Chapter Fifteen. #2
I withdrew my gun and held Cassidy’s gaze. Cassidy didn’t do anything.
“Where’s he going?” Blue asked Catherine.
“I don’t know. He never tells me,” she stammered as the seriousness of the situation sank in. “Benjamin’s not a killer! You’re all wrong; this is just Margaret being a bitch!”
I yanked my cell from my pocket and shoved it in her face, showing her the pictures of the tortured women. Marion and Hillary stepped back, but Catherine paled further.
“No. No. Go back!” she exclaimed. I did, and Catherine took the cell. “That’s Sister Elizabeth Antony!” she screamed.
Marion grabbed the phone from Catherine’s shaking hands.
“Is she known to you?” Cassidy demanded as Marion dropped it seconds later; her hands shook violently.
“She was one of those arrested for Margaret’s lies. She spent time in prison.”
“How the fuck did your department miss that?” Blue snapped, turning to Cassidy.
“We were searching for former nuns, not those who’d been in the system. Catherine,” Cassidy’s voice turned gentle, “this will be hard. Tell me, if you recognise anyone else.”
“Don’t you dare! This is all some elaborate scam by Margaret; I’m going to report all of you,” Charles hissed.
Tears streaked down Catherine’s face. “These are real, aren’t they?”
“Yes,” Cassidy said, holding her eyes. “And this monster has your sister, and I’m sorry, Catherine; it’s Benjamin.”
Catherine let out a heart-wrenching sob, but reached out and took the phone.
She scrolled through the pictures before stopping and covering her mouth with a trembling hand.
She flicked through three and shook violently.
“That is Sister Hildegard, Sister Mary Immaculate, and Sister Theresa Clare. All of them were jailed with Elizabeth Antony.”
“Catherine, where does Benjamin work?” Cassidy pressed.
She wrung her hands together. “I don’t know.”
“How can you not know?” I exclaimed.
“Don’t ask! That’s what you drummed into me. Obey, be quiet, and don’t ask questions!” Catherine yelled at her parents. “You married me off to a serial killer! Oh God, Benjamin’s a monster!” She wrapped her arms around her waist as tears streamed down her face.
“Don’t listen to them! They’re lying!” Charles thundered.
“Yeah, we just made this up to fuck with you,” Blue said mockingly. “Can you tell us anything? Because those photos—Benjamin plans to do that to your sister.”
“She deserves it,” Charles sneered. “She’s a slut.”
Blue was closer than me, and he let rip with a blow that knocked Charles down.
“Nun’s kind, honest, caring, loyal, and someone I’d lay my life down for.
She’s fuckin’ genuine; what the fuck would you understand about that.
Well, listen up, buddy boy, your life is going to unravel.
Because I’m gonna make sure your family’s shit is out there.
I’ll drag up the scandal from before and attach it to this.
By the time I’m done, the public will be baying for your blood,” Blue snarled.
Marion and Keith paled while the nutcase Hillary continued praying. She needed a psych ward for sure.
“Catherine, is there anything? Like a holiday home or something similar?” I pressed. Cassidy was on the phone relaying the information to Hatton.
“He carried chilled items. It’s refrigerated. We don’t have any other property. But Benjamin’s obsessed with that truck,” Catherine answered.
“Hatton’s having those back at the office dig into him.” Cassidy’s cell rang, and he stepped away.
“Think, Catherine. Why did he not pursue Nun previously?” Blue asked.
“He didn’t know about her until five years ago,” Catherine replied.
“What?” I held her gaze.
“None of us spoke about her at all. She was dead to us because of the untruths she fabricated. Only they weren’t lies, were they?
” Catherine screamed at her parents. Keith and Marion flinched.
“Dad slipped up while we were watching a show on sinners, and Benjamin heard him. He demanded that I answer his questions, and I told him everything. But we didn’t know where Margaret was, so he wouldn’t have managed to find her. ”
“And he went after the others until you lucked out and crossed paths with her. God, you righteous bastards make me sick. Check out the lives you’ve ruined. You’re as warped as he is,” Blue snapped at Keith and Marion. They flinched back.
“The cops might not charge you with crimes, but the public will soon know everything. And God have mercy on your soul when they do,” I said.
“We’ve got something. A motorist rang in, saying they saw a man driving a black SUV into a shipping container attached to a truck,” Cassidy stated, approaching.
“Hatton wants me to stay with the family to make sure they don’t run.
I’ve sent the details to your phone. State police and everyone else are getting the updated alerts.
The FBI tracked it, and we finally have his vehicle registration plate. ”
“And that’s why we can’t find the SUV,” I replied.
“Let’s go,” Blue said and began jogging out. My cell buzzed, and I nodded at Cassidy and followed Blue.
Nun
The sound made me open my eyes. I’d been fighting for consciousness for a few minutes but kept being dragged down.
I was thrown onto a threadbare mattress and tied up.
My entire body ached, and I was sure I had a concussion.
My helmet had been removed, and my ankles were bound.
Wriggling into a sitting position was difficult with my hands behind my back, but I managed.
I opened my eyes and wished I hadn’t. Oh God.
I began shaking as I stared at the horrific image in front of me.
A woman rose on tiptoes, a habit at her feet.
She wore a white shift to her knees, which left her arms and shoulders bare.
Her legs had been clamped together, and her arms were crossed over her breasts.
Some metal stand held her in place. A halo on a thin piece of wood was jammed into the back of her skull, although from the front, you wouldn’t realise that. The next thing terrified me.
From her back spread out wings created from human flesh; I could only assume he’d sliced down the middle of her spine and stretched the skin to make them. The light filtered through the delicate skin and made me ill. The corpse was transformed into a macabre angel.
White orbs stared at me from the face which had belonged to Theresa Clare. Her skin had been smoothed out, but it didn’t hide the agony or terror etched into it.
I looked away, unable to stare anymore, and landed on the next monstrosity.
The body had been forced to its knees. A crown of nails was secured around the head with a cross jammed into the top of her skull.
She wore the same white shift, her elbows bent in supplication.
A heavy iron nail had been drilled into her palms, holding them together.
Her mouth was open in a silent scream, and her tongue lay on her hands.
She’d been branded several times, and metal spikes attached to a chain, winding round her, pierced her body.
Mary Immaculate had died hard and cruelly.
I bounced off the wall and realised I was in a truck. The air was cool, and I guessed it was kept at a certain temperature. I’d bet that these remains had been embalmed; I looked around and observed more corpses, all forced into one of two positions.