Cleansing

by Roy A. Teel, Jr.

  When he had finished, he sat down on the stool and said, “Tell me about F. E. Arnest, Charlotte Watson, and Erick Walton.” Lisa lay silent for a moment, and the Eagle said, “I know that you were going to Estelle Martinez’s home to abduct her infant daughter. I know that you are a part of the Trinity Blood cult, and that you are a devout follower of Arnest and Watson. Now, unless you want to end up like the pastor, you better start talking.” Lisa was crying on the table and looking around wild-eyed.

  “I have never hurt anyone, mister. I swear. I have never taken any children.” The Eagle pressed in close to her face, his dead black eyes staring into hers. He said, “Not for lack of trying. Start talking.”

  Lisa began to rattle off the instructions that she received from Arnest about abducting Tina Martinez. She told the Eagle that she had been saved from the streets by Erick Walton and had met Arnest at a prayer meeting three months earlier. She told him that he was a soft spoken man with a charismatic personality, that at first he creeped her out, but as she got to know him the things he was telling her about salvation and God’s sacrifice for all mankind made sense. The Eagle listened as well as recorded the conversation. When Lisa was finished talking, he asked her, “Have you been to one of the sacrifices that this movement is doing?”

  “Um…sacrifice. You mean the goat ceremony?” The Eagle looked at her and asked ‘Goat ceremony?’” “Yeah. I have been to an outdoor gathering, but I didn’t see the sacrifice. I was with a large group of people in the mountains near Malibu. There were small pieces of meat and a small silver bowl of blood passed around. I was told that it was a burnt offering to the Lord…a sacrifice of a goat to keep with the commandments of God from the Book of Leviticus.”

  “So you didn’t see the goat that was sacrificed?” the Eagle asked. “No...but I was told it was a goat or a lamb…that’s what was offered to God under the law of Moses.”

  “Did you see the sacrifice at all?” “No…the group was passing around the silver bowl I mentioned, as was part of the sacrament, and everyone drank of the cup.” “Did you?” “Of course, it’s the blood of Christ. I partook of his blood and his body.” “So you ate a piece of raw meat?” Lisa nodded and said, “We do it all the time at church. Pastor Erick says that literal blood and meat are a more real reminder of the savior’s sacrifice rather than the juice and crackers in other churches.”

  The Eagle stood up and asked, “Where does the meat and blood come from?” “We buy beef in bulk from one of the large discount stores. I mean the meat is not literally raw. It’s cooked to a pleasant consistency. Pastor Erick doesn’t want anyone to fall ill.” “And the blood?” “It’s from a cow. Pastor has a friend who owns a ranch in Riverside, and he gets the blood from them. It, too, is boiled to make it safe for consumption.” “Have you seen this blood for the church being delivered and prepared?” She nodded.

  “Have you seen the cattle that the blood is drawn from?” She nodded again. “Have you bought and prepared the meat and blood for Pastor Erick’s services?” “Yes. I buy the meat with him every week at the store, and I have gone with him out to the ranch to get the blood. I don’t understand. What have I done wrong?”

  The Eagle walked over to the door of the operating room and stood looking out with his back to Lisa. His huge frame blocked the whole doorway, and she could see the rippling muscles in his arms and legs through the black tight gear he was wearing. He said to Lisa while looking out the door, “You have no idea what’s going on here, do you?” Lisa looked on and said, “Well, I thought I did, but you’re scaring me. Why did you kill Pastor Arnold? Why have you taken me? You’re right. I don’t know what’s going on.”

  He turned to Lisa and asked, “You have another order from Mr. Arnest, don’t you?” She looked on thoughtfully and said, “I’m supposed to tell Mr. Arnest or Ms. Watson when Jesus Estonia is born.” “Why?” “I don’t know. I’m just supposed to let the two of them know when he is born.” The Eagle walked back into the room and removed her restraints and helped her off the gurney. “You are going to stay with me for a few days until we sort out the Estonia situation. There was a four-month-old child abducted this evening named Ezra Rosenberg. Does that name ring a bell?”

