A Better Place 2nd try

  The victim was nailed to a wall with her hands reaching upward. A cross had been cut into her forehead. She had a thin cut on the side of her eye, running down her cheek. It looked like she was crying red tears. The smell of death made Michelle's stomach turn. She felt the bile rise, but she clenched her teeth and swallowed it back.
  Staring at a dead body was something she had to get used to. Michelle Warner is a homicide detective in Boston.She is medium height and weight with brown hair and green eyes. She is working on a case that has her baffled. four bodies have been found over the past few months but none of them has anything in common.
  "Why wasn't there a sign of struggle?" Dave asked. He is her partner. He is short with dark brown hair and he has a deep voice that didn't match his size. He is only five feet tall, but he was just as wide.
  "Maybe it's someone she knew,"Michelle said. She scanned the room for clues.
  "Time to be kicked out, the feds are here," Dave growled.
  "They're here to help," she said.
  John Trumblety walked in the room like he owned it. He was well dressed and although he was only slightly taller than Dave he seemed to look down on him as he walked past. He has light brown hair that is cut close to his head. His blue eyes looked unfriendly and cold. He has a thin mustache and goatee that remind Michelle of cartoon devils.
  We can take it from here,you may leave,"John said,and walked away without waiting for a reply.
  Dave looked like he was going to start swearing at him so Michelle grabbed his arm and dragged him outside before there was a scene.
  "I can't believe that arrogant jerk is taking over our case!" Dave said.
  "He's not taking it away, he's just taking command. If you start yelling and screaming, he'll kick us off,"Michelle said, dragging him farther away. Let's go interview some neighbors."
  The first man they talked to was standing behind the yellow tape.
"Sir,did you see anything?" Michelle asked
"My name is Greg Todd,he said. I'm her neighbor,she was a good person."He had a round pleasant face and bright blue eyes that held a touch of sadness. He excused himself and left to go home to cry in private, or so Dave assumed.
They continued through the crowd, asking people the usual questions,then they moved on to the houses.
Dave grumbled, but an hour later they found someone who saw a man entering the house, but didn't remember seeing anyone leave.
With nothing left to do but wait for the witness and sketch artist to come up with a picture, Michelle decided to look at the crime scene photos again. The first victim had been Jason Chasner, a florist. the second was Bob Thompson, a plumber. The third was Alan Dunker and the last was Nancy Slammeno. They had nothing in common, at least nothing she could find. They lived in separate parts of town, went to different churches, ate at different food shops, and didn't now each other, according to friends and family. Nancy was married with no kids and Bob had no family. Alan was a hair dresser, and Jason a truck driver. They all led different lives.
  Why did they get killed?What had they done?Did they offend someone on a religious level? Was that why they were crucified in their homes? Too many questions with no answers.
Dave walked in and said,"They finished the sketch,and you won't believe who it is.
"Who?"
  "Greg Todd,"Dave said.
  "The first guy we talked to?" Michelle swore."Lets go pick him up."
  Michelle called Greg and asked him if he could come down to the station and answer a few questions.
  "Have a seat Mr. Todd,"Michelle said.
  "Am I under arrest?" he asked
  "No, this is just procedure" Dave said soothingly.
  "Why were you outside of Nancy's house yesterday?" Michelle asked.
  "She is, was my friend. We had a lunch date earlier and then I saw all the sirens, I was worried," Greg said.
  "Were you close?" Michelle asked, her voice softening. She started second guessing herself. When he walked in her gut told her he was the killer, now she wasn't so sure. He seemed like a normal guy. He was wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans and work boots.
  "Not very, we met at church, we were going to lunch to discuss the sermon."
  "Do you do that often?" Dave asked.He was standing by the door with his arms folded.
  "Well, no but we had a disagreement and wanted to discuss the end of times,"Greg said.
  "That's not a very happy lunch topic,"Dave said.
  "It's not something they talk much about at church."
  "Where did you go for lunch?" Dave asked.
  "What was the disagreement about?" Michelle asked, trying to keep him off balance by asking too many questions.
  "I told Nancy when people die they become one of God's warriors. That is if you are a good person," Greg added. "She didn't agree."
  "What ." was all Dave got out before there was a knock at the door. John walked in without waiting for a response.
