Hallowed Be Thy Name Reverse adapted from the ... - Trin Denise

Hallowed Be Thy NameREADER ALERT: This novel contains graphicviolence and language that some may findoffensive.Copyright © 2013 Trin DeniseFirst EditionAll rights reserved. Except as permitted under theU.S. Copyright Act of 1976 and the UnitedKingdom Copyright act of 1956 and 1988. Nopart of this publication may be reproduced,distributed or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, or stored in a database or retrieval systemwithout the prior written permission of thepublisher.Print Version:ISBN-13: 978-1-938988-19-6ISBN-10: 1938988191eBook Version:ISBN-10: 1938988248ISBN-13: 978-1-938988-24-0V

Hallowed Be Thy NameDedicationAlways for M and my mom, who is dancing withthe angels!AcknowledgementsI may be the one who writes the book but it takesso much more than that to see it published.There are many people who work in thebackground when it comes to my novels andwho get little credit for their contribution, so Iwant to thank my editors and my Betas, Alex,Jen, Sara, Rogena, and Wen. Your suggestionsand comments are and were invaluable and madethe story that much better. I appreciate all ofyour help and feedback immensely!VIII

Hallowed Be Thy NameEnd of Book Contents:A Note from the AuthorArchive aerial photos of the Federal Triangle inWashington, D.C. described in the bookAuthor BioIX

Hallowed Be Thy NameChapter 1October 1 st , 2012Someone will die tonight because he doesnot want to stop. He cannot stop—he’s toofar gone.He calls himself Cain and he chose itfrom the book that dictates all of his thoughtsand actions, the holiest of all holy books, hisBible!Everything up to this point had led him tothe here and now. He had goals and a missionto fulfill, God’s mission, and it was hisintention to see it through if it were the lastthing he ever did. All his life, Cain had workedwith a purpose and when this life was over, hewould take his rightful place in God’sKingdom, basking in all that is glorious.The putrid smells from the alley hit Cainin the face, a mixture of stagnant, mosquitoinfested water, and rotting garbage.10

Hallowed Be Thy NameHe took a small step back through thedoorway, hidden from view and shrouded indarkness. Cain watched a beam from aflashlight make crisscross patterns along theground.Childish laughter sliced through thestillness of the night and he physically cringed.He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it,leaned his head back, and blew the smoke intothe air.Cain lowered his head, glancing towardthe end of the alley, his eyes focusing on theflashlight beam. He took another drag fromthe cigarette and then let it slide between hisfingers and fall to the ground.As he stepped out from the doorway, heexhaled the smoke through his nose. Heturned in the direction of the laughter, thesame place where the light was dancing overthe ground. The closer he got, the morehysterical the laughter sounded.What Cain thought was one child turnedout to be two boys; one tall and skinny, theother short and chunky. They were standingnext to a dumpster and then he heard it—lowgrowls followed by hissing.The tall boy continued to laugh as hemoved toward the object he was tormenting.In one hand was the flashlight; in the other11

Hallowed Be Thy Namehand was a stick. He laughed as he jabbed thestick at the small calico kitten coweringagainst the brick wall. “Maybe we should justkill it. Watcha think, Jake?” he asked, staringat his friend.Cain was on the boys within seconds andsnatched the flashlight out of the taller one’shand. “Maybe I should just kill you instead,”he snarled, shining the light in the youngtormenter’s eyes.With deliberate slowness, he moved theflashlight toward his chest, pointing the beamupward, just beneath his chin. He smiled atthe deep intake of breath, followed by gaspsfrom both boys.“Uh … uh … co … come on, Tyler,”Jake stuttered, grabbing his friend by the arm.The boys began to back away and Cainmatched them step for step.“Damn it,” Tyler swore, stumbling overhis own feet. He reached out and grabbedJake’s arm to keep from falling.Cain’s laugh was eerily sinister as hewatched the boys turn and run out of the alleyas if the devil himself were chasing them.“Fucking freak,” he heard the boy namedTyler yell just before they disappeared aroundthe corner of the building.Cain walked around the dumpster, shining12

