CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

The four yellow houses were exactly where the old man had said they would be. People were mingling in the front yard, moving from one house to another.

“Hi,” said Wilson.

“Well, hello, sugar,” smiled a young man.

“I’m not here for that,” smirked Wilson. “My friends and I are trying to find Reverend Sizemore.”

“That slimy old bastard,” growled one of the men. “Disgusting, perverted piece of shit is what he is.”

“Can you explain?” asked Zeke.

“Yeah. I work at the Red Rose, the topless bar in the Quarter. Me and three others here. That guy there is a bartender, and the two girls are dancers.”

“We know the place,” said Zeke.

“The reverend used to come down there and order a beer, act like he’d never had one before,” he scoffed. “Bastard sucked that down without a second thought. He’d watch the girls, mumbling about how disgusting they were but watching them the whole time. When they were done dancing, he’d ask them to come over so he could speak with them. They were still topless because the boss says when you’re working, no tops.”

“So, they’d sit with him topless?” frowned Trak.

“Yep. And that bastard enjoyed it. Talked about what sinners they were, all the while he was sitting with a stiffy poking out of his trousers.”

“Did he touch the girls?” asked Wilson.

“Never. Never once reached for them, but he was aroused and made them feel like shit about themselves. But they’re good kids, work hard, put money aside for their futures, and worried about their souls. They went to that damn church every week, tithed like he encouraged them to, and then went back to work.”

“I take it you weren’t part of his flock,” said Wilson.

“Fuck no. I had an old man who was a preacher and acted just like him. Humiliated anyone who had ‘dirty’ thoughts, all the while he was hiding his girly magazines between the mattress, jacking off whenever Mom wasn’t around.”

“Sorry about that,” said Zeke.

“Is what it is, man. I just don’t want that asshole near the girls again.”

“Is that why you all live near one another?” asked Trak.

“Sort of. We decided a long time ago we couldn’t afford rent for one of these cute shotgun homes by ourselves, so we pooled our money and did this. We rented four, each with four roommates. The rent is practically nothing. We can save money, we could be together, watch out for one another, and no one leaves work alone. It keeps us safe.”

“Smart idea,” nodded Zeke. “Listen, if you see the reverend, let us know or call the hotline for the police. We need to find him before he kills again.”

“If I find him. I’m going to kill him,” said the young man.

“We need him alive,” said Wilson. “I know that’s not what you want, but that man knows where bodies of missing men and women are, and their families deserve some answers.”

He was quiet for a moment, then nodded at Wilson.

“I get it. I promise. If he’s anywhere near us, we’ll call the cops or you guys.” Hearing shuffling behind him, he turned to see the group of friends gathering around the television that was set up on the porch. “What now?”

As they got closer to the screen, they knew. Three more bodies were found, knife wounds in the same locations of their bodies, tortured, murdered, and bodies dumped. One was the girl Alecia.

“We have to stop him,” said Wilson. Zeke nodded.

“We will.”