Chapter 20: Father John

Father John looked at me and spoke.

"Since you're here without her, did you come for work?" Father John asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," I replied.

"Did someone from my congregation do something?" he asked disappointedly.

"Maybe, I'm just checking the possibility," I said.

"Then how can I help you, James?" Father John asked.

"I came to ask if you've had any cases where someone from your congregation or church workers suddenly started behaving strangely. Let's say a year ago or a few months ago?" I asked Father John.

"Well, there haven't been any like that, although there are people in every church who only come for the sermon and leave right after. There are many such people, but those who appear here often and talk to me, there are none like that. Although there is one, but she doesn't fall into your range. Perhaps you know her, Daphne Moore. Overly religious, you could even say militant," Father John said.

"Is she a member of your congregation?" I asked, surprised.

"You can't say she's mine, she goes to many churches. But most often she comes to mine, which means that my church brings enlightenment to her," Father John answered.

"Why did you mention her?" I asked, although I might already know the answer.

"She's too fanatical, even for me," Father John said emotionally. "She believes that Satanists summon demons into the world. And she also asked me to join her in catching and exorcising Satanists from our land. Perhaps she meant the land in our city, but her bellicosity frightened me, until recently. She has changed, become more calm. Although every time she found someone who reminded her of her demon or a Satanist, she summoned me to exorcise them with a cross and holy water."

As I listened to him, the thought came to my mind that I was right about her. But until it is proven, it is not worth discussing.

"Understood, and besides her, does anyone else come to mind?" I asked Father John.

"Right now, no one else comes to mind except her," Father John replied.

"Thank you for your help, Father John. I would also like to meet with the members of your church council. I would like to hear their opinions," I asked Father John.

"Then go to them. They should be in the lounge. But please, talk to them without parishioners. I don't want the parishioners to be frightened by this situation and stop coming to church," he asked of me.

"I will ask them to come with me to a separate room," I replied to him.

"Then see you, James. I will pray for your family and your reunion," Father John bid me farewell.

I walked through the church in search of the lounge. After passing several rooms, I found a place where quite a few people were sitting. There were just over 20 people in total, including Samuel.

Quickly surveying the room, I noticed David and Rebecca. As far as I remembered, they were both part of the management council of this church. I approached them slowly.

They were already of old age, although younger than Father John. Emily looked to be around 60-62 years old, while David was somewhere between 55-58 years old.

"Hello!" I greeted them.

"Yes?" Rebecca replied, while David stared at me intently.

"Hello, I'm James. Do you remember me? I got married in this church about 7 years ago," I asked.

"Oh... You're Father John's acquaintance. Robert's son," she said.

"Yes, that's me. You should know my wife better. Kate White," I said.

"Goodness, so you're Kate's husband. She's such a nice girl. She often came here and helped our church with large families and those in need," she said with a smile.

"I would like to ask the council of your church to gather in any available room now, so that I can ask you something," I said.

"Why? Do you want to ask us something? If so, do it here. We have nothing to hide," David interjected.

I approached them a little closer and said, "I am here as a representative of the police. I ask that you gather the council and answer my questions, as we suspect that someone among the parishioners or workers in your church is violating the law and order of the city. Please do this quickly and without drawing attention from the parishioners."

They looked at me in shock. David quickly recovered from the shock and calmed Rebecca down before responding to me.

"I will call them now. I hope nothing serious has happened. Our church will take a strong hit to its reputation, but that is not the main concern. We will lose believers, as they may stop attending our church," he said.

I looked at him as he started typing a message on his phone for someone from the council. While I was watching this, Rebecca addressed me.

"I ask you not to spread the news that you are conducting an investigation in our church. As David said, it will deal a heavy blow to us, which we may not recover from. We will help in any way we can," she said.

I was pleased that I was able to quickly come to an agreement with them. It doesn't always work out that way. While I was waiting, Rebecca called me over.

"Please follow me. While David calls them, I will take you to our office," she said, pulling me along.

We walked through the corridor and into the church hall. On the left side of the hall was a door. As we walked through it, I was met with a view of a room of about 20 square meters. The room was mainly long. In the center of the room was a table, surrounded by neatly arranged chairs.

"Please sit here. The council meeting will take about 10 minutes as everyone lives close to the church," she said.

I followed her instructions and sat in the chair. As I sat down, I looked at her and asked, "Since no one is here yet, can I ask you some questions?"

"Yes, of course. If I can help you, I will gladly do so. We don't hide criminals in the house of God," she replied.

"It's still too early to talk about criminals. I wanted to ask if any of the parishioners began to behave strangely, especially if they were devout parishioners who started behaving detached or, conversely, more actively. I'm concerned about those who began to behave this way since last year or the beginning of this year," I said.

"Then..."