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“Fail?” Alden asked. “Job didn’t fail. Far from it.”
“Exactly. He wants to find his own version of Job. The people he killed all spiraled into despair.”
Alden scratched his chin then looked out of the tiny window in his cell. “You’re seeing this wrong. GodwantedJob in a state of despair. He wanted him to suffer the fury of the Devil’s wrath. The only thing God cared about was that Job remained virtuous. Blameless and upright, even in the face of true hopelessness.”
Ella’s mind whirred as she frantically replayed the details of the case, a mental movie flickering at high speed. Joanne, David, and Gary had all been at death’s door, but Alden had a point. Surely, this killer would want them in that state since that was how Job ended up. But then a certain connection flickered like a sky-filling firework in her mind’s eye.
All of the victims had given up their faith.
Joanne had stopped going to her church rehab classes.
David had destroyed his religious paintings.
Gary had said:if he was a good lord, this would never have happened. A lifetime of prayer and this is how he repays me.
They’d abandoned God in times of darkness.Thatwas why he killed them. Not because they hadn’t gotten back on their feet, but because they were deserters. They weren’t blameless or upright.
“Oh… Christ,” Ella said. “You’re absolutely right.”
But the question remained, how could this little revelation help her find the true target? An hour ago, Patricia had said that she would embrace God until the day she died. Therefore, she couldn’t be the target. Ella needed to get on the phone to Ripley as soon as possible.
She continued, “You used to run something called Sanctuary Class, is that right?”
“Yes. A while ago.”
“Was there anyone there with skin conditions? Sores, boils, rashes?”
Alden paused, contemplating. “One or two. Lifelong sufferers.”
“Names?” Ella asked frenziedly.
“A woman named Patricia. One named Harold. I can’t remember their surnames.”
“Dammit!” Ella shouted. Two potential victims they’d already covered. “No one else?”
“This was a year ago,” Alden said. “You’ve read the Book of Job, yes?”
Ella couldn’t lie. “Not in full.”
“First of all,” Alden said, “Job’s suffering is generally considered to have lasted only a few months. Also, Job’s afflictions were no accident. Did you ever consider that?”
Ella had not, but at Alden’s comments she felt the pieces align in perfect symmetry. Her pulse raced, her body thrumming with energy. The thud of her heart echoed like blast beats in a metal container.These afflictions were no accident.
“No I didn’t,” Ella said.
Alden moved away from the bars. “I think I’ve given you enough, but if you’re looking for someone with a skin condition, the condition wouldn’t be… natural. It would have been forced upon them.”
Ella’s hands sweat against the rusty iron. She let go, inspected her blotchy palms.
She didn’t want to show appreciation to a man like Alden, but she owed him something.
“Thank you,” Ella said.
The night wasn’t over yet.
But she knew exactly where to turn.
***
