The Good Reverend!

Our little electronic surveilance turned up nothing, except that the good Reverend likes to take a dip in the baptismal pool every night in the nude. At around 5:00 am, He and Cecil Williams, his trusted Deacon left the church and got into that hearse and took off... Headed to God knows where.

I drove up beside the van in front of the church....Peeping Tom was laughing and shaking his head, Sean Jackson, Lockpick Johnson, Kool Kat and Clerow all had the same puzzled looks on their faces as I...Just what kind of odd socks were these two?

"Kev...I'll tell you..We've gone after gangsters and killers and them I could understand...These two are in a different category altogether." said Peeping Tom.

"Not to mention that they didn't say anything we can use." I said.

"So Kev...you think these two are the ones killing those girls?" asked Kool Kat.

"I do indeed.....The last girl that was killed...Velma...They were sitting in that Hearse, scoping her out yesterday. I saw them." I said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't prove anything." said Sean Jackson...

"I know it doesn't.....Listen...I want you guys to go to Victoria's Secret." I said.

"Kev, this aint no time for that." said Sean Jackson.

"No..No...He had a confrontation with Cherry Johnson yesterday...He said he was going to deal with her later....I wouldn't want her to get hurt." I said.

"Over my dead body" said Kool Kat.

"Good...You and Clerow go over to the shopping center and sit on that place...Let me know if the
Hearse drivers show up." I said.

"We on it Boss." said Clerow.

'Tom....You , Lockpick and Sean continue to monitor the goings on in this church...just in case they come back." I said.

"Got'cha" said Lockpick Johnson.

"As for me...I'm going to fetch the good Attorney, Robert Foxworth and do a little research...." I
said.

II-

I found Robert Foxworth. We went to records and looked up what we could on one John Lazurus
Collins Jr. Turns out he was once a cop , in Newark, New Jersey of all places. He was cited several times for police brutality. One particular case became a death. Though he was cleared of
murder and manslaughter charges...He was asked to leave the force. He married and turns up next in Atlantic City. He caught his wife cheating on him with another man. He beat her and the man to within an inch of their lives....

He was arrested and did three years in the state pen for assault with intent to kill. After being released from prison...He studied for the ministry....He became an ordained minister some ten years ago... A little over three years ago...Three women vanished off of the streets in AC and were all found in the ocean...with tap water in their lungs...suggesting they had been drowned elsewhere and dumped...All three women were suspected prostitutes...

All three had attended Holy Redeemer Baptist Church outreach and had apparently returned to the streetlife...(I got this from a call to the Chief of Detectives in Atlantic City), where Collins had served as the interim pastor....Once he left....The killings stopped. The murders were never solved..The case was still open. The Chief of Detectives told me that they had interviewed Pastor Collins three times ,but never had enough evidence to get a warrant or even charge him with anything. Soon, The Pastor and his trusted Deacon resigned their positions and left the church...
As soon as they were gone....The Murders stopped.

"Hey Kev...Look at this sheet on Deacon Cecil here..." said Robert Foxworth....

"Deacon Cecil Williams is from Philadelphia....He was an old time gangster and was suspected of being a hitman back in the 70's for the Little Caesar Deleon gang....It was never proven, but he was a suspect in close to ten homicides dating back to 1969. He did time for selling drugs in New Jersey about the time one charismatic, ex -cop , turned preacher named John Lazurus Collins Jr. was doing time. He supposedly became born again while in Prison and was paroled about a month before John Collins. He went on to become head deacon at , you guessed it Holy Redeemer Baptist Church..." he said.

"Kevin...you thinkin what I'm thinkin?" asked Robert Foxworth.

"What is that counselor?" I asked.

"That these two are killing these girls....None of this mess started until they took over Struther's
church." said Robert Foxworth.

"I think they're involved...but you're an attorney...You know I don't have a shred of proof. Just a lot of co-incidences, what you guys call circumstantial evidence." I said.

"Yeah.... other than that you got nothing." he agreed and laughed...I laughed too!

III-

That night Sepia and I were in the living room when I got a phone call....

"Hello"

"Hey Kev..it's me."said Kool Kat.

"What's up man?" I asked.

"That was a good tip you gave us....We went to Cherry's spot and guess what? That Black Hearse
was sittin there in the parking lot. Clerow and I gave her a ride home and then we doubled the block and came back and guess what? The Hearse was sittin in front of her house." he said.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"I called the cops, told em that a suspicious car was sittin outside of my place and that I thought
I might be being followed." he laughed.

''And the cops actually came?" I asked.

"They came when I said that I was armed with a .357 mag and that I might just take it to them
myself." he said in a chilling voice that I knew was half kidding and half serious.

"A cop car came and the cops got out and walked over to the Hearse to question them...They pulled off...in a hurry...with the cops after them." he laughed.

"Man that was great thinking Kool Kat." I said laughing.

"Yeah, but that only buys us some time....How we gonna take these yokels down?" asked Kool Kat.

" I got an idea..." I said.

"I was hoping you'd say that...I'm about ready for some action, ya dig." he laughed.

"Ohh you'll get it....I'll talk to you tomorrow." I said.

Sepia smiled at me....

"I love it when the gears in your head gets to turning." she said with a smile.

"Show me how much " I said with a wink...

"Ohhhh, you are such an animal." she said with a sigh.....

Didn't I know it? I thought.

(To Be Continued.....)