Sign of the Cross(10)

‘Do we have a name?’

She shrugged. ‘The locals took his prints, but I don’t know if they have the results yet.’

‘Point of access?’

‘Best guess is the beach. The front of the castle is well-lit and guarded. So is the interior. Unfortunately, by the time I got here, the locals had covered any footprints with their own.’

‘Number of assailants?’

‘Multiple. The cross is too heavy for just one.’

‘Anything else?’

‘They left a note.’

‘They left a what? Show it to me.’

She led him to the cross, which sat in the lawn near the edge of the sand. The body was nowhere to be found. ‘The note was painted on a walnut sign and affixed to the top of the cross with a long spike driven vertically.’

Dial read the message aloud. ‘IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER.’

He kneeled next to the sign for a closer look. The letters were five inches high and hand-painted in red. Very neatly done. Like the killer had taken calligraphy lessons in his spare time. Right before his advanced course in woodworking. ‘I’m assuming this isn’t blood.’

‘Red paint,’ she concurred. ‘We’re tracking down the shade and the manufacturer. Who knows? We might find a bucket of it in a nearby Dumpster.’

‘I doubt it. This sign wasn’t made around here. The killers brought it with them.’

‘Why do you say that?’

Dial put his nose next to the board and took a whiff. ‘Three reasons. One, the sign is dry, which wouldn’t be the case if they’d painted it this morning. There’s too much moisture along the shore for anything to dry quickly. Two, if they’d painted it around here, they would’ve made a mess. The wind would’ve been whipping across the beach causing sand to stick to the paint like a magnet. No way they did it out here. It’s too neat.’

‘And three?’

He stood from his crouch and grimaced, knowing that this was the first of several victims yet to come. ‘The sign was just the icing. The killer’s way of taunting us. His real work of art was the victim, the way he killed the guy. That’s the thing we need to focus on.’

The sound of clapping emerged from behind, followed by a mock ‘Bravo!’

Dial took a deep breath and turned. There was no doubt in his mind that it was the local chief of police because he had dealt with this type of idiot many times before, and it was always the same. They taunted Dial because he was an Interpol big shot who was infringing on their so-called turf. Then, once they got it out of their system, he made a phone call to their immediate supervisor, and they were forced to kiss Dial’s ass – usually in a very public ceremony – and cater to his every whim for the rest of the week.

But Dial just wasn’t in the mood today. Not for some dipshit who didn’t know how to run a crime scene. So instead of letting the guy speak, Dial whirled around as quick as he could and charged toward him like an angry rhinoceros. ‘Where the fuck have you been? I’ve been looking for you for the last half hour, but you’ve been too scared to show yourself.’

‘Excuse me?’

Dial whipped out his badge and shoved it in the guy’s round, bloated face. ‘If you’re the man in charge, then you’re the guy who’s been avoiding me.’

‘No one told me –’

‘What? That Interpol was involved in this case? I find that hard to believe since Agent Nielson has been here all morning. According to her, your staff has been anything but helpful.’

The chief looked at Nielson, then back at Dial, trying to think of something clever to say. But Dial refused to give him a chance. He had heard all of the excuses before and wasn’t about to listen to them again. Time was too precious in a case like this.

‘And don’t even start with your jurisdiction bullshit. The victim was brought in through the sound, and half of that water belongs to Sweden, meaning this is an international case. International means Interpol, and Interpol means me. You got that? Me! That means you need to get off your ass and tell me everything I need to know, or I swear to God I’ll call every reporter in Europe and tell them that you’re the reason that this case hasn’t been solved yet.’

The man blinked a few times, stunned. Like he had never been on this end of an ass-chewing.

‘Oh yeah,’ Dial added, ‘one more thing. Once I hop on my plane and get out of this godforsaken country, I expect you and your staff to treat Agent Nielson with the utmost respect. She works for Interpol, which means she’s an extension of me. Got it?’

The chief nodded at Nielson, then returned his gaze to Dial.