Staci took in a deep breath, and then, slowly, she let it back out. She did this a couple of times, sometimes without even realizing she was doing it. She was nervous, though she knew she shouldn’t be. She was nervous because she knew exactly how she felt about Lenox but didn’t know how he felt about her. She was nervous because she wanted to have a relationship with him but knew that couldn’t happen because he was not a believer as she was. She was also nervous because she and Barrington had discussed Lenox at length and she was afraid it would show on her face.
She took another deep breath.
“Miss…” an elderly man at the next table inquired with concern, “are you alright?”
Staci blinked. “Hmm? What…?” She realized what she had been doing. “Oh. No. I mean, yes, I’m fine. I…I didn’t mean to trouble you.”
The man nodded and then turned to his wife, mumbling something about mental patients who should not be allowed out into the public. Staci frowned, wondering if he had been referring to her. Wisely, she chose not to inquire about it.
As it was, Lenox entered the coffee shop, looked around until he saw her, and then joined her at her table.
She smiled at him. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he said back as he sat down. He had a large manila envelope in his hands, which he placed onto the table before him.
Suddenly, two men approached their table and one of them sat down. Staci had her attention focused solely on Lenox so that she had not noticed they had entered the shop with him.
“Staci,” Lenox began, “this is Detectives Randy Groh and Brian Yorke. This investigation belongs to them and they invited me in.” He glanced at the detectives. “Gentlemen, this is Staci Cohen.”
Staci tried to keep the disappointment from showing on her face. “Hi,” she said softly. She had thought it would just be Lenox who would come. She hadn’t expected anyone else to be showing up.
Yorke noticed the look that passed over her face. “Hey, does anyone want anything? I’m going to grab some coffee.”
Lenox reached for his wallet. “I’d like a cup myself.”
Yorke waved a hand at him. “Keep your money. I’ll get it. Randy…?”
Groh grinned at him. “How about a roast beef special on a plain bagel with some mayo, and I’ll have a soda.”
“I should have known you’d order something like that.” He turned to Staci. “Anything for you? Do you want a refill on your coffee?”
Staci shook her head. “No…thank you.” She glanced across the table at Lenox.
As Yorke went to the counter with the orders, Lenox sat back and turned to Staci. “We’re glad you can help us out. I know this isn’t anything you’d ever think about doing, but because of the sensitive nature of this case, I thought you might have some insight that we might overlook.” He paused. “Are you okay?”
Staci nodded. “Yes.”
Glancing at Groh, Lenox pushed the envelope across the table toward her. “These are photo’s of the crime scene. They may shock you, but…you have to know what you’re getting into.”
She picked up the envelope. “What am I getting into? You said you needed me as a consultant. What am I consulting on?”
“The murder victims are Christians,” Groh responded. “I’m not just talking nice people who help out your neighbor Christians, but Christians who read their Bibles, tell people that they’re going to go to Hell if they don’t accept Jesus as their Lord, and basically live as if the world is coming to an end. That kind of Christian.”
Staci pursed her lips. “The world is coming to an end. And Christians do help out their neighbors.”
“Yeah…well, that kind of Christian. Just like you. That‘s why we‘re coming to you.” He rolled his eyes. “To get insight about the do-gooder Christianity.”
She frowned. “What can I do?”
“You can help us by telling us why Cross would target people like you.”
“Who’s Cross?”
Groh looked at her as if he was having second thoughts about involving her in the case. “Cross is the guy who kills Christians.”
“That’s his name?”
“No. That’s what we call him because we don’t know his name. If we knew his name, we’d go pick him up, don’t you think?”
“Take it easy, Randy,” Lenox warned.
“Look, you said she could help us out. Personally, I don’t believe - nor have I ever believed - that there is - or was - ever a Christian who walked this planet. Christianity is nothing more than a crutch.” He nodded his head toward Staci. “I don’t think she can tell us how the killer thinks.”
“Christianity is not a crutch. It is the way we are supposed to live.” Staci turned to look at Lenox, incredulous. “And I don’t know how this killer thinks. How could you think that I would?”
Yorke returned with their orders. He placed the tray onto the table and sat down. Lenox took his coffee, Groh took his sandwich and soda and Yorke took his bagel and coffee.
“Did I miss anything?” Yorke asked.
Lenox shook his head. “No. We’re just getting started.”
“And you haven’t answered my question, mister,” Staci reminded him.
Yorke let out a chuckle at the tone in her voice. Groh grinned. Staci just kept her attention focused on Lenox, waiting for his answer.
“I don’t expect you to know how Cross thinks,” Lenox told her. “But you do know how the victims think. At least you have something in common with them and that’s why we’re coming to you. By consulting with you, we may come to an understanding about living the Christian life and find something that will point us to the killer.”
