The Forsaken (16 page)

“Sounds vaguely familiar, but it’s not ringing a bell. Does it mean something to you?”

“Let me teach you something, Rachel,” he said, almost gloating. He widened the website that explained what Jude pointed out was a key piece of Scripture.

“For all have sinned,” Rachel read, “and fall short…”

“…of the glory of God. It’s a passage from Romans. The note from the first body came from Isaiah. He was one of the prophets from the Old Testament.”

“Did Victor leave behind cryptic messages like this in the past?”

Jude shook his head.

“Seems a bit hypocritical for someone like him to send us scribbled verses and red letters.”

“Red letters. Wait, weren’t there red letters in the gospels?”

Rachel’s eye twitched. “Yeah, I think so. In some editions. But weren’t
you
supposed to be the expert?” She waited for a response that didn’t come. “So Victor thinks he’s God or something?”

“Or something. It’s my best guess. Taking a life is a lot like playing the role of divinity. It’s not that much a reach for a self-absorbed manipulator to come across as an angel of light.”

She was slightly amused. She marveled inside at how quickly Jude’s instincts worked to make things fit. He was far more adept than she had originally given him credit for. “So what’s the point? He went to Sunday school. Big deal. Why imprint his victims with mutilated crucifixes?”

Jude reclined with his arms firmly pressed against his chest. “To remind them of their place in the universe, beneath him. Give a man a little bit of power, and he thinks he can control the world.” A short pause. “What if it’s all a different purpose, though? Like, you know, a higher calling?”

“Sick.”

“Yeah, well, Father Eliam always said the church is more like a hospital. Maybe Victor has this warped perception that these murders will actually let him inside the gate.”

“The gate?” Rachel said. “Like, heaven?”

“Yeah. Odds are, Victor knows he’s got a one way ticket to the ninth circle of hell for the things he’s done. But what if he wants out? Thinks he’s doing heaven a favor, and each victim acts as a sacrifice, a part of his penance.”

“What ever happened to saying a few prayers and leaving some cash in the money plate after service?”

“Man is a flawed creature, remember? Maybe he knows the traditional rituals won’t save his skin.”

“My head’s spinning just thinking about all this,” she confessed. “You know, when I got Mike’s call a few days ago, I never thought I’d be dealing with three stiffs in so short a time. Some cases I’ve worked on take weeks or months to solve. Guess my mind’s still trying to play catch-up. This animal doesn’t waste a minute ”

“He’s moving more quickly than ever. There’s a purpose. A message he’s trying to convey.”

“Yeah, and it’s right in your hands. We’re all a bunch of filthy sinners. But it’s always the most twisted people with the biggest mouths, isn’t it? Seen one, seen ’em all.”

“Amen.” Jude shrugged, tossing the crinkled page on his desk. It was a short while before Rachel picked it up and mouthed the words a second time. She then said, “Did the first note have a blood-stained letter like this one does?”

He nodded.

“Interesting. Did you have it analyzed?”

“I highly doubt Victor’s stupid enough to use his own blood on a death note. And even if he is that obvious, he’s a ghost killer, Rachel. I suspect he’s already half-dead, and that’s probably how he’s able to move and kill like he can. He’s not only human. Do you really think we’re gonna find any legitimate DNA in that blood?”

“Hmm,” she said. “I still want to run it.”

“Be my guest.”

As Rachel began to walk away with the note, she asked, “Just out of curiosity, do you think
you’re
gonna escape it all and make it to the gate?”

It was the fact that he didn’t answer, the fact that she knew he couldn’t, that made her wish she’d never asked.

22

THE PHONE SHOOK TO
life all of a sudden. Jude hated the sound of a ringing telephone. It was something about the incessant hum, like electronic hornets getting all excited. And after the week he’d had, his detest was at a maximum.

Jude was a reclining, sedated mess on his living room sofa. The area was cramped and cluttered, loose bills strewn around. IRS statements and notices concerning extended cable charges lay on the threadbare carpet, some torn to shreds. Falling behind on a few payments just didn’t seem to carry the same weight as dealing with a serial case.

Before the phone rang, his mind had momentarily drifted. It wasn’t a deep sleep but the in between kind. The ringing was relentless, and it kept calling to him. He didn’t want to pick it up. He tried to convince himself that it was a snarky telemarketer who wanted to sell him a new insurance package he didn’t need.

He eased up off the sofa, but the remaining parts of his body were still confined to lethargy. The dawn of realization finally made the connection that he was in fact experiencing some of the medication’s numerous side effects. This wasn’t some purgatorial slumber. No, it made him anxious and slightly nauseous.

Ring.

He stumbled around the apartment.

Ring.

It didn’t quit. He’d taken too many pills, or maybe he mixed the wrong ones. There was a broken bottle of beer on the coffee table. His memory was slipping.

Ring.

More blinking, less thinking. One more step and a confusing blur. Chills raced up his spine. Finally, he picked up.

“Did I wake you?” the voice from the other side asked. The whisper was distorted and indecipherable. “I’m surprised this line hasn’t been tapped. You’re slipping. Far too trusting of your surroundings.”

“Who is this?” Jude said, his throat raspy and his words a slur. All he wanted to do was regain balance, but every shape in the room seemed to have copied itself, and vomit threatened to rise.

“Funny you should ask. After all, there’s no telling who might call you at this ungodly hour. At home, in your safety. Growing chap like you needs his rest. Speaking of rest, you don’t sound happy to hear from me.”

“Is this a prank call? I swear, I’ll find you. You’ll regr-r-regret you ever called…here!”

“Relax. Your empty threats are of no use. No pranks here. But you really should be all clear on this thing. Those pesky drugs won’t help you, I’m afraid. Surely you are aware of their potential effect on the mind.”

