Lucifer's Apostles

Lucifer's Apostles Chapter 3

When Tank stepped forward this time, he was not concerned about dwarfing anybody. He commanded the room and the attention of everyone in it. “I know most of you here today, and I’m both pleased and proud of the team Chief Superintendent Hawkins and Inspector Clements have assembled. I did have a small input in selecting one or two of you”. All of us, Katie thought to herself, her eyes as always focused on Tank’s bulky frame. She shook her head slightly, mind back on the job, she scolded herself.

“We are facing a multiple murderer. By the stab wounds on the bodies of the first victim, Jessica Tarver and our Jane Doe from this morning, there’s compelling evidence that both women were human sacrifices. We have no idea if we’re facing one unsub or many of them. In front of you are hard copy reports from this case and multiple others that might be relevant. You will be required to do hours of watching CCTV, leg work, door knocking, and witness interviews. It’s called police work, something everyone in this room is extraordinarily good at. That’s why you’ve all been picked. We’re a team. Every one of you will work as a team. I don’t want anyone going lone wolf on me. Always pair up in the field. We honestly don’t know what we’re dealing with. Louise, if you would be better equipped with a partner, please bring one into the task force. Just run their name by me first”.

Louise Harrigan was as brilliant as Bill Clements had mentioned. She had four bachelor’s degrees, which she had studied simultaneously. She was always top of the class in any subject at school and university. She could have picked any profession, from computer programmer to legal barrister or brain surgeon. Louise knew that some other positions could have led her to become a millionaire, but her granny had always taught her that there were more important things in life than money. “Even rich people are unhappy”, she would say.

She was not a beauty like Lisa Blythe, although she still managed to turn a man’s head regularly. Her hair colour was blonde on top and a deep brown underneath. She had baby blue eyes and freckles that she called love spots. She spent most of her time indoors on computers. When she ventured out, she would be at the beach tanning herself.

“It’ll be a lot of work. I want to partner up with someone. His name’s Ned Patterson. He works for cybercrimes”, she said directly to Tank.

“Okay”, Tank said, looking back at Joe Hawkins, who nodded. “Let’s get started”.

***

Ned Patterson was no police officer. He was a computer programmer and a hacker. He was arrested by the cybercrime unit in Perth before deciding that he would rather assist the police than spend time incarcerated. He transferred to the Southern Station in Sydney soon after.

Ned was a geek. He loved computers, comics, and superheroes. He would look like the mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent if he had worn glasses. Not only did they look similar, but he was also as bumbling as Clark pretended to be.

Ned enjoyed working with the cybercrime unit. He loved any chance to work with forensics, particularly with Louise Harrigan. She was a freak with computers, the best he had seen besides himself. Her mind was a work of art in his eyes. He would pick her brain for hours until she screamed, “No more Ned!”.

It was not all about work. He was socially awkward. Louise brought him out of his shell. He would come alive and be vibrant around her because he could be himself. He idolised her. He secretly loved her, which was something that he could never tell her. He was still a virgin at 29. He had never dared to talk to women. That was until he met Louise, the day his world changed. She often told him that she owned him. He knew that was true. He spent more time at Louise’s apartment than at his own.

She rang and told him that he was now part of a task force that the top brass had put together and that they would be partnered up. “Where do I sign up?” he asked. She told him they would be working under Tank Dodge, which instantly took the wind out of his sails. That man scared the bejesus out of him.

***

After his morning surveillance, the man returned to the house, bypassing everything to go straight to Sally’s room. He was shocked when he opened the door to see the extent of the damage Jacko had inflicted on her. It was more than he had expected. He looked at her body curled up into a ball on the mattress. Walking over to the bed, he poked her with his finger. “Sit up and let me have a look at you”. Sally slowly began to raise her head to look at him, “NOW!” he ordered, a little louder than he intended. She thought he had never raised his voice at her like that before.

It took all her strength to sit herself up, “Look at me!” he said as she looked up, terrified. Both her eyes had turned black with deep purple outlines. Her nose was smashed against her cheek. There was bruising on her cheek and chin. He had seen a fractured cheekbone before. It looked a lot like her face.

“Show me your hand!” he said, lowering his voice. She lifted her right hand towards him. Her thumb was not where it was supposed to be. She was covered in dry blood from her fingertips to her elbow. “What good are you going to be to anyone now”? He stuck his head out the bedroom door, looked towards the office where he knew Jacko would be, and yelled, “Jacko, get in here now!”

The big man strolled into the small bedroom. Jacko was never in a hurry. “What have you done, you imbecile? You said you disciplined her. You didn’t tell me you turned her into the elephant woman! How will we present her to the High Priestess looking like this? If we slip her down the order, she will still look like minced meat”.

“Look at me”, he directed Sally. He put one palm on either side of her nose and tried to snap it back in place. Sally let out a blood-curdling scream as the pain raced through her. “For the love of Mary, what will we do now? Were you even thinking, or did you go into a blind rage? You must’ve been watching her on the monitor, or were you playing some stupid game on your phone”?

“I’m sorry, boss, I was playing on my phone, but I had free lives. When I looked up and saw her pull out of her cuff, I came straight to her room. She opened the door at the same time as I went to turn the handle. She startled me, Boss, so I smacked her one”. Jacko’s eyes never left the floor. He did not dare to look the smaller man in the eyes.

“What do we do with you now”? He repeated. It had taken months to create a list of targets and countless hours of watching and learning each woman’s daily routine.

Sally had been an easy a*******n. He had found her one night when he was getting takeaway food. She walked into the shop as he was waiting for his order. As soon as he saw her, he knew she had to be one of the sacrifices. To him, she was flawless.

She had dark burgundy-coloured hair, not the bottled variety that other women wore these days. It was her own. She was wearing a pair of tights and a crop top with a pair of joggers. The High Priestess wanted the women on her list to be physically fit or ‘gym junkies’. He had no way of knowing if she was either. She certainly looked the part.

Sally picked up her order and left the shop. He had to act fast, so he followed her into the street and watched her climb into the driver’s side of a silver Nissan Juke. He memorised the number plate on the vehicle, then turned around and re-entered the shop to wait for his meal. The church had friends in several occupations that could help. It was never a problem finding a person’s whole life just from a registration plate.

He had stalked Sally for two days before she walked up to him and asked if he had seen a silky terrier anywhere while parked in the street. “I have”, he answered, “I picked it up and put it in the back of the van in case it was a stray”. He climbed out of his van, went to the side, and opened the sliding door. As the dog jumped into her arms, he plunged a needle into her neck. She collapsed before he heaved her into the back of the van, returning the dog to its yard after sliding the van door shut. It had been risky. It had also been exhilarating.

The man took the silky terrier when Sally had put it out for a toilet break. He was thankful that no one had witnessed that, or when he threw her into the back of the van. Even though it may not have been planned, it had been phenomenally successful. She had been the only target the man had taken without Jacko and the only one not on Ruby’s list. “What to do with you now?” he thought again.