Hallowed Be Thy Namethe light along the ground until he spotted thesmall kitten, still cowering against the wall, itslittle body trembling in fear.“There, there, little fellow, I’m not gonnahurt you,” he said, his voice low, soothing,comforting as he walked toward thefrightened animal. He squatted down on hishaunches and slowly reached toward thekitten, palm up, fingers spread open to showthat he did not intend to harm it.Cain wiggled his fingers, smiling as thelittle kitten leaned forward, letting him scratchunder its chin. He gently slid his hand underthe fragile kitten’s stomach, picked it up, andgot to his feet. He cradled it softly against hischest, stroking its head as he turned andwalked back down the alley.“A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast,but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” Cainstopped at the doorway, bent down andpicked up the cigarette that was still burning.As he stood upright and turned, the full moonhighlighted the grotesque female features ofthe mask he was wearing.Reaching into his front pocket, he pulledout a set of keys. Cain cut diagonally acrossthe alley and walked up the steps that led to alarge steel door. He inserted a key into thelock, jiggling it several times before it clicked13

Hallowed Be Thy Nameand released. He made a mental note to spraythe old lock with lubricant the next time heleft the building.With the kitten pressed against his chest,Cain stepped through the doorway. Using hisfree hand, he pulled the door shut behind himand twisted the lock in place.The room was windowless, the air wasstale and moldy, and with no lights, he was ina sense, blind. There was no need for him towait while his eyes adjusted to the darknessbecause he knew every single inch of thebuilding from memory.The kitten meowed loudly as he made hisway across the room. “Now, now, you’reokay. We’re almost there,” Cain said, pattingthe kitten on the head.He grunted as he pushed the old metaldoor open. Within seconds, the red glow ofhis cigarette disappeared from view as he slidthe door shut behind him. Cain took threesteps and stopped. “We’re gonna be bestfriends, Kitty,” he whispered. He continued topet the kitten’s head, delighted in the purringsound that came with each stroke of his hand.Several seconds passed with him standing inthe dark. “Did you hear that, Kitty? Just listento that. The building’s talking to us,” he saidas the sounds of distant rumbling14

Hallowed Be Thy Namereverberated throughout the walls, growinglouder with each passing second.He reached out, running his hand alongthe wall until he felt the door. With less effortthan the previous door, he slid it open andstepped out into the dark and narrow hallway.His boots made loud scuffing soundsacross the floor as he walked toward the thin,dull red light emanating beneath a closed doorat the opposite end of the hall. He took adeep breath, pushed the door open, and thenstepped into the ten by ten-foot, tightlycramped room. The stench was almost morethan he could handle—almost.He loved this room and it had taken himyears to get it just the way he wanted. It washis domain and he could think of no place hewould rather be at this very moment. Well …maybe one other place.Cain placed the kitten on the floor next toa medium-sized, refrigerated deli meat casethat sat next to an electric, four-burner stove.He stepped around the stove and walked tothe wall furthest from the door.Sitting on shelves beneath two wall lamps,which housed red bulbs, were severalstyrofoam mannequin heads. Each headcontained a different female mask with long,flowing hair, similar to the one he was15

Hallowed Be Thy Namewearing.Cain hummed to himself as he lovinglyran his fingers through the blonde hair on themannequin closest to him. He turned slightlyand looked at the steel surgical table that ranlong ways against the wall to his right. Hesmiled as his eyes settled on the unmistakableoutline of a woman’s body lying beneath adark sheet.Approximately two-feet away from thewoman’s head was another steel door. I have somuch work left to do tonight, he thought as headmired the body.The kitten meowing pulled him from histhoughts. He looked down at the little calico,affectionately rubbing its body against his leg.“It’s okay little, fellow,” he said, walkingbehind the deli case. He slid the glass dooropen, and pulled out a jug of milk along witha cardboard food boat that contained chunksof meat.“I’m hungry, Kitty, and I bet you are,too,” he said as he poured some milk into asmall bowl and placed it on the floor in frontof the kitten. He then reached to turn on thestove burner and once it was hot, tossed themeat into the skillet. He couldn’t help butsmile at the sound of sizzling. He counted tofifteen, flipped the meat over, and then turned16

Hallowed Be Thy Namethe burner off.Cain scooped the meat onto a plate,grabbed a fork, and took his seat at the smalltable, which sat to the right of the entrancedoor. He bowed his head and closed his eyes.“Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thyname...”17

