Ceremony in Death (In Death #5)(45)

“Why did she break loose?”

“She claims she witnessed the ritual slaying of a child.”

“What?” His knuckles went white as he surged up from his desk. “She witnessed a murder, reported this to Frank, and he didn’t file?”

“She waited some time before telling him, Commander. There was no evidence to support her allegations. I can’t substantiate them now. But I can say that Alice believed she saw the killing. And she was terrified for her life. She also felt she was responsible for the death of her grandfather. She believed, strongly, that he had been murdered because of his private investigation of Selina Cross. Her claim was that Selina Cross has expert knowledge of chemicals and essentially poisoned Frank.”

“We don’t have enough to prove foul play.”

“Not yet. Alice was certain she would be next, and she died the same night she gave her statement to me. She also claimed Cross was a shape-shifter.”

“Excuse me?”

“She believed that Cross could take other forms. A raven, for one.”

“She thought Cross could become a crow and fly? Jesus, Dallas, the boys in IAD are going to love that one.”

“It doesn’t have to be real for her to have believed it. She was a terrified young girl, tormented by these people. I found a black feather on her windowsill the night she died — a simulated feather, and there was a threatening message on her ‘link. They were tormenting her, Commander. There’s no mistake there. What Frank did, he did to try to protect his family. Maybe he went about it wrong, but he was a good cop. He died a good cop. IAD isn’t going to change that.”

“We’ll make sure they don’t.” He locked the disc away. “For now, this stays here.”

“Feeney — “

“Not at this time, Lieutenant.”

Damn if she’d be brushed off like a fly, she thought, and set her jaw, “Commander, my investigation to this point discloses absolutely no connection between DS Wojinski’s private investigation and Captain Feeney. I can find no evidence that Feeney tampered with any records for Frank.”

“Do you actually believe Feeney would leave evidence, Dallas?”

She kept her eyes level. “I’d know if he was involved. He’s grieving for both his friend and his goddaughter, and he doesn’t know anything other than the official line on either. He doesn’t know, Commander, and he has a right to.”

It was going to cost them, Whitney knew. All of them. But it couldn’t be helped. “I can’t take his personal rights into consideration, Lieutenant. Believe me, IAD won’t. All data here is on need-to-know only. It’s a rough spot. You’ll have to handle it.”

It ate a hole in her gut, but she nodded. “I’ll handle it.”

“What connection is this to the body left outside your home this morning?”

Left with no choice, she fell back on training and delivered data. “Robert Mathias, known as Lobar, white male, eighteen years. My report on cause of death is the throat wound, but the body was also mutilated. The victim was a member of Cross’s cult. I also interviewed him last night at his place of employment. A club called The Athame, owned by Selina Cross.”

“People you talk to are ending up dead very quickly, Dallas.”

“He was Cross’s alibi for the night Alice was killed. Hers and Alban’s. He corroborated this during questioning.” She opened her bag. “He wasn’t killed at the scene, and he was left there in a manner designed to indicate a ritual killing.” She placed one of the death stills on Whitney’s desk.

“The murder weapon was likely the knife he’s got stuck in his groin. It’s an athame — a ritual knife. Supposedly, Wiccans dull the blade and use it only for symbolism.” She took out another shot, a close-up of the note. “The message appears to indicate the murder was done by an enemy of the Church of Satan.”

“Church of Satan,” Whitney muttered. The death photo didn’t sicken him, it tired him. He’d seen far too many. “The ultimate oxymoron. Someone took a dislike to the practices and took him out.”

“The scene was set that way. It’s possible, and I’ve got a couple of lines I can tug on that angle.”

He looked up from the photo. “You’re thinking Cross had a hand in this. She’d execute her own alibi.”

“She’d execute her own progeny if she had any. I think she’s smart,” Eve continued. “And I think she’s crazy. I’ll be consulting with Mira on that end. But I also think she’d get a real bang out of doing this, out of rubbing it in my face. She didn’t need him anymore. I had his statement.”

Whitney nodded, pushed the photos back to her. “Talk to her again. And this Alban.”

“Yes, sir.” She put the photos away. “There’s more. It’s… delicate.”

“What?”

“I’ve deleted any reference to this from the official report. Slightly altered the timing. For the record, Roarke and I were awakened by the security alarm, which was tripped when the body was placed against the perimeter wall. Off the record, we didn’t discover the body initially. Jamie Lingstrom did.”

“Jesus,” Whitney said after a long minute. He pressed his fingers over his eyes. “How?”