The Immortality Plot

The Immortality Plot - chapter 32

Chantelle was shocked to see that woman again. This could only mean one thing. Lucius Gynt’s final act of salvation had been compromised. He had to make sure, however. He had come this far. Was Delaney with her? Had they found the victim? Had they told the police? Gynt was not about to get caught. He would drive to the site he had chosen and check it out. Maybe that woman, what was her name? Ryan, that’s it. Grace Ryan. Maybe Grace Ryan had found the victim and was just hurrying to tell the authorities. If Delaney was here, where was he, at the chapel?

This put a different complexion on everything. Should he take care of Delaney there? Or should he seek a different prey? He didn’t like playing by other people’s rules. He liked to pick and choose his own battlefields. This is why he had survived for so long. He had planned his career of death and destruction with an intellectual rigor and with military precision. One false move; one act of bravado driven by false ego and it could be over. Both God and the bears agreed with this philosophy.

He would decide about Delaney when he got there. The risk of hanging around too long was that the police and FBI could already be on their way.

Chantelle carried on driving as the sun began to play upon the ice and frost. She remembered the deep ravine-like storm drains either side of the road. One or two cars had passed her heading in the opposite direction and there was a car some way behind.

It took about ten minutes for the old and forgotten Antioch chapel to come into view. Lucius stared through Chantelle’s eyes and slowed, allowing the car approaching at speed to overtake.

Chantelle could see nothing unusual. If Delaney was there, where would he be? Inside? Chantelle didn’t think so. So, if he was outside, where would he be hiding? What had Letski said? Delaney wanted to avenge the death of his wife. He wanted to find and kill Lucius Gynt. Well, perhaps he should be given the opportunity. But only at a time and place of Gynt’s choosing.

Could it all be a mistake and was Rachel Maclean inside the building awaiting her final confession before meeting her maker?

There was almost no cover to speak of except some twisted trees and a few shrubs and bushes. Chantelle remembered that the pull in led to a rough kind of drive and exited back onto the road over another earth bridge a little further on.

Chantelle opened the windows fully and locked the doors from the inside. The more Gynt thought about it behind the façade of his alter ego, the more likely it was that the police would be on their way. If Delaney was here he would be trying to kill time before they arrived. Gynt could use that time to kill Delaney, but could he take the risk? An idea was forming in his mind. He had to make decisions based upon what he knew. And he knew that Craig Martin had been destined to be next in line, not him.

There were no other donors in the pipeline. Gynt was supposed to kill Rachel Maclean so that any vestige of a witness would be eradicated.

What Gynt needed to do was to eliminate anyone that could provide any information, however insignificant, that could help to uncover his identity. That meant two people. And he knew where both of them lived– at least for now. So, time was of the essence.

But, as he was here, he’d just take a quick peek.

••••

Delaney watched the Dodge approach and slow down almost to a halt. Adrenalin began to pump through his veins and he reminded himself again just what this person had done to his life and to the lives of so many others. He couldn’t get a clear view of the driver but he did notice the sign on the side: ‘U.S. Architectural Restoration Heritage Department – Survey Team’. Could it be genuine? Could this be the same vehicle Ryan had just called about? Was she mistaken about the driver being the woman at the seminar? There was no reason why a woman could not be a surveyor. Was this just a sheer coincidence? Delaney was in a quandary. He dare not reveal himself until The Priest was inside the chapel. What if this woman was a real surveyor? How likely was it that a woman had committed the murders ¬– a female Priest?