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“Let’s take a look. Do some surveillance. See if we can find this old church,” she said. “If it’s in walking distance, it shouldn’t be too hard.”
***
Half an hour later, Cora was nestled in the cover of a thick, bushy tree. She was crouching behind its trunk, staring through the branches, taking a look at the old church that was a few hundred yards from the manor house. It was a stately building, though in a state of slight dilapidation. It had a high tower, a large stone hall, staircases, and balconies along its outside walls. But there were signs of decay. The big round window above the main door, which Cora guessed had once been filled with stained glass, had been shattered. Now it gaped darkly, an empty hole in the building, and through it she could see the flicker of candlelight.
Moving closer, she heard the low chant of voices and glanced at Gabe questioningly.
Whatever this late-night event held by the senior members might be, it was clearly taking place inside that building.
What was it, and how to get in? Were any of the leaders - as she suspected - going to end up in there, and if so, why? Could they get in or find a way to see what was going on? Was this somehow related to the murders that they now knew about?
"Okay. We need to get a look in there, somehow," Cora said in a soft whisper. The chanting was monotonous, otherworldly, and it sent shivers down her spine. "We need to get a vantage point through a window or else get onto the upper level. And then we need to try to identify who the main people are and what the hell’s going on. So, how are we going to do all this?"
"Let's go and see," Gabe said.
They trod silently toward the old church. As they neared it, the sound of chanting grew louder. The speed of it was increasing. It was as if the energy inside was building up to a crescendo.
Then, Gabe's hand closed gently over her shoulder, and he drew her back. There was activity near the main door. Someone was leaving, draped in white robes, a hood over their head, hurrying in the direction of the manor house. And two more people, similarly dressed, were arriving.
Cora flattened herself against the wall.
After a few moments, Gabe whispered, “All okay.”
The moment of hiding had given her a chance to pick out a vantage point. Ahead of her, to the right, was a gap where another window had been. This was only a couple of yards above head height. There was the chance to see through.
"Give me a hand up?" she whispered to Gabe.
He stuck out his knee. Cora put her foot on it, and he boosted her up. She grasped the stone sill of the narrow window, her fingers smearing the thick layer of dust, and then, Gabe maneuvered himself so that she was standing on his shoulders.
Now, she had a steady place to stand and could see inside.
She found herself staring down at the church's main hall, dimly lit with flickering candles in elaborate holders. In the center of the room, a group of people were gathered in a circle.They were all draped in white, with white cloaks and hoods, creating a veil of privacy and anonymity. A few more people stood around the edges, holding baskets that were filled with smoldering pine needles. Others were kneeling, their heads bowed.
She had no idea who was who. It was impossible to say. She couldn't recognize anyone from this vantage point. You couldn't even see their faces. Staring with narrowed eyes, Cora tried her best to work out how to take advantage of a seemingly unworkable situation.
At that moment, Gabe hissed from below.
"Cora. There's someone coming."
Quickly, she let go of the sill and bent down, grabbing his hand as he helped her to jump to the ground.
Gabe hustled her away from the church wall and back to the cover of the tree. The footsteps were louder now. They'd just gotten into hiding in time.
But, as the person appeared, Cora realized, to her surprise, that there might be a way.
She saw how this could be done now. It was as risky as it could be, but it might just work.
The woman walking in their direction was one of those inside who'd been holding the basket of pine needles. They clearly didn't last very long and burned out quickly. So, with her basket now empty, she was out here, looking for more. As Cora watched, she headed over to a nearby tree and tugged at the branch, breaking off a thick, green shoot. She placed it in her basket and then turned, breaking off another.
Now, the idea was solidifying in Cora’s mind as she stared at her.
Anonymous in her white robes and her head cover, who would know if it was really that woman who went back in?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
As silently as she could, Cora mouthed to Gabe, "We grab her. And I go in."
His eyes widened. She could see he thought this was a wildly reckless idea. Well, it was. It was crazy. But it was a tactic that might just get her inside the church, anonymous and unseen.