Staci considered his words. She glanced at Groh and Yorke. Then, she realized that this would be a perfect opportunity to witness her faith in Christ to them. Especially to Groh, who obviously had a grudge against anyone who called themselves a Christian.
“Well,” she said, “I’ll help.” Then, she looked at Lenox. “On one condition.”
Lenox hesitated. “What’s your condition?”
“You have to take me out to dinner when this is over.”
Yorke and Groh watched the two back and forth as if they were watching a tennis match. They hadn’t known that they were going to be amused while discussing the case with Staci. It turned out to be far more interesting than they had thought it would be.
Lenox tried not to smile. It was hard negotiating when he didn’t want to let on that he was interested in her just as much as she was interested in him. He cleared his throat. “Well…if that’s what it takes to get your help, then I’ll take you to dinner.”
“Listen,” Groh replied, turning to Staci, “I’ll take you to dinner. You don’t even have to work the case with us. And I‘m not at all bothered by the fact that you‘re a Christian.”
“No, no,” Staci responded. “That’s okay. I’m covered, thank you.”
“Are you sure? ‘Cause this guy -” He aimed a thumb in Lenox’ direction. “- doesn’t even have a sense of humor. I’ll bet if you go on a date with him, he’ll just sit there like a Sears mannequin. Trust me.”
“Give it a rest, man,” Yorke groaned. “You’re like a broken record. The girl isn’t interested in you. Any fool can see that she’s interested in Mike here. Why would she want to be with you?”
Staci could feel her face getting hot. She was blushing and she knew it. What was worst was that they knew it, too. She avoided making any eye contact. “Uhm, moving on now.” She opened the envelope and began to take the pictures out.
She stared at the pictures that fell out onto the table before her. Horrified, she spread them out and brought her hand to her mouth. Four bodies, spread out on the blood soaked ground, their arms stretched out, legs together…She shook her head.
“I’m sorry,” Lenox said softly.
She looked at him. “Are…are they supposed to be crosses?”
Lenox shrugged. “We don’t really know.”
“All of his victims are laid out like that,” Yorke said.
Staci paused. “How do you know their Christians?”
“We checked them out,” Groh told her. “They’re Christians.”
Yorke nodded. “In fact, they’ve got relatives and loved ones who were counted among those who vanished about six months ago. They’re Christians.” He looked at Staci. “It’s my guess that because of the vanishings, they took comfort in the only thing they could. They sought out whatever they could on how to come to Christ…to Christianity…and they made it happen. Cross found out and killed them. Just like we believe he’ll kill again, unless we can stop him first.”
Staci regarded Yorke for a moment, and then she focused her attention on the photo’s thoughtfully. She tapped her finger on one of the photo’s. “This man here…the others have their ankles tied, but he doesn’t, and…he seems to have been beaten more than the others, too.” She glanced at Lenox.
“He may have fought back,” Lenox told her.
“The others also had their hands bound at some time.” She paused. “Cross killed them while they were bound, and then when they were dead, he posed them as crosses. Is that what you think?”
Groh nodded. “Yeah, for the most part. You haven’t told us anything we don’t already know, sweetheart.”
If his comment bothered her, she didn’t show it. “What killed them? I mean…how did Cross kill them?”
“He struck them each in the back of the head with a rock, about the size of a basketball,” Yorke told her. He picked up the photo’s, went through them until he found what he was looking for, and then handed the photo to Staci.
It was a picture of a huge blood-stained rock.
Staci shook her head. “You’re saying he had these people bound when he struck them from behind? That’s…that’s awful. They-they must have known what he was going to do. They must have known how they were going to die.”
“What’s worst…” Yorke began, “the victims had to wait their turn. Three of them must have watched the struggle from the man who wasn’t tied. Then, two victims watched what happed to the second victim. They were witnesses of their own murders until the last one was killed.”
“The ground was soaked with blood,” Lenox said softly.
“Cross is a man who kills his victims with hatred.” Yorke paused. “A lot of hate. To hit someone in the back of the head with such force…Why does he do it?”
Staci pursed her lips in thought. “Not Cross. Cain.”
Lenox watched her. “Cain?”
She nodded and reached for her purse. She pulled out a Bible. Placing it on the table, she opened it to the Book of Genesis. “Uhm, you don’t mind if I read this to you, do you, guys?”
Groh frowned. “I didn’t really come here for a Bible lesson.”
“It’s not gonna hurt, Randy, you big baby,” Yorke said, shaking his head. “She’s just going to read something.”
“Is it really relevant to our investigation?”
Lenox looked at Staci. “Is it?”
Staci paused. “You asked for my help. I’m trying to understand why Cain is committing these crimes, and I think the best way to do that is to look at the first murder ever committed.”
