Impure Confession (English version)

The world of smiling night part 2

Meanwhile, in the upstairs bar, Nica was helping Anne serve drinks. The night was already starting, the DJ was blaring music and people were dancing, socializing and drinking, a normal night for a nightclub. However, there was one person who didn't seem to belong there, a tall man with black skin and black shaved hair, a clean-shaven beard, an earring in his left ear and a large rosary with a cross around his neck, what made him seem misplaced in that environment were his priestly clothes.  The priest approaches the bar and hides his cross inside his clothes, Nica notices the man and gives him a big smile.

"Father Nicolas," says Nica as he raises his hands in the air, "welcome to the house of God."

"What house of God?" says the priest as he sits on a stool at the bar "This place has become too desecrated for him to live here, Anne, give me the same as always."

Anne prepares a drink while Nicolas takes two envelopes out of his jacket, one very large while the other is small.

"Here's the information you asked for" Nicolas drags the envelopes closer to Nica with his fingers. "I also wanted to thank you for last night, it was a great help."

"Don't thank me, that's what friends are for," says Nica as he opens the large envelope, "Besides, it's my job too."

"Yes, but Lower Manhattan is my jurisdiction, not yours." He argues as he sips a whisky on the rocks that Anne had brought "By the way, who's the girl?"

"My new offspring."

Upon hearing this, Nicolas spits out the drink he was consuming.

"What?!"

"You heard me" He smiles and puts the documents from the envelope down on the counter, the first document had a photo of Ash" Is this all the information you got from her?"

"Yes" he tries to drink the rest of his drink calmly despite the shock "Ashley Wood nineteen years old, graduated two days ago from high school, nothing ordinary about her, normal parents, live a little above average in Queens, no criminal record and no serious illness, the only thing that draws attention is her grades, she was considered best student in the school and has a scholarship to Fordham University, to be more precise to Fordham University School of Law."

Nica whistles in admiration "A scholarship Au."

"She probably wants to follow in her grandfather's footsteps, Judge Alex Wood the mobster reaper."

"Mobster reaper" gives a big smile when he hears the title. "What did he do to get that name?"

"Oh, you better than anyone should know what it was like in the forties and fifties here in New York, apparently Judge Wood convicted about two hundred mobsters from the five families at that time, one of the few who wasn't corrupted or killed by them, hence the name of the mobster reaper, I'm surprised you don't know about him."

"You know I've never cared much for human affairs unless they interfere with my life, besides I was on the west coast at the time."

Nica opened the second envelope, which was full of photos, all of them of mutilated people in alleyways, some had body parts nailed to walls, other photos had mutilated heads without eyes and tongues on top of garbage cans as if they had been put on display, while other photos showed pieces of bodies forming a modern sculpture.

"What is this?"

"You don't even read the paper now?" Nicolas puts his glass down on the counter and looks at Nica with a serious look. "The media call him the 'Artist' because he puts his victims on display as if they were in an art exhibition."