," she said warmly. "How may I help you?"
Charlie stepped forward into the lobby and Valerie followed. "I'm Agent Carlson, and this is Agent Law with the FBI. We need to talk to whoever runs this monastery. It's imperative that this is done quickly."
"Abbot Collins is currently taking a call," the woman said with concern on her face. "Can I take a message?"
"Yes," Charlie said. "You can tell him there's a killer on the loose, and he might be targeting someone here."
The woman gasped.
"If you could let him know, that would be great."
Charlie had a way of getting things done, and Valerie was thankful for his directness when time was of the essence.
It only took a few moments, but the receptionist quickly returned, said "right this way", and led them through some winding corridors carpeted in deep red.
The monastery felt like it was trying too hard to be modern to Valerie. The walls even had some rock music art framed and pictures of staff members posing with various famous musicians.
"Abbot Collins will see you now," the receptionist said, knocking on a nearby door.
"Come in!" a voice, which sounded far too young to be an abbot, said.
Valerie and Charlie entered the room and were greeted by a man in a suit with jet black hair gelled back, and a vigorous, almost too enthusiastic handshake.
"I'm Abbot Collins. Marsha here tells me we have a problem?" he said as he shook Valerie's hand.
She felt like she was talking to a used car salesman, not a religious leader.
"We do," she said. "There have been a series of murders in Kerry County."
"Yes, I've seen that. I've been praying for them and the people responsible ... Please, take a seat."
Valerie and Charlie sat down in two bright purple armchairs that wouldn't have looked out of place in a rock star's dressing room.
The place was opulent, but in a tacky way.
"We're almost certain it's the work of a single killer," Charlie said.
The Abbot seemed taken aback by this. He was silent for a few moments before he finally spoke, his face ashen. "Are you sure?" Abbot Collins said incredulously. "This kind of thing is unheard of in our community."
Valerie nodded grimly. "It's my belief that this person is targeting people connected to the monasteries around Kerry County."
The Abbot's face lost some color. Valerie wondered if the man was frightened his head was on the chopping block.
"Even here? At Whiteheart?"
"It's not necessarily someone who currently works or stays at each monastery," Valerie explained. "But all of the victims have either stayed or volunteered at one of Kerry County's monasteries in recent times."
"Don't tell me someone from here has been murdered?" Marsha piped up from behind them.
"Now, Marsha," the Abbot said. "Let's not jump to conclusions."
Valerie took a deep breath before continuing, "so far, only two monasteries in the region have been left untouched by the killer. Yours is one of them."
"That's curious, isn't it?" Charlie added.
"Curious?" the abbot said. "Surely it means someone who has been here is next!?" A bead of perspiration dripped down the side of the man's temple.
"That's true," Valerie said. "It is possible that the killer is going to kill someone connected to this one or the other unaffected monastery next."
"My God!" The abbot seemed borderline hysterical.
"But Abbot Collins," Valerie said, "my partner said it's curious that your monastery has remained untouched because we have a theory."
"A theory?" Marsha echoed, still standing at the door behind them.
"Marsha, please," the Abbot said. "Don't butt in."
Valerie nodded. "We think it's possible that the killer hasn't yet killed anyone connected to your monastery for a personal reason. Perhaps he was once a guest here or enjoyed some other connection with Whiteheart and is still fondly attached to it."
The abbot considered this for a few moments before finally nodding in agreement. "That would make sense, I suppose," he said quietly.
"So, we need to find out who might have been connected to you in the past and why they haven't acted against your monastery yet," Valerie said. "It may help us get closer to finding the killer."
"Can you think of anyone who either works here or has been here before that seemed violent?" Charlie asked.
The abbot laughed and shook his head in disbelief. "Agent Carlson, is it? You have to understand, monasteries serve two fundamental purposes. The first is to provide training and spiritual introspection to those who have dedicated their lives to the cloth."
"And the other purpose?" Charlie seemed impatient.
"To provide a place of sanctuary to those who have lost their way," the abbot explained. "Some of those have violent histories, of course, but they want to better themselves, and the Church helps them do just that."
Valerie paused for a moment to take in the implications of this. Could it be that someone who had been taken into the monastery in an effort to change their ways was now using it as cover for their murderous rampage? Or perhaps someone from the priesthood itself was behind these heinous acts? Either way, Valerie knew she had her work cut out for her.
"Abbot Collins," Valerie said, "part of my job is to develop a profile of a killer so that I can get into their head. Then I can get ahead of them and anticipate their moves."
"You're not getting into my head right now, are you?" the abbot said nervously.
"I'm not psychic," said Valerie with a wry grin. "But I have developed the skills to be reliable and accurate. I'd only need to get inside your mind if you were a killer. You're not, are you?"
