AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kerley swallowed a ball of saliva and said, “That he was on a mission. He was coming back for everyone who wronged him, including me.”
Ella asked, “Have you seen him since?”
“No, never. And I’ll be honest, he didn’t identify himself by name, but I never forget a voice. After he threatened me, he left me. I didn’t leave the confession booth for hours after that.”
Ella fired up again. “Is there anything else you can tell us about him?”
Kerley bit his lip, as though trying to prevent the rest of his story from spilling out. It was a short battle. “Father Alden ran the rehabilitation classes each Friday.”
“Smart Recovery,” Ella said, barely able to contain the sudden rush. She didn’t want to get ahead of herself, especially not after recent disappointments, but the potential for this Father Alden person being their killer was growing by the minute. “Joanne Gustafson went there.”
“Correct,” said Kerley. “I also remember him being close with Gary Weathers. I never saw him interact with David, but there were a lot of things I didn’t see.”
Ella needed to find this man and quickly. For all she knew, he could already have the next victim in his sights. She eyeballed Ripley, who also seemed to be itching to leave this place and look into this possible suspect. “Do you have an address for him?”
“I don’t,” Father Kerley said. “Rumors are that he’s living on Westbrook Avenue but I can’t confirm. Alden was always something of a drifter.”
“We’ll find him.” Ella prepared to leave, prepared to put this new information to good use. But she stopped, thought better of it. There was one thing still on her mind.
“Father Kerley, one last question then we’ll leave you be.” Ella pulled out her phone, navigated to the footage she had saved from the motel CCTV cameras. She showed the priest a still image of the moment right before the killer attacked Gary Weathers. “Could this be the man you’re talking about?”
The holy man squinted at the phone screen. “Oh lord,” he gasped. “That’s… I can’t believe it.”
Ripley asked, “What is it? That’s him?”
Kerley took the phone in two trembling hands, eyes glued to the still image on the screen. “I can’t say for certain if that’s Father Alden. He’s about the same size, but… there’s something else.”
“What is it?”
“That knife in his hands. It’s, well, not a knife. See the black and gold handle?” Kerley rotated the empty box on his desk to show the agents. “That used to be in here. He’s using my ceremonial blade.”
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Ella eyed the small, ground floor apartment from across the street while Ripley finished up her phone call with the sheriff. The parked car outside and the drawn curtains suggested whoever lived here was still home.
Thomas Alden had been difficult to track down, almost impossible if not for Father Kerley’s lead. Alden had a small file on the police database, but the finer details of his crimes were suspiciously absent. It seemed that someone, perhaps in the inner circle, had attempted some kind of damage control to stop Thomas Alden’s crimes from becoming public knowledge.
Alden had no listed address, no family details, no work history. If not for the brief mention of his so-called provocation crimes, Ella would have assumed Thomas Alden was a figment of Father Kerley’s imagination. Only when they a stopped a passerby and asked them if a Thomas Alden lived around here did they point the agents towards the tiny apartment.
Ripley hung up the phone and joined Ella. They watched their intended destination for a moment before Ripley said, “The sheriff knows about this guy. He worked on his abuse case a year ago. Apparently he’s violent and deluded.”
“Perfect cocktail.”
“We ready?”
Ella asked, “The sheriff didn’t suspect this guy when he heard about the murders? Seems like he’d jump to mind.”
“He thought Alden had skipped town or died or gone to prison.”
“Yeah. I guess we still don’t know if he’s actually in there.”
“We’ll know if it’s him. Apparently he only has one eye.”
“Interesting,” Ella said. “I’m ready when you are.”
They approached the door to the small apartment complex, and a complete lack of any lock made entry simple. According to the bystander they’d asked, a man named Thomas lived at number one. Ella rapped her knuckles on the door and waited in anticipation. Shestood there with bated breath, going over and over the details in her head. This man had connections to at least two of the victims, apparently even running the rehab classes that their first victim attended. He was embroiled in some rivalry with the priest of his old church, even stealing a religious relic from him and using it as part of his killing method, perhaps as some kind of their-blood-is-on-your-hands message to Father Kerley.
“He’s not answering,” Ripley said as she banged on the door again. “Mr. Alden, please open up.”
