The Sect (The Craig Crime Series) (23 page)

“Davy.”

“Yes, chief.”

It was accompanied by an itch.

“Calculate the range of distances the killers might have travelled, using timing and local speeds. They’ll have stuck to the speed limit both ways to avoid getting stopped. Give me options for both car and foot, one and two killers carrying the first three bodies, and for bringing the last body by car. We lifted a tyre track from a back road so we’re pretty sure a car was involved this time. Also, the local lads were stopping traffic yesterday, so can you pick up on their reports as well.”

“Has Des got everything?”

Craig nodded. “The tyre track, he’s fuming the new cling-film for prints and we found lots of broken tree roots. P.C. Brunton heard them being broken so we’re pretty sure the killers stepped on them between five and six p.m.” He turned back to the group. “OK, there are a few other things before I start going round. Victim four was tattooed on his right inner arm in the same way as the others and we expect his stomach and lung contents to match as well; I’ll come back to that in a moment.”

He stifled a smile as Liam grimaced in anticipation of what was coming next. “Our newest victim was also castrated. Everything was left with the body.”

The male leg crossing that followed was as synchronised as a ballet, as were their identical winces. The only person unmoved was Carmen. No-one but Craig had noticed her taking a seat at the back of the room five minutes earlier but now she commented loudly in a factual voice.

“Strictly speaking castration just means the removal of the testicles. Was that all they cut off?” The legs tightened further and she smiled innocently at Craig. “I’m just asking.”

He answered her with one word, “everything”, and moved on; Carmen’s session with the psychologist obviously hadn’t dampened her defiance.

“Whatever the correct term for it is, victim four’s mutilation seems to follow some pattern in the killer’s mind. Of our four victims only Sam Beech was left unmarked.”

Davy raised a hand languidly and Craig nodded, grateful to be leaving the topic of excised body parts.

“I’ve been doing a bit of research on Doctor W…Winter’s choke pear. It’s just one of a number of medieval torture methods.”

He tapped his smart-pad and the screen beside Nicky’s desk flickered on. When Craig saw what appeared next he was glad she wasn’t there. A series of torture images sat side by side, with their titles printed underneath: Strappado, Toca and other joys.

Liam squinted at the screen. “What’s Toca? That image doesn’t make sense.”

“Medieval waterboarding. Seems there’s nothing new in the torture world.”

He tapped his screen again and enlarged the choke pear, reading aloud from another page.

“The pear can be inserted into any bodily orifice and widened to inflict pain. It was classically used to choke, or on women––”

Craig raised a hand to halt him. “Thanks. We get the picture.” As he scanned the images he thought aloud. “Torture, body parts removed and drugs given, all of which we think may be symbolic of our dead victims’ perceived crimes––”

Liam cut in. “Which means victim number four was a rapist.”

No-one disagreed. Craig continued.

“A medieval torture implement and a Latin phrase that we believe resembles one used by the Spanish Inquisition, also medieval.”

Davy cut in. “That meant s…someone’s confession is valid even if it’s given after torture. That’s what I was getting at.”

Craig motioned him on.

“The torture implement left with Bobby McDonagh w…wasn’t used until he was dead. Likewise any excisions and injections were done post-mortem, yes?”

Craig half nodded. “I think the castration was done P.M. but check that with John, please.”

“If they were done P.M. they weren’t done to inflict pain, so why do them at all? Yes, as a symbol of their victim’s supposed crime, but surely part of the reason the choke pear was left could have been to s…show that they’d
all
been tortured when they were still alive? It fits with what the tattoo says. They’d all been tortured and confessed to their perceived s…sins and the killer wants us to know that they had.”

Andy cut in. He’d been quiet throughout the briefing, as had Jake who was staring out the window looking exhausted.

“What torture methods did they use on them? None of the bodies except Bobby’s had torture marks, except maybe the manacles.”

Ken answered before Davy could. “I can give you an exhaustive list of torture methods: white noise, sleep deprivation, emetics, enemas, electric shocks. It’s endless. Some never leave a mark and the marks from the others fade in a few days.”

Carmen turned to stare at her boyfriend as Craig asked the question they all wanted to ask.

“How do you know, Ken?”

The soldier shook his head. “Don’t worry; I was never tortured. But before we’re sent out to a warzone we have to be prepared, so they demonstrate the interrogation techniques the enemy might use if we fall into their hands––”

Liam interrupted. “Does torture ever work?”

Ken shrugged. “Unlikely, even if the average soldier knew anything but their name, rank and serial number, which they don’t. That’s the stupid part. The enemy think we all know everything about the military’s plans but only the top brass really do.”

Craig nodded. “So they get told a lot of lies to make the torture end.”

“Exactly. Even the US Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that enhanced interrogation techniques didn’t yield useful intelligence.”

A debate on the morality and effectiveness of torture started and Craig let it run while he poured himself a fresh drink, then he quietened the group and summarised.

“OK. We have four victims, three that Jake says were known to social services and we’re waiting to hear on the fourth. There’s symbolic post-mortem mutilation on all of them except on Sam Beech, and we think the implement left with Bobby McDonagh could also be pointing us to torture having being used on all the victims before death, as does the tattoo. There’s also an element of ritual to all the crimes: the washing of the bodies, the bleach, although that could just be a forensic countermeasure, and the wrapping and leaving above ground.”

Liam interrupted. “As opposed to what?”

“Burial.”

He nodded. “OK, but why’s the over ground location important?”

A bell rang in Craig’s head but he wasn’t going to say anything until he was sure. He shook his head at Liam and continued.

