The Other Path
Chapter 25
"Ms. Halpern, there is more information you can give me that might be helpful," Kate continues. "You mentioned your family's church. Do you know if it had anything to do with either North Star or The Temple of Truth?"
Miriam's eyes widen. "Both of them. Jonah's flock from the Temple of Truth planted our church, the Truth Chapel. Some of his people were founding members. And our elders had retreats with North Star. We girls could always tell when they had them because the rules limiting what we could do would get stricter for a while. Do you think the murders were tied in with those churches?"
"We're exploring every possibility," Kate responds. "Why? Do you know of anything that might be a connection?"
Miriam scrubs her hand over her face. "I might. I never thought about it before. Our Shepherd, Lilias Cramdon, was brought up in the Temple of Truth before Jonah installed him to lead the Truth Chapel. Lilias was at one of those retreats just before I came to work at Piebold. My sister told me that when he came back, he gave a three-hour sermon on demon possession. Lilias railed about how the possessed were tempting women away from the church and into the paths of sin. He claimed the demons had to be vanquished. Then he conducted a ceremony to get everyone riled up."
"Do you know how they were supposed to be vanquished?" Kate questions.
"No. But my sister said he did a thing about silencing demon voices. And he held up what he said was the blade of truth."
"Slashing someone's throat with that would silence them," Rick notes.
Miriam slumps in her chair. "I guess I always thought Lilias was just putting on a show for the faithful. But Oh God, Zina!"
Kate takes her place behind the wheel of her unit but doesn't start the car. "Are you all right?" Rick asks.
Kate draws a cleansing breath. "I just need a minute. I've always been aware some charismatic religious leaders make people do insane things. I heard about The Jonestown Massacre and Branch Davidian. And there are whole countries where women are men's property. But I never thought about that kind of horror happening right in the middle of Manhattan, you know?"
Rick reaches across the console. "Hey! We're going to get the slasher and expose what's behind those killings."
"Damn right we are! But we need more. The killer could be anyone from those churches, or maybe from another one. It could even be some self-appointed messiah from the outside. I didn't find a likely hire from the first half of the Giles list. How were you doing on the second half?"
"The second half?" Rick repeats. "Oops! Miscommunication. I was looking at the first half too. Looks like we still have the second half to check out."
Kate turns the key in the ignition. "Let's go do it." As the car starts, a dash icon continues to glow. "Damn! Engine light! I need to take this thing in to be checked."
"It could just be the gas cap," Rick suggests. "Alexis saved me a trip to the mechanic by tightening one once."
A clunk sounds from the back of the car, and more lights flash. Kate groans. "I don't think it's the gas cap."
Rick reaches for the handle of the passenger door. "Where are you going?"
"Listen. You're going to be tied up taking care of Cranky Crankcase here. I can catch a cab to the precinct and go over what's left of the Giles list. Divide and conquer. By the time you have a new chariot, I could determine our next interviewee."
"That's actually a good idea," Kate allows. "All right, we can meet up at the 12th."
"I'll be looking forward to it."
Rick studies the list of Giles hires. Esther Finkelman, the last slasher victim, signed on three women before meeting her unfortunate end. The ages aren't listed, but birthdates are. It doesn't take Rick much mental arithmetic to figure out that two of them were in their forties. If they'd run away from home, it was years before. However, the third one, Bethany Stempel, like Leah, had just turned eighteen. He checks the time on the screen. It's almost five, and Kate hasn't signaled her return yet. Chances are, a meeting with Bethany will have to wait until tomorrow. And Kate's not going to be happy about it. At least Rick can go uncork his wife's favorite red.
"The emissions system and the transmission went out at the same time?" Rick queries. "Could someone have sabotaged your unit?"
"I don't know," Kate admits. "But probably not. The mechanic who looked at it complained that the maintenance schedules had been stretched out. Support Services hasn't done more than change the oil and check the fluids in over a year. And the way NYPD vehicles get banged around, things could have been deteriorating for a while."
"But they issued you another one while they fix it, didn't they?"
Kate kicks the toe of her boot against a stool at the counter. "Not yet. They didn't have anything. I got a squad car to take me home, and I'm supposed to check back tomorrow morning. But how did you do with Giles?"
"Better than you did with Support Services. I might have a line on the slasher's trigger there. But you know, if you can't get a unit tomorrow, we can always take my car."
"The Ferrari? I don't think that would send the right message."
"The Buick I got for my PI work. I've been letting Mother drive it, but she just purchased something she likes better."
"An Aston Martin?"
"Toyota Prius. She said it's about the mileage. I don't know if she was talking about hers or the car's. But anyway, the Buick's in the garage downstairs."
"I can't drive a civilian car on police business," Kate protests.
"No, but as a civilian consultant, I can," Rick points out. "And you can be my passenger. Kate, I came after you in that car after 3XK abducted you. I think I can get you uptown to Giles' headquarters."
"I'm sure you can," Kate concedes. "I just hate having the situation out of my control."
Rick doesn't dare laugh. "I understand."
Giles has seen better times. At the peak of its reign, it put out 40 publications – on high-grade glossy paper. But as internet usage grew, its subscriptions wained. The paper mills that supplied Giles went into bankruptcy. The board, not known for welcoming change, finally gave in and approved hiring a group of younger employees to transition much of the empire to the web. And some of the old guard, who are not so old, kept up with publishing's new direction.
Thirty-six-year-old Bethany Stempel is one of Giles' experienced hands who made the leap. As a result, she's in charge of the busiest department in the company. And she loves every minute of it.
Bethany shudders to think of what she'd be doing if she'd given in to her family. In fact, it's on her mind when she gets a call from Detective Kate Beckett to set up a meeting. She's read all the Nikki Heat books and knows Beckett's the model for the kick-ass detective. And if Beckett brings Richard Castle, Rook's alter ego, the meeting will be even better.