  Lisa was rubbing her wrists and shaking her head. “No. I’ve never heard that name outside of the Book of Ezra in the Old Testament.” The Eagle took her back to the holding room, and Lisa said, “I’m hungry, and I need to use the bathroom.” The Eagle walked her over to a door in the room that opened into a bathroom with a shower. He said, “I will have food prepared for you. You will be of use to me. I just don’t know how yet.” He walked out of the room. Lisa looked on at the heavy steel door as it latched behind him, trapping her.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “There are some things better left

  unknown…until I feel it’s appropriate.”

  The air was warm on the Malibu coast, warmer than it should be even for July. Jim had no sooner pulled into his driveway when his cell phone rang. He saw that it was John and said, “WHAT?” “I need you at my house ASAP.” Jim sighed and said, “Please tell me that you have some rock solid leads in this fuckin’ case.” “I do. Please come over.” Jim hung up the phone and walked into the house.

  Barbara was sitting out by the pool with a drink in her hand looking at the glassy sea and said, “Hi Jimmy, bye Jimmy!” He plopped down on one of the chairs on the patio and said, “You heard me on the phone?” She nodded, and he looked over at her and said, “I have to go. I have to get to the bottom of this case.” Barbara nodded and said, “I know that, honey. Call me if you or the Eagle needs me.” Jim stood up and said as he walked away, “I got a feeling that the Eagle is going to need everyone on this.” Barbara just sat sipping her drink and looking out at the sea.

  It was half past six, and Chris had been to Watson’s home with no luck. He was sitting in his car thinking of his next move when his phone rang. “Mantel.” “Chris, I need you here at my house right away.” “Do you have something?” “Yes…and time is not on our side.” Chris started his car and headed back to the house in Malibu all the while talking to himself about Watson and where she might be hiding.

  Sara invited Karen to the house for a swim and some down time. She accepted the offer gladly and followed Sara’s new BMW down PCH. She was tired and had two days off before she had to jump back into the grind and finalize her agreement with Sara and the hospital about staying on as a doctor. Sara pulled off into her driveway, and Karen followed. The two women walked into the house and all was quiet.

  Sara called out over the intercom for John, and much to her surprise he responded. “Honey, where’s your truck? I brought Karen home with me. She’s going to stay for a few days. Her parents are out of town, and I thought she could stay in the main guest house.” John responded with a cryptic tone, and Karen looked on with a strange look on her face. Sara asked Karen to make herself at home. “You know where the guest house is. I believe you still have a bikini and some clothes at the house. Why don’t you go change while I go speak to John?” Karen nodded slowly and headed for the guest house.

  Sara walked over to the secret entrance to the Eagle’s lair, put her hand on the wall, and it opened. She walked into the foyer, but there was no one there. She walked back to the main conference room to find John, Jim, and Chris all sitting at the conference table. “What’s up, guys? You all look so serious.” Jim asked, “Did you have a visit today from Pastor Erick Walton Sr.” “Yes…he came in for a second opinion on an illness, and I referred him to one of my specialists. Why?”

  John asked, “What did he come in for?” Sara plopped down in one of the leather chairs and said, “You know I can’t tell you that.” John leaned across the table and said, “It’s a matter of life and death, Sara. What did he see you about?” Sara knew John’s looks all too well and the look that she was getting wasn’t a look from John or a question from him. The question was coming f
rom the Eagle.

  “He came in for a second opinion with regard to a cancer diagnosis.” “And?” “He has stage four pancreatic cancer. There is nothing we can do for him. Dr. Charles Ritter gave him the second opinion and the final news this afternoon. Why are you asking about him?”

  Chris interrupted and said, “Because we think that the pastor is one of the people behind the recent child abductions and killings.” Sara looked at the three men and said, “No way…I have known Erick Sr. and Jr. for a lot of years. There’s no way senior would be involved in something so twisted.” “Junior then?” John asked. “Oh hell no…I mean Little Erick has some crazy ideas when it comes to his religion, but there is no way that I could ever see him involved in something like this. If he knew about it, he would be calling the police immediately.”

