by Lincoln Cole
Just then, Niccolo started to wake. Arthur stepped back with a sigh, standing next to Rose. Niccolo blinked his eyes open, squinting them against the light.
“Father Paladina?” Jackson asked.
Niccolo jerked, sitting up quickly and gasping.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Father Reynolds said. “Are you all right?”
“I believe so. What … what happened? How did I get here?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing. We’d gone to sit in the living room to talk when we heard a loud thud beneath the floor. When he found you, you’d fallen unconscious and looked to have hit your head against one of the beams.”
“You dragged me out?”
“Not me. He managed to get you out,” Jackson gestured toward Arthur. “And he got the cat, too. Looks like the poor thing had been down there for at least a week after it died.”
“What about the girl?”
“The what?”
“The …” Niccolo stopped himself. “Did you find anything else down there with me?”
Jackson looked confused. “Like what?”
Niccolo seemed as if about to elaborate, and then he changed his mind and shook his head.
“What did you mean, ‘not you’?” Niccolo asked instead, looking around. “You said he got me. Who else was with you?”
Then, he spotted Arthur.
“You?” Niccolo sputtered, climbing awkwardly to his feet. “What in God’s name are you doing here?”
Jackson looked at him in shock, and Arthur could see that his lie just went out the window. So much for his story about Bishop Glasser. “You know him?”
“Of course I know him. This is Arthur Vangeest.”
“Hello, Niccolo,” Arthur said. “It’s been a while.”
Jackson turned to him. “So, you aren’t a reporter?”
He shook his head. “I apologize for misleading you.”
“You mean lying,” Niccolo said. “It’s what you do best. Why have you come here?”
Arthur took a deep breath. This could work out for the best. Since Niccolo knew about the Order, he could skip the disbelief that normally accompanied situations like this and jump right to the danger. “We should speak in private.”
“We have nothing to speak about. You have overstayed your welcome already.”
“I’m afraid I must insist,” Arthur said. “It is incredibly important, and a matter of some urgency.”
“No,” Niccolo said, angry. “I will not speak with you, nor will I listen to anything you have to say. I also know that you aren’t supposed to be out on a job. Any job. Which means you’re not sanctioned, are you?”
“You don’t understand—”
“I understand perfectly. If you do not get in your car and leave Everett in the next few seconds, I will notify the Vatican of your presence and report that you are interfering with Church affairs.”
“I’ll go, but after you hear me out. This is important.”
“No.”
“It’s a matter of life and death.”
“All you understand is death, Arthur. I was there. I saw the bodies and what you did.”
Arthur stifled a sigh and turned to walk to his car. The conversation had gone about as well as he’d expected, and Niccolo hated his guts. He couldn’t even blame him, as he would have hated him if the only version he knew was the one from West Virginia. That day, he had functioned at his worst.
Just about to leave, he stopped when Niccolo turned to Jackson and Rose. “Would you give us a moment?”
Arthur couldn’t hide a look of surprise. “I should explain myself to Father Reynolds as well,” Arthur said. “He should hear this.”
“No,” Niccolo said. “You may speak to me, and then you will leave. Understood?”
Arthur thought about it for a second and then nodded. Niccolo had it right. If Jackson had no involvement, then it became best he get left out of Council business.
Niccolo turned to face Jackson, “I will come in right behind you. This will only take a moment.”
The two disappeared. Arthur cursed his bad luck that he hadn’t known Paladina would be here. He didn’t know how much or how little to say to convince him that things had grown dangerous.
Why had Paladina come out here at all? He rarely left the Vatican, and only then on some sort of investigation on behalf of the exorcists. Did that make for the reason he had turned up here? Did the Church worry that something might be going on?
Maybe they knew more than Arthur thought.
“Why have you come here?” Niccolo asked. “In Everett, of all places. Don’t you have more important things to do? More cultists to murder?”
The words stung. Father Paladina hated him and felt him dangerous and violent. He disliked having his entire life boiled down to one decision he’d made.
“You had it right that I’m not on the books, but I have come on an investigation. An important one, and it led me here.”
“What investigation?”
“This is something personal.”
“If you won’t tell me—”
Arthur had only one chance to get through to Father Paladina, and it would take total honesty.
“I’ve come hunting the people who murdered my family.”
His words had the impact he had hoped for. Niccolo appeared completely caught off-guard. He fumbled for a few seconds, looking for something to say, before finally speaking, “I’m sorry for your family,” he said. “But that doesn’t explain why you’ve come here.”
“The person who betrayed me is here.”
“In Everett?”
“Yes.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“It’s the truth.”
“I fought to have you turned over to the authorities, you know,” Niccolo said. “After you murdered those people. I remained one of the few who thought you the monster. Not the cultists. You.”
Arthur took a steadying breath. “They had kidnapped and murdered children. They’d gone beyond salvation.”
“All of them? Can you stand there and tell me that none of them could have gotten saved?”