Hallowed Be Thy NameChapter 2Angie Hicks was only twenty-six-yearsold, but in the past year, she had felt more likesomeone in her fifties. She needed a change—and needed it now!Her life had ventured down the path ofboring and monotonous. Although she wasmoderately attractive, she had not been on adate in almost three years. She got up in themorning, went to work, came home in theevening to her little apartment in Florence,Kentucky, fell asleep with a book on herchest, and then repeated the same thing thenext day. It was beyond pathetic.Angie looked at her mixed breed muttCharlie, who was soundly sleeping on her lap.She sighed heavily, leaned back on the couch,and propped her feet up on the coffee table.She picked up the magazine lying on thecouch beside her and tossed it onto Derek18

Hallowed Be Thy NameGreen’s lap. The two of them would havemade a striking couple but there was just onelittle problem—Derek was gay.He was two years older than Angie andthey had been best friends since grade school.With dark hair just above his shoulders, hewas masculine looking and handsome enoughto be a male model.Derek leaned back on the couch andcrossed his legs at the ankle. He flippedthrough the pages of the Rubies costumecatalog Angie had just tossed onto his lap. Hestopped at one page in particular and tappedhis finger on a mask. It was hideous and thead claimed it was made to resemble humanskin and sewn together with real catgutstitches. “I remember when I designed thisone. She was a real beaut,” he said, the prideevident in his voice.“Uh, yeah, and it’s still the best,” Angiesaid, leaning over to see the page.Derek grinned at her. “And I have goodold Ed Gein to thank for it. Sickest fuck towalk the planet,” he said, shaking his head. Hetossed the catalog on the coffee table andthen picked up a stack of papers lying next toit. He cocked his head and looked Angiedirectly in the eye. “Are you sure about this,Ang?” he asked.19

Hallowed Be Thy Name“Come on, D. We have talked aboutdoing this since we were kids and we alwayssaid that when we grew up we were going toopen our own Halloween store,” Angiereplied, crossing her arms over her chest.Derek shook his finger at her. “That’s notwhat I’m talking about, Ang, and you know it.It hasn’t been all that long since—”“I know how long it’s been, but I’m allright,” Angie interrupted before he had achance to finish his sentence.He looked at her for several seconds, hiseyes narrowing as he contemplated whether tobelieve her or not.“Really, I am,” she said, patting him onthe knee. “Besides, you know you’d be thefirst person I would tell if I wasn’t.”“What about your job? You loveteaching,” Derek said, his eyebrows risingslightly.Angie shrugged. “Yeah, I do, but I won’tmiss having to deal with a bunch of hyped up,over-sexed, fifteen-year old Catholic girls.”Derek grinned at her. “That bad, huh?”“Um, you have no idea,” Angie laughed.Derek tapped his index finger against hischin. “Hmm. Prim and proper Catholicschool teacher turns to the dark side of evilHalloween. Don’t think the church’ll look to20

Hallowed Be Thy Namekindly on that,” he said, stroking his chin hairswith his finger and thumb in a sinisterfashion.“I don’t live my life for the church. Notanymore and from this day forward, I nowconsider myself to be a recovering Catholic,”she said and she meant every word of it. Herlife had revolved around living up to theCatholic way of life and the teachings in theBible and look where it had gotten her—nowhere fast.“Seriously though, don’tcha think this isall a little weird?” Derek asked. He still wasn’tconvinced that this was the best thing forAngie.Angie decided to play dumb. “I’m notsure I follow. What exactly do you mean?”she asked.Derek turned sideways on the couch so hecould look directly at her. “Knock it off, Ang.You know damn well I’m talking about abuilding you just happened to inherit in somepodunk-ass town that also just happens to beless than—”“I know,” Angie said, interrupting him forthe second time in a matter of minutes. “Idon’t know how Grams got the building and Idon’t know a hell of a lot about anything but Ineed to get my mind on something else21

