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"We need to follow him," she said quietly, walking quickly as if in a trance. "He's involved in all of this somehow, I just know it."
They moved slowly along the corridor waiting at each turn, making sure they were not seen.
"What's all this apostasy stuff about?" Charlie asked.
"Look, Abbot Collins is leaving the building. Let's get to your car and follow him. I'll explain on the way."
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Valerie watched the Abbot's car’s lights up ahead in the darkening skies. They had been following him for forty-five minutes, and Charlie had done a good job trailing him without being seen.
They moved away from the small towns that dotted that part of Kerry County and headed out onto some winding back roads.
"So, let me get this straight," Charlie said. "The killer doesn't hate religion?"
"I don't know," Valerie said, uncertain. "But it's a possibility. Abbot Collins's body language was a dead giveaway that he was hiding something."
"You think he's the killer?"
"No," Valerie said. "But he knows something about it. Or at least, he suspects someone he knows is the killer. That's my bet. Interpreting body language is an imprecise science, though. We'll need more to find out."
"I still don't understand why the apostasy thing is a big deal?"
"The abbot had many books on that topic in his bookcase," Valerie explained. "It got me thinking. First of all, we know Whiteheart Monastery has been spared so far. No one connected to it has died, along with Ridgewater Monastery. There's a 50/50 chance that the killer is connected to one of those."
The car bumped over some uneven terrain as Charlie expertly maneuvered around a winding corner. All around, crooked trees stood stark against the gray skies. Kerry County was making itself known.
"My original thought was that the killer is taking vengeance against the church," Valerie continued. "Killing victims connected to the church through the termPost Tenebrus Lux. Maybe they are angry at the Church. Maybe they're anti-religious, but they have a connection to one of the remaining monasteries, or someone working there. So, they leave that off their list of targets for fear of either betraying someone or being found out."
"He's going further off the beaten path," Charlie said, following far behind and turning onto a dirt track. "You've changed your profile, then?"
"What if this isn't about hating the Church, Charlie. What if it's about hating people wholeavethe Church?"
Charlie nodded. "That would make sense, most of the victims seemed to not be very involved in the Church currently. But what about Father O'Hara? He was working at the seminary. He hadn't left."
"No, he hadn't," Valerie agreed. She thought through their investigation of his death, putting it all in order before continuing. "Charlie, remember the lumps on his neck?"
"Yeah."
"Will was certain they were cancerous. In fact, he was certain the priest didn't have much longer to live. Maybe only months. That's leaving the Church one way or another."
"Hmmm," Charlie said.
"You disagree?"
"It all makes sense," Charlie said. "But seeing the priest as leaving through death feels like a stretch. I think it's more likely that the man was thinking of leaving the churchbecausehe was dying. You know, go and do all the things you wanted to do. He wouldn't have been able to do that if he'd stayed in the church."
Valerie smiled. "That's brilliant, Charlie. I bet you're right!"
"That still leaves us with one problem, though."
"And what's that?" Valerie asked, feeling more confident in her theory than ever.
"We still don't know why they all hadPost Tenebrus Luxas a connection."
Valerie thought through it in her mind. An idea started to form, but she couldn't be sure. Then, suddenly, the car up ahead pulled in at a farmhouse. Charlie stopped and hid his car in a passing place at the side of the road.
"He shouldn't be able to see us from here," he said. "What the hell is he doing out here?"
