He scrolled through other news items, all with the same theme. Violence had returned in a big, big way. Lots of strange things going on in the Middle East. He gave silent thanks that he lived in Australia. Being somewhat isolated from the rest of the world had many pluses. And somehow Adventus had been pushed to the background of all the goings-on.

Cath should’ve been back by now. He stood up and looked around the office. Much different to yesterday, with people rushing to and fro, and rising stress levels. He looked towards the office entrance—no Cath. Maybe she needed help to escape the clutches of some talkers. He needed to stretch his legs, so headed out the door.

He’d expected to come across Cath before he exited the building, but there was no sign of her. The smell of smoke was in the air. He looked down towards the city and could see smoke drifting up to the sky from the church fire. Emergency lights reflected on glass panels on some of the buildings, and sirens blared. The sirens seemed excessive for one fire. There must be more going on, although his phone was quiet. Something had changed, something abnormal was happening. He gave an inward sigh and headed towards the coffee shop.

A fellow officer headed in Jack’s direction at a brisk pace, as if something urgent had cropped up. Jack gave him a nod, and the officer nodded in return. Jonas. That was his name. There was a ragged look about him and a strange look in his eyes. Jack stopped, and a sudden chill came over him. What was that? Jonas’s eyes had that cold dark dead look he’d seen in people he’d arrested. Jack turned and watched Jonas continue his hurried walk back to headquarters. Something was wrong, but what? Jack tried to shake off his puzzling feelings. He needed that coffee.

He turned at the sign pointing to the Brisbane River. Still no Cath. His anxiety rose. There was a cluster of people ahead, circling something. One lady stood and looked in all directions, panicked. Jack walked faster.

“Hi, anything I can help with?” Jack held up his police ID.

“Some creep just beat up this lady.” The lady pointed up the path.

Cath. This was why she hadn’t returned to the office. The group of people separated so Jack could see. He’d been right. Cath lay on the ground, two coffee cups beside her, their contents dripping onto the path. Someone had moved her into the recovery position.

He kneeled beside her and stared into her face. She gave him a weak smile.

“It was Jonas, wasn’t it?”

She responded with a weak nod.

Paramedics arrived and separated the group. One kneeled beside Cath, and the other rushed back to their vehicle.

Someone tapped Jack’s shoulder, a middle-aged lady dressed in black tights with a yellow t-shirt and a small terrier on lead.

“I witnessed the attack but couldn’t do anything. Poor Pepper was scared and dragged me in the opposite direction.”

Jack kept his thoughts to himself about the power of the little terrier. “What happened?”

“He came running up behind her and hit her. She fell to the ground, and he started kicking her. I screamed at him. He turned and looked at me. I was scared then.”

“I can understand that.”

“He yelled some obscenities about her being a Christian, then shot off.” She pointed up the path.

The paramedics now had Cath on a gurney and were pushing it towards the ambulance.

“I need to go with the ambulance, but I will need to get your statement.” Jack handed her a card. “Could you please text or email me so I can follow up? Much appreciated.”

Jack excused himself and showed the paramedics his ID. “Okay if I come with you? I’m her partner.” They could decide what he meant by that, but he needed to be with her.

Cath reached out and touched his arm, beckoning him to come closer. She wanted to tell him something. Her eyes were peaceful and sad.

He leaned down and tilted his ear towards her.

“Persecution.”

35 - Special visitors

Thomas Wiley had experienced an interesting few months since he’d walked into that little police booth in Noosa and given himself up. Today was even more interesting, with those strange men in the Middle East reported dead.

Crowds appeared out of nowhere. The streets had been bare. Now barriers had been put up to restrain the crowds. Some people had set up camp on the side of the road and their numbers seemed to be growing by the hour. There was talk that the men were going to come back to life, and the scene in Jerusalem looked like the start of a party.

The atmosphere in Wiley’s correctional centre was different. The mood was festive, but things weren’t right. His thoughts had changed. The evil desires had returned. He’d been reading the Good Book with a different lens than before and found a verse that spoke about evil returning to an empty and clean house. He understood it to mean evil needed to be repelled by something, or it would return. He sensed that he still had the choice, but it was growing dimmer. Evil was persistent.

