The First Church (16 page)

“Whatever happened to the house?” Dan asked.  “It
get sold off?”

“Nope. 
The place
was paid for by the old man, who had passed away from cancer.  Evidently George’s father was worried about his wife and boy, so he set up a trust fund to pay the taxes.  Last I knew, the place was still empty.”  He sighed, finished off the last of his coffee and looked at Dan.  “Anyway, what were you looking into him for?”

“An old burglary, back in sixty-one,” Dan said.

Mike nodded.  “I remember hearing about it.  George was some sort of super
peacenik.  Had a habit of breaking into veterans’ homes and stealing any military stuff they had.  Evidently, George decided to break into Mr. Jonathan Boyd’s house.  He picked the wrong
house,
though.  From what I was told, Boyd caught George in the act.”

“Boyd grabbed a hold of him, called the police, and then he beat the hell out of George until the police showed up. 
He knocked out some of the kid’s teeth and
broke an orbital socket.  I think he may even have fractured a couple of George’s ribs.”  Mike shook his head.  “Wasn’t even mad when he was doing it, so I was told.  When my old sergeant asked Boyd why he had beat the kid so badly, Boyd had said the kid needed a lesson.”

“Damn,” Dan said, letting out a low whistle.  “One hell of a lesson to be taught.”

“Yup.  So, did you want to talk to George about the Boyd case?” Mike asked.

“One similar to it,” Dan lied.

“What, you upset someone and get stuck on the oldest of pointless cold cases?” Mike said, grinning.

“No,” Dan said, forcing a chuckle.  “Just something on my own time, for a friend.  He’s trying to track down a couple of German war trophies his father brought
home,
but went missing around the same time period.  I was hoping to figure out what the hell happened to them.”

“Too bad,” Mike said sympathetically.  “Let me know if you think of anything else you might want to look at.  And hey, tell Sarah to drop her Godfather a line once in a while.”

“I will, Mike,” Dan said.  He extended his hand over the counter
, his friend sat behind, and they shook warmly.

“Be good, Danny,” Mike said.  “And you stop by soon, too.  I get bored as hell here.”

“Will do, Mike,” Dan said.

With a nod to his old friend, Dan left the building, paused on the steps outside the front door and stretched.

Ten Indian Rock Road
, he thought. 
I wonder if there’s anything still there.

Dan let out a sigh and walked down to the sidewalk and towards the parking garage.

He needed to get in touch with the Rever
end.  They needed to figure out their next move.

Chapter 39: Bad News

The morning sun was warm and fought back the chill of the wind.

Brian sat at a picnic table and smoked a cigar.  Shane stood a few feet away with a cigarette and a cup of coffee.

“Seems like it’s going to be a good day,” Brian said, glancing at the clear sky.

“I hope so,” Shane replied.  “I’m not exactly thrilled at the idea of going
to
the Church.  We need to make sure we have a definite exit strategy here, Chief.”

Brian nodded his agreement.

He checked his phone to see if he possibly missed a response to the text he had sent to Rever
end Joe, but he hadn’t. 

The side door to the hotel opened up, and a large man stepped out.

Luke Allen and Jim Bogue followed him.

Jim led his grandfather and the other man over to Brian.  Shane turned, looked at them and remained silent.

Introductions were made all around. When it was done, the three new arrivals sat down at the table, and Brian asked, “Have any of you heard from the Rever
end?  I’ve been trying to reach him all morning.”

“No,” Luke said.  “Jim has called twice, and so has Detective Brown.”

“You must not worry about Reverend Joseph Malleus.”

All of them turned toward the voice and there, under the tree beside a surprised Shane, stood Leo.

The curious little man, a strange little ghost, ever since his death at the hands of Florence at the Kenyon Farm, smiled warmly at Brian.

Brian smiled back, and with some trepidation asked, “Why don’t we need to worry about the Reverend Joe?”

“He is with his God now,” Leo said, nodding.

Oh, Jesus,
Brian thought, sighing.

“Who are you?” Dan asked.  “And what do you mean?”

“I am Leo,” Leo said, slightly confused, as though Dan should have known his name.  “And I mean the
Reverend Joseph Malleus is dead.”

Jim looked down at the ground, and Luke asked, “How did he die?”

“The dead killed him,” Leo said.  “Him and a woman.”

“Hold on,” Dan said, raising a hand and interrupting Leo. “What woman?”

Leo frowned.  “I do not know her name.  She was older. 
She liked cats.”

“Mrs. Staples,” Jim murmured.

“I think you are correct, Jim Bogue,” Leo said, nodding.  “Yes, I believe her name was Mrs. Staples.”

“Was?” Shane asked.

“Yes,” Leo said.  “Was.  She is dead, and she has moved on.  Therefore, she must be referred to in the past tense, and not the present.”

“They’re both dead?” Dan asked sharply.

“Indeed,
they are,” Leo said.  “She was butchered.  Vivisected, really.  They took an incredible amount of time with
her, and I am really quite surprised they were able to spread her remains about as much as they were.”

“Leo,” Brian said.

“Yes, Brian Roy?” Leo asked, looking helpful.

“Please, not all of the details,” Brian said.  “Just the basics.  How were they killed?  Who killed them?  When were they killed?”

“Ah, yes, of course,” Leo said, nodding in understanding.  “Mrs. Staples was tortured to death.  The
Rever
end Joseph Malleus was shot in the back of the head at the base of the skull.  It was not a real, physical pistol, I must add.  It is merely a construct of the ghosts.  It is the same construct with which they killed the
policewoman in the church, and with which they shot Jim Bogue.”

“Thank you, Leo,” Brian said.  “Now please, when were they killed?”