"Of course not!" the abbot said, sounding shocked.
Valerie considered his reaction. He was hiding something, but she wasn't sure if it pertained to the case or not. Valerie felt it more likely that he was doing something a little less violent than killing, like skimming some money off the Church books or having an affair. But she wasn't interested in that.
Valerie's phone rang. She looked down at it.
"Heinlein?" Charlie asked.
"Yeah," she said, slipping the phone back into her pocket without answering it.
She knew she was closer to catching the killer, but she also knew "closer" was not the same as catching him. And that was the only way to stop Heinlein's vendetta working.
"Abbot Collins," she said, looking up from her phone, "building the profile for the killer on this case has been particularly difficult. But I believe he might have a vendetta against people who are religious. Is there anyone that you know of, anyone at this monastery, who seems less than enthralled about being here? Perhaps even secretly harboring animosity towards the church?"
"Not that I know of."
A flinch. Just enough around the left eye. That was it.
He's lying, she thought.
"So, there's no one here who has a desire to hurt say ... the other monasteries in this region?"
"No," came his answer. Sweat was beading on his forehead again.
Another lie, Valerie thought. What are you hiding?
"I don't understand," Abbot Collins then said. "Why would you think someone here is the killer if we're next!"
"As my partner said," Valerie explained coolly "It's curious. Either your monastery is one of the next ones on the list, or the killer is attached to Whiteheart Monastery to such a degree that he won't do anything to besmirch its name."
"Bingo," said Charlie, leaning forward in his seat. "There wouldn't be anything you'd like to tell us now, would there?"
The Abbot shook his head.
"This is outrageous," he said. "I am a respectable member of the church and Kerry County. We do more good here than you'll ever know, and you're accusing me of murder?"
"Perhaps it's not murder," Valerie said, "perhaps it's ..."
Valerie's eye caught something interesting. On a bookcase to the left of the abbot, she couldn't help but notice a running theme. Among many different books on religious themes, there were several all about the same topic: Apostasy.
The cogs in Valerie's mind began to turn. An excitement ran through her veins.
Maybe I've got this wrong, maybe the profile needs changed, she thought.
Turning her gaze back to the abbot, Valerie glared at him. She saw him shift uncomfortably in his seat, and Valerie felt like a hunter about to catch her prey.
"Apostasy is an interesting topic, don't you think?" Valerie finally said.
The Abbot's eyes flickered. He shifted in his seat and crossed his arms defensively.
Yes, there's something in this ...
"What ... what do you mean?" he said, stammering.
"Apostasy, the act of leaving a religion, it's an interesting topic, no?"
The abbot looked to his side and let out an almost inaudible sigh before turning back to the agents. "Yes, it is, but the Church frowns upon it, of course," he added.
"And do you think apostasy might have something to do with these killings?" Valerie asked, direct as ever.
"I don't know anything about them," he said, standing up. "Now, if you excuse me, I have an important meeting that I must attend to, and I cannot be late for it. If you must remain here at the monastery, please carry out your investigation without panicking anyone."
Charlie started to speak as if to persuade him to stay, but Valerie touched his arm to stop him. "Thank you for your time, Abbot Collins," Valerie said, standing up and walking to the door. "We'll be in touch."
The door closed behind them, and Valerie walked quickly to the end of the corridor.
"Come on!" she said in hushed, hurried tones.
"Where are we going?" Charlie asked as they reached a corner.
"Quick, hide here," she said, waiting.
"Are you going to explain what's going on in that wonderful brain of yours"? Charlie inquired, but Valerie put her finger to her mouth.
The sound of a door opening out of sight around the corner came.
"Marsha, if they ask to see me," Abbot Collins said to his assistant, "tell them it will have to wait until tomorrow, okay?"
"But Abbot," Marsha said, "don't you think we should assist them and ..."
"Trust in the Lord, Marsha. Trust in the Church. Trust in me." Valerie's stomach churned at the sinister tone.
"I will," the assistant said, hurrying off away from them and disappearing somewhere in the building.
A moment later, the footsteps of Abbot Collins could be heard.
"Quick, in here," Charlie whispered as the footsteps neared them.
Charlie opened a door into a closet and closed it with him and Valerie inside.
The two of them held their breath as Abbot Collins walked past the closet and out of sight.
Valerie waited, counting to ten before emerging from the closet with Charlie close behind her.
"We need to follow him," she said quietly, walking quickly as if in a trance. "He's involved in all of this somehow, I just know it."
They moved slowly along the corridor waiting at each turn, making sure they were not seen.
"What's all this apostasy stuff about?" Charlie asked.
"Look, Abbot Collins is leaving the building. Let's get to your car and follow him. I'll explain on the way."
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