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“No clue. Don’t you at least want to know a bit abouthim?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
Derik recited what he’d read just before leaving, touchingall the cornerstones of Feeney being a suspect, right down to the timing of itall.
“Okay,” he said. “Here’s what you need to know about ourpriest friend Andy Feeney. Like I said at the precinct, he was excommunicatedfrom the church around the time you were arrested for the murders. And justlast week, the excommunication was overturned, and he returned to his positionat the same church as our fourth victim attended. He’s the perfect suspect,Morgan.”
“Why was he excommunicated?”
“The only thing I could find was ‘differing theologicalopinions.’ You have to keep in mind, the only reason he’s in the Seven SignsKiller files at all is because of his link to the fourth victim, SandraBerryhill. So all we have is the eerie timeline and his connection toBerryhill.”
“In other words, if he has a solid alibi for the pastweek or so, he’s not our guy.”
“Right. But we have to rule him out first.”
He tried to gauge her mood, trying to determine if she,too, thought Feeney was a likely suspect. But her face was a blank slate, as ithad been every time he’d visited her in prison and the few occasions he’d seenher since she’d returned home. He couldn’t read her anymore, and that unsettledhim more than he cared to admit.
“Do me a favor,” she said out of the blue.
“Maybe. What’s the favor?”
“Tell me about your most exciting case while I was inprison.”
He gave her a puzzled look and asked, “Are you sure? Idon’t want to seem like I’m bragging.”
“Yes, I’m sure. I need to know everyone else’s lives wenton as usual while I was away.”
He sighed and thought back through his past decade. Therewere plenty of cases to choose from, but the eight-month job regarding a hiddendrug ring in the basement of a daycare was the big exclamation point. And as hetold her the details, he realized he enjoyed sharing them with her. He told herevery detail as if he might be telling a kid a bedtime story.
“So I was part of this massive drug bust…where we found ahuge drug ring operating out of the basement of a daycare center.”
“Oh my God. How did that go?”
“It was a huge mess,” Derik recalled with a smile. “Wehad to get the kids upstairs out as quickly as possible and then we weresorting through drugs and paraphernalia for hours in their playroom. It wasinsane.
“We had to use undercover agents to infiltrate theoperation, and we found out there were kids being used as drug mules. We had tobe incredibly careful because we didn’t want the kids to get hurt in thetakedown.”
Morgan’s eyes widened, the first spark of enthusiasmDerik had seen in a while. “That’s crazy. You guys were able to take everyonedown without anyone getting hurt?”
“Well, there were a few close calls, but we managed toget everyone out safely. And the satisfaction of shutting down that operation.It ended up with about twenty kids needing a new daycare, of course.”
Morgan smiled weakly. “That does sound exciting.”
“But don’t forget,” Derik added, “we’re working on apretty exciting case now too. And remember, you’re not alone. We’re in thistogether.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Still, she thought of all the cases she’d missed withhim…of the setback her career had suffered because of her absence.
She continued to dwell silently on this until they reachedthe church eight minutes later. Engram Catholic Church was a small, unremarkablebuilding, made of brick and surrounded by a small patch of struggling grass.Derik looked over at Morgan, who was staring at the building with a look of intenseconcentration.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded and opened the passenger side door, anxious toget back on track. “Let’s go.”
Derik waited just a moment, watching her as she got out.He was beginning to understand just how big of a mistake Mueller and his littleteam had made by inviting her into this case so quickly after her release fromprison. This was not the same Morgan Cross who had kicked so much ass ten yearsago. More than that, this very different, plodding Morgan was wrestling withthings none of them could possibly begin to understand.
They crossed a small sidewalk and entered the church. Thedoors opened up into what looked like a large foyer, adorned with an oak desk,a coat rack, and a small statue of a religious icon Derik wasn’t familiar with.A set of double doors ahead of them stood open, revealing the simple yet quitebeautiful nave. Peering in as they passed through the doors, Derik saw two menspeaking near the front of the room, just in front of the pulpit. They wereboth older men, dressed in priestly garb. They noticed the agents entering theroom at once.