The television continued to blast out negative news. Christians were being persecuted. Wiley’s long-lost goal was being achieved but he had mixed feelings about the rising theme of persecution. He was being pulled in two directions.

His dad visited regularly. The Great Leader had also visited a number of times. This had surprised him. Maybe secrecy wasn’t as important as he’d thought. Maybe the Great Leader was beyond that now.

He had a special visitor coming to see him today: Sheila. He liked that.

* * *

Jack found Jonas in the bathroom back at the station. He was rinsing his hands and looking in the mirror, the tint of madness still in his eyes. Jonas turned when he saw the reflection of Jack in the mirror.

Another officer from Jack’s team stood behind Jack, supporting him in what he was about to do.

“Well, looky, looky. The big boys are in town.” Jonas grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser and tilted his head towards the urinals. “Don’t let me hold you up, lads. The facilities are yours to use.”

Jack stepped closer. “Jonas, I’m following up an incident that occurred with Detective Sergeant Catherine York earlier this morning.”

Jonas’s eyebrows shot up and a smirk took shape. Jack felt the adrenaline rush coming. He took a deep breath to gain control of himself. Cath wouldn’t support what Jack wanted to do to Jonas right now, so he restrained himself. But it was hard.

“I heard about that. She okay?”

“Not too good. Witnesses have come forward and identified you as the assailant.”

“I’ll let you in on a secret, lads. It was me, and I’m sure you blokes are of the same mindset. But maybe you didn’t know, because these people conceal it well. She’s one of those Bible bashers. One of those goody-goodies trying to change the world. We don’t want that, do we?”

Jack closed his fists. He wanted to smash Jonas’s head against the mirror, but his years of hardening constraint against those that tested his boundaries were at work. The law would deal with this. “You just confessed to a crime, Jonas.” Jack held up the handcuffs. “We’re placing you under arrest.”

“You won’t need those. I’m happy to go with you. I’m happy to be a spectacle when I know half the boys out there will applaud my actions.” As Jack ushered him towards the exit door, Jonas paused and looked at them both. “You two must be amber people.”

The comment took Jack by surprise. How deep did this ‘amber’ society go?

* * *

It was two in the morning, and the large office area was mostly in darkness. The tapping of keyboards and the occasional soft obscenity flowed from the work areas of a few tired officers, their locations indicated by fluoro lights bringing their desks out of the shadows. Most officers were exhausted after what must have been the busiest day of their working lives as they tried to deal with a society that seemed to be deteriorating to a level that they’d never seen before.

Evil and the persecution of Christians were beyond belief. He was glad he’d had a quiet few months to get settled back into home life, because nothing was normal today. Erica understood. She possessed what she would refer to as peace beyond understanding, but Jack still asked the uniformed officers on patrol to keep an eye on his house.

Jack finished his report on Jonas’s arrest. He needed to escape from his computer and deal with the anger he felt towards Jonas. He stood and moved into the meeting room. Maybe seeing what was happening in the world would calm him.

The news showed on the large screen, streaming the events in Jerusalem to the world. The sun was setting, throwing magical colours onto the walls of the narrow streets. The bodies of the two witnesses still lay on the road. A drone must have been hovering to capture that image. There was a barrier around them, keeping those who wanted to gawk over a dead body at bay. They’d now been dead for three days. The men still hadn’t been formally identified—either they were men from outer space, or their true identities were being kept secret. Just like on that old TV show, the truth was out there, somewhere, but could be hard to find. He gave a sigh. Crazy world.

The screen showed people celebrating the death of the two strange men. Such actions never ceased to amaze Jack. As the story of the two men concluded, other so-called newsworthy items appeared. One in particular concerned him, the reports of the build-up of the military in the Middle East.

The screen showed a landscape of fertile land stretching for miles—a patchwork of farming, in yellows, greens, and browns. He was surprised by the view, as he’d imagined the Middle East as a dry and barren place. The reporter spoke about the place name, Jezreel, being a valley planted by God.