The Rapture of Omega Page 12

  Across the parking lot from the police department was a run-down apartment building. It rarely held tenants—it was that shabby—but I saw someone standing in the third-floor window. Nothing to call the SWAT team over, but it seemed as if the person was looking directly down at me, watching. Definitely a man, though I couldn’t get a good look at him. I braked a little and strained my neck to peer up for a closer view, but he was gone. It was a little strange. I made a mental note to find out later who was living there.

  As soon as I rolled into my driveway, I was promptly bombarded by Isabelle, Selina, and Sean. They were as excited as I was that Lola would be home soon, although I suspect some of that excitement was at the thought of blowing up the balloons (or filling them with water later).

  “Mom, tell Isabelle to quit breaking all of the balloons!” Selina screamed as we started preparing. “Every time she blows one up, it breaks!”

  I laughed. “No worries! I bought two big bags, since I’m sure you’ll all sneak off later to have a water balloon fight.”

  “Can Lola get wet, too?” Sean asked.

  “I suppose, but don’t scare her by throwing one in her face like you did to Isabelle last time!” I winked.

  We spent the better part of an hour sticking the blown-up balloons around the house and straightening up. The finishing touch was the sign the kids had made that said WELCOME HOME, LOLA! Not that she could read it, but it was a cute gesture. Michael declined to join us in our preparations, as he had some work to do in his office and wanted to finish so his full attention could be on Lola.

  By the time seven thirty rolled around my stomach was in knots. By seven fifty-five, I resorted to chain-smoking on the front porch, a vice I had to hide from the kids if I didn’t want a thirty-minute lecture on lung cancer. At five after eight, I was ready to call out the National Guard. Just then two cars pulled into the driveway.

  I was opening Paula’s back door before the car had even come to a complete stop. Lola, who had been ferociously sucking on a pink pacifier, saw me instantly. Spitting out her binky and throwing it at the back of Paula’s head (it bounced off pretty hard), she held her arms out to me. Her face scrunched up and turned red.

  “Mama!” she wailed. “No mo’ go!”

  She was shaking her head furiously back and forth as if I didn’t understand what no meant. By the time I got her out of my car seat, she had me in such a tight grip I could barely breathe. I was horrified.

  Lori had walked up behind me by then, as did Paula.

  “What the hell happened?” I looked at Paula accusingly while Lola laid her head on my shoulder and sobbed.

  Lori remained silent and looked at Paula with a stony, somber face. This concerned me even more. Paula’s face, on the other hand, had turned three different shades of red as she tried to explain—forcing a smile that exposed her few remaining teeth.

  “Ah,” she waved her hand, “ya know how little ones are!”

  She reached out to pat Lola’s back and I immediately felt the toddler recoil while tightening her death grip.

  “It’s just gonna take some gettin’ used to is all!” Paula claimed. “You’ve got her so spoiled and turned against me, I got to undo all that—it’s gonna take time!”

  “Lori?” I clenched my jaw.

  “It didn’t go very well, CeeCee.” She locked her eyes on mine; I got the hint.

  “Paula, you can leave—now.” I made an exerted effort to stay calm.

  She became angry. “Whaddya mean it didn’t go well?” She glared at Lori. “Everything was—”

  “Good-bye, Paula!” I said loudly as I walked away.

  “Fine!” She got inside her car and rolled down the window. “I’ll see you next Wednesday!”

  I whirled around and scowled. “Over my dead body will you ever see this child again.”

  “We’ll see about that, Miss High and Mighty!”

  By the time I got to the porch, I was in tears myself. I knew I shouldn’t have let Lola go with her!

  Lola still had a grip on me as I rubbed her back and tried to calm her down. She kept saying, “No mo’ go, Mama!” Michael appeared at the front door with a look of confusion.

  “Look who’s here, baby!” I said soothingly in her ear.

  “Da-dee!” She sniffed.

  “Michael, why don’t you take her inside so she can see all of the surprises her brother and sisters made for her?” I tried to sound cheerful.

  Michael peeled her off me, and she immediately put him in the same choke hold. He raised an eyebrow at me, his way of asking, “What the hell happened?”