“It isn’t my job to save people.”
“No, I forgot. It’s your job to kill them. I wanted for you to spend the rest of your life in a jail cell. Where you belong.”
“I know. I don’t blame you.”
“You murdered those people, Arthur.”
“I did my job.”
“You think that matters? God will not forgive you for what you did.”
Arthur wondered if Niccolo called it true. He had wondered that a lot since that fateful day.
“It seems to me that that conversation should stay between God and me.”
“I won’t forgive you, either.”
“I’m not asking you to. I just ask for you to hear me out and make up your mind.”
“Why should I hear you out? So you can tell me more lies?”
“So, I’m a liar now, too? I thought I was a murderer?”
“You can easily be both.”
Arthur rubbed his face. If Niccolo had come here because of a possible exorcism, then maybe things had gone further than he’d anticipated. He needed to try a different tack to get through to him, “This is getting us nowhere. We just keep going in circles. You hate me, and I’m a murderer. I get it. But it doesn’t change what’s happening right now, right here in this city.”
“What?”
“Someone betrayed the Church and me.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“I think he works with the Ninth Circle. They could have operatives in this area.”
“Could have? You mean you don’t know?”
“I only just arrived in the city, but the evidence pushes in that direction.”
“I thought you took care of the Ninth Circle when you murdered everyone.”
“I eliminated one group, but a lot more cells exist in the world. I think one might be here. And, if
not that cult, then something else.”
“You just can’t help yourself, can you?”
“What?”
“You see cults everywhere. No matter where you search.”
“Look, I get that you don’t like me, but you need to listen—”
“You’re broken, Arthur. Just a broken, sad, little man. You can’t even tell right from wrong anymore, can you? You should leave the city and get help. I get it. Your family got murdered, and you wanted revenge, but you crossed every line that separates people from monsters. You are a monster.”
Arthur didn’t know what to say. Part of him knew that Niccolo had called it correctly. “Maybe. But I’m also right. Something is going on here, and they have a powerful ally.”
“Who?”
“Bishop Glasser.”
Arthur might as well have just punched Niccolo in the face, as the priest looked so surprised. He opened his mouth several times to respond, but no words came out.
Finally, he said, “Your two minutes are up. Get help, Arthur. I beg you. I won’t forgive you for what you did, but I will pray for you. I don’t have time to listen to these ridiculous accusations.”
“Leopold betrayed me and got my family killed,” Arthur said. “He sold information to the Ninth Circle and has worked with them for years. I also know that he has allies here and plans something big.”
“You have proof?”
“A confession from the bishop’s sister, Emily.”
“And how did you obtain that, might I ask? It hardly gives compelling evidence unless I can speak to her directly.”
“She didn’t come here. The Council have detained her and will, no doubt, transfer her to the Vatican in a few days.”
Niccolo sighed. “Until—if—that happens, how can I possibly believe anything you say? What other proof do you have?”
“I have no time for proof. She confessed everything to me. You need to believe me.”
“I don’t care. This confession you speak of, doubtless, got coerced. I would never believe a single word you said.”
“I wouldn’t lie about something like this. There is a real threat here in the city and—”
“Have you spoken to the Vatican? You said you turned Emily over to your organization, so, no doubt, they can get you permission to be here, can’t they?”
Frieda had, but again Niccolo would take semantic-based lies personally. “I don’t have time to run this through the proper channels.”
“Then, make time. How did you know you would find me here?”
“I didn’t. I had hoped to speak with Father Reynolds. This just comes down to an unfortunate coincidence.”
“For the both of us,” Niccolo said. “What did you plan to speak to Jackson about? Did you intend to tell him about the Council and the Hunters? I can assure you that that makes for a terrible idea.”
“I’d hoped to ask him a few questions and see if he worked with the bishop.”
“He doesn’t.”
“I know. I spoke with him inside. He dislikes the man and seems completely oblivious to events.”
“Or, maybe, nothing is going on. If you feel you have evidence against the bishop, then contact the Vatican. If they have an interest in you operating in Everett, then I will work with you. Until then, however, I suggest you get out of the city before I report you myself. Now, if you will excuse me, I must get back to Father Reynolds and Rose Gallagher.”
Father Paladina didn’t give Arthur a chance to respond. Instead, he walked toward the front door, leaving Arthur standing alone on the woman’s lawn.
“I’m only trying to help,” Arthur said, trying one last time to get through to the priest.
Niccolo stopped and turned back to look at Arthur. From the expression on his face, Arthur could see that the conversation had finished. Niccolo had no intention of listening to anything he had to say.
“Help? The way you helped those innocent people to find God’s love when you murdered them in West Virginia?”
“They would have killed me. I had no other option.”
“You didn’t wait for help. I saw the report when the Church sent me to help cover it up. You shouldn’t have gone in alone. You lost your family, you were grieving, but that gives you no right to kill all of those people.”
“What should I have done?”