  "Thank you for coming in and answering our questions.You may leave now, Mr. Todd."
  Mr. Todd looked at John and asked, "I can go?"
  "Yes sir, thank you for cooperating. Have a nice day," John said,smiling.
  Once Greg left, Dave spun around facing John. "What was that about?"he asked. His face was red and his fist were clenched.
  "I've got the killer in the other room," John said.
  "What?" Dave didn't bother to hide the shock.
  John glared at Dave and said, " A local priest confessed to the murders and he even knew about the bloody tears, which we kept out of the news.I'll be holding a press conference in a few hours." He walked out with a smug look on his face.
  "Smug jerk didn't actually do anything,"Dave muttered.
  Michelle sat down. "It doesn't seem right, something is off," she said. "Why did Greg answer my questions and not yours?"
  "What do you mean?" Dave asked.
  "When you asked him where he went for lunch he didn't answer you, he answered me instead.I think he wanted us to know what his views were. "It's important to him."She got up. "Let's go see who the killer is."
  The priest name was Adam Walters. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. He was tall with red scruffy hair and green eyes. He looked defeated. Maybe he was the killer, Michelle thought. Something bothered her, but she couldn't figure it out.
  "Hold on," Michelle said to the cops processing him.
  She walked over to Adam . "Can I talk to you for a few minuets?"
  Adam shrugged. "If you want." His voice was soft but deep.
  She led him back into an interview room, it was just a small, square room with a table and a few chairs. He sat down wearily and she sat across from him.
  Dave came in behind her." What are you doing?"
"What does it look like?"
  "It looks like you want to get fired," Dave said.
  Michelle waved a hand at him and turned to Adam."Why did you do it?"
  "What?"Adam asked.
  "Confess to something you didn't do," Michelle asked His eyes widened just a bit.
  "I," he began but his shoulders slumped and he started to cry. "I might as well have killed them."
  "What do you mean?" Dave asked.
  "I knew it would happen", Adam said. He came to me and told me what he was going to di and why. It's my fault. I wanted to tell someone but I couldn't, I still can't." He began crying again.
  Michelle put a hand on his shoulder. "If I showed you a picture of someone, will you tell me if you know the man in the picture?"
  "I guess," Adam said, a bit unsure.
Michelle slide a picture of Greg in front of him. His eyes widened in shock. "Have you ever seen this man?"
"Yes."
  "Where?"Dave asked.
  "He goes to my church."Adam said, "he is always talking about the end of times."
  "That's it," Michelle slapped the table, making everyone jump.
  "Why do I always feel a step behind?" Dave said, "What is it?"
  "We had it all wrong. They weren't killed because they did something wrong,"             
  Michelle said."They were killed because they were good people."
"That doesn't make any sense," Dave said. "Why kill people if they're good?"
"He already told us earlier. He's giving God warriors for the end of times." She stood up.
  "Where are you going?" Dave asked.
  "To tell John," Michelle said.
  John stood before the press, ready to announce the capture of the killer. Michelle ran up to him and whispered in his ear. She probably saved his job, but he would never thank her.
  "Thank you all for coming."John said, "I wanted to assure you that this department is doing its best to assist the FBI in capturing the killer. The arrest of a local priest has nothing to do with the murders. Thank you. He walked away before anyone could ask questions.
  "Why did you do that?" Dave asked, baffled.
Michelle replied "Adam doesn't deserve to be blamed," .
  "Do we let him pick up Greg?," Dave asked.
  "Yeah he'll want the credit anyway." Michelle started back inside.
  "I'll get the paper work done, you go home," Dave said.
  "You sure?" she asked
  "Yeah. I missed the whole end of times crap, Dave said, shaking his head."I need to make up for that,"
  Michelle smiled. "If you insist."
  "I do," Dave said. "I hope John doesn't mess it up."
  "Yeah.Michelle smiled. "See you tomorrow."
  "Bye."
  Michelle felt as though she was still missing something as she headed toward her car. She didn't see Greg until it was to late. She felt the needle and then felt nothing.
  She woke up and saw Greg standing above her. Next to him was John Trumblety. "What's going on?" Even as she asked she realized they were working together.
  "You were right about her,"Greg said.
  "She is even better than I thought," John said. "You will be one of his strongest warriors."