"When The Church Bell Tolls"

"When The Church Bell Tolls" | Story by Butch Leake

Sachel Drummond had worked on many cases in her life, but none like this. She had been hired by the Boston Police Department to investigate a series of murders involving clergymen in the city, all of whom had connections to an old church on the outskirts of the city. It had been a strange case from the start, with very little evidence to go on, and Sachel didn't want to think about how much worse it could get.

She sat in her office on a rainy Monday morning, poring over the case files once again. It had been weeks since the last murder, and they were no closer to finding the killer. Sachel had a feeling that they were missing something important, something that could break the case wide open.

She was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," she called out, and in walked Marshall Allen, the police commissioner. He was a tall man with a gruff demeanor, but Sachel had always found him to be fair.

"Morning, Sachel," he said, entering the room and closing the door behind him.

"Morning, sir," she replied. "What can I do for you?"

"I came to check on your progress with the case," he said, seating himself in the chair opposite her desk.

"It's slow going," Sachel admitted. "We don't have much to go on at the moment."

Marshall nodded. "I understand. But we need to catch this killer before any more innocent people dye. You know that."

"I'm doing my best, sir," Sachel assured him. "But I'm starting to think that we need to go back to the beginning, to the first murder, and see if we missed anything."

Marshall leaned forward, his eyes fixed on Sachel's. "I think that's a good idea," he said. "Start at the beginning and work your way forward. And if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks, sir," Sachel said, rising to her feet as he did the same. "I'll get right on it."

As Marshall left her office, Sachel sank back into her chair. She had an idea of where to start, but it wasn't going to be easy. She needed to go to that old church.

It was a grey and drizzly day when Sachel pulled up to the church in her car. The place looked like it had been abandoned for years, with its overgrown grass and peeling paint. Sachel shuddered as she got out of her car. She was not a religious person, but the atmosphere of the deserted church made her feel uneasy.

She pushed open the door and stepped inside. The church was dark and musty, with cobwebs clinging to the corners and pews in disarray. Sachel couldn't believe that anyone would still use this place for worship, but then again, she was here to investigate a murder, not to judge religious practices.

She walked up to the altar, where the first victim, Father Thomas, had been found. It was a gruesome scene, with blood spattered all over the stone floor. Sachel had never seen anything like it, and the memory still made her stomach churn.

She began to scan the area for any clues that might have been overlooked previously. Her eyes landed on a stained glass window that overlooked the altar. It was different from the others, with an ominous looking figure portrayed in black and red.

Sachel approached it slowly, taking in its details. Suddenly, she noticed something odd. One of the panes had been removed and replaced with another, slightly different one. She reached out to touch it, realizing it was loose.

Excitement rose in Sachel's chest. She had found something! She worked the pane out of its groove and a small piece of paper fluttered free.

It was a torn piece of a diary page, with a date and time scrawled across it in a shaky hand.

Sachel's heart beat faster as she read it. She knew that this was a major clue, and she needed to act fast.

---

The next day, Sachel returned to the church, this time with backup. Marshall was waiting for her outside, along with a team of detectives.

"What did you find?" he asked, as they made their way inside.

Sachel led them to the stained glass window. "There," she said, pointing to the loose pane. "I found this yesterday."

Marshall peered closer, taking in the piece of paper. "This is a clue," he declared. "But to what?"

Sachel took a deep breath. "This is the first murder," she said. "The date and time on this piece of paper are the exact same as when Father Thomas was killed."

Marshall's eyes widened. "We need to get our hands on the other pages of that diary," he said. "See if there are any more dates and times that match up with the other murders."

Sachel nodded. "I'll get right on it. But first, we need to figure out who this diary belongs to."

---

Hours of research led Sachel to a conclusion that made her blood run cold. The diary belonged to a man named Nathaniel Jameson, who had lived in Boston in the 1800s. He had been a well-respected member of the community, but rumors had circulated about his involvement in the occult.

Sachel's heart pounded as she read on. Jameson had been a member of the church, and he had performed secret rituals in the basement that were said to involve the summoning of dark forces. His diary held detailed accounts of these rituals, along with the names of the clergymen who had participated.

It was all starting to make sense to Sachel. The murders had to be somehow related to these rituals, and the killer was seeking revenge for something that had happened in the church's past. But who was behind it all?

As she pondered these questions, her phone rang. It was Marshall.

"Sachel, we found something at the church. You need to come down here."

Sachel rushed out of her office and raced to the church, where she found Marshall and the other detectives gathered around an old wooden chest in the basement.

As Sachel approached, she could see that there were implements of sacrifice carefully arranged in the chest, along with candles and strange symbols drawn on the walls.

"That's evidence of the rituals," she whispered to Marshall.

As they continued to search, they found something else. A small, locked door that seemed to lead to a hidden room.

Marshall motioned for Sachel to open it, and as she did, her heart skipped a beat.

The room was small, with no windows and only a single chair in the center. But the reason for its existence was clear: there was a noose hanging from the ceiling.

Suddenly, a voice interrupted their investigation. It was soft and feminine, but the menace in it was clear.

"Welcome to my church," she said.

The room burst into action as the squad started to search frantically, but the voice was gone. That didn't stop Sachel and parts of her team. They started to pick up what they could from the place and outside while it lasted.

After a month of ferocious investigations, Sachel and her team had solved the case. It had been a woman named Sarah, a descendant of Nathaniel Jameson, who had been avenging her ancestor's mistreatment by the church. She had used the rituals to summon malevolent spirits that had possessed and killed the clergymen. She had been found shortly after the group had split, but she had likely used some sort of shadowy magic to disappear.

As the sun set on that day, and Sachel drove back to her apartment, she pondered their investigation. It had been one of her most challenging and perplexing, full of shadowy rituals and secrets. But it had been worth it, to finally bring closure for the deceased clergymen and their families. 

And as the church bell tolled, Sachel couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness and a sense of closure for this hauntingly unforgettable investigation.