  I nodded at Lori. “I have to talk to Lori for a few minutes. I’ll be in shortly.”

  Michael nodded while kissing the top of Lola’s head. “It’s okay, baby, Daddy’s here.”

  He was inside for mere seconds when I heard the other kids yell, “Lola!”

  I began taking deep breaths and wiping away my tears. “All right, let’s have it.”

  Lori shook her head. “I’m sorry, CeeCee, I know you don’t want to hear this, but it was awful. That woman couldn’t have possibly been around one child in her entire life!”

  I closed my eyes and prepared for Lori to drop the bomb that was undoubtedly coming. I couldn’t possibly imagine what had traumatized Lola so badly in a matter of twelve hours.

  “For the most part, Lola was okay,” Lori began, attempting to put me at ease. (I didn’t like the “most part” bit.) “But there were some situations that concerned me a little.”

  I remained silent and stared at her, waiting.

  “The house she’s staying at is filthy, CeeCee. There’s dog shit lying around and it stinks like hell. The worst part was when we first got to the house, Paula set Lola down right in front of two huge Rottweilers that clearly haven’t been around children. One charged right at her, and I had to run over and grab Lola off the floor!” Lori was waving her hands animatedly at the ordeal.

  My heart sunk. I’d been in the unfortunate position of seeing kids attacked by dogs, and to think that my Lola almost became one of those victims was too much.

  “Why the hell did you stay then, Lori?” I felt angry. “Why didn’t you call the judge and tell him the place is completely unsuitable for a toddler?”

  Lori sighed. “CeeCee, if I’d called the judge within less than five minutes of visitation, he would’ve immediately assumed something was up. I really have to play the impartial role here. I did tell Paula, though, that she had to pen the dogs up for the rest of the day, but really, that wasn’t what bothered me the most.”

  “You mean the fact Lola almost got torn apart by two dogs isn’t the worst of it? My God, Lori!” I felt the tears surface again.

  “No, no, CeeCee! I don’t mean that she was in any physical danger.” She patted my arm. “I’m talking about Paula’s ‘parenting’ skills—they’re for shit! I had to remind her to change Lola’s diaper, remind her to feed her, and even to pay attention to her! All she did was set the baby in front of the television while she gabbed on the phone about how much money she was going to get!”

  I perked up. “She talked about that in front of you?”

  “Yup. Even had my trusty tape recorder in my purse.” Lori smiled. “I’ll be giving this tape over to the judge first thing in the morning.”

  There was hope. “But I drove by and it looked like Lola was having fun playing in the backyard.”

  “That lasted a whole ten minutes, mainly for show, I’m sure.” She grunted. “When I told her Lola needed something to eat she took one of those nasty, bargain TV dinners out of the freezer—fried chicken on the bone.”

  “Jesus,” I muttered, shaking my head.

  “Needless to say, the woman was loud, abrasive, and she terrified Lola. I’ll be putting everything in my report, I assure you.” She winked. “But I think by this time next week, you won’t have to worry about that wretched woman anymore.”

  I gave Lori a hug. “Thank you, Lori. I owe you one.”
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br />   She smiled. “Well, I haven’t had a date in eons. You just find me a hot man like that husband of yours and we’ll call it even.”

  I laughed, and it felt good. I saw Lori to her car, then went inside to fill Michael in on the day’s events. He was livid.

  “That’s it. She’s not going back there if I have to file every motion under the sun myself,” he declared.

  “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about it. From what Lori said, Paula just sealed her own fate today. Unfortunately, Lola had to take the brunt of it. Where are the kids, anyway?” I just realized how quiet it was in the house.

  “They’re in the kitchen with Rena, eating her cookies and doting on Lola. Want to join them?” He put his arm around me.

  “Of course. I’ll race you there.” I darted in front of him.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The rest of the evening consisted of water balloon fights, more of Rena’s cookies, and watching one of the kids’ favorite movies. We all stayed up late, except Lola. Her emotionally trying day took its toll five minutes into the movie, but that was fine. She fell asleep in my lap and I spent the rest of the evening just looking at her. Most people agree that things happen for a reason. I’m not rejoicing over my miscarriage by any means, but would I have been so willing to take Lola had I not gone through such a traumatic experience? Who would she be with now? A brief thought of Paula sent an instant shudder throughout my body.

