The Soul Collectors

69

Sergey picked up the phone and listened, looking at the web-type cam set up on top of the computer monitor. A moment later, he glanced at Casey and nodded, and Casey got out of his chair.

Sergey hung up and pressed a button on the alien-spacecraft speakerphone. 'Tom?'

'I'm here,' replied a deep, baritone voice.

Casey moved away as Sergey swivelled the monitor around to her.

On the screen she saw a freckle-faced older man with pale skin and shocking bright red hair that, for some strange reason, he decided to wear long, like he was stuck in the seventies. The boyish face didn't match the deep voice.

Sergey pulled out the chair next to her.

'Tom,' he said, sitting, 'this is Darby McCormick, the one who found the symbol tattooed to the victim's lip. She's got security clearance, so there's no need to hold anything back.'

'I don't see Mr Casey,' Geary said.

'He's not here.'

'Okay. Probably better this way. The news isn't good.'

Darby glanced to the corner where Casey stood and saw the defeat reach his face. Casey had been hoping the symbol would lead to something solid — the proverbial needle in the haystack.

Geary said, 'I just got off the phone with the Harvard professor, Ross. He informed me he spoke to both of you individually and gave you the background information he has on the symbol and how it relates to this Gnosticism business.'

Darby nodded. Sergey said, 'Correct. What did Cryptography uncover on the symbol?'

'Nothing,' Geary said. 'We've never come across it — this is the first time anyone here has seen it. Good call bringing Ross in on this. If it wasn't for him, we'd still be looking.'

Darby looked at the USB drive. It was encased in plastic, and, as she moved it around in her fingers underneath the light, she saw several small scratches and scuff marks.

Sergey said, 'What about connecting this symbol to a group or church that practises Gnosticism? Any luck there?'

'I'm afraid not. Like I said, nobody here has come across this symbol, and since it's not listed in any of our computer systems, we don't have any way to connect it to an individual church, group or radical cult. I'd rule out churches, though.'

'Why?'

'Gnosticism — the actual religion — isn't something that's hidden in the shadows. There are thousands of Gnostic churches in the US alone. The religious aspect is, in many ways, no different to Catholicism.'

'Small difference,' Sergey said. 'The Catholic Church isn't going around the country abducting kids.'

'True,' Geary said. 'They're too busy molesting them.'

Darby reached into her jacket pocket for her pen knife.

'Given what you've told me about the case,' Geary said, 'I'm thinking you're dealing with some underground movement or splinter cell.'

'Or cult.'

'Possibly. The tattoo on the lip gives it that whole secret society vibe.'

'What about these Archons Ross mentioned? Has that word come across your radar screen?'

'No. This is the first time anyone here has heard it.'

Darby worked the blade into the USB's plastic seam to prise the case apart.

Geary said, 'As for what Ross told me regarding Archons — and I'm reading his words here — they want the world to bend to their will, their law, their order. They achieve that result through inflicting both physical and psychological pain and suffering — in this case, on Jack Casey. You said he has a history with this group.'

'He does. A long history. They've been looking for Jack for a long time.'

'Then if you believe Ross's historical literature on Archons and how they fit into Gnostic doctrine — that they are the servants of a divine being, hell bent on acquiring power through human pain and suffering — then this group, cult, splinter cell or whatever they call themselves or whoever they think they are, I think it's safe to say they won't release Casey's wife or daughter. I think — and Ross agrees with me on this — I think they'll deliver on their promise of mailing pieces of his family to you.'

'And if Jack delivers on his promise and holds the press conference?'

'That's more your territory than mine. You've dealt with the group longer than I have, so you know more about them than I do. Given what you told me, they want Casey. The family is just a means to an end. They know you can't watch or protect him for ever either. They'll wait and plan, and when the moment presents itself, they'll take him and he'll most likely vanish like the others. As for the man's wife and daughter, I wouldn't hold out much hope of seeing them alive again.'

Darby popped the plastic case off the USB drive, then worked the pen knife's blade to prise open the metal case hidden underneath.

'So what you're saying, Tom, is that you've got shit.'

'That pretty much sums it up, yeah,' Geary said. 'Ross told you about the symbol, what he thinks it means?'

'He said the person who wears it is a slave to an Archon.'

'Correct.'

'We found the same symbol tattooed on the chest of a former Boston cop about an hour ago. A cop who worked the Charlie Rizzo investigation.'

Darby put the pen knife on the table and opened the metal case with her fingers, thinking about John Smith leaning on the balcony railing of his home, proud and smiling at what he had achieved, his wife taking in rescue dogs.

'What did he say?' Geary asked.

'He's dead.'

'Finding one or more of the people connected to this group is going to be your best bet, I think, of finding where Casey's wife and kid are being stashed.'

'Provided they'll talk.'

'I don't have anything that can help you, Sergey. I'm sorry. You know what you need.'

'Evidence.'

'That's right. Something that will lead you to them. Any leads there?'

'Maybe. There's someone who — '

Darby seized Sergey's arm and said, 'That lead turned out to be a dead end.'

Sergey whipped his attention to her. Darby made a cutting motion near her throat with her hands, signalling for him to stop talking. Then she pointed to the dismantled parts of the USB drive scattered on the table.

Darby looked at the monitor screen and said, 'We don't have anything to go on, Mr Geary. Nothing at all. Thank you for your time.'

She got out of her seat and cut the signal before Geary could do any more damage.