“Wait for backup. Take the cultists by force so that they could have a chance to repent. How many have you killed with your shoot-first-ask-for-forgiveness-later modus operandi?”
“Not everyone can receive redemption.”
“Not anyone, by your estimation. Twenty-three people, Arthur. That’s how many you murdered that day. That’s how many people I helped the Church pretend never existed so that you wouldn’t get punished.”
“Do you feel mad at me, or at yourself?”
Niccolo stopped talking, and a look of shame crossed his face.
Arthur let out a sigh. “That’s what I thought,” Arthur said. “I get it, I do. I regret what I did, and many more things in my life. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but the Church sanctioned my actions. I felt ready to accept whatever punishment, but I and the Council I serve got exonerated.”
“And what happens when your actions don’t get sanctioned? What happens when you cross that line? I can assure you, Arthur, that when that day comes, you’ll have no turning back.”
Arthur stood, unmoving and unblinking. More afraid of that day than he had the willingness to admit. If he looked back, he would never have imagined himself capable of killing anyone, let alone so many people. The worst part was that it barely even bothered him anymore.
“It will never come to that,” he said, though the words didn’t sound convincing even to him.
“It always comes to that. I don’t trust you, Arthur, and I want nothing to do with you.”
“You need my help.”
“I don’t need anything from you, least of all your kind of help.”
“Then, at least, heed my warning. You’ve come into danger.”
“Consider it heeded,” Niccolo said. “Now, leave.”
Arthur couldn’t think of anything he might say to get through to the priest. Niccolo had judged him and found him wanting, and no way would he ever understand the pain that Arthur had gone through. The rage that had led him to the manor and his need for vengeance.
He wasn’t that man. There was more to him than just a killer, but Niccolo Paladina would never see it that way.
Instead, he turned and walked back to his car. The conversation left thoughts and worries he had long thought buried swirling in his mind. He fought to suppress them because he had more important things to do.
Like check to see if his friends remained alive.
Chapter 14
Arthur drove down the road away from Rose’s home on Richmond Street, heading toward the hotel to check on the Hunters that Frieda had posted there to keep an eye on Aram’s family.
His conversation with Niccolo hadn’t surprised him, but the man’s words hurt more than he wanted to admit. It had taken Arthur a long time to face up to what he had done in West Virginia, and it had become something of a distant memory for him.
Niccolo had brought it all back into sharp focus, however. Before the raid, he had never done anything that seemed ‘wrong’ or believed that he had taken anything too far. But part of him—a large part—agreed with Niccolo’s assessment of the situation—that he had overstepped.
That didn’t change the facts on the ground, though. Bishop Glasser was guilty, and nothing Arthur had done or would do would change that. Niccolo refused even to hear him out or take the situation seriously, which put him and everyone around him at risk.
Not Arthur’s problem, however. He had a job to do and felt afraid that he might have arrived too late.
It took another ten minutes of driving to get to Aram’s family’s hotel. It looked like a quaint little four-story hotel just outside of Everett and near what looked like a state forest. Proudly, t
hey broadcast their access to cable channels and an indoor pool.
He called Frieda again. She had agreed to call him if anything had changed, but he wanted to know if she’d found out anything else. Arthur hated walking into a situation blind.
When she picked up, a hint of worry laced her voice.
“I think you’re right, Arthur.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve lost contact with the Hunters tasked with guarding Aram’s family. I’ve tried to get hold of them with no answer, and about ten minutes ago, they missed a scheduled check-in and triggered internal contingencies.”
“Contingencies?”
“We’ve called a Council meeting, and everyone now knows that something has gone wrong. Aram feels frantic and won’t calm down and is demanding I call in every asset to keep his family safe. Officially, it has moved from worrisome to a crisis.”
“Which Hunters did you have out here?”
“Martin Rodriguez and Carl Eztel. I just talked to Martin yesterday, and he reported that everything remained fine. God, he even thanked me for putting him on such an easy assignment.”
“Where did Aram’s family go today?”
“From Martin’s last report, they planned to go to the movies later today, but that just gives a best guess. Not sure where or when, and he couldn’t ask … not without upsetting the wife. Carl should have tailed them today while Martin rested in their hotel room.”
“Which room?”
“Three-four-seven.”
“All right.”
“I can send some backup to deal with this,” she said. “I don’t know how long it will take for them to get there, but we’re talking fifteen hours minimum. I don’t have anyone not currently on a mission, but I can figure out something.”
“Don’t bother,” Arthur said. “By the time they got here, it would be too late. Besides, we don’t even know what’s going on yet. I’ll check things out and let you know what I find.”
“Be careful.”
“I will.”
He hung up just as he pulled his rental car to a stop in the almost empty parking lot and turned it off. Instead of getting out straight away, he weighed his options and tried to decide his next move. He could try to track the family down and talk to them directly, but his job didn’t only dictate that he keep them safe, he should also keep the existence of the Council out of their minds.
