He paused from twisting his shirt.
I tapped my finger on the table again. “Did she make you feel uncomfortable when you helped her in class?”
“She. . .”
I uncrossed my legs. “Go ahead.”
“She called me her brother.”
I shook my head. “Why would she do that?”
His eyes watered. “S-she said she always wanted one.”
“But you weren’t her brother.” I casually picked up my soda and took a sip. “Why would she think that?”
“She was alone.”
I took another sip and swallowed. “What about her parents?”
“They weren’t good.”
I set the coke down. “Bad parents? And I bet she was always all alone. It’s wrong. They were just like your mother. Bad. Undeserving of a child.”
“It. . .it wasn’t right how they kept her alone so much.”
“Yeah. She had to walk home on her own from school and church. Did you walk with her sometimes? To protect her?”
Vernon nodded.
“Of course, you did. You’re a good kid. In a way. . .you were her big brother.”
“I tried,” he whispered. “But then Kela didn’t like it.”
That caught me off guard. “Kela? Your little sister?”
“Yes. Kela doesn’t like it, when I play with other girls. She gets jealous.”
“Of course, Kela would. You are her big brother and no one else.”
Vernon let go of the shirt, picked up his coke, and took a small sip.
“There we go. Now, this is making a whole lot of sense. You’re doing a good job. You’re helping me.” I watched him. “What happened before you walked Felica Drake home on the day Jesus was Baptized? It’s such an important day.”
“I. . .I told grandpa that Kela wasn’t happy with Felica.”
A cold chill rose up my spine. “And your grandfather knew just what to do?”
“Yes. He told me that we should give Felica to God. Then, Kela would be able to play with Felicia and she wouldn’t be so jealous anymore.”
“That makes sense.” I pushed down the heavy sadness in my chest. “And picking a day that is so important to God. . .that would make sure Kela would get her playmate in heaven.”
“Those days hold the most significance to our Father.”
“Yes. They do. Amen. His son was baptized on that day. What other day could be more important in that moment? Your grandfather is a smart man.” I trailed my finger along the side of the coke. “But Kela wanted more people to play with?”
“No.” Vernon’s eyes grew sad. “Grandpa thought Kela was still lonely. I wasn’t sure, but then God came to him in a dream.”
“Wow.” I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “What did God say?”
“That it was our mission—a hard one.”
“But it had to be done?”
“Yes.”
“So, you took the next girl—Karen right before she went to her ballet class?”
He nodded.
“How?”
“I waited by the bathroom and called her over.”
“So smart.” I clapped my hands. “She thought you were her big brother too?”
“I told her I was, when I picked her to go to God.”
I forced myself to smile. “She came over to you with no problem?”
Vernon nodded.
“Where was your grandpa?”
“He was waiting at the church.”
I tried not to show the excitement in my stance. I had to present a calm manner, but wherever they suffocated the girls was most likely where Pastor Miller had Haven.
I tapped my finger against the soda can. “Fullbrooke Baptist Church? Is that where you all kept the girls.”
Vernon shook his head.
“Where?”
“The old church in Colesville.”
“His father’s church? Not the one that we found Brie in?”
“No. I just put Brie there because you and Haven went to grandpa’s house for dinner. I didn’t have time to take her all the way to Colesville.”
“That makes sense.” I sighed. “But back to this church. This is the very first one in Colesville? When your grandfather was a boy, he went to this church?”
Vernon nodded.
Stein left the room.
I wished I could go too. I knew Richards and him would search for the address and then call all units to rush that way.
Please, let that be the place.
“You took Karen to the old church and what did you do?”
Vernon took another sip from his soda. “We kept her for a while. Grandpa liked to talk with them about God and brush their hair.”
I squinted my eyes in confusion. “Why do you think he liked to brush their hair?”
“Because those men took his sister long ago. Lily.”
“She was one of the girls from the Colesville Murders?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And he missed his sister and his granddaughter too?”
Vernon’s eyes watered again. This time a tear left and streamed down his face. “Yes, sir.”
“So. . .with the Fullbrooke Six, all he did was talk to the girls and brush their hair?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And on the day of their death?”
“We gave them their last supper. Then, Grandpa would give them communion.”
I leaned my head to the side. “Who suffocated them?”
A hint of excitement hit his eyes. “I did.”
It was hard to keep the horror out of my voice. “Why not your grandfather?”
“He didn’t like that part. He never wanted to be around. Instead, he would go to church while I did it.”
It also gave him a great alibi, when people started realizing that all the little girls were coming from his church.
One by one, we went through all the other victims. Vernon had convinced Ariana Waterson that there was angels under the church. He told her that the bathroom passageway was a secret portal, and that no one could know about it. At six, Ariana believed him. When he appeared in the bathroom stall that he told her to use, she happily walked through it with him.
“Did you ever have to inject the girls with anything?” I asked.
“After Ariana, my grandpa had to lead that movement to help find the missing girls. Then everyone started getting scared to go off with me.”
I gripped the can. “It took more coaxing and a little injection of something. What did you put in the needle?”
“Rohypnol.”
That’s what the Pastor used on Haven.
Many called it the date rape drug. Some drug addicts used it for their own recreational abuse—crushing it up and snorting it. Rohypnol entered the bloodstream quickly, and victims often felt the effects within 15 minutes after ingestion. A single pill had the same potency as a 6-pack of beer, but the effects differed. The person experienced sedation, dizziness, and loss of bodily control. A needle injection of the stuff would go straight to the bloodstream and be even faster.
“You gave that to Emma Tucker?”
“Yes, sir. Her sister told me she was babysitting. We are friends. She was going to sneak off and let her boyfriend in the house as soon as Emma went to sleep.”