"They live the lie so readily, don't they?" "Sorry, I didn't hear." "The ordained pretension of the sacred charade." "Are you feeling close to God tonight, Father?" " Excuse me?" " No, I won't." "Tell me your sins." "Tell me what a liar you are." "What's your name, son?" "Bless you, Father, for you have sinned." "Son, wait a minute." "Son?" "Inquisitor Deum, Father." "Est in nomine Dei, Padre." "Wait, wait, wait." "Something smells wonderful." " What is it?" " Scrapple." "What's scrapple?" " It's a mystery." " It's leftovers." " What do you want to do today?" " Aren't you going to work today?" "Today's Sunday." "The day of rest." "And fun." " What's that, Daddy?" " It's OK, Jordan." "Frank?" " It's a bird." " Don't touch it, sweetie." " It flew into the window." " Why?" "It saw its reflection and got confused." " What's the matter with it?" " It's just hurt." " Is it going to get better, Mommy?" " I hope so, sweetie." "Yeah?" "This is me." "Hold on a minute." " Who is it?" " Work." " It's not moving, Mommy." " It's just resting." "Where in Tacoma?" "It's not breathing." "Is it going to die, Mommy?" " Ardis." " Hi, Frank." " Where are we?" " Closing ceremonies." "The body's been removed." "Want to see the crime scene?" " Yeah." " Tacoma PD's a little overwhelmed right now." "But they're welcoming our help." "Detective Kerney, Frank Black." "It's my understanding you have insight into this." "There was a series of homicides in 1992 involving men of the cloth." "Ms Cohen and I were part of the FBI investigative team." " Did you catch the guy?" " No." "The victim's name was Silas Brown." "Georgetown University." "A former professor at the Institute of Catechetical and Pastoral Studies in Brussels." "A Jesuit." " Is that relevant?" " I don't know." "I went to a Jesuit high school." "Father Dodson left a permanent impression on me, if you know what I mean." "You see this, Ardis?" "He was wearing a sanbenito." " What's that?" " It's a cloak." "During the Middle Ages, heretics were forced to wear it before they were burned." " Did you see the forensics report?" " Same materials." " It was only a matter of time." " Hold on." "The Middle Ages?" "What?" "The killer was very precise." "The process is important to him." " He treats the scene like a ceremony." " What kind of ceremony?" "Medieval." "Freshly hewn stake." "Probably cut locally." " Peat and wood for fuel." " Your group thinks this is the same guy?" "Very possibly." "Four years ago, three men were murdered in a similar fashion." "It stopped until last night." "Victim is Caucasian male, 61 years old." "There is evidence of blunt trauma to the occipital protrusion on the cranium." "Sooty residue in the air passages indicates the victim was most certainly alive when he was fastened to the stake." " He asphyxiated." " Carbon monoxide robbed him of oxygen." "When the threshold drops below 21 per cent, thankfully, you pass out." " I know we hoped we wouldn't be here again." " But here we are." "Look at this, Ardis." "What?" "You see?" "The tongue." "There's something burned into it." " There was nothing specified." " Fused in the char." "What is it, Frank?" "A coin." " A Spanish peseta." " A new killer, Frank?" "A break in the pattern." "A refinement in his MO." "Some kind of symbolism." "Or possibly an escalation." "Maybe we can pull a print." "Can I help you?" "I'm sorry, I don't know my way around here." "My friend died and I must arrange to have him sent to a funeral home." " Father Brown?" " Yes." "I'm Father Schultz." "You were his friend?" "He was a good man, a true believer." "That's not as popular as it used to be." " Don't look for a reason, Father." " Are you saying there isn't one?" "Not one that would make any sense right now." "The man who did this - who we believe did this - he does it without conscience." "Is that evil?" "There's a disconnectedness out there, and those desperate with that feeling expect faith to fill the void." "And when it doesn't, they blame us." " I can't speak to that, Father." " No?" "I'm afraid my own faith is lacking." "I've ministered to many who have lost their way." "I think my time would be better spent trying to catch the man who killed your friend." " Coming up?" " Yeah, right up." "Jordan had kind of a bad day today, Frank." "She was really upset about the bird." "What did she say?" "She asked me if dogs die, horses, cars, trees." "Us." " What did you tell her?" " I mustered all my clinical powers and lied." "I told her you and I would live forever." " So back me up on that, will you?" " Yes." "They asked you to work on this murder of the priest, haven't they?" "I saw it on the news." "It's frightening, you know?" "Churches, clergy." "Symbols of what is supposed to be safe haven coming under