Читать книгу Manipulation - D.K. Wilde - Страница 7

The drive to Ryan Cotterill’s apartment, downtown Baltimore, had been uneventful with the discussion focused on bullet casings and the possible location of production facilities. Joe used his CIA badge to gain access past the security guard and into the luxury facility. Taking the elevator to the twelfth floor they approached the apartment door and Wade immediately noticed the fine scratching’s beside the handle. Checking for surveillance cameras he motioned to Joe to move to the side of the door whilst he pushed Crystal back against the wall. Bringing his index finger to his mouth, indicating no noise, he ensured a round was chambered in his pistol and reached for the door handle.

The door was unlocked. Wade pushed it fully open and leading with his pistol, entered the apartment. Ensuring his eyes and the pistol were always as one he scanned arcs of fire and crept forward keeping hard against the wall. Lights were on with the television playing an evening soapie. Halfway down the corridor he saw the walls splattered from floor to ceiling in blood and the two bodies. A young girl was lying face down atop a young man and both had been shot at point blank range. The carpet around the bodies was saturated with dried blood. Touching the bloodied carpet and studying the bullet wounds Wade deducted they had been shot twelve to twenty four hours earlier.

Joe and Wade checked the remainder of the apartment and returned to the bodies.

“Any thoughts?” asked Joe.

“Well … they’ve been shot with a hollow point from about two metres and there doesn’t appear to be anything else touched,” replied Wade still searching for any further evidence. “Did you notice that something was used to open the door lock?” he asked without looking up.

“I did but that’s not going to help us much.”

“Look at this,” remarked Crystal as she walked from the bedroom unfolding a scrunched card. The card was the inverted Opus Dei symbol with the name IED SUPO and the words underneath Punishment to all for Eternity. SC

Looking at the card Joe was the first to speak. “What the hell does all that mean?”

Still studying the card Crystal replied, “The picture is the Opus Dei symbol as viewed inverted or looking from a mirror and IED SUPO is the name Opus Dei viewed the same way. I don’t know what the words underneath mean because they don’t really go with the Opus Dei philosophy but I do feel I have seen it somewhere before.”

“Opus Dei! Second time today we’ve heard this. What is it,” asked Joe.

“Opus Dei is an organisation within the Catholic Church. It teaches that everyone should aspire to be a saint. It is mainly directed to the common people and their ordinary lives. It is predominately a teaching facility but there are many who believe its secrecy hides a cult of deception and cruelty,” replied Crystal still not looking up from the card.

“So there is a possibility this is associated with some religious cult?” asked Joe again.

“I don’t think so,” said Wade as he walked behind Crystal and put his hand over hers and covered the card. “Let’s call the General and he can get a team in here while we pay whoever is watching the CCTV a visit.”

After discussing with the General they left the apartment and proceeded downstairs to the security comms room. Spending the next hour going over security tapes they deducted that the assassin had come into the building, waited many hours and then dressed in black, and a baseball cap, had gone about the execution. Again waiting many hours, he then left the building. The number of people entering and leaving made the deduction process impossible. They noticed no distinguishing features and knew it was a dead end.