Page 9 of A Dark Place

Still, Olivia believed they were missing something big. This new twist had her wondering what the connection was between the killer and this church.

As the sun began to set, they stepped into the church annex where a man around fifty was seated at one of the tables while several officers stood around.

Detective Stanley stopped beside the table, and the pastor glanced up from his coffee. The extent of how upsetting it was to find a body in his church was written on the pastor’s face.

“Pastor Allen, this is Agents Hamilton and Lackland with the FBI.”

The pastor rose and shook their hands. “Thank you for coming. As you can imagine, this has been a horrific day.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through this, Pastor.” As senior agent, Asher took the lead while Olivia jotted down notes. “Can you tell us what you found when you arrived?”

The pastor gathered himself. “It was about an hour later than I normally would. I was running late. Normally I come in very early and work through the afternoon on my sermon. It’s quiet here. I have two teenage sons who are being homeschooled so sometimes it’s hard to concentrate at home.” The pastor pulled in a breath. “Today, I wanted to check in on one of the older parishioners who hasn’t been feeling well, so I was delayed.”

Olivia wrote down the information while dissecting it in her head.

“What did you do when you first arrived at the church? We understand the church stays unlocked all the time?”

The pastor seemed surprised by Asher’s question. “That’s correct. We’ve never had anything like this happen before.” He shook his head. “I can’t get that poor woman out of my head. Do you know who she is yet?” The pastor glanced at Olivia.

“We do, but we’re withholding her identity until we can notify her parents. You didn’t recognize her, I take it?”

Pastor Allen confirmed. “No, she’s not one of our parishioners, and I know most everyone’s extended family. I’ve never seen her before.”

This wasn’t a real surprise. Sylvia didn’t live near the church. Neither did her parents. So why did the killer choose this particular church to leave her?

“Anyway, to answer your previous question, when I came in, I unlocked my office and adjusted the heat because it was cold in the church.” Something dawned on his face. “Now that I think of it, the heat was turned off entirely, which we never do. I leave it on in case someone visits the church. I want them to be comfortable.”

So far, nothing the man had to say shed any light on how Sylvia ended up here.

“And the last time you’ve been here was Sunday evening?” Asher asked.

“That’s correct. After I turned on the heat, I went into the sanctuary—” He stopped and drew in several breaths to calm himself. “That’s when I saw her. I thought at first she was perhaps passed out or sleeping. . .until I got closer. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. That poor woman.”

When Olivia first joined the FBI, she’d experienced a taste of how evil the human heart truly could be. Her first case involved a man who had cut off the heads of his victims and set them on his bookshelves. As a young agent, that had been a terrifying experience.

“Do any of your parishioners come to the church during the week?” Asher asked while throwing her a questionable look.

The pastor nodded. “We have several who live close by. They stop in during the week and take care of the cemetery around back.”

This had Olivia’s attention. Perhaps one of the members had inadvertently seen something that would help. “We’ll need a list of those names and their addresses.”

“Of course.” Pastor Allen pulled out a pad and pen and wrote down the names and handed it to Asher. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to assist.”

“Thank you, Pastor.” Olivia dropped the notebook she’d been writing on into her jacket pocket and brought out a card with her number on it. “If you remember anything else that might be helpful, please give us a call.”

Pastor Allen took the card. “I will. And I will be praying for the woman’s family and for you both. I hope you solve this quickly. No one deserves to die like that. Certainly not another victim.”

With a final goodbye, Olivia and Asher headed back to the sanctuary where Luke and Declan assisted the FBI’s Evidence Response Team with collecting evidence.

Olivia handed Luke the list of names. “Would you and Declan get in touch with each of these church members? The pastor said they frequently check on the church during the week. Maybe someone saw something.”

“It’s possible.” Luke peered at his partner. “We’ll get on it right away.”

“Thanks. We’ll speak to the parents.” It was one of the worst parts of the job. Delivering the news to loved ones gave the teller a first-hand look into the raw grief that came from losing someone. Olivia filled in her teammates on what they’d learned from the pastor before they returned to their SUV.

According to Luke, the parents lived in a quiet community outside of D.C. She glanced at Asher who had been unusually quiet.

“I hate this,” he said.

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