Ezekiel was hurtdeeply offended.
Since hed never made it to being ordainedsuspected of not being a learned or good man himselfhis orations werent sanctioned by the church. But according to the diary of an ordained minister of the time, Ezekiel was capable of talking the good talk; he could preach convincingly and sway people, and he had a following that terrified the others before they even began to become aware of just what kind of a danger he could be.
He lured many people away from Boston, taking them west. There, he created the village of Jehovah.
Jehovah was no longer in existence, but it had once been situated between present-day Barre, Massachusetts, and what was now the Quabbin, the massive water reservoir created in the Swift River Valley.
Missy Prior, along with some of her friends, had been ahead of Ezekiel; shed left Boston in order to escape Ezekiels attention, and shed had a cottage in the woods, right in the area that Ezekiel would soon name Jehovah. It seemed that no matter how far she went, she couldnt outrun Ezekiel, a man who had become obsessed with her.
There was nowhere else to run, and Missys friends were forced from her side as Ezekiel gained power and determination. But she still wanted nothing to do with Ezekiel.
He, in turn, woke one night screaming and shouting words of warning about Missyand he woke the population of Jehovah and rounded them all up in front of Missy Priors cottage.
And hed showed them all the words that had been written in the earth.
Hells afire and Satan rules, the witches, they are real. The time has come, the rites to read, the flesh, twas born to heal. Yes, Satan is coming!
According to the diary and journals from others who had lived during the time, Ezekiel then proceeded to convince a number of people that he was their salvation. They could not stop the arrival of the devil; they could only embrace him when he arrived. He would reward them, of course, if they were to come to him through his vessel on earthEzekiel Martin.
Missy Prior was terrified; she had turned down a madman one time too many.
She feared for her life.
She didnt die; not then. She was taken in to be healed by Ezekiel.
Missy Prior, however, wasnt enough for Ezekiel.
Ezekiel did what those who were both charming and evil at heart had a talent for doinghe seduced his followers into his House of Fire and Truth, a cult in which, of course, they followed a Mighty Power, pretending to still be Puritans to those around them, since those who were not Puritans in the colony at the time were killed or banished. What he was really doing, ministers and public officials became certain, was practicing out-and-out witchcraft or Satanism. He, Ezekiel, as Satans disciple on earth, was absolute ruler with absolute power, demanding the sweet fruit of the innocent and beautiful among the maidens, bestowing those he had used and deflowered upon those of the men of his congregation, those who had earned his admiration and devotion.
Missy Prior tried to flee. She was caught. By then, of course, Ezekiel had many women. She was to meet the fate reserved for one who betrayed her master. Death.
How that death came about, Vickie could not ascertain with certainty. She tried a number of her resources. Some suggested she was burned, not as a witch, but as a heretic. Some said that she might have actually been drawn and quartered, and others suggested that her throat was slit and that her blood was passed about to imbue the rest of the congregation with strength.
But while the Massachusetts Bay Colony was, at that time, still working under the charter that allowed for Puritan rule, the Crown did have a decided interest in the county. Cromwell had died in 1658 and Charles II had been asked back to rule in Englanda good majority of the population had grown weary of Cromwells very strict ways. Charles happened to have men in the colony, soldiers under Captain Magnus Grayson. Grayson eventually got wind of Ezekiels activities. Heading into the village, he hadnt the least problem demanding the immediate arrest of Ezekiel and his little pack of cronies. The small would-be self-governing colony was dispersed. Ezekiel found himself deserted when his men were faced with the armor and arms of the kings men, and he slit his own throatswearing that Satan would embrace him in his fiery power, and he would live again.
Captain Grayson had found skeletons and an altar stained with blood. It was believed that one of the skeletons found belonged to poor Missy Prior.
It seemed a heartbreaking story to Vickie.
Poor Missy.
She had been relentlessly pursued by Ezekiel Martin in life.
Perhaps her only escape from him had been in death.
Jehovah had been quickly begunand even more quickly ended.
Captain Grayson had loathed and been sickened by the entire place, and hed had all of what had been Jehovah burned to the ground. The settlement disappeared into the landscape, and where it had been, no one now knew.
