Night Kill (Private Investigator Andrew Knight Mystery Series) by RL Edinger Page B

deputies.
    “Where did the masked figure go?” Talia asked looking around the room.
    “We saw no masked figure,” they replied.
    “We need to search the sanctuary,” Talia said, finally standing up.
    “Are you okay enough to do that,” one of the deputies asked worriedly.
    “I’m fine,” Talia insisted. “Let’s go.”
    Andrew stood, staring in awe at the majesty of St. Ambrose Chapel. Even though the pews were covered with years of dust and showing signs of decay, Andrew imagined the day they were still brightly stained and filled with the faithful. He felt sad that all of the stain glass windows had been smashed, forever obliterating the dramatic scenes depicted of the passion of our Lord. While researching JFK, Andrew read that Father Oswald and the other priests whom founded this former seminary were from Germany, so that might explain the words written in German. But how did this tie in with the attack on the Higgins family or the missing teenagers for that matter. There were still just too many questions. What Andrew needed were more answers. Andrew started towards the main doors of the sanctuary when he heard the door to the priest’s study open. He immediately dropped to the floor and started to crawl along on his belly beneath the pews.
    Talia stepped through the open doorway first with her gun at the ready. Seeing that things were clear, she motioned for the deputies to follow. All three stared in awe at the impressiveness of the sanctuary. Despite the years of wear, it still had a certain sense of spirituality that couldn’t be explained.
    Talia led the way towards the altar, but froze suddenly in her tracks at the sound of creaking. She spun around just in time to see one of the massive wooden doors in the back of the sanctuary open just a bit. But no one was there. Talia motioned for the deputies to follow as they went to investigate. They had only taken a couple of steps when the door closed again. Was it a ghost or something more human? Talia wondered. The three of them continued towards the back of the sanctuary. Along the way Talia noted that it looked like someone had crawled along the dusty floor on their belly.
    “Knight!” Talia bellowed. The deputies were taken aback by her sudden outburst.
    “What?” they answered.
    “Andrew Knight is on the grounds,” Talia answered. She pointed wildly at the closed doors. “It was Knight who I saw going into the sanctuary dressed in black wearing a mask. He must have been back to make sure we wouldn’t find the missing teenagers.”
    “We saw no one,” the deputies replied.
    “We need to find Andrew Knight and arrest him,” Talia screeched.
    Andrew rose to his feet once the door closed. The sun was just peeking at the horizon. He started walking along the path that led back to the main dormitory. It was a bit chilly and he could see his breath. The hairs on the back of Andrew’s neck bristled when the sound of the heavy wooden doors creaked open. He turned around and saw Talia along with the two deputies. Their gaze immediately rested upon him. He had been discovered! Andrew took off running down the path that led to the wooded acres on campus instead of the one to the dormitory. He needed to find a hiding place fast.
    Talia and her deputies had just exited the St. Ambrose Chapel when she saw Andrew walking up the path towards the main dormitory. He stopped and turned around to look back at them. When he saw them, he took off running towards the woods.
    “After him,” Talia took off. The deputies followed.
    Andrew had a few minutes head start, hopefully it was enough time to escape or find a place to hide. Unfortunately the woods were sparse and the snow not deep enough to blend in. Andrew practically flew down the winding path and soon came to a small kidney-shaped lake. The woods were thicker at the far of the lake, where there was some open water. There was no other way to go, but across the ice. He started across and had not notice the