  After we put the kids to bed and Lola in her crib, it was Michael who took the extra few minutes to simply look down on her.

  “She’s so beautiful,” he whispered. “I swear I look forward to seeing her when I get home…just like she was our own.”

  “She’s our little miracle,” I whispered back, smiling.

  “When you told me what happened over there today I felt like I was gonna flip out! I wanted to go over there and pulverize that disgusting woman!”

  I nodded toward the door so we wouldn’t wake her. “According to Lori, I don’t think she’ll be much of a problem anymore…C’mon, let’s go to bed.”

  I had one of the most restful night’s sleeps in a while, so I arrived at the department bright and early. I caught myself feeling anxious over the subpoena being served to Illeana—and its outcome.

  Most of the day was spent finishing paperwork and chewing my fingernails. It was almost the end of the day when Coop came strolling into my office. Sitting in front of my desk wearing a SUPPORT THE POLICE—BEAT YOURSELF UP! T-shirt, he stretched his arms and let out a loud sigh.

  “Geesh, this has been a long day. I can’t wait to go home.”

  “I agree, especially since I’ve been sitting here all day waiting to hear the results of that damn subpoena.” I was getting agitated.

  Coop immediately got an “Oh, shit!” look on his face and sat up straight in his chair.

  “Umm, CeeCee? You’re gonna kill me but…” He paused.

  “Spit it out.” I crossed my arms and glared.

  “Uh, the subpoena was served this morning. Illeana and the Children of Hell don’t have any bank accounts. They showed the officer the safe they use to store the money, approximately $21,000. I’m sorry, I guess I forgot to tell you.” He looked sheepish.

  I was livid. “Judas Priest, Coop! I’ve been sitting here all fucking day waiting! Sometimes I just want to slap you into next week! How could you forget? Naomi give you a blow job marathon today or what?”

  He started laughing. “Shit, I wish! Nope, just your standard head-up-my-ass kind of day. Seriously, though, I’m sorry I forgot.”

  It was my turn to sigh. “Twenty-one thousand dollars? You know they’re hiding more than that! Look at what they paid for the farm.”

  “I agree. But she stated very clearly there were no accounts—banks are a government entity and they don’t believe in the government.” He chuckled a little. “It was Brian Alfrey that went down there and served the subpoena. You know how he is! He doesn’t fuck around, and if he felt that Illeana was hiding something, he definitely would’ve found it.”

  “If she’s lying, we’ll charge her ass,” I said.

  “What are you going to do? Subpoena every bank in the city? If they do have an account, it’ll be under an assumed name anyway. Plus, you’re forgetting something—your captain isn’t really authorizing this investigation too well anyway.”

  “Thanks for the reminder.”

  “Alfrey said something funny, though.” Coop stopped and looked at me.

  I waited for him to finish but lost my patience.

  “What!”

  “He said it looked like they were getting ready for some dance or something.”

  “A dance?”

  “I don’t know if that’s what he meant, but that’s what he said. He said all of the women were dressed alike in white robes, makeup on, and were headed for the barn. He didn’t see any of the men but heard music coming from the barn. He asked Illeana about it and she told him it was their twenty-four-hour prayer ritual. You know Alfrey, he freaked, being Baptist and all—”

  “Let’s go down there,” I said, interrupting.

  “What?” He looked shocked. “No! Naomi will cut my balls off and—”

  “Oh, c’mon, Coop! Grow a pair of balls! We could sneak down there and see what they’re doing!” I grew excited at the thought.

  He stood up. “Nope. No way! I’m going home. Don’t even think about it, CeeCee! If you get caught, Naomi will flip!”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  As he approached the door he turned. “Just promise me you won’t go down there, okay? Promise?”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes, father, I promise.”

  “See ya tomorrow.”

