Chapter 11

"My Roman Catholic Faith"

Seeing Velma lying in the hospital had certainly shaken us to our respective cores. In fact, if this Reverend Henry Kane was going all out just to get me, then he was certainly succeeding. Standing in front of the mirror of the hotel we were staying at, I removed the green scarf around my neck and looked at the golden cross chain I was wearing around my neck. My Roman Catholic faith, if anything else, was protecting me from the Reverend.

"Daph?" Fred asked me as I turned around to face him, taking my attention off of my reflection in the mirror. "I just had a thought…"

"What thought?" I asked, walking over to him. "Is this about me being here because if it is…"

"No, it's not. We need you here more than anything. You are a team player and team players never abandon each other. In fact, I'm starting to realize that you are telling the truth about seeing the reverend."

For a moment, I could feel a sigh of relief as Freddie was starting to see that I was indeed telling the whole truth.

"I should have known better, Daphne, than to not trust you right away. We've known each other since we were kids and I should have believed you."

Sitting next to Fred on the edge of the bed, I placed my left hand on his right and tapped it lightly. It seemed that the encounters with the ghosts of Catwoman and the Joker as well as Velma ending up in the hospital had shaken Fred's confidence to its core. Not to mention seeing me being attacked by Feral Cats and being tied up in Catwoman's whip could have helped speed up the process.

"Well I know you are only just trying to look out for my own well being. But, you know that the truth is always better than a well meant lie. Or even hiding under a cloud of denial. This crazy Reverend is after me and no material arts training or faith in God can stop him."

I then began to stim by tapping my stocking clad foot against the leg of the bed realizing that the dangers of being targeted was starting to sink in. I was also starting to get the sudden feeling of being touched in a very strange way today at the FBI Office.

"Seeing Clarice touch my arms today, that was creepy," I said nervously, taking a deep breath. "I mean, do you think I should have said no or…"

"No, you did the right thing," Fred interrupted firmly. "Because if I know you, you are someone that I need to protect even more than ever. In fact, I have a feeling that what happened to Velma could very well happen to us as well."

I stopped tapping the edge of the bed as Fred rose to his feet, contemplating just exactly what he had said.

"Reverend Kane is looking to take each one of us out of commission until you are the only one left standing," Fred said, picking up my green scarf and placing it to his nose, sniffing it. "He's gathering spirits for when the time comes to claim you, he will be unstoppable."

"But he won't get me, Fred," I said, rising to my feet. "Not as long as I wear this around my neck."

I then stood next to Fred, trying to show him the gold cross around my neck.

"In fact, why do you think I wear a scarf around my neck?" I asked, causing Fred to look at it in his hands. "Because I wear this too."

"You never told us that."

"Because I didn't want to be embarrassed by showing my Catholic faith on our mysteries," I explained, feeling somewhat embarrassed to make this confession.

For the first time, Fred was seeing that there was the other side of me, the side of faith and devotion.

"I go to church on Sundays, Fred. That's why I always said that I couldn't solve mysteries with you on Sundays when we were growing up."

The more I spoke, the more Fred became flabbergasted with this revelation from me.

"Daph," he stuttered, scratching the back of his neck. "I…I didn't know…"

"That I am a devout Catholic?" I chuckled slightly. "Well, going to church was my family's way of being together and being closer to God. He helped me when I was caught in all those traps back in the day and he will help me here now, just as you will."

I then leaned on Fred's shoulder and he stroked the back of my neck, seemingly knowing what I said was indeed true to him at least.

…

Just then, we heard a knock on the door and Fred went to answer it. On the other side was Beau and it seemed like he was in a great hurry.

"Beau, what's going on?" Fred asked.

"A reporter and her crew were attacked at Six Flags," Beau answered. "We've got to get over there now."

So we quickly left the hotel and prepared to return to Six Flags New Orleans. But not before I decided to change into another purple business suit which of course added more valuable time that was being wasted.

Eventually, we all got in the van and raced back to Six Flags New Orleans. By then, the skies were beginning to darken above us and a sign that rain was on the way. From the looks of it, it seemed like another hurricane was coming to New Orleans, but it wasn't. Arriving back at Six Flags, we saw what appeared to be a pair of ambulances and several police cruisers.

"Agent Neville, Agent Gordon," said Clarice, grateful to see that we were all together. "Thank God you are here. He's struck again."

We then saw a badly bruised and beaten young woman on a stretcher being loaded into one of the ambulances. A sickening feeling came into my stomach. We then saw another man wearing a blue dress shirt over a Mickey Mouse T-shirt.

"This is Tim Nunley," explained Clarice. "He's Ellen Roark's cameraman and the one who called us."

I then noticed Fred approach the cameraman seemingly determined to get as much information out of him as possible in an effort to protect me from whatever was doing Reverend Kane's dirty work.

…

…