Erased from memory.
But not all memory.
Because someone was violently attacking people and leaving behind the words Ezekiel Martin had once written into the earth in order to have Missy Prior.
Vickie couldnt wait to tell Alex the depths of what she had discovered.
She looked at her phone and tried Alexs number again.
No answer...
Alex! Where are you? she murmured aloud.
And she wished that she wasnt alone. She wished that Griffin would come soon.
It seemed that the wind suddenly began to howl outside.
Summer was waning and fall was on the way.
And it sounded as if the earth itself was moaning...
Crying out a warning.
2
Griffin sat behind the desk in David Barness office, typing out the last words of his report regarding the evening. As he did so, he saw everything replay in his mind. He shook his head, damning himself. He couldnt see how he could have stopped what had happened.
The door opened and Rocky walked back in. Hows it going?
Almost through here, Griffin said. Im waiting for a callback from Dr. Loeb.
Medical examiner? Theodore Loeb? Rocky asked.
Youve worked with him?
No, Rocky said, but I did meet him at a crime summit a few months back. Guy is brilliant and looks like a mad professor, right? Crazy white hair and thin as a sack of bones?
Yep. Thats him, Griffin agreed. He drummed his fingers on the table. I dont know what he can tell us about our dead man that we dont already know. He appeared to be healthy before, young and hardy looking. And now dead. Suicide capsule. What makes someone do that?
Rocky took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Well, usually you have to be more afraid of living than you are of dying, I imagine.
Right. Afraid of whator whohe had to face.
Thats a solid theory, anyway, Rocky said.
If we look at most things that have had to do with that kind of behaviorsuicidal sacrifice behavior, Griffin said, its usually because were looking at those who feel disenfranchised or forgotten. If we look at history, men and women born in dirt and poverty are willing to practice terrorism when theyre promised something wonderful on the horizona special place in heaven or Valhalla or Mount Olympus. From Japan to Germany to the Middle East, Ireland and beyond. Those who feel that they have been chosen by a higher power to strike back at their oppressors are often ready to fight and die, whether its beneath a hail of bullets or on a suicide mission. Then again, theres the fear that if you dont carry out the suicide mission, what comes next will be even more terrible.
You think were looking at domestic terrorism? Rocky sounded doubtful.
No, no, I really dont. So far, people have just been sent to the hospital. Were not looking at anyone having been murderedthat we know about. But I believe that some kind of statement is being made, that there is something larger going on.
Detective Barnes came into his office.
The body is at the morgue, the forensic team is done in the streets and the techs are trying what they have to get an ID on the body. Autopsy wont be until tomorrow, so we wont really have real physical answers until then, but then you know that, and you know that we have been able to get Dr. Theodore Loeb on our case. I swear, if there is anything we can get from the body, Loeb will get it.
Barnes was, in Griffins mind, a good cop. He was willing to put in whatever hours were needed. He had nearly a decade more experience on the force than Griffin, but had no qualms about working with him or the FBI.
Except that now he looked at Griffin, and then Rocky, and shook his head.
Ah, hell! We couldnt just be pleasedwe couldnt just be certain that wed gotten the attackerand that the newest craze in Boston beatings was over. No...you think its something deeper, and that were about to find out.
Griffin glanced at Rocky and shrugged.
Devin Lyle tapped at the door and then walked in, carrying a foam tray with four large coffee cups.
One is for me? Barnes asked.
Of course, Devin assured him. She was about five-nine with a headful of long black hair. Devin had great stature, though; in her real life, she wrote childrens books. She still had the ability to appeal regaland very authoritative.
Thank you, thank you! Barnes said.
Then he rose. I suppose Im glad I have a few specialists from your division of the bureau here. But Ill leave you to it. Im going to run the attackers fingerprints, see if hes in the system. He started out, then turned back. Oh! Ive got a report written up for Alex Maple. Ive pushed accepted protocol around on this, you know. But were looking for his phone, and were checking out his apartment. Ill let you know if I find out anything.