attack." " Why do they do it, Frank?" " That's what we're trying to find out." "When you get a chance, talk to Jordan, OK?" "Be right up." " Take a mulligan." " Nah." "I'll just be chasing two balls in the rough." "You go on ahead." " See you tomorrow, same time?" " Yeah, see you tomorrow." "This yours, Reverend?" "Titan Ill?" " Yes, it is." " Tough lie." " Yes." "Are you playing this hole?" " I was considering it." "Playing with one club?" "One's all it takes, Reverend." " Do I know you?" " I kept my vows." " I loved, honoured, and obeyed." " I'm sorry, I don't remember." "Well..." " It's just a job." " I've been retired for four years now." "Retired from the Lord?" "I hear you." "Never pass up a chance to improve your lie." "Right, Reverend?" "Yep, that hurts." "You were trying to trick me, weren't you?" "You little rascal, you!" " Mommy said you had some questions." " The bird died." "Yes." " What happens to it?" " Lots of different ideas." "No one knows exactly." "Some people think the soul goes to another house." " Another yellow house?" " Yeah, kind of." " Does God live there?" " Lots of people think he does." "Do you?" "I think that if he does, he'd say to you "It's way past your bedtime. "" "I think he would say "You're a little rascal. "" " Say good night to Mommy." " Good night, Mommy." " Good night, sweetie." " Good night, Daddy." "Good night, baby." " This is Casey." " Hi, this is Frank Black." "Can I speak to Ardis?" "His name was Marcus Crane." "He was a retired Presbyterian minister." "If this is the same killer, this is the first time he's targeted a Protestant." "What was the cause of death?" "Blunt trauma to the head to incapacitate the victim." "The instrument was wedge-shaped, probably a golf club, but he died of drowning." " The torture of heretics." " Golf or drowning?" "The staging is just another method of determining the piety of the accused heretic." " A one-man Inquisition." " He planned this very carefully." "Took time to watch the victim, to plan the ceremony." "Sermo generalis," "If that's it, Frank, what is he trying to tell us?" "His choice to alter his methods is semiotic." "The coin in the mouth." "The elaboration of details." "They're not meant as a message." "They're for his own satisfaction." "The denomination indicates that he's becoming more random." "Not more random, more precise." "My guess is he knew these men, that he was once a member of their church, a seminarian, or an altar boy." "There's something else here." "Something they found on the body." " What?" " A wedding band in the victim's stomach." " Were there initials?" "A date?" " No, nothing." "The victim gagged." "The choke reflex made it difficult to swallow." "So you think something else might have been put in the mouth?" "Something that wasn't ingested." "Something that was overlooked." "Nothing here but drinking and driving." "We've pretty much gone through it." "When they pulled the body out of the lake, which bank did they remove it from?" "I believe the other side." " Ardis." " Yeah, what is it?" "A woman's engagement ring soldered to a wedding band." "It's engraved." "JMM." "The killer's initials?" "If we're lucky." "The initials are engraved by hand." "The craftsmanship is very fine." "Messina is the designer." "The word is stamped two millimetres from the setting." "The number 750 is stamped one centimetre beyond the craftsman's stamp." "The ring is made of rose gold in Italy sometime in the '40s." "The number indicates the gold content to be 18 carats." "A serviceman bought a ring for his sweetheart during the war?" " Or maybe it's a family heirloom." " Maybe both." "Even if he were drafted at 18, that would make him about 70 years old now." "The killer's a younger man." "Just came in over the wire." "A John Matewon, convicted felon, 35 years old, arrived in Cheyenne yesterday on a charter from Tacoma." "He used a credit card to check into a Motel 8 on Route 60 at 8pm." " John Matewon?" "JM." " No middle initial." "Take two out of three?" " Go!" "Go!" "Go!" "Go!" "Go!" " Check the bathroom!" "We got him." "Move it." "What is going on here?" "Frank, this is Detective Romero, Rockford PD Forensics." " What else did you find?" " The kitchen sink." "Prints off the cabinets." " What makes you think this is your guy?" " You found a Spanish coin." "The man we're looking for has left them behind before." "If it is him, he's getting sloppy." "This isn't like him." "Maybe he was surprised." "Is there any description?" "The church secretary, Beatrice Crowly, only gave us a narrative." "A man attacked her, hit her across the face, then fled." " Where is she now?" " Froedert Hospital." "She's going to be fine." "Was anything missing?" "We won't know till she goes through the mess." "She's