“There’s something else that also points to ritual; the identical stomach contents on victims one to three. Doctor Marsham has managed to narrow the food to red wine and some form of bread. We’re waiting to hear what sort. The odds are that victim four will have the same––”

He was cut short by Liam. “Damn.”

“What?”

Craig read the answer in his eyes. Bread and wine; the symbolism of communion. He’d been brought up ecumenically but if his mother knew how slow he’d been to connect the dots she’d berate him for forgetting the Italian Catholic part of his heritage.

Liam shook his head in disgust. “Bread and wine. Communion. The bastards are feeding them communion before they die.” He spotted some blank faces so he filled in the gaps. “Torture, confession, Latin tattoo, bread and wine, drowning; these gits are taking people they perceive as sinners and performing a ritual sacrifice.”

Ken asked the obvious. “Satanic?”

Liam snorted. “Not in their minds. There are no pentagrams or ram’s heads if that’s what you mean. This is religious and these eejits probably think that they’re saving their souls. They think they’re true Catholics, and by true I mean pre-reformation, burn all the heretics at the stake Catholics. They think they’re doing God’s work, sending sinners to their graves cleansed of their sins.”

Suddenly he gave a heavy sigh and Craig practically shouted his next question.

“What? What else have you realised?”

Liam shook his head. “How could we have missed it? It’s so bloody obvious!”

“What is? I swear, if you don’t hurry up––”

Liam strode over to Davy’s desk and muttered something in his ear. Another tap of the smart-pad and the image of a cling-filmed victim appeared on Nicky’s screen.

“Look.”

Everyone looked and several shook their heads.

Craig frowned. “What are we looking at?”

“Washing, bleach for purification, drowning, cocooning like a chrysalis. It’s rebirth. They were being baptised into a new life!”

****

Craig cut the meeting short and beckoned Liam and Davy into his office. He scribbled nine points on a notepad: sin, selection, abduction, torture, confession, baptism, communion, death, cocooned for rebirth? Then turned it to face the others and threw open the floor.

Liam pointed to the list. “Normally people are baptised years before they take communion but given that this baptism involved drowning, the communion should come first. You can’t eat when you’re dead.”

Fair point.

Davy hazarded a guess at the killers’ rationale.

“We know these guys are educated; the Latin s…says that, so does the complexity of the crimes -”

Liam cut in. “We already narrowed it to academics and religious.”

Davy nodded, throwing his black hair forward and giving Craig a glimpse of what had been making him scratch. He’d got a tattoo on his upper back! The glimpse was long enough to reveal it was a word, but not long enough to read what it was. Davy continued.

“OK, so, we have academic or religious men, probably at least two of them, who…” He paused, searching for inspiration. “…who don’t believe s…society is punishing people enough for their crimes?”

It sounded weak, but the look in his eyes dared the others to do better. Liam took up the baton.

“If they’re Catholics then how about them thinking that the modern church is too lenient on sinners? There’re plenty of those around.”

Craig nodded. “Go on.”

“Well, I remember my granny ranting about Vatican Two when I was a kid; she wasn’t best pleased at losing the Latin Mass and what she saw as a watering down of doctrine. What she would have said about the latest Pope doesn’t bear thinking about.”

Craig was surprised. “I thought people liked him. He’s presenting a more tolerant church.”

“Aye, most people do; they think tolerance is a good thing. But what if you don’t? What if you’re a vengeance kind of guy? There’re plenty of those in Ireland.”

Davy was indignant. “That’s what I said! They don’t think s…society is punishing people enough for their crimes.”

Craig stared into space. “Mind you, half the cops in the country think that as well.” He tapped the list again.

“Right, let’s say we have a group of disgruntled uber religious people, whether that’s their day job or not we can debate later, but they believe that punishing people who they view as sinners is a good thing. OK, first on the list, sin; how do they know what supposed sin these people have committed? Two, selection; how or why do they choose
them
and not some other addict, rapist or paedophile? They must be getting our victims’ details somehow. Then abduction. How do they get access to their targets?”

Liam cut in. “Social service files? They would have the details of what they’d done and where they lived.”

“That’s always supposing that victim four turns out to be known to social services like the first three. How else?”

Davy recited a list. “Prisons, schools, courts, council run homes, s…support services like counselling…”

Craig halted him. “In other words, half the public sector. OK, so far we have three victims known to social services, so we have to pursue that route. Liam, tell Jake to focus there. He can call on Ken for support. Davy, dig into the victims’ backgrounds and see exactly which services each one was known to and if any of them overlapped. Add in our rehearsal victim as well. Hopefully it will narrow down to social services but I’m not holding my breath.” He took a gulp of coffee. “OK, what else? They abduct the victims, so how and where do they do it? Then they torture them and get them to confess to their so-called crimes, so they must have somewhere secluded to keep them. And do they baptise them and then give them their version of communion before drowning them, or, as Liam said, is the drowning itself the baptism? Then they’re put in a chrysalis and reborn into the next world? Are we missing anything?”

Liam shook his head. “You’ve forgotten the most important thing of all.”

“Which is?”

“Penitence. There’s no point confessing unless you repent, it’s what the whole process of forgiveness and absolution is based on.”

“And what if they didn’t repent?”

“Execution.”

“And if they did?”

“Absolution and then execution, although maybe in a slightly gentler form. They were never going to let them go alive.”

Craig thought for a moment. Elena Boraks had been shot up with Heroin post-mortem, Bobby McDonagh had been violated and victim four had been castrated. So why had nothing been done to Sam Beech? If he’d been a paedophile there were plenty of unpleasant things they could have done to symbolise his crime.