about Revelation, although the 666 number popped up from time to time in movies and fiction.
‘This section is known by different names. The Seven Churches of Revelation, the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse, the Seven Churches of Asia – all the same.’
Leone flipped through the book slowly, continued.
‘When Jesus appeared on the island of Patmos, in Greece, he gave John a mission to write down on a scroll what he saw and send it to the seven churches.’
‘Were there specific churches named?’ Byrne asked.
Father Leone looked up. ‘Are you asking if the person you’re looking for is targeting churches by name?’
‘I suppose I am.’
‘I would have to say no.’ Leone riffled the volume, put the red ribbon between the pages. ‘The meaning here is unclear. Christ was most likely referring to seven communities, not necessarily seven brick-and-mortar buildings.’
‘Why these seven?’
‘Christ believed these communities were failing in some way.’
Father Leone flipped a few more pages, found what he was looking for, put a finger between these pages. ‘Let me think about this for a day. My mind isn’t as sharp as it used to be.’
‘Of course, Father,’ Byrne said.
At this, the old man’s eyes seemed to go distant again.
‘Have they torn it down yet?’ Leone asked again. He had clearly forgotten that he’d asked the question before.
Byrne had told Jessica on the way up that St Gedeon’s was slated for demolition. It was on the list of closed churches they had gotten from the archdiocese. Jessica had never been inside, but she had been by it many times. It was an impressive structure with a high spire.
‘Not yet, Father,’ Byrne said. ‘Not for a few days.’
‘I want you to bring me a piece of it, okay?’
‘Sure.’
‘Nothing big. A small piece of stone.’
Byrne got down on one knee, brought himself face to face with the old man. ‘How do we stop this, Father?’
The question brought the priest back to the moment.
‘There have been three murders?’ Leone asked.
‘Yes. Three that we know of.’
At that moment there were investigators in four counties – city police, state police, county sheriffs – visiting all the closed churches on the list, methodically searching the premises.
‘There will be four more,’ Leone said.
The statement was uttered so calmly that a shiver plaited down Jessica’s back. Was the old priest saying the killings could not be stopped?
‘These churches,’ Byrne said. ‘Is there any way to know which one he’ll pick next?’
‘I don’t know. But there is something you might find interesting, and perhaps most relevant to your case.’
‘What would that be?’
Leone opened the book on his lap. ‘There was a church, one of the seven, that waited patiently. A community that endured, if you will.’
‘I don’t understand, Father.’
Leone turned the book to face them. One page contained a large color-plate illustration of seven churches floating in a golden sky. Father Thomas Leone tapped the lower right-hand side of the illustration, and said, ‘The sixth church of the Apocalypse is called Philadelphia.’
THIRTY
Over the next six hours a task force was assembled and coordinated at the Roundhouse. There had now been three murders – three bizarre murders, including the drowning of an infant – and it was no longer possible to keep a lid on the fact that there was a connection between them.
There was no talk among the detectives in the duty room of Byrne’s appearance on the news the night before, but everyone knew he was set to meet with the captain. They all gave him space on this, knowing it could have been any of them. The video clip had already fallen off the news cycle, but there was little doubt it would resurface in the next day or so when there was a new witness or talking head to plaster across the screen.
Meanwhile, they all had a job to do.
Although the Catholic Church was not the power it had once been in the city of Philadelphia, considering its large Italian and Irish population, it was still a mammoth financial and political force. There had no doubt been calls from the archdiocese to the mayor and district attorney.
The task force met at one end of the duty room. In attendance were Sergeant Dana Westbrook, along with Jessica, Byrne, Maria Caruso, Josh Bontrager, Bobby Tate, and Dre Curtis. Bobby and Dre had fallen into a partnership a few years earlier when they worked a series of robbery homicides in West Philadelphia. Both were fashion plates, but with different styles. Bobby was all about Valentino and Armani, where Dre Curtis was