gonna take a look this afternoon." "Excuse me." "We've got a big change in MO here, Frank, the detail of the coin aside." " What was he looking for here?" " Information." "Something important enough to travel a great distance to find." " I know what he's doing." " The killer?" "Yes." "He's not killing men." "He's killing faith." "Why?" " I don't know, but he was looking for a name." " Choosing his next victim?" "He didn't come this far by accident." "He knows who his victims are." "I don't mean to bother you, Mr..." "Calloway, but I need the holder of the card to sign." " She's dead." " Pardon me?" "The holder, my wife, she's dead." "Is that a problem?" " No, no problem." "I'm sorry to hear that." " Yes." "It's just that the credit card company won't authorise the charges." " Is cash still good here?" " Wouldn't turn it down." "You wouldn't happen to know a man in town named Jack Harned, would you?" " Reverend Harned?" "Sure." " Seems he doesn't live at his old address." "He moved into his dad's house a couple of years back after the old man passed away." "Maybe I could get that address from you." "I'd like to make his reacquaintance." "This is the best one lifted." "The initial thought was these were partials, but this appears to be the killer's whole fingerprint." "The ellipticals were erased or mutilated." "We put them up to look for a match." "What if they were burned in a fire?" "Why a fire?" "Maybe the killer experienced an emotionally catastrophic event, a loss, something that consumed his faith but didn't kill it." "And now what?" "He's going to finish the job?" "Describe the killer." "Define his victims." "But how's he choosing them, Frank?" "What's the victimology?" "His victims have been of religious significance in his life." "But what?" "Beatrice Crowly went through the files." "Says one's definitely missing." " Which one?" " Christening records, a whole year's worth." " Mrs Harned?" " Yes?" "Hi." "I'm an old friend of your husband's, a very old friend." " Is he home by any chance?" " He's just inside." "We're in a bit of a panic." "Jack's officiated hundreds of christenings, but this is the first time he's doing it for a family member, our little Emma." " Your granddaughter?" " Yes, the light of our lives." " You have children?" " No." "No, I don't." "Well, Jack's so excited he didn't remember to pick up his vestments from the cleaners." "Why don't you come on in?" "I've got to run out." "Be right back." "I don't understand it, I could have given him the information," "Mrs Crowly, do you have any idea why he took those files?" "They're just records, There isn't much information on them," "Do the files contain the name of the men and women who did the christening?" "There was Reverend Lawrence, Sweet man, He died last year," "What was the name of the other man?" " Reverend Harned?" " Yes." "I was just talking to your wife." "You must be mighty excited." " Who are you?" " My name's Galen Calloway." " You don't recollect my face?" " No." "I think you'd better get the hell out of my house, son." "You hear me?" "Aren't you going to answer it, Reverend?" "Hello?" "Reverend Harned?" "Frank Black." "I'm working with the Rockford Police Department." "We believe that your life may be in danger," "During the Inquisition, priests were forbidden to draw blood, so they would heat their tools red-hot." " Hello, sir?" " That way the wound cauterised." " No blood, no mess." " Listen very carefully." "We're on our way." "Please do not let anyone in your house." "Hello, sir?" " Reverend Harned, don't let anyone in," " I already have." "Reverend Harned?" "We missed him by minutes, Frank." "The son of a bitch." "Yeah." "In all these years, we work at a distance, with a remove." "It helps us to objectify, so why is this one different to me?" "The coldness, the calculation, the victims." "Merciless acts against the merciful." "I haven't been to church since I was eight." "I've always been happily cynical." "So why I am taking this so personally?" "I feel it myself." "Have you and your wife raised Jordan in any particular faith, Frank?" "No." "Catherine and I haven't even dealt with it yet." "I know." "My husband and I make it up as we go along." "Maybe faith is like the picture album left in the closet." "We don't go back and visit it every day." "We need to know it's there, it's safe, so we can pass it along when the time is right." "Ardis." "The killer, we haven't found him yet." "Because he isn't on the move." "He's still here." " What makes you say that?" " He was at the house when we called." "He knew we were on our way." "He didn't hurry." "He didn't compromise the ritual." "He was resigned, committed." "He's become comfortable." "You get the luxury of calmness in a murder when you