The Immortality Plot

The Immortality Plot - chapter 5

The words scrolled upwards. Delaney stared at them, totally focused.

‘And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.

‘Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.’

At this point the tone of voice changed.

‘No trace of me within or without. Neither breath nor fluid shall find me out. Ave Maria, she had served her time. Curiosity was her great crime. Her sins she confessed and she died repented. The cross of salvation carved and indented. On her back in blood by her savior in life. Carrying a child as would a good wife. I took her life though she clung on and swore she loved her unborn son. And now a man will seek revenge and I will taunt him till the end.’

The message paused, then continued on another level.

‘You can look for clues as long as you like. You will find no DNA, no footprints, no fingerprints, no weapon. You will find her last words, her final confession. I did that for her. I saved her. She carries the sins of all women. And there are many like her. I carved delicately, noticing the mole in the shape of a small fish just under her left shoulder blade. She was dead at that point. The marvellous Ms Montalban had written her last lie. I let my hands slide down and along her body. I was envious. To save you pondering and guessing I used a six-inch scalpel, the kind you can find in any hospital. And by the time you trace the IP number of this Internet café computer I will be long gone. Listen with mother follows. Until the next time. Kissy, kissy.’

Delaney stood up and walked to the window to gaze out at the Chicago skyline. He was fighting the onset of rage mixed with intense pain.

“You’d better have another drink, old man,” said Messenger softly. “There’s more.”

Delaney relaxed his shoulders and returned to the sofa where Messenger had poured him a glass. He clicked on an audio link and Maria’s voice crackled into the room. Delaney had heard this before, when the police played him the miniature cassette tape – the type used in a thousand offices to take notes. At that point the police were clearly treating him as a suspect. But no matter how many times he might hear it, the sound of his wife’s last words on Earth stabbed him in the guts and he had no defense against the pain. Her words were interrupted by a series of clicks as her killer switched the tape on and off to avoid his own voice being heard.

‘I swear, this is my final and true confession. Yes. My name is Maria Delaney. I am known as Maria Montalban. Please… don’t do this…I don’t know who you are…CLICK…yes, I stole money from my mother. I was around 12. Yes, I am sorry…no, please…CLICK…I have felt jealousy and hate…CLICK…no, please, not again, I can’t take this…CLICK…I lied, yes I lied to my husband, to Mike, I told him I didn’t know the sex of our child but I did, I did…CLICK…yes, I have lusted after men, you’re right…please let me go… CLICK… yes, I was a whore, all women are whores…’

It got worse. Delaney snapped off the audio. Maria’s killer clearly had control of her and she had started to babble and cry in pain. Delaney couldn’t take any more. Once, now twice, was enough. He wasn’t going to listen to the very end when the sound of the death blow exploded out of the tape and Maria screamed for the last time.

“I’ve heard this already. I don’t want to hear it again,” said Delaney.

“I’m going to have to give this new stuff to the police at some point,” said Messenger.