Sign of the Cross(47)

Farewell, 29th August


Boyd pushed his notebook aside after reading the passage, and braced for her response. In truth, he half expected a dozen questions about the text or a volatile shouting match where she challenged everything that he had said. But what he got was the exact opposite. Maria remained quiet, distant, the color in her cheeks completely vacant, her bloodshot eyes filled with moisture.

There was no need to clarify anything. Maria grasped the scroll’s significance on her own.

Amazingly, if the message on the scroll was accurate, then the miracle of Jesus Christ and the foundation of Christianity were based on the biggest scam of all time.





26


The office was bare except for some furniture and a few filing cabinets. No personal touches of any kind. It was the type of room that would make Nick Dial quit his job if he had to call it his own. Yet it was exactly what he expected in a Tripoli police station.

Omar Tamher walked in with photos of the autopsy and spread them across the desk. Sheepishly, Dial took out his bifocals and hooked them over his ears, somehow embarrassed that he couldn’t see well enough on his own.

‘Nick, what do you think? Any similarities to Denmark?’

Dial nodded, even though this was his first time with the pictures. ‘Jansen had the same body type as Narayan. Roughly the same height and age. Both men were in good physical condition, which tells me they weren’t chosen at random. They were picked for a reason.’

‘Why do you say that?’

‘If you were looking for an easy target, would you choose these guys? No, you’d go after someone who was older or injured. Someone you could overpower. Maybe even a female. But a young guy in good shape? Not likely. Too many things could go wrong.’

‘Anything else?’

‘These wounds are consistent with Jansen’s. Spikes were driven through the wrists and feet while he was unconscious. Too much screaming otherwise.’ He pointed to one of the autopsy photos, a close-up of Narayan’s left wrist. ‘See how the wound spreads away from the spike? The same thing happened in Denmark. The body weight is too heavy for the rods to handle. Something had to give, and it wasn’t going to be the spikes. In time the surrounding tissue starts to tear, same with the veins, tendons, etc. A very messy way to die.’

Tamher nodded. ‘The coroner said the chest wound was the fatal blow.’

Dial sorted through the pile until he found a close-up of Narayan’s rib cage. ‘Looks identical to Jansen’s. Probably done with a spear. At least that’s what the Bible tells us.’

‘And the vandalism? Any theories?’

He shrugged. ‘They didn’t paint anything in Denmark, even though there were plenty of walls nearby. That suggests that the arch was an impulse act, not a premeditated one.’

Tamher frowned. ‘They used a brush, Nick. That seems planned to me.’

‘Maybe, maybe not. The brush could’ve been in the back of their van or in the toolbox where they kept their spikes. I mean, you didn’t find any ladder marks, did you? That means they weren’t completely prepared for the painting.’

‘True, but…’

‘Listen, I’m not ruling out the possibility. It might be an important clue or nothing more than a killer marking his territory. I can’t tell you how many bodies I’ve found that were soaked in somebody else’s piss.’

‘Really?’

Dial was surprised that Tamher had never seen that in Libya. Then again, maybe it was a European thing. ‘We’ll know more once we find the next vic. Patterns will start to emerge.’

‘The next one?’

‘You don’t think they’re done, do you? Not with the Holy Ghost waiting in the wings.’

‘The Holy Ghost?’

‘You know, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? There’s bound to be a victim for him. And after that, who knows? They might start on the Hail Mary.’

Tamher frowned as he took a seat behind the desk. Dial could tell that something was bothering him so he put the crime photos down, waiting for Tamher to fill the silence. It was a tactic that worked on cops and criminals alike.

‘Why did they come here? We’re a Muslim nation not a Christian one. Where do we fit?’

‘Beats me,’ Dial admitted. ‘Then again, maybe the killers were looking for some R & R after they dumped the body. I’ve traveled all over the world to every continent on the globe, but I’ve never seen a country like this. Libya is simply gorgeous.’

Tamher beamed with pride, which was what Dial was hoping for. He knew how crucial it was to stay on Tamher’s good side. Without him, his access to the crime scene would disappear.