Groh looked at her with skepticism. “That’s just a story. It didn’t happen. Some guy got drunk, stubbed his toe, fell down the stairs, and then he woke up with a great idea for a story. He wrote it, and it somehow got into that book you have right there. It‘s a folktale.”
“Well, I believe it did happen. The Bible is every word of it true.”
Yorke waved a hand at Groh. “Don’t listen to him. He has a big mouth and little ears. He’ll get over your Bible reading, won’t you, Randy?”
Groh sighed. “You want to read a story to us, fine. Go right ahead. But I don’t see how this helps us at all.”
Staci looked at Lenox.
Lenox nodded encouragingly. “If you think it will give us some insight, go ahead and read.”
She nodded. She found the place she was looking for and with a wary glance at Groh, she began to read the passage of Scripture. “‘And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. 1’ ”
Lenox nodded his head. “That’s where I’ve heard that before.”
“What?” Groh asked. “The story she just read? Maybe from Sunday School Bible Hour when you were a kid. Who hasn’t?”
He shook his head. “No, not that. At the crime scene, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that the blood was soaked into the ground.”
Staci nodded. “Yes. Their blood is crying out to God from the ground!”
Groh narrowed his eyes. “Soo…blood can talk?”
“It’s a symbol, Randy,” Yorke tried to explain helpfully. “These poor victims were killed. Don’t you think they would want to be avenged?”
“But how does this help us?”
“It helps us understand something about Cain,” Staci replied with a nod.
Groh, Yorke, and Lenox focused their attention on her.
“You mean Cross,” Groh corrected, “but we’re all ears, sister. What understanding have we come to about Cross?”
“Cain,” Staci said, “is jealous.”
The stew was being served at the counter in the mess hall. Donna Perkins and Amber Eastwood were helping with the serving, as was Chris Saint and Faye Yeomans. Peter Chase, Anthony Morris, and James Bollinger were in line, and when Bollinger held out his bowl for a helping of stew, he received something else.
Hostility.
Amber glared at him.
Sometimes a glare spoke heavy volumes. Especially when she made no move to give him any stew.
He glanced at Chase and Morris. Chase shrugged helplessly.
Bollinger leaned over. “May I have some stew, please? It smells very good.”
Wordlessly, Amber scooped out some stew and put it into his bowl. Then, she glared at him some more.
The man looked at his bowl and hesitated. “Could I trouble you for just a bit more?”
Again, she scooped out some stew and put it into his bowl. Then, she continued to glare.
Bollinger looked at her. “Have I done something to offend you?”
“No,” Amber responded. “You don’t have to do anything to offend me for me not to like you. I just don’t like you. Period. Now move it. You’re holding up the line, buddy!” She aimed her serving spoon at him as if she were going to use it as a weapon.
Bollinger shook his head and moved on. As he was getting bread and something to drink, Chase and Morris received their bowls of stew. He noticed that Amber hadn’t treated them the way she had treated him. Taking his food, he found a table and sat down. Shortly after, Chase and Morris joined him. A few tables away, Bollinger sensed that someone else was watching him.
He turned his head.
Sheriff Robert Hoag sat at a table toward the rear of the mess hall. He was taking his time with a cup of coffee, but he was watching Bollinger as if he was on a stake out. He didn’t mind that Bollinger knew about it, too.
Bollinger let out a sigh. “You know,” he began, “there seems to be a lot of hostility aimed at me since I joined up with you people.” He put salt and pepper into his bowl of stew. “Have I committed some crime?”
Chase shook his head. “Don’t let the Sheriff bother you. He watches everyone.”
“Yes…Well, technically, he isn’t really a sheriff here, now, is he? Why did he come? Didn’t David say that the man hadn’t made up his mind yet about a commitment to Jesus Christ?”
“You know more than anyone how hard it is to just come to that decision,” Morris said, as if to remind him. “He’s been through a lot. He’s being careful before he makes a decision. Like we all were before we got saved.”
Chase nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Not everyone comes to Christ when they first hear about him. Some people take a while. All we can do for Bob now is pray.”
Bollinger nodded his head, but he kept silent.
“Take Amber for instance,” Morris said. “Sure, she seems hostile toward you. Maybe she doesn’t just trust you yet. But she had a hard time coming to Christ.” He paused. “Yet when she did, she handed over to us $60,000.”
Bollinger had been about to take a mouthful of stew. He stopped and stared. “Are you serious? That’s an awful lot of bread, brother.”
“Yes, it is, but it will buy us a lot of provisions.”
