CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Leo poured the powder into the second medicine bottle that stood on the counter near his elbow. Despite his best efforts, his hand trembled. Apart from the bare bulb that hung above his work space, the basement was dark. It was just the way he liked it. A man could get away with a lot of things in the dark.

He worked quickly and efficiently. He had the routine down pat. He ought to. He’d done it often enough. The deaths that had come to light in the media weren’t even the half of it.

Knowing that the police were investigating the most recent deaths added a heightened degree of risk…and anticipation. It should have been enough to stop him, but it wasn’t. He didn’t think anything could stop him. The knowledge both scared him and set him free.

At first, his purpose had been good and noble. God had watched him suffer as a boy, helpless and afraid, while his mother died in agony. God had whispered a promise that had helped him on his way. He finished medical school knowing he had a higher purpose: He was to heal the sick and ease the suffering of God’s people.

And he’d been good at it. His patients returned to health faster and better than expected. Word soon got around. In no time at all, he scaled the heights of the medical world and people came from all over to have him treat them.

Of course, there were always the ones who were better off dead and God was quick to let him know when it was time for a member of His flock to meet their Maker. It was up to Leo to ensure their passage to the afterlife was as smooth as possible.

It hadn’t been painless and it saddened him to think of their final hours spent writhing in agony, but God had assured him their sacrifice would be worth it. Soon, they’d have eternal life and all the glories of heaven would be theirs. It was up to him to make it happen.

But lately, God’s messages had left him mixed up and confused. He no longer knew the Maker’s will. Was it Him who told Leo who was ready to go or was it someone else? The voice in his head was different. Rougher and more demanding and his victims were less and less unwell. He was supposed to be God’s earthly instrument to alleviate the suffering. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

Still, he continued to obey its urgings. What else was he to do? A part of him wanted to resist, especially when he could see the patient wasn’t terminal. Take Amelia Arncliffe, Robyn Evan and Eileen Green. They were all on their way back to better health when the voice ordered him from up above.

Still, he believed in the Almighty and would bow to His greater wisdom. Besides, the women had gone to a better place. There was no denying it.

He only hoped he’d said the right things when the police interviewed him. He’d prayed for hours beforehand, seeking God’s words of wisdom. God would tell him what to say. God would protect him and keep him safe. Who would be left to carry on His work if he were sent to jail? No, God wouldn’t abandon him. Leo was certain of it.

He emptied the final collection of ricin powder into the medicine bottle and carefully sealed the lid. In the dim light, he glanced at his watch and frowned. Time had slipped away. His wife would be wondering where he was, badgering him with endless questions and pinning him with angry frowns.

She thought he had a mistress. She’d discovered the deed to the house in Mount Druitt by accident and had accused him of all sorts of nasty things. She was wrong about the mistress. That wasn’t his purpose for acquiring the house so far out in the suburbs. No, it was used for a much higher purpose than mere pleasures of the flesh.

Not that he hadn’t enjoyed a dalliance here and there with pretty, young things along the way, but they were casual flings that never lasted and didn’t mean a thing—and they never took precedence over his work ordained by God.

Clearing his work space, he returned his equipment to the shelf above the counter. Carefully scraping the residue powder into a dustpan, he emptied it into the trash nearby. He picked up both medicine bottles and wiped them clean before dropping them into the pocket of his jacket.

Satisfied, he tugged off his surgical mask and scrubs and tossed them into the trash can, too. They were followed by his tight-fitting surgical gloves. He always took plenty of precautions. With one last look around to ensure nothing was out of place, he climbed the old wooden stairs that led from the basement into the house.

At the top of the stairs, he switched off the basement light and pulled the door closed behind him. A snap of the padlock and the room was once more secure. He wasn’t sure why he went to so much trouble to keep the room locked. It wasn’t like the house was occupied.

He’d bought it on the pretext it was an investment property. He’d even gone through the motions of contacting realtors and advising them the property was available to rent. He’d had a few enquires, but had turned them all down, telling them that unfortunately, the property had just been tenanted.

It worked like a charm and had been his little secret for more than a decade—his and God’s. It was only recently, when his wife found out, that his secret had been discovered.

He’d tried the rental thing on her, too, and had even produced a fake lease document. She’d scrutinized it in such detail, he was sure she’d see through it. But after what seemed like a lifetime, she’d tossed the papers back to him and had stormed off toward her room. He was grateful he hadn’t heard anything about the house since.

The place in Mount Druitt was more important to him than he cared to admit. It had been his private getaway for so long. It was where he went to escape the daily pressures of his life and more importantly, it gave him the freedom to come and go as he pleased, to plan and to carry out his work. No, not just his work—God’s work.

It was God who had chosen Chanel Munro.

At the thought of her, he broke into a smile. So beautiful, so perfect, so distant. She was one of God’s angels. Beauty such as hers had to come directly from the Almighty. It was why He’d chosen her to take the fall. She was His gift to Leo.

Leo had made sure the police knew all about her and had given them plenty of reasons to look at her for the crimes. He’d even managed to secure a little extra insurance by befriending her roommate.