Hallowed Be Thy Namebefore I go crazy. At least for a little while,you understand that, don’t you? Please, D?”Derek shook his head, sighingdramatically. “Let me see it again,” he said,holding his hand out.She smiled as she handed him the smallpicture. He laughed as he looked at the blackand white photo. “Wow, I haven’t seen aPolaroid in years. How old is this pic?”“I have no idea,” Angie said with a shrug.He flipped the photo over. “Do you knowanything about the building?”“Nothing except that it used to be agrocery store. How perfect is that?” she asked,leaning over to see the photo, which showedan old two-story brick building. She handedhim several more photos and waited patientlywhile he looked at each of them.Finally, he laid the photos on the tableand turned to Angie. “When do we leave?” heasked.She smiled from ear to ear. “Tomorrowmorning,” she said, wrapping her arms aroundhis shoulders to hug him.“How many people live in that littletown?” Derek asked, leaning back to look atAngie.“About thirty thousand,” Angie answered.“It’s bigger than I thought it would be.”22

Hallowed Be Thy Name“From the pics I saw online, I think it’smore spread out. A lot of farmland.”23

Hallowed Be Thy NameChapter 3Coroner Molly Webb and Detective BrynOakley stood beside a gurney, which wasoccupied by a body covered with a light graysheet.Dr. Webb, dressed in green scrubs, herglasses perched on the end of her nose, wasnearly six-feet tall with short, auburn hair. Shewas a young fifty-four and for the last fifteenyears, she had been the coroner ofMontgomery County, Ohio, running theautopsy suite, which today was bustling withactivity.Oakley crossed her arms over her chest asshe watched one of the pathologists on theopposite side of the room cut a ‘Y’ incisiondown an elderly man’s chest. That is something Idon’t think I could ever do, she thought to herselfas the pathologist pulled the skin flaps back.For as long as she could remember, she24

Hallowed Be Thy Namehad always wanted to be a cop. After highschool, she had gone straight to college andafter college, had joined the Police Academy.As of last week, she was forty-two years oldand had been with the Huber Heights PoliceDepartment for nearly twenty years, the lastseven as a Homicide Detective.Oakley stood five-foot-eight withshoulder length, black hair that had asprinkling of gray just above her ears. She hadlarge expressive brown eyes that changedcolor depending on her mood. On more thanone occasion, she had been told that she andthe actress Gina Gershon could be sisters, butshe didn’t see the resemblance at all.Both women turned to look as thedouble-doors leading into the suite swungopen with a bang. Oakley’s partner, DetectiveFrank Castillo, who thinks he’s God’s gift toall the women who had yet to be born,swaggered over to them. His five-hundreddollar, custom gray pinstriped suit, fit hismuscular body like a glove. With perfectlymanicured nails, dark hair, and blue eyes, hishandsome features turned the heads of manywomen but not Oakley. The man did nothingto blow her skirt up, much to Castillo’schagrin.Oakley glanced at her watch. “You’re25

Hallowed Be Thy Namelate,” she said, her irritation evident by thetone of her voice.With a smug look on his face, Castilloshrugged. “Not like she’s going anywhere,” hesaid, nodding at the body.Oakley’s right eyebrow shot upward, hereyes darkening. “I know it might be askingtoo much, Cas, but for once in your life, tryshowing some damn respect.”“This the one they found near old manJohnson’s place out on 571?” Castillo asked,looking at Dr. Webb, purposely ignoringOakley’s comment.“That would be the one,” Dr. Webb saidas she took a step closer to the gurney. “Herbody was next to the small dump area at theback of the property where he burnt all of histrash and brush.” She pulled the sheet backand waited for their reaction.“Sweet jesus almighty,” Castillowhispered.The woman’s face and hair wascompletely gone and all that remained on herskull was bloody muscle tissue. Her lifelesseyes, clouded over by death, stared up at theceiling.Oakley walked to the other side and bentslightly, leaning in to get a closer look at thearea just below the woman’s jaw line. It was as26