  John sat back and said, “Well, I have it on good authority that the Richards’ family cult is alive and well, and that they are doing human sacrifice here in our mountains in the hopes of bringing on the second coming of Christ.” “And what does that have to do with either man?” Sara asked.

  “That’s a hell of a good mother fuckin’ question, Sara,” Jim said with a cigarette between his teeth, chomping on it like a piece of gum. Chris looked on at all of them and asked, “How did you get the information that you have, John?” Jim let out a laugh, and Sara just looked away. “I have my sources, and my source has told me that this whole cult is being run by two of Richards’ last original members.”

  Chris said, “Charlotte Watson?” John nodded. “Who’s the other?” Chris asked. “F. E. Arnest.” “The funeral home owner?” Chris asked. John nodded.

  “Then who’s got the fuckin’ kid taken today?” Jim asked, leaning back in his chair. “I have to guess that it is Watson, and little Ezra is going to be the next sacrifice,” said John. “How soon?” Jim asked. “Tonight or tomorrow, but there is another child that has been handpicked by the group to be the final sacrifice to usher in the end times…or so these freaks think,” John said.

  Chris looked at the three people sitting at the table and a visible shiver went up his spine. “Who is the final sacrifice?” “A newborn named Jesus Emmanuel Estonia.” “And where the fuck is the kid now?” Jim asked, stretching his arms into the air. “The hospital at Arleta Medical Center.”

  Sara looked on and said, “I know several doctors over there in pediatrics and gynecology. I can make some calls and get you the room information. Are you going to send a protection detail?” John looked at Jim who knew what the look meant. “No, Sara. John’s not going to put protection on the little snot rag. He’s going to want me and my people to do it. Isn’t that right, Special fuckin’ Agent Swenson?” John nodded, and Chris asked, “Then what the hell are we going to do, John?”

  “You are going to swear out a warrant for Watson’s arrest. I will have Judge Olsen approve it along with a search warrant for Arnest’s funeral home. Then you and I are going to see Arnest with the warrant that Judge Olsen gives us, and we’re going to look for Ezra Rosenberg because I have a feeling that’s where he’s being held until it is sacrifice time.” Jim asked, “Outside of a protective order for the kid, what do you want from me?” John looked at him and said, “You are the most important piece in this puzzle, Jim. You’re going to go to Walton’s church in Van Nuys, and you’re going to do some intel.”

  Jim stood up, shaking his head as he walked out the door and saying, “Why is it that I have a bad fuckin’ feeling that I’m not going to live to retire? Fuck! I keep saying I’m not going to hang out with you anymore, and then here I am hanging out with you. Son of a bitch! Jesus Christ…” The three could hear Jim’s ranting and cursing trailing off as he walked out of the room and down the hall out of the house. Chris looked at John and said, “You’re about to bring down a world of trouble on these people, aren’t you?” Sara nodded as John stared off into space.

  John asked Chris to wait in the foyer and then to go home and change into a FBI T-shirt that he could pull over his builtproof vest. After he left the conference room, John looked at Sara and said, “The Eagle has a guest.” Sara looked on and asked, “Where and who?” “Her name is Lisa Farmer. She’s seventeen and a former streetwalker turned religious zealot by Erick Walton Jr. She says she’s his wife and has been living with him for six months.”

  Sara stood up and said, “That I do believe about Erick. He has always liked his girls young. I used to tell him that he was going to get in trouble some day. Where is she and what do you want me to do with her?” “She’s in holding room one. I just need you to feed her and keep her calm until the Eagle either has a use for her or can verify her story.” Sara looked at John hard and asked, “Is this kid going to end up a victim of the Eagle?” John stood up and looked Sara straight in the eye. “If she has delivered even one of these children that has been killed to their deaths…absolutely.”

  “Jesus, she’s just a kid,” Sara said, knowing it was falling on deaf ears. “Justice does not recognize age, and the Eagle does not discriminate. If she knowingly kidnapped and handed those children over to be slaughtered, she will meet the same fate.”