Okay, so they’d become a little more than friends, but the girl had been willing and had gone out of her way to please. She was more than happy to accept his gift a couple of nights ago and do with it as he directed. The confusion was plain on her face when he gave it to her, but he soon alleviated her concerns. Besides, she was so enamored of him, he knew she’d never ask questions.

Yes, little Tanya Singh had proved quite useful and she wasn’t a bad fuck at all. Her eagerness to try new things in the bedroom made life just that little bit more pleasant. Of course, it wouldn’t last forever. The year would soon be up. She’d graduate from the program with honors and go on to achieve greatness in her career. Or something like that.

Reaching his car, parked in the driveway beside the house, he unlocked the door and slid into the seat. Taking the medicine bottles from his pocket, he slipped them inside a Ziplock bag and sealed it before depositing it carefully in the glove compartment. He never knew what might happen on his hour or more commute back into the city and he didn’t want to risk the bottles breaking in his pocket and spilling their precious contents. He had enough to last at least three or four months. Even longer, depending upon the orders from up above.

* * *

Susan Baker pressed back against the side of the house, making use of the shadows cast by the overgrown hibiscus bush to conceal her presence. She watched her husband seated in his car and wondered what he was thinking. It seemed like forever before he started the ignition and eventually sped away.

She’d followed him to the house in Mount Druitt in an effort to discover its secrets. He’d thought he’d fooled her with his story of a rental property and tenants and it had suited her to let him think that way. It gave her time to deliberate upon the latest development and wonder whether the existence of a secret dwelling was cause for concern.

The mere fact that he’d kept it from her caused alarm. If it was as innocent as he proclaimed, he would have told her about it. They owned several investments around the city. It wasn’t like they hadn’t bought property before.

At first, she’d suspected he was using the house as a place of assignation with whatever slut he was seeing at the time, but she’d been wrong. Not about the slut. She’d seen him with the exotic-looking, dark-skinned girl. But the purpose of the house had come as a surprise and now that she knew the truth, she was mystified.

She’d snuck in behind him, barely breathing and watched him make his way down the darkened hall. He’d paused outside a door and unlocked it and had simply disappeared. When she finally found the courage to follow him, she realized he’d descended into a basement where a single faint light cast eerie shadows across the walls.

Creeping to the edge of the stairs, she’d watched him working at a counter. Something that looked like a coffee pot stood near his elbow. He muttered aloud and shuffled around in the gloom. She could barely make out what he was doing and what she did see didn’t make sense. At least it had nothing to do with another woman. For that, she was grateful.

Now, drawing her light coat around her, she picked her way over the uneven ground that led from the house to the street. She’d parked half a block away. She didn’t want him to know she was following him. It was far better to keep him at ease. As long as he thought her stupid enough to accept his explanations, it was easier to discover his hidden truths.

It hadn’t always been that way. She sighed inwardly at the memory of the way things used to be. He’d been a dashing third-year resident doctor when they’d met at a black-tie hospital fundraiser. Tall and charismatic, he’d blown her away with his charm. They were married within the year and babies soon followed after.

If there were dark times when he retreated from the world and her and the children suffered, she told herself the good times far outweighed the bad and nobody was happy all the time. He worked long hours at a stressful job. It was understandable that every now and then he’d turn on his family in anger. She understood that was his way of dealing with the pressures of his job.

Like the way he felt the need to diagnose her with all sorts of weird and wacky things. His latest conclusion was that she was suffering from bipolar disorder. What utter nonsense was that? He even insisted on prescribing her medication. Not that she’d ever filled the scripts. It was ludicrous, but she didn’t resist, knowing that somehow, it made him feel needed. There was no harm in it, after all and if it made him feel better about himself and their relationship, she was willing to let it go on.

Now, she wasn’t quite so sure. His behavior had become more and more erratic and his explanations more and more bizarre. She no longer cared about his affairs with other women, but it was almost laughable how he felt the need to concoct stories explaining away their existence.

His inability to stay faithful was the reason she’d come with him to work. It was easier to keep an eye on him when she spent eight or nine hours by his side. She also fielded his phone calls. Well, up until the advent of cell phones, at least. Now she didn’t know who he called or who called him.

Her friends wondered why she stayed with him, but they didn’t understand. She’d been Mrs Leo Baker, the wife of Sydney’s eminent doctor for so long, she couldn’t imagine being anyone else. Somewhere along the way, she’d lost her identity and now even the thought of trying to get it back exhausted her. Besides, she relished the life she led.

Money had never been a problem and by and large, she and Leo kept out of each other’s way. She still came into the office every morning and made sure the filing was up to date, but she did it more out of habit than the need to keep him under watch. She’d stopped caring about how he spent his time a long time ago.

But the discovery of the house in Mount Druitt had sparked her interest and she couldn’t really say why. Now, she was even more confused. The house was dark and gloomy. What little furniture in the place was coated with a layer of dust. It was obvious it wasn’t a place where he took his female friends and after witnessing his behavior in the basement, she didn’t know what to think.

With a sigh, she unlocked her car and climbed back in behind the wheel. She filed the information away, to be pondered over some other time.