Hallowed Be Thy Nameif someone had literally peeled the woman’sskin and hair off of the skull just like youwould peel the skin off an onion. She hadnever seen anything like it.Dr. Webb picked up a clipboard from thetable next to the gurney. She removed a pieceof paper and handed it to Oakley, who lookedat it and then held it up for Castillo to see. Onthe page in dark lettering was a hand drawnsketch of A Ω, the Greek letters for Alphaand Omega as well as the strange symbol: ᶥ ħс“What is it?” Castillo asked.“I’m not sure yet,” Dr. Webb answered.“That…” She nodded at the paper and thensaid, “Is why I called you. This one’s differentand I wanted the two of you to see it.” Dr.Webb pulled the sheet down to expose thewoman’s abdomen.Just above the woman’s navel, the samesymbols were on her skin.“It looks like she was branded,” Castillosaid.Dr. Webb nodded. “She basically was. Idon’t know what was used yet, but the imageswere definitely burnt into her skin.”Oakley leaned down to get a better look.She looked at Dr. Webb and shook her head.“I recognize the sign for Alpha and Omega27

Hallowed Be Thy Namebut not the other one.”“I don’t know what the other symbol iseither.” Dr. Webb looked at Oakley. “There’smore and this is why I believe that this one isalso linked to the other two that were found afew weeks ago,” she said and then pulled thesheet off, exposing the victim’s entire body.Three triangular chunks of flesh had beenremoved from both of the woman’s thighsjust like the two bodies that Dr. Webb hadreferred to minutes earlier.Castillo ran his fingers through his hair.“Any idea what made these cuts?” he asked,looking at the doctor.“The same instrument that was used onthe other two, so I’m still inclined to believethat it was a very sharp knife, not serrated,scalpel perhaps,” Dr. Webb answered.“C.O.D.?” Oakley asked.“At first glance, I’d say strangulation.” Dr.Webb pointed at the woman’s throat. “Seethis area here? Her hyoid’s crushed and shehas petechial hemorrhaging in both eyes, butI’ll know for sure after post.”“What do you make of their legs? Whythese type of cuts?” Castillo asked.Dr. Webb shook her head. “I honestlydon’t know. I’ve never seen anything like itand that’s why I believe all three of these28

Hallowed Be Thy Namevictims are connected. The cuts are identical.”She pointed to the area around the woman’sthighs. “See how the blood pooled around thecuts under the skin? This tells me she had ablood pressure.”Oakley’s look was incredulous. “Are yousaying she was alive when the cuts weremade?”Dr. Webb nodded.This is one twisted son of a bitch, Oakleythought as she watched Dr. Webb bendslightly, her eyes fixated on the woman’s neck.She grabbed a pair of tweezers from theinstrument tray and carefully removed a tinyparticle near the base of the woman’s neck.“You got something?” Oakley asked.Dr. Webb held the tweezers in the air forOakley to see. Between the pinchers was asmall blonde hair.“Think it’s the killers?” Castillo asked, hiseyebrows pinching into a frown.Dr. Webb smiled. “Well, it’s definitely nothers.”“How can you tell?” Castillo asked.Dr. Webb walked over to the counter andgrabbed an evidence bag out of the topdrawer. “Our victim’s a redhead,” she said asshe dropped the hair into the bag.“She has no hair so how can you be29

Hallowed Be Thy Namesure?” Castillo asked.Dr. Webb looked at Castillo as if he hadsuddenly grown two heads and Oakley had toturn her head to keep from laughing.Castillo looked at the doctor and then atOakley. “What?” he asked. “It’s a perfectlygood question. Look at her. The woman hasno hair.”Dr. Webb nodded toward the woman’spubic region. “Our victim was a redhead.”At least the normally arrogant and cockydetective had the decency to look somewhatembarrassed by his gaffe. The victim’s pubicregion was covered with an unmistakable stripof red hair.Dr. Webb sealed the bag. “I’ll get thisover to the crime lab ASAP and call you whenI get the results,” she said, holding the bag inthe air.“What about the burns on her stomach?”Castillo asked. “And what do you think abouthim removing her face and hair?”Dr. Webb took her glasses off and rubbedthe bridge of her nose with her thumb andindex finger. “I have no idea and I don’tunderstand why he did it on this victim, butnot the other two.”“The other two could have been apractice run. He could be upping the stakes.30

