Web of Secrets (Agents Under Fire) Read Online Free

with her harping. At least it was a change. Usually, her sharp fingernails would pierce the tender cartridge, dragging him across the room to his closet.
    “Don’t you see, Mother?” he said, her spirit still living with him though she had passed away six months ago. He pointed at Molly’s virginal body in her gown. “I found her. For you. Cleansed her. She’ll lead us to Lauren. Then you can truly rest.”
    He waited for his mother to answer, but the building was quiet, save for the rats running in the rafters above.
    He kicked an empty oil can across the room, the sound ringing through the space.
    What a despicable place. He couldn’t even leave a body here overnight. Not with the rats. He’d had to construct a wire mesh cage to keep them from tearing apart the bodies. It was especially needed for Molly. The police had to see her peaceful repose to understand his mission.
    He went to the stained porcelain sink, took the Lava soap his mother insisted he use, and scrubbed his hands. Waves of red swirled from his fingers and down the drain.
    “Are they clean, Reginald?” Mother had always asked before inspection. If he’d failed to meet her expectations, she’d scoured his hands with the pumice soap, leaving his skin raw.
    “You’ll be proud of me, Mother. The police will be in awe of everything you have trained me to do.”
    He imagined them finding Molly and being impressed with his ability to cleanse. He wanted to do more. His body fairly vibrated with the need to continue his life’s work. To rush right out and find another girl and offer her the same purification. But he couldn’t. Not yet. He had to lie low until Lauren showed up for Molly’s funeral. Then he’d follow her. Take her. Evaluate her. If she was still pure, he’d make her his for life. If not, he’d cleanse her. It all depended on how she’d lived these past sixteen years.
    Until then, he’d have to forget the lingering taste of blood, forget that nothing could assuage the desire for more. He’d gone nearly sixteen years without killing. Years without ever laying a hand on another young girl. Years of listening to his mother’s teachings. Enduring her discipline so he could achieve nirvana. She’d been his guide and spiritual leader until her sudden death from a heart attack six months ago.
    Now he was a man, on his own. A disciple. Ready to save the girls.
    “A man or a loser?” Billy’s voice whispered through Reginald’s mind.
    “Be quiet,” Reginald told his childhood friend.
    Billy was everything an imaginary friend needed to be. He’d gotten Reginald through many terrifying incidents, but he’d turned into a nagging voice that never left Reginald’s head for long.
    “You’re a loser.” Billy’s tone was now high and nasally, mixed with irritation and judgment. “A madman like the news media claimed in the nineties. Sick and depraved.”
    “No.” Reginald clamped his hands over his ears. “I’m not. I’m their savior. The one who cleanses. I saved their souls. I gave them the peace they need.”
    “Then why hide it? Why not proclaim it to the world?”
    “Humility, you fool. Didn’t you listen to Mother all these years? We must be humble.”
    Billy started lecturing him, and Reginald tightened his hands over his ears until Billy went silent the way he always did when Reginald spoke unadulterated truths. But he’d be back. He always came back. Questioning. Pressuring. Trying to get Reginald to ignore his mother’s teachings.
    Except during the ritual. Then there was peace. Blessed peace. Like the girls must feel. A release to a higher place.
    Like Molly. At rest. He lifted her jar. Admired the curve of her ears and the glow of the pearls. “Perfect, Mother. Just like you taught me.”
    He placed the jar on the shelf, then ran his fingers along the others. There. Excellent. Number four, filled and in place where it belonged, at last. No longer would Molly suffer in this world from the base physical longings