Lucifer's Apostles

Lucifer's Apostles Episode 7

As Katie had heard about Tank’s struggles with alcohol, Tank had heard about her alleged promiscuity. If a man sleeps around, he is a stud, yet if a woman does, she is promiscuous. He did not agree with those sexist beliefs. It was none of his or, for that matter, anybody else’s business what Katie did with her private life.

“I agree that there’s more than one unsub, especially knowing that there is an extremely high chance that the murders of Janelle and Juliette were sacrificial”, Tank said.

Katie had described to Tank how the last two victims had been constrained. She told him that their wrists had been cuffed, as well as their ankles. Leather straps had tied both women down. One strap under their armpits, one across their stomach, just under their ribcage, one across their waist and one across their knees. She was confident in her belief that they had been tied to a birthing delivery table or chair, one that is used in the labour delivery rooms in hospitals. The table or chair can lay you flat on your back or sitting. It has leg rests that position your knees in the air, spread apart. The victims had been strapped into the leg rests, and their heads had been clamped into place by a large vice so they could not move. One person could do the task. It would be difficult but possible.

Standing, Tank walked while he talked. “The distributor that sold the chair or table, would know it was not sold to a hospital. That’s our first big break. We needed this. That makes perfect sense. When the knees are brought up, the table slides in. Is that correct”? He asked before Katie nodded her head.

Tank continued, “The unsubs tied them to the table so they couldn’t move at all, they’re then r***d at least once. The victims remained motionless because of their restraints, then the unsub, or one of them, walked around to the head of the table and drove the dagger into the victim’s chest”.

“A lot of force is needed to break through ribs. A large dagger is a perfect weapon,” Katie chimed in. “Our ribs are designed to protect the heart and the lungs. A dagger, even a large one, can go through the ribcage without breaking a bone if held correctly. If it is not, it is strong enough to break the ribs. The ribs were broken on Janelle and Juliette, meaning the dagger had been thrust from a height”.

“Can we finish talking about this tomorrow? I would love to sit back on the couch. You can lay your head on my lap while we watch a movie. If you fall asleep, I can move your head, put a pillow under it, and you can stay here tonight”.

They moved over to the couch. Tank could feel the s****l tension in the air. He knew now was not the time for anything to happen. They had a chemistry between them that he had never realised was there. He had been attracted to her for a long time. Now, there was a feeling of reciprocation. “I’d love that”, was his simple reply. “I apologise beforehand if I fall asleep. I’ve been accused of snoring occasionally”.

“What movie would you like to watch, maybe Silence of the Lambs?” She had a giggle. She loved feeling like this again. “Or maybe Wolf Creek”. This time, she laughed hard. He laughed as well. My God, you are beautiful, he thought. They watched The Lion King. At least Tank saw the first half of the movie. Katie also discovered that he did indeed snore.

January 15

Tank woke at 5 a.m. He took a little while to look around at his surroundings. He was pleased he remembered where the toilet was. He relieved himself, found his keys and left to drive to his apartment.

He showered and shaved before putting on a clean set of clothes. He then made himself a mug of coffee before turning on the television to see what had happened in the news world overnight. He never understood the word news. He knew it was an acronym for north, east, west, and south. How did that figure out to be news? They were directions. He thought ‘The Facts’ would have been a better description instead of ‘The News’.

Everything was bleak, as always—a mass shooting in the United States, an earthquake in Japan, plus a suicide bomber in Germany. There was nothing about the murder on the beach. It was yesterday’s news already.

He drove to the station on the same route every day. He was halfway there when he took a sharp left turn and headed to the crime scene from yesterday. When Tank arrived, he slipped under the police tape that was still in position. He knew that Tom Williams and his team would have combed the scene. He was not looking for evidence. He was trying to work out why the body had been placed there.

There was a view of the ocean and plenty of apartment buildings. There were shops as well as a cafe and a restaurant. What was he missing? There had to be something here for some reason. He could see a church on the horizon. Could that be the reason, he wondered?

He lifted the police tape up and climbed back into his ute. He navigated his way through the streets before finding a Uniting Church. He tried to remember what the denomination was where Juliette Tarver was located. He felt confident it was an Anglican Church. It made no sense to him to leave Janelle Sommerville’s body on the bench at the beach. With the dead woman at the church, he could understand that there may be some message.

Feeling his efforts had been fruitless, he drove to the station. Walking into his office, he was surprised to see Katie sitting in his chair with her shoes on his table. He watched her swing her legs around and stand up.

“I thought I would get comfortable waiting for the tortoise to catch up”, she said with a smile, “How did you sleep? I had to put your feet on the armchair next to the couch. How do you find a bed long enough to fit into? Do you need to have them custom-made? Tank, you said you snored. You did not say you sounded like a chainsaw”. Her smile turned into a laugh. She felt like a schoolgirl teasing a crush.

“I warned you that I snore when I get tired. I could have slept on a bed of nails last night. The company was perfect, you put me at ease, and my mind wasn’t on this case. No, I don’t have to have custom-made beds. I curl my legs up”, he replied.

“Well, if you need to sleep after our return dinner tonight, I might wake you so you can sleep in the spare room on a real bed”. She was smiling so hard she thought her face would explode.

“I accept your invitation. I wouldn’t mind seeing the end of the movie”, he said, smiling back at her.

“I filled the evidence board in with everything we discussed last night before Inspector Clements stuck his head in the door and said he would be at the meeting. Are you ready to go?” Katie asked, already heading out the door.

“I’m right behind you”, Tank replied, following her. They walked across the squad room into the briefing room. Tank did a mental roll call before nodding to Bill Clements. He then stepped next to the evidence board. “Has everyone had a chance to read everything on the activity board? I know a few of you have added bits and pieces. Thanks, it makes the job easier”. Everybody in the room nodded or answered affirmatively to the question. “Good”, Tank started, “As you can see, we now have three victims. Owen, we want to know everything we can about Deborah Roberts. The M.O. was different to our other two victims, although it had similarities. We can’t be sure whether Deborah was a test run or something went wrong. The autopsy report said that she’d been hung, either by herself or another party. With the other injuries she sustained, it would be more probable that someone else had performed the act and then buried her”.