The rogue agent nodded thoughtfully. He wondered where the money was. Most likely, the money would be with either King or Saint. They certainly wouldn’t put it in a bank during these harsh times. The economy was sinking rapidly. Credit was now practically non-existent. Even if they did put the money into a bank, they wouldn’t be able to get it out later on if what they believed about the mark of the beast was coming true.
The money was nearby.
Of that, Bollinger was certain.
After an hour of food and fellowship, King himself stood up at the front of the mess hall and asked for everyone’s attention. Behind him and to the left, Saint was standing by, testing out the strings on his guitar.
Bollinger watched, curious about what King was going to say.
“Good evening, everyone,” King said, when all eyes were turned toward him. “I would like to take this opportunity to give thanks to God for bringing us here and revealing the true purpose for Camp Wood.” He smiled at the looks on the faces before him. He nodded. “That’s right. I believe that God had brought us here for a very special reason. You see, since the Rapture had occurred, we’ve been a busy people. Our minds and focus were on other things. Important things, yes. Necessary things. But things that kept us from even considering that after salvation, there is another step to take.”
He paused for affect.
“Baptism.”
There were nods of agreement around the mess hall. Bollinger simply sat still and listened.
“All of us,” King continued, “you and I…we must all follow our Lord’s example through baptism. And God led us here where that wonderful act can be carried out. Right outside and down to the lake, we can all be baptized. Are we in agreement?”
The gathering of believers cheered and applauded. All but Bollinger and Hoag. Hoag continued to watch Bollinger as King continued. Amber was watching him, too.
“Now…tomorrow morning, we will all meet here. We’ll have breakfast, and I will share with you from the Word of God how that Jesus Himself was baptized, and why it is important that we do the same. But for now, I have asked Brother John to play for us and lead us into songs of praise.”
Saint stepped forward with his guitar. “That’s right, David. We’re going to sing. But if I look out there, and someone isn’t singing, I’m gonna have you come up here and do a solo.”
“In that case, I promise to sing. I sound better in a group than I do as a solo.”
The gatherers laughed.
“There’s something else I think we should do.” Saint looked out at the faces turned toward him. “In between songs, if anyone out there would like to stand up and give a testimony, I would like to encourage you to do so. So, what say we begin?”
He picked a song and began to play on his guitar. As they all sang, Bollinger took the opportunity to take his tray back up to the counter by the exit door. He glanced around, and then snuck out the door. He thought no one had noticed and had forgotten that he was being watched by two people.
Amber and Hoag.
There was a knock on his door. Fuller looked up from the reports on his desk and saw Erin Greye and William Fronk standing in the open doorway.
“May we enter, Skipper?” Fronk inquired. “You did, after all, call to tell us that you required our presence.”
Fuller nodded his head and waved them to enter. “Yeah. Close the door behind you.”
Fronk allowed Erin to enter first, and then he followed after he had closed the door. He sat into a chair next to Erin and smiled at Fuller. They both waited.
Fuller leaned forward, hesitantly. “Did you guys feel a tremor earlier?”
“You mean…” Fronk glanced at Erin. “…like a tremor in the Force? Star Wars isn’t really true, Skipper. It’s a movie. The Force is actually the Farce. I thought you knew that.”
Fuller just looked at him.
Erin tried hard not to smile. “Yes, Director, we felt a tremor. Is that what you wanted to see us about?”
“No. I just feel the need to pray, and that’s why I really called you in here, but now I’m concerned about Carr and this tremor.”
“What about Carr?”
“He stopped by after I called you.”
Fronk sat back. “What did he want?”
“He just wanted to see if I was in my office.”
“Well, he’s obviously up to no good,” Fronk replied with a shrug. “Whatever he’s up to will be revealed soon enough. We always find out. As for the tremor, there’s nothing we can really do about that. If a quake is coming, there isn’t a single prayer we can pray to make God stop it. He warned us about them. They’re coming. All we can do is pray and hope we survive.”
Fuller nodded his head. “Yeah. That’s what I thought, too.” He paused. “Look, why don’t we pray and get something to eat?” He regarded Erin and Fronk. “You’re the only two who know about…who know I have a daughter. I’d like to keep it that way.”
Fronk made a face. “Oops…I’d better go take that information off from my website. I should have consulted with you first, Skipper… before I posted that in my blog.”
Fuller looked at him and paled.
“Uhm…” Erin slapped Fronk in the shoulder. “He is kidding, Director. No one will know about Danielle. We will keep that to ourselves.”
Fuller looked relieved. But then he turned to Fronk. “William, if we weren’t Christians and I didn’t think of you as a son…I’d kill you for almost giving me a heart attack!”
Fronk tried hard to look innocent, but failed. “Sorry ‘bout that, Skipper.”
“Let’s pray and get out of here before Carr comes back.”
They gathered together as a group, held hands and prayed.
1 - Genesis 4:1 - 10
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