Hallowed Be Thy NameFor what I don’t know,” Oakley said.“Could be,” Dr. Webb agreed. “I thinkthe images on her abdomen may be a religioussymbol. I have a friend who studies this sortof thing, so I faxed her a copy of it. If anyonecan figure out what it means, she can. I alsoasked her opinion about the triangular cutsand I’ll let you know as soon as I hear backfrom her.”Oakley felt the vibration before the cellphone on her waistband rang. She unclippedthe phone and hit the answer button.“Oakley,” she barked into the receiver. Shewas quiet for several seconds as she listenedto the voice on the other end. “Okay, we’reon our way,” she said and then disconnectedthe line.Castillo looked at her questioningly.“We got a stabbing over on Brandt. Theydon’t think the guy’s gonna make it.”31

Hallowed Be Thy NameChapter 4Derek parked the silver Chrysler 300Edirectly in front of the building and shut offthe engine. “So that’s it,” he said, leaningacross the seat to look through the passengerwindow.“It sure is,” Angie said in a voice filledwith excitement. She couldn’t help but smileas she looked at the building she had newlyinherited, the building they would soon turninto a Halloween store.On the opposite side of the street was alarge strip mall with new stores. It was as ifone side of the street had come into the 21 stcentury while the side that her store was onremained stuck in the 50’s. The olderbuildings were a stark contrast to all the newbrick facades facing them. Angie liked itthough because the area had a nostalgic lookand she wondered if the owners had snubbed32

Hallowed Be Thy Nametheir nose at the modernization.They had arrived later than planned andwith the sun getting ready to set, and the darkclouds moving in, the trees reached their barelimbs to the sky, giving the area an ominouslook.“It looks creepier in person,” Derek said.Angie unbuckled her seatbelt and openedthe door. “This, coming from the man whodesigns gore for a living,” she snorted as shelooked over at Derek. “Are you coming?” sheasked, climbing out of the car with Charlie inher arms.“If I must,” Derek sighed and got out ofthe car.As soon as Derek’s feet hit the sidewalk, ascruffy and dirty looking vagrant, who hadbeen watching them since they pulled up,made a beeline toward them.Angie, seeing the man coming, huggedCharlie tight against her chest.The vagrant stopped directly in front ofDerek. “And the devil said unto him, all this powerwill I give thee and the glory of them. For that isdelivered unto me and to whomever, I will give it,” heyelled, jabbing a crooked index finger atDerek’s face.Derek’s eyes went wide, he took severalsteps backward, and the vagrant followed all33

Hallowed Be Thy Namethe while continuing to jab his finger atDerek’s face. The vagrant stopped, turned,and stared at Angie. He pointed his finger ather.“It’s pure evil! You need to leave wellenough alone if’n you know what’s good foryou,” he hissed at her through tobacco stainedteeth.“Okay then,” Derek said, grabbing Angieby the arm and pulling her toward the frontdoor of the building.On the opposite side of the street, anolder man wearing a black trench coat andbowler hat leaned back inside the doorway,staying partially out of sight of the people onthe street. With dark, keen beady eyes, hewatched the exchange between Derek, Angie,and the vagrant, his ears straining to hear theconversation. “It will never stop for he is thebeginning and the end. God’s will be done,” hewhispered.Angie handed Charlie to Derek as shefished through her purse for the key to unlockthe door. As soon as she unlocked it, Derekpushed her through the door and quicklylocked it behind them. “What the hell wasthat all about?” he asked as he pulled apenlight from inside his jacket pocket andturned it on.34

Hallowed Be Thy Name“It’s from Luke, chapter four, verse six,”she said, her eyes following the beam fromthe flashlight. They were standing in the spacethat had once been the main area of the store.“Okay, Ms. Religion major, I know I’mgonna regret this, but let me have it,” Dereklaughed.“All right, since you asked so nicely.” Shecleared her throat and in an authoritativevoice said, “Jesus hadn’t eaten in forty daysand was starving when he came face to facewith the Devil.”“I already know I’m gonna regret this,”Derek repeated again.“Yep, you probably will,” she grinned.“The Devil challenged him and said If you aretruly the son of God then turn this rock to bread.”“Did he?” Derek asked with a raisedeyebrow.Angie shook her head. “Nope. He toldJesus if he worshipped him the world washis,” she said, walking toward the back of theroom with Derek beside her. “Of course Jesussaid no thanks, so—”Derek held his hand up to stop her. “Nomore, Ang. My agnostic mind cannot take it.‘Sides, it doesn’t make a lick of sense to me,but whatever floats your boat.”“Hmm, I wonder what’s back there?” she35