Thank you, Barnes, Griffin told him.
Yep. All right, Im getting out of here.
Actually, this is your office, Griffin reminded him.
I do know that. You all take your time. If I dont find you here, Ill call when Ive got something.
Thanks.
He left them.
Devin silently handed out coffee.
So, nothing yet?
Nothing but musings, Griffin told her.
And they dont bode well, Rocky added softly.
* * *
Wow, Vickie murmured to herself. She realized shed been on the computer for hours.
She looked at her watch; she knew it was late, of course. Paperwork did take a long time. She had to give up working for the night, though.
Her shoulders were beginning to hurt!
She winced, rubbing the back of her neck, wishing Griffin was there to do it.
Then she remembered that she had promised shed make it worth his while to hurry home.
A wicked little smile crossed her face. She leaped up, heading to shower and shave her legs, now hoping that he wouldnt arrive until she was ready. After toweling dry, she touched up with some makeup.
Since he was the only other human being in the world to have her key, she figured she was safe with whatever she did. And so, wearing nothing but a towel and a pair of spiked heels, she set up a perch on the sofa with throw pillows. She brought out an ice bucket and, since she didnt have any champagne, opted for two bottles of Sam Adams beer. All the while keeping an ear out for the entry door to her complexan old brownstone converted into four apartments.
Lastly, she arranged a plate of strawberries and chocolates and set them at the end of her little throne, right by the ice bucket. She turned most of the lights off and set just a couple lamps down low.
She took off the towel, curled her legs beneath her and posed and waited.
Ho-hum, eh? Call this ho-hum! she said aloud.
Then, of course, she felt a little ridiculous, naked on her sofa with high heels on. But their lives seemed to be twisted all the time by life-or-death situations, andwith Griffins workit always would be that way. Hed told her that agents learned to seize their personal time, love it and embrace it. It was how they all managed in their world day after day, to appreciate every life they savedand accept when there was damage they could not stop.
She decided to turn on the televisionif she just held the remote control, she could keep it low and ditch it the minute he came in.
The news was filled with the evenings reports. A recording of Detective Barnes was shown, giving out what information he could. The assailant was as yet unidentified. Yes, he had committed suicide with a pill; exactly what it contained, forensic experts would soon inform them. Did he believe there would now be a stop to the assaults? The police would be investigating all avenues, along with agents from the FBI.
He promised that new information would be forthcoming as they had it. He reminded the citizens of Boston and environs that they were a large and important city and never immune to harm; whether they had stopped the assaults or not, residents should always be vigilant.
As the news rolled to the next story, Vickie was certain that she heard someone at the buildings front door.
She quickly switched off the televisionGriffin didnt need to hear about the night he had experienced.
She switched into what she hoped was a truly sexy pose.
She heard the key in the lock. And the door opened.
For a split second, she froze.
And then she let out a scream.
* * *
At first, Alex Maple stared in disbelief at the manthe creature?who came toward him. His mind was not working at all well, he determined.
Why would it be working well? Hed been kidnapped; he was a prisoner in a defunct loony bin!
Get it together, Alex. Survive! he told himself.
So. Figure, yes, figurethat was safe to say. The figure coming toward him was wearing something like a KKK outfitonly it was bloodred and trimmed with strange black markings.
Ah, Professor! You are awakeready to join us! the figure said.
It spoke; it moved. It appeared to be human.
Man.
Alex fought for reason and reactionfor the ability to move his mouth and form words.
Join what? Who are you? Why am I here? he managed to ask.
The man came closer.
I am the high priest, the man told him. His face was more or less covered by a mask that appeared to be loosely connected to his conical red hood. Alex could see the mans eyes, though. They werent burning red or anythingthey were just dark brown.
I am the high priest, Professor, and you will join with us.
Alex blinked. It would be laughable if it werent for...
For the chains that held him.
For the headless body that lay crumpled in the corner, with rats destroying it.
Im sorry, join with you for...what?
The resurrection.
The resurrection of what?
You, sir, are not just going to join us, you see. You are going to help us! the high priest said.
Help you...?