IC - 20 - The Church - Everyone

[Mr. Handy]

"I'll check the loo," says Jocelyn, inspecting the bathrooms.

[Mephistophilis]

The phone rings a few times but eventually it is answered, a deep, almost manly voice that Simon knows as Annabelle Brock, Professor of Social Anthropology at the Oxford African Studies Centre.

'Yes, hello, um...uh...oh, it's you Simon. You arsehole, do you know what time it is?

'Wait a minute, you've sent me a text, and a picture. Seriously Simon, did you think I'd be checking my phone in the middle of the night?

'What's this picture then? Is this for that missing girl. For god's sake, didn't they find her already? Oh, fine. I can tell you what it is, it's a symbol associated with the Cult of the Bloody Tongue.'

-----

Kris flings open the store cupboard. Apart from a mop and bucket and a few half filled bottles of cleaning fluid there's nothing that catches his eye.

In the bathrooms Jocelyn finds what she expected, a few stalls and urinals, sinks etc.

Unless you're looking for anything specific?

[Mr. Handy]

To be thorough, Jocelyn lifts the lid of each toilet's tank and looks inside, just in case something was hidden within.

[Silver Priest]

"Good evening Annabelle," Simon replies smoothly. "Yes, it's just after 2 in the morning. And of course I didn't expect you to see it; hence the phone call.

"These are very serious matters, Annabelle. I'm not fully at liberty to say at the moment but the short of it is we have strong evidence that girl's father is planning a major attack for Tuesday. We're investigating his church now. That symbol was on his altar. Can you tell us anything else about it; does it have anything to do with these sacrifices the cult was conducting?"

[Philulhu]

Growing frustrated with their lack of success, Kris checked the back wall of the cupboard, searching in the hope of finding some sort of secret door…

[Mephistophilis]

Despite tapping and thumping the back wall of the storage cupboard there's no doorway to Narnia that Kris can find.

Jocelyn goes through the cisterns of each toilet, removing the ceramic cover and peering inside. She finds nothing in the women's bathroom and moves into the men's. On the second tank she slides off the cover and looking inside thinks she can see something jammed in behind the stopcock. Removing the cover altogether she reaches in and removes a tightly wrapped plastic carrier bag. Carefully unwrapping it she finds a ziplock bag and inside that what looks to be a semiautomatic handgun.

-----

Annabelle is quiet for a few seconds before answering, 'Well I guess that confirms a connection between your priest and the cult of the Bloody Tongue. It still doesn't prove that he's mixed up with the Red Trumpet, the Bloody Tongue are just a historical footnote at this stage, unless you know any more than you did the other day. As to what the symbol means, I have no idea. I re-read the chapter from Blackwell after you left but it's mostly observations about what he saw, he doesn't seem to have had any more of an idea what all these symbols, ritual knives, masks, and feathered robes actually mean.'

[Mr. Handy]

Jocelyn shows the others her find and takes a picture of it. "My instincts were spot on," she says. "Let's get forensics to go over it. This should be enough evidence to keep Regina away, especially if we can pull Balfour's prints from it."

[Silver Priest]

"It shows a connection to a group that was said to proactive human sacrifice, albeit it from sketchy sources. We'll likely need more evidence though." Simon groans; that seemed to be a running theme with this case. Balfour was clever enough to maintain plausible deniability.

His mood improves when Jocelyn finds the gun, and he grins widely. "Hold that thought, Annabelle; we've just found a weapon. Fire and brimstone indeed. If you learn anything else important do text me. After this all wraps up I'll invite you out to lunch and tell you everything I can about this case. And invite you to attend my knighthood honour, he thinks. "It was quite a fascinating case."

[Philulhu]

”Good work, Jocelyn,” said Kris. “We’ll have to get forensics to come and take a look but I’d say that this makes the church a crime scene. That should be enough to keep it locked up and out of bounds for the foreseeable future.”

[Mr. Handy]

"Cheers," says Jocelyn. "The shelter too. They may call off their plans if that's sealed off and they can't get inside. They believe they need its protection."

[Philulhu]

”Don’t forget the phone call I overheard, where Mrs Balfour talked of ‘other plans’,” Kris reminded Jocelyn. “We need to deny them access to the church but that may not stop them carrying out their ritual. I think the best thing is to get the gun back to Forensics and see if we can get some prints. They aren’t guaranteed to be Balfour’s. I’ll call DI Malone and update him on progress.”

Kris pulled out his phone and dialled Malone’s number.

[Mephistophilis]

After ringing for what seems like a very long time someone answers Malone's phone, there's some muffled cursing followed by 'Detective Inspector Malone, this had better be good.'

-----

The AFOs go out to the car and return with tape, cones, and plastic barriers. They seems to be muttering among themselves and eventually PCs Babcock and Wisniewski wander off to start securing the crime scene while Ollie Grey gingerly approaches, 'Something you might want to see outside.'

[Philulhu]

”Sir, we’ve found a weapon - an automatic pistol - on the premises. I think it may be sufficient to declare the building a crime scene,” reported Kris.

Acknowledging Ollie, he continued to talk as he walked over to the door. “Do you think that’s enough to arrest Reverend Balfour, Sir? That could keep him out of circulation until after Tuesday.”

[Mr. Handy]

"Let's go see it," says Jocelyn, following Ollie.

[Silver Priest]

Simon also hurries outside, curious.

[Mephistophilis]

'Good work Sapru, get the church cordoned off, I'll send forensics. As to Balfour, a church is a public place, where was the weapon? Can we definitely link it to him?' says Malone.

-----

Outside the church the ARV and patrol car still have their lights flashing, painting the building in a stark blue colour. On the far side of the road is a van pointed towards the police cars, headlights on, illuminating a woman being filmed by a cameraman.

The van is marked GNS, the reporter is the ubiquitous Julie Thomas. Spotting Kris she shouts out, 'Detective Sapru, why are you breaking into the Balfour's church while their daughter lies injured in hospital and her kidnapper dead due to your incompetence?'

[Philulhu]

“We’ll have to get Forensics to confirm that, Sir,” said Kris. “I’ll get into that as soon as I can.”

He looked outside and saw the GNS van. “We’ve got the press outside. I’ll bat them away for now but we’ll need the Force PR rep to give a statement in the morning.”

Leaving the call open, he saw Julie Thomas approaching. ”A moment, Sir…”

”Our enquiries are ongoing,” Kris said to Julie firmly but politely, ignoring the barbed comment. “We’ll make a formal statement in the morning. For now, could you please move back beyond the cordon for your own safety.”

He turned away and walked over to Olly. ”Let’s get the area taped off, so no one can approach,” he said.

[Silver Priest]

"You handled that better than I would have, Detective." Simon whispers to Kris. "That woman is quite aggravating."

[Mr. Handy]

"I want to know who her source is with the police who keeps tipping her off," says Jocelyn.

[Philulhu]

”Thanks, Simon,” replied Kris. He glanced at Jocelyn and mulled over what she had said. ”That’s a good point. We might be able to use that to our advantage.”