  Sara nodded and said, “It’s going to be a long night. You should come and eat something with me and Karen before you go. I suppose you have already packed the Eagle’s gear?” John nodded. “Then at least call Chris and have him come up to the house. We can all have a meal together before you go. It will give Chris and Karen a chance to meet. She has seen him around the house, but she doesn’t know him very well.” “Chris has been seeing, Jade, and he’s eight years older than Karen.” Sara stood up and said, “I know about Jade. She and I have spoken about it. He’s just a boy toy to her. I like Christopher. I think that he’s a good kid. He reminds me a lot of you when you were his age.”

  They walked out into the foyer where Chris was seated looking out at the darkening sea. “Where are we, John? I have never been in this part of your home.” It’s my own domain.” Chris stood up and said, “A man cave?” Sara and John smiled, and John said, “Yes…a man cave of sorts. Come on. Let’s get some dinner. We have a long night ahead of us.” The three walked out onto the patio off the lair and into some shrubbery. John was watching Chris as he looked around. He could tell that Chris was counting steps and marking landmarks, so he could find his way back, which would’ve worked if they hadn’t come to an elevator with no windows and no floor numbers.

  The three stepped in, and John placed his hand over a fingerprint and palm scanner. The doors closed, but Chris felt no movement. He looked at Sara and whispered, “We’re not moving.” Sara smiled and said, “Oh, but we are.” The doors opened into the foyer of the main house, and they stepped out. Chris went to turn to see where the elevator had opened, but John grabbed his shoulder. “There are some things better left unknown…until I feel it’s appropriate.” John released Chris’s shoulder, and he turned back from where they came to see nothing but a bank of windows overlooking the sea and the foyer of the main house leading to the formal living room.

  The parking lot at the main campus of Trinity Blood Church was full of cars. There were a few people walking into the main sanctuary when Jim pulled up and parked across the street. He recognized many of the faces. Some were celebrities, others were well known business people and even a few cops and sheriff’s deputies. He got out of the car and followed a small pack of people into the main sanctuary and walked off and up the stairs to the second floor balcony and sat in the very back where he was hidden by total darkness.

  Hess Stevens stood up to greet the board members who had dropped everything to come. “I want to thank all of you for taking time out of your busy schedules to come to this meeting. As you all know, I am Hess Stevens, the head of Our Keepers charity and president of Trinity Blood’s board of directors. We are here tonight for a very, very sad and serious situation. The future of our church is about to be altered in a way that none of us could have ever expected. Will
you all please bow your heads for a moment of prayer before we formally open this meeting?”

  Jim sat and watched and listened until the prayer was done and everyone had sat after singing a few songs. He looked on the stage for Big Erick or Little Erick but neither was there.

  Erick Walton pulled up to the small twenty-four hour coffee shop a block from his father’s church and parked. His father’s car was parked in his permanent spot at the restaurant. The place was built the same year his father started the church, and the owners were close friends and parishioners. Erick received a warm greeting from Fred and Alice Boulders, and he smiled and shook Fred’s hand and kissed Alice on the cheek and told her how lovely she looked. The two led Erick to a back dining room that was reserved for private parties. There, seated in a large corner booth, sat his father, who was sipping a gin and tonic and waiting for him to sit down.

  Big Erick went to stand, and Little Erick told him not to bother. Erick sat down, and Alice asked if he would like anything. He ordered a vodka tonic and asked, “Okay, Father, you have me here, now what the hell is going on?” Alice brought his drink and left the two men alone in the room to talk. His father took a hard hit off the drink and said, “I have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It’s stage four and untreatable. I have weeks, maybe a month, according to my doctors.” Whatever attitude that Little Erick brought into the room with him when he arrived went out of him as his father spoke the words. A teardrop fell out of the corner of his eye, and he said, “I’m sorry, Father. I’m truly sorry, but the good news is you get to go home. You will be with the Lord.”