“Mrs. Staples was killed shortly after Detective Dan Brown left the church,” Leo said, giving the detective a small smile.  “For some
reason, the Rever
end Joseph Malleus went to the church in the very early morning.  He nearly stumbled upon the carrier and then he ran afoul of the dead.”

“The ‘carrier’?” Dan asked.  “Who, and what, is the carrier?”

“I do not know who he is,” Leo said.  “But he is the one who has brought the dead into the church, and who has hidden the body of the
Reverend in the basement with the remains of the woman.”

“Do you know why?” Luke asked.  “Do you have any idea why he might have brought them to a church?”

“A church is sacred ground.  It is sanctified,” Leo replied.  “I assume he is
under the belief that once all of them are there, well, the church will somehow bind them.”

“All of them,” Luke said softly.  “So he has another three skulls to bring, and they’ll be bound?”

“They will not be bound,” Leo said.

“Why not?” Shane asked, finishing his cigarette and putting out the butt before he stripped the filter down and tucked it into the front pocket of his sweatshirt.

“The Japanese practice Shinto,” Leo said.

“What does that mean, Leo?” Brian asked, trying to remain patient.

“Shintoism is far different from Christianity,” Leo said.  “The rules which bind one do not apply to the other.  The church will simply be a place for them to hunt.  And they do enjoy hunting, by the way.”

“Great,” Dan said, tapping his fingers angrily on the worn wooden top of the picnic table.  “So we have to get those six
skulls and figure out what to do with them.”

“Once we get them,” Shane said, “it won’t be a problem.  You don’t know him, Detective, but there’s a man down in Nashua who specializes in problem ghosts.  He and his wife will keep them sealed and away from the world.”

“Really?” Dan asked, and then he shook his head.  “Why am I even questioning this?  I didn’t even believe in ghosts until I saw the damned video footage.”

Leo looked at Dan with a confused expression.  “I do not understand why you would not believe.  You are speaking to me, and I am a ghost.”

Dan opened his mouth to respond, closed it, and shook his head.

“Let us remain focused,” Luke said.  “We have the six skulls to deal with from Mr. Boyd.  Three of them are in the church, and three of them are with the carrier.  Am I correct, Leo?”

“Yes,” Leo answered.

“Very good.  Am I also correct in assuming you know where the skulls are in the church?” Luke asked.

“Yes,” Leo repeated.

“And if we bring saké, we should be able to secure the skulls?” Luke said.

Leo nodded.  “You are correct.”

“Do you know where the carrier lives?” Luke asked.

“No,” Leo answered.

“I might,” Dan said.  “I did a little digging on the young man who broke into Mr. Boyd’s house originally.  He lived here in Rye, and in sixty-eight he murdered his mother and killed himself.”

Luke turned toward Dan.  “George Montgomery?”

Dan looked surprised.  “Yes.  George Montgomery. How did you know?”

Luke smiled. “It’s a small town, Detective. Everyone knows everything about everyone. A murder suicide is big news, it sticks in a town’s memory.”

“It was George Montgomery,” Luke said softly, shaking his head.  “He was always a strange boy.  His family’s house is still empty, isn’t it?”

“I’m not sure,” Dan said.  “I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet.”

“Do you think the skulls would be there?” Brian asked.

Dan nodded.  “I read the detective’s report on the Montgomery murder and suicide last night.  Nothing was mentioned about skulls or war memorabilia in the list of items.”

“His father was a bit of a paranoid when it came to atomic warfare,” Luke said.  “I am sure he would have built a bunker for the
family and more than likely one which would have been hidden.”

“So,” Brian said, relighting his cigar, “we grab the skulls out of the church.  We go to this Montgomery’s house and find the other three, and we’re all set.  All of the dead are dealt with.”

“No,” Leo said.  “Not all of the dead.”

All of them turned to Leo.

The dead man looked serious.  “All of those attached to the skull, yes.  Those you will have taken care of.”

“Wait,” Jim said.  “Leo, are you telling us there are more?”

“More ghosts, of course,” Leo said, looking puzzled.

“Yes, more ghosts,” Shane said, his tone filled with patience.  “There are lots of ghosts out there, Leo.  But are you
saying, specifically, there are more ghosts from Montgomery’s house?”

“Oh yes,” Leo said, nodding.  “A great
many
more.  From what I have heard, the carrier has been hiding ghosts around Rye for years.”

Chapter 40: Strategy

“I’m sorry,” Shane said.  “Did you just say he’s been hiding the dead
all
over New Hampshire?
”

Leo nodded.  “I did.”

“Wow,” Jim said, shaking his head.  “It’s like the worst Easter egg hunt ever.”

“Hold on,” Brian said.  “Right now, the only dead we need to worry about are the two who are killing and maiming people.  Anything else is a task for another time.  Deal?”

The others nodded.

Brian looked at Leo.  “Okay, Leo.  Does anyone know about the
Reverend and Colleen, yet?”

“Yes,” Leo said.  “
Due to the recent trouble at the church, two police officers went by to check on the building. The bodies were discovered.”

“Well,” Dan said, “at least the Church will be officially sealed off. 
In theory, we won’t have to worry about anyone else getting in and getting hurt.”

“It still leaves us with the need to find the skulls, however,” Luke said.

“My suggestion,” Dan said, looking around at everyone, “is to focus on where the rest of the skulls may be.  We know there are
three
in the Church.  I think I may know where the other
three are.

Dan looked around. “More than likely, the other three are at
Ten Indian Rock Road.  I’d love to go there, but if the place is occupied now, then I’d have no legitimate reason to go in.  I can’t really take someone in for questioning about a murder committed by ghosts.”