  I debated keeping my promise to Coop. That is, until I noticed the open files sitting on my desk. Edward Honeycutt’s file was open with the contents of his wallet inside, including store receipts. It wasn’t until I saw it lying next to the statement from the owner of the motel where Benjamin Rader was found that I began to put things together.

  Edward Honeycutt had several receipts from a mom-and-pop grocery store in Butler, the same one I overheard the two officers mention when they were talking about the “Amish-looking people” who tried to recruit one of their wives. The statement from the motel owner stated that Benjamin Rader was driven there by an “Amish-looking or Mennonite” guy. I had seen the statement before, but hadn’t seen a connection to Edward Honeycutt until the receipts were right in front of me. Had I not heard the conversation between the two officers, I might never have made the connection.

  Placing the statement from the motel owner next to the receipts from Edward Honeycutt, I felt the blood drain from my face. It couldn’t be! I thought. Could there possibly be a connection between the unsolved homicides and Illeana? The thought alone was borderline unbelievable. Maybe I was just convincing myself there was a connection to justify looking into Illeana’s cult. No, that wasn’t the case—the true connection was sitting right in front of me.

  I realized then, I would not be able to keep my promise to Coop.

  Taking the receipts, statement, and coroner’s report, I marched directly to Naomi’s office. I explained to her briefly what I felt was a connection between the homicides and Illeana Barron.

  “Okay, you have two out of three homicides where one victim was accompanied by an ‘Amish-looking’ man, and another that went to a grocery store that, according to a conversation you heard between two uniformed officers, had a group of ‘Amish-looking’ people trying to recruit women for their group.” Naomi peered down at the paperwork and sighed. “I’m sorry, CeeCee. It’s not enough.”

  “Naomi! All three of those people were marked with O’s on their left shoulders! I’m telling you, believe me, these are connected to Illeana Barron somehow!”

  “CeeCee. Think about this for a minute. All you have is speculation! If you could at least prove the members of the group all had O’s tattooed o
n their left shoulders, that would give us something! But you don’t!” She put the reports down on her desk. “I think at this point it’s best you cease all contact with Illeana Barron. You’re going to get us sued! You have nothing but an anonymous phone call to Michael, which proved fruitless. If you continue to make contact with them for bullshit reasons, there’s going to be real trouble.”

  “What? C’mon, Naomi! You know I’m right!” I stood up.

  She remained calm. “Look, CeeCee, you know I’ve always trusted your instincts and believed in you, but this time I’m going to have to put my foot down. No more. I do believe the homicides are connected, but to connect them to Illeana based on the ‘Amish’ sightings is flimsy at best.”

  I merely shook my head, knowing she was technically right.

  “Give me more to go on—legally—and we’ll give it another shot. In the meantime, hit the homicides hard and see what you can come up with.”

  “Fine,” I huffed.

  I’d give her more to go on, all right. I was especially sure of that after I walked back to my office and got smacked with another epiphany. It had been weighing on me the last few minutes while I spoke with Naomi—the O. I feverishly grabbed my handwritten notes about the Greek symbol omega, also represented by an O. Almost breathless, I looked at the eerie numbers that had been sprawled with such fervor across the wall in Illeana’s compound. It didn’t start with a zero, I now realized. It started with an O: O-800-24.

  The letter flashed through my mind with such vibrant imagery it was hard to put everything into perspective. The O on Kelly Dixon’s shoulder. I’m walking into the living room at the farm and see O-800-24. Seated at my computer researching omega—the great O. The O on the back of Edward Honeycutt. Reading the autopsy report detailing the O on Ben Rader’s back. “He never had a tattoo in his life,” his wife said. Lola. The O, the O, the O, everywhere was the O.

  My heart raced and my head was throbbing so hard I grabbed it with both hands. If I knew half the detective bureau wouldn’t have come running I would have screamed. How did I miss this? How? my thoughts shrieked. She killed them all, or had them killed: Kelly, Benjamin, and Edward. Naomi wouldn’t believe me, or even listen at this point. She’d want to know why. She’d want a motive. Unfortunately, that was one part of the equation I hadn’t figured out. But I would.