know your surroundings." "You think he's come home?" "I think that this is where the tragedy of his life occurred." "February 14th 1989." "Joan Calloway and her daughter, Sara, died in a house fire." "Galen Calloway, the father and husband, survived with burns to his arms and hands." " Teacher of Religious Studies at Edgewood." " Jeez!" "My kids go there!" "Mosier, Janice Marie." "His mother's ring." "Three years after the fire, he was tried, convicted and sentenced to five years for dui vehicular manslaughter." "Ardis, he was paroled after three." "He didn't stop killing four years ago." "He was just interrupted." "I need two things, Detective." "The church where the wife's funeral was held." "The one where the daughter was baptised." "Both will be Protestant." "One of them is where he'll strike next." ""I love thee, O Lord, my strength. "" ""The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock of refuge. "" ""My shield, the horn of my salvation... "" "screaming)" "If any one of you tries to leave, you will die." "If you just sit down and sit still," "I will tell you about the fiction and fallacy as brought to you by the salesmen of salvation." "Who are you?" "I... am the Lamb." ""The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting," he said." ""Confess your faith unto him who said 'All souls are mine'."" "Go!" "Go!" "We have to set up lines of communication immediately." "But hell is stronger than heaven." "And fire burns hotter than love." "There is no peace." "There is no forgiveness." "Just lonely nights spent in empty houses." "Rejoice!" ""Thy Kingdom come" is here!" " I hear a phone." "Where's the phone?" " It's right over..." "Where's the damn phone?" " Is he shooting hostages?" "We've got to go in." " Let's not make this any worse." "Come on, Calloway, come on." "Mr Calloway, this is Frank Black." " Are you a police officer?" " No, I'm not!" "What's the shooting about?" "Is anybody hurt?" "He'll live." "For a while." "I want you to calm down." "There's no need to shoot anybody." " Really?" "Why is that?" " I know why you're here." "You know why I'm here?" "You think you know why I'm here?" "You're here because of Joanie and Sara." "I'm going to go in there." "And lose that chopper." "Frank, no." "You know there's no hostage- for-hostage scenario that's ever worked." "The hostages are incidental." "He's on a suicide march." " You'll walk in and become another casualty?" " I can reach him." " What makes you say that?" " I know what he wants." "I'm not armed, Galen." "I just want to talk to you." "Then talk." "Move." " Let these people go." " They're here and they have to be sacrificed." "Just like Joanie and Sara were sacrificed?" "I hear you, Galen." "I know what you're doing." "You lie." "Just like the priests and the holy men." "Get down on the floor." "Now!" "Get down on your knees!" "The first lie that passes your lips, I blow your head off." "What do you want to know?" "Are you afraid to die, Frank?" "Yes." "Then you don't believe in God." " I haven't thought about it in a long time." " Why?" "Because I've seen the innocent die." "I've seen children murdered in their beds." "The weak and the helpless slaughtered, without purpose, without sense." "Then you know the truth." "You know that God has abandoned us." "That's why you're afraid to die." " Just like I am." " No." " You're lying." " I'm afraid, Galen, but not like you." "You're afraid to die because you fear God's judgement." " I've lost my faith." " No, you've tried to kill it, but you can't." "I've seen your ritual." "You try to kill your faith with the tools of your own belief, because of your pain, because you think God's forsaken you." "You think that you can get rid of your pain by slaughtering the faith that's inside you." "It is inside of me, isn't it?" "It just won't die." "I want to help you, Galen." "I've felt his presence all along." "Him watching me." "Joanie and Sara watching me." "But God doesn't want you to kill yourself or anyone else." "No." "No." "But I have to." "Because..." "I can't kill him," "Put your hands behind your back!" "Get up!" " Hi." " Hi." " I tried to wait up." " It's all right, it's late." " Are you OK?" " Yeah." "I was just thinking on the plane about this man Calloway." "I felt how human he was, so inundated by pain, fragmented by grief." " It led him to surrender his humanity." " I know, Frank." "It scares me." "We can't stop evil, but we can't lose our faith either." "Are you thinking that's what we need to teach Jordan?" "I'm going to tell Jordan that bad things happen." "And even though the bird died and it upset her, we have to balance sadness with a sense of hope and faith." "I still have faith, Frank." "Even in a world where men like that exist." "So do I."