Hallowed Be Thy Nameasked, nodding toward a door located on theleft back wall.“I’m guessin’ the warehouse,” Derekanswered as he pushed the door open.It was the warehouse and more thanlikely, was used as the staging area for thestock. The room was considerably small bytoday’s standards, seeing that most grocerystores were now megastores. Wal-Mart andMeijer had a lot do with that.Derek handed Charlie back to Angie andthen shined the light around the room, thebeam stopping on an old freight elevator. Ithad a rusted chain strung across the doors. Asign hanging from the chain read,ELEVATOR OUT OF SERVICEDerek continued to shine the light aroundthe room. “This place gives me the creeps andthat’s saying a lot considering my line of work.Um, maybe we should wait for the electricityto be turned on, Ang.” He couldn’t explain itbut every single hair on his arms felt like theywere standing on end. Something didn’t feelright.“You’re such a wuss,” Angie teased. “Iwonder what’s in there?” she asked, noddingtoward a set of double-doors. Without waitingfor an answer from Derek, she pushed thedoor open. They stepped into a windowless36

Hallowed Be Thy Nameroom with walls made out of red bricks.Charlie, for no apparent reason growled,the hackles along her back rose, causing herfur to stand on end.Derek physically shuddered. “See? EvenCharlie thinks it’s creepy,” he said, shining thelight up on the ceiling. “What are those?”In the shape of an oval and stretchingfrom one end of the room to the other alongthe ceiling was a chain conveyor system.Hanging from the chains and spaced two-feetapart, were long metal hooks. Directlybeneath the belt and recessed into the floorwas an open grate, measuring three-feet wideand a foot deep.“What in the hell type of building did youinherit?” Derek asked as goose bumps racedup the back of his arms.Angie laughed at Derek’s obviousdiscomfort. “Would you relax? I told you, itused to be a grocery store and this ... must bethe butcher’s room,” she said, spreading outher arms for emphasis.“What are these grates for?” he asked,pointing the light on the ground.“Blood runoff drains.”“That’s disgusting and I...” He stopped inmid-sentence. “Do you smell that?”“Smell what?” Angie asked.37

Hallowed Be Thy Name“Cigarette smoke,” Derek answered.Angie shook her head. She couldn’t smellanything but mold. “I don’t smell—”Charlie barked and jumped out of Angie’sarms before she had a chance to finish hersentence. The dog raced through the partiallyopen door with Angie and Derek runningbehind her.“Charlie? Charlie? Where are you?” Angieyelled.“This way,” Derek said, pulling Angiealong behind him.As they turned the corner, they heard thegrowls. Derek shined the light on the floor.Charlie was standing inside a closet, herhackles raised as she clawed frantically at thebaseboard.Angie bent down and picked her up.“What’s wrong with you, girl?”“Can we pa-lease get out of here? Thisplace scares the bee-jesus out of me,” Derekpleaded.“You’re not just a wuss, you’re a flamingwuss,” Angie laughed.“I might be offended if it weren’t true,”Derek chuckled as he followed Angie backthrough the store and out the front door.As soon as Angie locked the place up, sheand Derek turned to find the vagrant standing38

Hallowed Be Thy Namedirectly in front of them. He walked over toAngie and leaned in so close she could smellhis overpowering body odor and had to fighther gag reflex to keep from vomiting.He grinned at Angie. “Have we met?” heasked through narrowed eyes.“Uh … no … um, I don’t think so,” shesaid nervously, taking a step back.“Sure? You seem awful familiar,” heasked, taking another step toward her.“I’m quite sure,” Angie answered.His brows furrowed into a frown as hecontinued to scrutinize her through bloodshoteyes. “Evil breeds evil breeds evil. If’n youknow what’s good for you’ens, you’ll leaveand never come back.”“Uh, that’s nice. Let’s take his advice andget outta here,” Derek said, grabbing Angie bythe arm.Angie opened the car door and thenturned back to the vagrant. “What’s yourname?” she asked.He looked at her for several seconds,turned, and walked away without answering.39

Hallowed Be Thy Name40