Chapter Twelve: Yes, Your Excellency
"So," the old bishop said, resting his thin chin on his hand, "You believe that the culprits are possessed."
"Yes, I suspect it, Yer Excellency."
"On what grounds?" he said, raising his bushy gray eyebrows.
"Many small clues. The heinous nature of the crimes, the deviant sexual behavior said to have been goin' on in that place, the fact that they were, after all, serious Satanists, and…Your Excellency, this," he said breathlessly, producing a newspaper. The main headline read "Child Murderers Caught".
"The…the side story, your Excellency."
The bishop nodded and turned to see it. "Leader of Child Satanists Apprehended After Violent Showdown." The Bishop read the first few sentences.
"The leader of the adolescent devil-worshippers was caught sometime after three this morning after a fierce struggle with the police. Theodore Flanders, known to his followers as Todd Ukubak, was found running naked through the streets at the corner of Maple and Sherman. The police cornered him in a blind alley, and attempted to subdue him with pepper spray, but to no effect. Tazers were used, but to no avail."
"'It took pepper spray, mace, fifteen tazers, and a dart loaded with rhino tranquilizer to bring 'im down. An even after that, he still had enough strength to resist the handcuffs. He even bit the paramedic taking his pulse. I've only seen that sort of thing in gang bangers hoped up PCP.'"
"Blood tests for PCP, cocaine, anabolic steroids, and other drugs that would have given a sixteen-year-old boy the strength of a sumo wrestler, came back negative. Hair and urine testing showed that the boy had been using heroin sporadically, but no substantial amounts of the drug were found in his system…"
"Hmm…"
"Your Excellency, I think that it may be necessary, at the very least, to examine the boy. Talk to his friends and family. Go over his records and make sure that he isn't just a dope-using hooligan or, a schizoid or product of a broken home. But, given all that I've heard, the boy, at the very least, has been touched by the power of evil, and has invited the possibility of possession."
There was a brief, yet pronounced paused.
"Very well. Go back to Springfield. Talk to his school mates, and his father, and his doctors. Get his medical records, and look for head injury, abnormal brain activity, epilepsy, ADHD, and other such ailments. Talk to any and all psychiatrists who have seen him, and see if there are any known personality disorders, or history of severe emotional trauma that could possibly manifest itself in such a fashion. If absent, notify me at once, and proceed to interview the boy. Look for the classic signs. If the classic signs do manifest, I am to be notified at once, and his family consents, you have my full permission to perform the ritual. Now go!"
"Yes, Your Excellency," the Jesuit said, and he kissed his ring.