"You know he's just playing us. He's turning this into some wicked scavenger hunt."
"Yeah, I know, Buddyboy. And the bad thing is, he's getting really good at it too."
Steve made the dark blue Galaxy come to an abrupt halt in front of the impressive St. Peter's Parish, allowing both detectives quick access up the stairs to avoid the rain and heavy wind gusts that had started up again as the noon hour progressed.
Just like a few days ago, the church sat empty when they first entered, their footsteps echoing far beyond the cathedral ceilings as they made their way toward the altar.
Shoulder to shoulder, Steve followed his partner down the bright red rug ending at the transept, where it was replaced with a green and gold lined carpet that surrounded the altar and speaker's podium. Halfway down the aisle, he could see Father Delgado emerge from one of the backrooms, his hands clasped in front of him as he patiently awaited the arrival of the two detectives.
"I am sorry I missed you call earlier, Father. We were on a…", Mike stopped himself midway through the sentence, thinking twice about what to say, then took an overdue breath as he pointed at Steve, "Father Delgado, this is my partner, Inspector Stephen Keller."
The young Inspector leaned forward as they shook hands, appreciating the sincerity in the other man's grasp.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Father Delgado."
"The pleasure is all mine, young man. I have heard a lot about you from the Lieutenant. You two make for a well-matched team of David's fighting today's Goliaths."
The goodhearted comment caused both detectives to fall silent for a moment, each one of them envisioning the monster they were chasing, somebody so vile and cunning that even Goliath didn't shine a candle to him.
"Father Delgado, you said somebody dropped off two wallets for me?"
The shadow of deep concern returned to the Catholic Priest's eyes when he nodded slowly, then pointed toward the altar.
"The man who dropped these off isn't your killer, I can assure you of that, Lieutenant. He's a fourteen-year old boy who lives in a troubled household. A masked man offered him ten dollars to bring the…the package here, asking me to get a hold of you to retrieve it and well…Matthew…he thought nothing of it. He comes from poor conditions and that money could feed him and his sister for a week."
"We're not here to pass any judgment, Father Delgado.", Mike interrupted quickly, as he followed the Priest, Steve staying a respectful few feet behind, "We're here to gather as much information as possible about a very dangerous man. And I am very concerned at the fact that he has now made contact with you in his…sick way."
There was an uncomfortable pause as the Lieutenant restrained his anger.
Slightly confused, Father Delgado glanced up at Steve, who tried to keep his expression carefully guarded, but failed miserably in concealing the worry he had for his partner's frame of mind given the current situation.
"I can sense the eyes of evil following you two around, even into this church.", the Catholic Priest said with a mesmerizing undertone he undoubtedly reserved for Sunday morning sermons.
Then, without awaiting an answer, he reached for a drawer behind the altar and retrieved a plastic bag, containing their latest piece of evidence.
Mike grabbed it before Steve ever got close enough, his experienced eyes scanning the contents, as he pulled a handkerchief from his black coat pocket.
"How long ago were these dropped off, Father Delgado?"
"I had just finished my morning meeting with the nuns of the soup kitchen, so I would say perhaps around…oh…nine this morning."
"Are these Pauly and Christine's, I take it?", Steve inquired quietly, afraid to step closer for fear of breaking Mike's concentration.
"Probably."
Deep in thought, the Lieutenant pried the larger of the two wallets from the plastic bag, clearly a man's model, then opened it to check for a driver's license. Just like Haley had mentioned, there were two blood stains that had soaked the corners of the leather, some receipts that were sticking out turned crimson. Mike inspected the contents for a long time, looking at all the seams and minor tears as if to look at it from under a microscope.
"You were right, Steve, he is playing games…", the Lieutenant then said with a sad undertone that broke his heart, "First he sent us off on that wild goose chase to go after Beth's killer, so we waste our time knocking down doors on the north side. Then he sent men to go after us, making it look like a hit and run, then hires somebody to taint the food in the bullpen to create paranoia and get the brass all worked up…all so he could play his own little game of divide and conquer. And in the midst of all this mess are two young…and promising people whose safety I am very concerned about at this point."
"We're going to catch him, Michael, you and I know that.", Steve assured, this time needing no false confidence to do so, his eyes going back and forth between his best friend and the Catholic Priest who watched the scene intrigued.
With the faintest of nods, Mike acknowledged his words, then returned the wallet to the plastic bag.
"There's a…there's a ticket in here; from the night of the game we watched a week ago over at the High School… Pauly wouldn't have been there…he and Christine were too busy preparing to move over to the Outer Sunset District to get closer to his work. No, he wouldn't have been at that game. No way."
Somewhat confused, Steve raised his eyebrows, unsure where his partner was going with that thought. Noticing his hesitation, Mike drew in a deep breath, as if wanting to think twice before exposing his theories in front of Father Delgado.
"The Prankster…you said it yourself, Buddyboy. He wants to make things interesting. So he gets a hold of Beth, and knowing her drug habit, he makes her death look like a suicide, saying in a sick and twisted way that she killed herself."
"But how does that relate to the ticket in Pauly's wallet for a game that he never attended? Or the set of Christine's glasses you found on your car that night?"
Putting the plastic bag on the altar like a sacred artifact, Mike dropped his head to his chest, mumbling a silent prayer that lasted all but a few seconds. When he glanced back up, Steve could see the light coming into the stained glass windows of the cathedral reflect in his partner's teary eyes.
"Maybe Beth wasn't our hitman's first target. Let's check out the gym, Steve. It has a large storage area in the basement downstairs. Hardly anybody goes down there in the off-season. There'd be plenty of room to hide…to hide bodies."
Mike's voice broke at those words, the grim realization so heartbreaking that even Father Delgado put a hand in front of his mouth. Sadly enough, the link of the ticket, another piece of Esteban's elaborate scavenger hunt, made perfect sense.
Shaking his head and ready for the emotional argument that might arise, Steve pointed his chin toward the Galaxy.
"I'll get a hold of Haley and Haseejian to check it out. If you are right, you don't need to see them like that."
As expected, the fury and defiance in Mike's eyes gave away his answer long before he opened his mouth to protest.
"What if it's another trap? A bomb this time? I am tired of innocent people dying in the wake of this!"
"Then I will tell them to take Ronny from the Bomb Squad along to make sure it's safe. Evacuate the building. Do our due diligence.", Steve argued, keeping up stern eye contact with the Lieutenant, "I don't want them killed. And I don't want us killed either. Or for you to see what he did to Pauly and Christine to further undermine your confidence and drive you insane."
Thankfully, before another angry outburst could be directed his way, Father Delgado put a calming hand on Mike's forearm, squeezing it empathetically.
"The Inspector's right, Lieutenant. There is no need to burden your soul any further. You cannot change the outcome of something that has already happened. Even our Lord and Savior can't."
Taking a moment to shake off the temporary flaring of his fiery temper, Mike eventually nodded, then reached for the bag of wallets again.
"Father, we're going to take those back with us downtown. Hopefully there's some evidence on them we can use to track down our killer. In the meantime, please be extremely careful around strangers, any stranger. Trust nobody, even if they beg for your help. We unfortunately are dealing with a man who was hired to kill my partner and myself…and along with it, many of the people we care deeply about."
Father Delgado acknowledged the stern warning with an even nod, staying behind as the two detectives readied themselves to leave again.
"You have my word, Lieutenant Stone. I shall say a prayer for both of you tonight. And if you have a minute to spare, I'd be happy to pray with you right now."