“What do you c-ca-care about me, man?”

“I wonder what your pretty new partner would think of your addiction. Rachel, that’s her name, right? How is she? I’m curious to know what she’s wearing this time of night.”

A lump dropped into Jude’s throat.

“I like her better than the old snake you used to ride with. Thought he was rather unoriginal. But it doesn’t take a genius to see that she too has her own…imperfections. Like so many, she carries the scars of loneliness. I wonder when she was last touched. Angelic face like hers shouldn’t go unloved for this long. That unquiet beneath the surface is a bit unsettling, don’t you think?”

“Leave her out of this! Whatever
this
is.”

“Come now, tell me you’ve thought about it, about what she’d be like. You’re a man, after all—fragile but animalistic at the core. A creature controlled by his truer nature. Seems we’ve got something in common, you and I.”

Jude’s eyes felt ready to burst, and his insides coiled into lead. The hair on his neck stood upright.

“Instinct…and mad-m-madness are two different things.”

“What men do is what men do. Can we be blamed for what our hearts desire? She’s damaged, and you see right through it. You want it, don’t you? You want to drink it in. She’ll fix you. She’ll bring out the good, if there’s any left. But be careful. Be so very careful with her because we both know that somebody’s gotten to that meat first.”

“Shut up!”

“You think
you
have trust issues? Just the tip of the iceberg, baby. But she’ll try, yes she will, to be stronger, to be ready. My bet is she’s got no idea who you really are, though. If she knew, well, I just about think she’d run for the hills.”

“What’s it to you?”

“Everything,” the voice replied. “Pray tell what really lives behind your eyes, Detective Foster. What do you think about? What do you fear in the dark?” A long pause. “Have you thirsted for violence? For vengeance? For clarity? Have you ever wondered what it’d be like…to die?”

Jude refused to answer.

A breathy laugh came out slowly from the other end.

“Yes, I have,” Jude finally said.

“A curious nature indeed. Perhaps you
are
the same weak shell.”

“Victor, what do you want?”

The phone speaker cracked with laughter. It was a sick, poisonous laughter that felt like needles stabbing Jude’s eardrum. “I can’t believe you’re that far behind. I thought for sure someone of your intuition and stomach might have popped this cherry by now. Tell you the truth, I’m not a fan of disappointment. Just think about it. You’re in that cozy, little apartment of yours trying to forget about your problems. Quite the slave to them, I imagine. But I’m still out here, free as a bird and reveling every minute. No one has come to chase me. How much longer will I have to play all by myself?”

“Listen to me! I’ll find you, believe it. You…to-t-t-took my brother, you son of a—”

“Let’s not be cruel.”

“I want him back!”

“Good things come to those who wait.”

“Why did you call here? What do you want?”

“You ask that question without thinking of what it might actually mean for you.”

Jude felt a crunch in his nose. His wits were beginning to drift back.

“Maybe you can give me what I want.”

“What?” Jude repeated, his tone now high pitched and aggravated.

“I want what all men want. I want to live forever, and I’m willing to do whatever I have to in order to keep this game alive.”

“Is my brother okay? Is he safe?”

“Safe enough.”

“How can I get him back?”

“A man is nothing without his experiences, without his pain. After all, what are we if not conduits for suffering?”

There was a muffled voice in the background. Jude swore it was familiar. “Let me hear his voice. Just let me know…he’s-h-he’s all right.”

“Ah-ah-ah. You’re just gonna have to have a little bit of faith on this one, I’m afraid. But remember one thing, time is always against us. Think you’re quick enough?”

“When I find you, you’ll beg me for death, I promise.”

“I love it when you talk nasty,” the voice said. “Our time will come to meet again. But first you must lose. First you must be…
redesigned
. And then, when it’s done with you, you will truly suffer.”

The phone connection suddenly died.

23

JUDE STORMED THROUGH THE
doors of Eliam’s church, somehow sober enough for a meeting with the priest. He walked down the ripped carpet aisle and felt the direct heat of ignited candles surrounding the altar. The priest eventually drifted in from the corner room. His garments swung over the dust and shadows. Jude listened intently to his mumbled prayers.

Once he found a pew near the front, he sat down. Quiet.

“I have a cell phone, you know,” Eliam said.

“Wanted to speak face to face.”

“I’m in for it, aren’t I? The little flock only comes with problems.” Eliam stumbled toward the pew and, with difficulty, took a seat. “Bet you won’t believe that I asked him to heal my leg fifteen years ago.”

“What’d he say?”

“Go buy a cane, cheapskate.”

Jude feigned amusement.

“I know that phony laugh when I see it. Don’t pull out all the stops for an old crow like me.”

“Sorry.”

“You’re sorry? Well, sorry won’t do. Can’t you see you startled me out of bed, forced me into prayer and fasting?”

“So you weren’t preparing for the Ash Wednesday Mass?”

“Details, details, kiddo. I’m the Lord’s servant, here at your service.” The old priest pretended to bow his head. Jude marveled at Eliam’s ability to flash a sincere smile. “What’s troubling you? Nobody’s pregnant, are they? Not like the shock you gave me ten years ago, eh?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“Well, what in the name of…Would it kill you to send one of those bunnies my way? I wouldn’t touch the forbidden fruit, of course. What with the vows of celibacy and all.”

“Details, right?” Jude smirked.

“But a good meal every now and then and some company shouldn’t be too much to ask.”

“I think you’ve forgotten modern women don’t cook, Father.”

Eliam stroked his chin. “It’s a wonder you’re still single. Enough horsing around. What’s on tap? You need something, so spit it out.”

Jude crossed himself. “Just looking for some peace.”