The kitchen was spacious, with a layout that extended front to back. A door on the far end led to the chapel. As Jack surveyed the mess before him, he realized they were likely too late.
"The chapel appears empty," reported a CMPD officer.
Once the building was confirmed secure, Aubrey and Hannah led their teams into the church from the rear and side doors. The church had numerous rooms, and officers continued their sweep, but it seemed unlikely anyone was inside—if there were, they'd have heard the commotion by now.
"We found the Subaru Ronnie stole parked in the rear lot, but there's no sign of any other vehicles, including Pastor Jennings' car," Aubrey reported. "Some officers on-site recognize him."
"We've also checked the upstairs bedrooms—no one's there, and nothing seems disturbed. Could there be some mistake?" Hannah asked, puzzled.
Jack shook his head. There was no mistake. The kitchen counter bore blurry handprints and other marks indicating someone had been forcibly restrained and assaulted there.
What puzzled Jack was the departure from Ronnie's usual methods. The previous crime scenes showed ritualistic elements. Could this incident be unrelated, merely a coincidence?
As Jack pondered this, a thudding noise echoed from a hallway adjacent to the kitchen. The team followed the sound to a small, nondescript door—it appeared to be a storage closet.
Drawing his sidearm, Jack positioned himself against the wall beside the door, his hand on the knob. Clay instinctively mirrored his stance on the opposite side, while Aubrey stood at Jack's flank.
"Mmm! Mmm!"
Jack yanked the door open. Inside was an elderly white man, bound and gagged, with disheveled white hair. Seeing the armed FBI agents and police, the man's muffled cries grew frantic, and he struggled against his restraints.
"Pastor Jennings?" Jack holstered his weapon and quickly helped the man out of the closet, tearing the tape from his mouth.
"Emma… cough… Emma! They took my granddaughter! And… and my car!"
Jack eased the pastor, covered in flour and tomato sauce, onto a bench in the hallway. Aubrey steadied him by the shoulder while Jack crouched in front of him, holding up photos of Ronnie and Raelyn on his phone.
"You're safe now. Take your time. Was it these two? And what was Emma wearing when they took her?"
The pastor's face was battered, with a bleeding gash on his forehead that had started to clot but was now reopening as he grew agitated. Jack's gaze quickly swept over the man's body, pausing briefly at his waist and pants. A grim thought crossed his mind.
"Yes… yes, it was them," the pastor stammered. "Emma was wearing… a sleeveless T-shirt, and… and a green hoodie… a dark green hoodie with a hood… and gray shorts."
As he spoke, his voice cracked and became tearful. "They took my gun too—a revolver… I know… I know I shouldn't have had it…"
Jack stood and gestured for the team to step back. Pulling JJ aside, he whispered, "Call 911. Tell them to send medical personnel immediately and to bring a rape kit."
"What the hell?" JJ's eyes widened in shock, her composed demeanor almost cracking as she struggled not to curse.
Behind her, Hannah and Clay exchanged horrified looks before averting their eyes in discomfort.
Jack's suspicion was correct. The signs of assault he had noticed in the kitchen weren't evidence of what had happened to Emma but to Pastor Jennings himself.
The team was momentarily stunned, their moral compasses shaken by the grim reality. Though jokes about priests and misconduct are common in Western culture, witnessing such a perverse act in real life was profoundly disturbing. What kind of monster would commit such an atrocity against a man in his sixties or seventies?
Aubrey, still supporting the pastor, noticed something unusual. The old man kept clutching his waistband, where blood had soaked through his pants and stained half of one leg.
"He… he kept asking about cash," the pastor stammered. "Asked if there was money in the church. I found less than $10… I told them I could take them to get more… I told them God would forgive them… and that just made him angrier."
The pastor's voice broke as tears streamed down his face. "Emma always said I couldn't save everyone… but I had to try. I had to… I had to…"
As the pastor dissolved into sobs, Aubrey pulled him into a comforting embrace, resting his forehead against the man's and murmuring softly, "You're going to be okay. We'll bring Emma back to you. There are still good people in this world. Trust me."
"That bastard has no boundaries!" Aubrey slammed the rear car door shut with more force than necessary, his fists clenched as he tried to suppress his anger outside the church.
The U.S. is a deeply religious country, and even those who aren't devout tend to hold a certain respect for clergy. Jack, like many others, was outraged and sympathetic toward Pastor Jennings, both out of respect for elders and the sheer horror of his ordeal.
Clay's temper flared as well. "I know it's not my place to say this, given my position, but if I get my hands on that piece of trash, I'll personally snap his neck."
"You're not alone in that sentiment," Hannah muttered angrily.
"Enough," Jack said coldly. "We'll deal with him and Raelyn when we catch them. But words mean nothing until then." His tone wasn't indifferent—he wasn't numb to the situation. As the leader, he simply couldn't afford to lose focus.
JJ, more seasoned in dealing with twisted cases from her time with the BAU, recovered the quickest. "Our analysis still holds up," she said. "Ronnie likely abducted Emma because he was startled by a passing patrol car."
The earlier firefight had drawn a significant portion of Charlotte's law enforcement to the area. As they confirmed, a patrol car had indeed driven past the church during the abduction.
"Is it possible Ronnie is still nearby or has taken Emma somewhere remote to assault her?" Aubrey asked, scanning the area anxiously.
Jack furrowed his brow. "Who knows? But he only has two options: head back along I-77 toward Marietta or head to New Jersey."
"I'd bet he's doubling back," Jack continued. "He doesn't know we're after him, but he knows the police are. That patrol car spooked him. Ronnie's unhinged but calculating—he knows what he's doing."
JJ nodded, already dialing her phone. "I'll alert state troopers to monitor gas stations along the route."
Clay, however, still had a lingering question. "One thing doesn't add up. I understand Ronnie's need to assert control and vent his rage, stemming from his childhood trauma of witnessing his mother's work. But why target Pastor Jennings? And why not kill him afterward?"
"Think about it," Aubrey said thoughtfully. "If women represent his mother, the pastor likely represents a man who wronged him. Assaulting Jennings was an act of dominance. As for why he didn't kill him? Ronnie might've thought emasculating him was a worse punishment. He even applied basic first aid to ensure the pastor survived—perhaps he wanted him to live with the humiliation."
The group stared at Aubrey, surprised by his insight. Shrugging, he added, "Did you all forget I have a degree in psychology?"
Clay grimaced. "No, I'm just disturbed by how quickly your mind went there."
"You've never worked on Wall Street," Aubrey shot back. "The—"
"Enough," Hannah interrupted, raising her hand. "We get it. Really."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 50 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]