“You have to get off the drugs, mate,” Jack said. “You’re probably going to be put away for a while. Use it as a time to sort yourself out.”
A long sigh came out of Oram. “It’s my dad’s fault.”
“Maybe. But he’s not putting the stuff in you. You need to take responsibility.”
“So am I free to go?”
Oram had no idea.
34 – The restraining force
JACK AND CATHERINE SAT in the interviewing room, silent. Oram had gone but interviews like that always drained Jack. He looked up at the painting of the ocean. The humbling ocean. He’d heard some say humanity originated from the ocean. Humanity, supposedly a highly intelligent animal. An example of man’s intelligence just walked out of the room. Jack sighed.
We best come running back to the ocean, because we seem to be deteriorating as we evolve.
“Why the sigh, Jack?”
Jack stood up and went and sat on the desk next to Catherine. “Just thinking about how man has evolved.”
“He’s not a good example.”
“I know that. I just get overwhelmed with the negativity and the confusion that follows these people.”
“It’s contagious. But we do what we do to help others. We always need to remember that.”
“What would happen if there were no law enforcement officers? Would evil run amok?”
“A Christian friend, who I share spiritual things with, would say God will one day take away the restraining forces on evil. So my understanding is that evil will only get worse.”
“Frightening thought, but there is an element of truth there. I don’t see things getting better. The world is advancing scientifically, technologically, and intellectually—at least, I suppose it is. And we’re blessed materially. But the human race keeps getting worse.” Jack stood up and stretched. “It all seems out of balance. I wonder what restraining forces your friend is talking about?”
“Well, first she would say sin is the problem. It’s what’s inside of us. I thought of that when you told Oram it wasn’t his dad’s fault. It’s his fault, the fault of what’s going on inside of him. Evil lives inside that man. There must have been evil living inside his dad as well. Maybe all of us. So what holds back the evil in others?”
“The restraining force. What is it? All pretty deep stuff. To be continued.” He walked over picked up his chair and brought it closer to the desk, and placed his notebook on the desk. “Back to the evil one. Do we have the forensic report on the envelope?”
“Yep.” Catherine found the report on her phone. “Forensics only found the subject’s fingerprints on the envelope. Whoever gave him the envelope knew what they were doing.”
“Do you think he would have killed Ruby if he got to her directly?”
“Do you think Ruby was the target?”
“Good point. I’m making an assumption here. We could confirm that if we knew he had Ruby’s address. We should check out what CCTV cameras were in the vicinity. Trace his steps. See how he got Ruby’s address. Maybe it was given to him, or maybe it was written down somewhere. If it was, what would he have done with the paper? I doubt that he would’ve eaten it, but then again.”
“He could have. He’s a train wreck waiting to happen. He knew where she lived. But whoever crossed his path was going to get it.”
“Maybe. Yes, his actions were aggressive—the person who gave him the envelope primed him up. Forensics said there were traces of crystal meth in the envelope. Or maybe he was meant to deliver the drug, not take it. Maybe it was just a drug deal gone wrong.”
“No. That’s too much of a coincidence, with Ruby in the vicinity.”
“It is.”
“They knew the type of person they were dealing with. This person had thought it all through. So the target was Ruby.”
“Ruby believed Oram followed her home. She didn’t touch the envelope. She might have thought it was a card with some attempt at romance. We’ll have to ask her.”
“What was in the envelope?”
“A smaller envelope with a piece of paper with a number on it.”
“What was the number?”
Catherine looked at her phone. “Just a single figure, number nine. If it was number eight, it would make sense.”
“How many units at Ruby’s block?”
“Eight. So it’s not a unit number,” Catherine said. “They say numbers can have spiritual and magical significance. I’ll research it.”
“It’s probably meaningless. Or maybe it’s some Wiccan secret code—which would make sense, because I believe the so-called high priestess is behind this. She needs to finish the job somehow—an unfinished sacrifice must have consequences in the Wicca world.”
“Straight into it, Jack.” Catherine was scrolling on her phone and stopped to read something. “Interesting. Wiccan and numerology seem to have a close relationship. The number nine is apparently a powerful number, full of energy.”
Jack nodded. Numbers full of energy? Why did people get into such things? The search for meaning took people in all directions. Erica had started going to church. Ruby looked for meaning from a full moon. Oram sought meaning from drugs. He looked at Catherine, staring into her phone. Yes, some found significance with their phones. It’s one messed-up world. But he already knew this.
“I think your premise may be right, Jack.” Catherine looked up from her phone. “Wiccan, numerology, and tarot all seem connected. The number nine in tarot symbolises completion of a process; bringing something to a conclusion.”
That course he’d attended had covered tarot. The original intention of tarot cards a simple card game, but then the mystics got into it and the pictures on the cards took on a divine meaning. And now it looked like the numbers had a meaning as well.
“So the process needed to be completed,” Jack said. “The sacrifice needed to be accomplished.”
