The office was on the highest floor of the church's administrative building.
Officially, it was called the Executive Conference Room.
Unofficially, it was mine.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city. The morning sun painted the skyline gold, the glass towers glittering like treasures waiting to be stolen. Below, traffic crawled through the streets like veins pumping blood through a sleeping giant.
I sat behind my desk with my feet propped up on polished mahogany.
A half-empty glass of wine rested beside a stack of paperwork.
The paperwork had been there for three days.
I had no intention of changing that.
A soft piano played from a record player in the corner.
Everything was peaceful.
Perfect.
I took another sip.
Then my phone rang.
I stared at it.
It continued ringing.
I sighed.
Peace truly was temporary.
I picked it up.
"Good morning."
"You sound happy."
I smiled.
"Alexandria. What a pleasant surprise."
"It is nine in the morning."
"A beautiful time of day."
"You've been drinking."
"I prefer to call it an early celebration for the soon to be party."
There was silence on the other end.
That usually meant she was deciding whether strangling me would be worth the prison sentence.
"I have news."
"Oh?"
"It's bad."
I sat up slightly.
"Go on."
"The federal government has requested financial records."
I blinked.
"Interesting."
"They've frozen two of our shell accounts."
"Even more interesting."
"They've requested permits from three of our properties."
I set my wine glass down.
"Now that's exciting."
"Joe."
"Yes?"
"Stop sounding excited."
"I can't help it."
Silence.
Then:
"I think they've found us."
I smiled.
A slow smile.
The kind that Alexandria didn't like because it was typically known to cause problems.
"Yes, I think they indeed did."
"You are smiling, aren't you?"
"Immensely."
"Why?"
I stood from my desk and walked toward the windows.
The city spread beneath me.
Millions of people.
Millions of stories.
Millions of little pieces moving across the board.
And somewhere among them...
Someone had made their first move.
I could practically feel it.
Like a hand reaching across a chessboard.
"Because our detective finally did something."
I looked down at the streets.
"He's testing me."
"Joe, this isn't a game. This is serious."
I laughed.
"Everything is a game when you're having fun."
"It really isn't."
I heard papers shuffling on the other end.
"You need to come here right now." She said, sounding more and more impatient.
"Do I?"
"Yes."
"Can it wait until lunch?"
"No."
"Dinner?"
"No."
"Tomorrow?"
"Goddamit Joe, just come!."
I sighed dramatically.
"You're no fun."
"I'm trying to save our organization."
"Same thing."
I hung up before she could argue further.
A few minutes later, I entered the conference room.
The atmosphere was awful.
Truly terrible.
The long table was covered in papers and folders.
Coffee cups.
Financial reports.
Property records.
Three laptops.
A projector displaying account information.
Alexandria stood at the center of it all.
She looked exhausted.
Dark circles had appeared beneath her eyes.
Her hair was tied back hastily.
She looked like someone had personally offended her by inventing uncertainty.
Which, to be fair, someone had.
The moment I entered, every head turned.
Several members looked terrified.
One looked close to tears.
I smiled.
"Good morning everyone."
Nobody answered.
Rude.
Alexandria stared at me.
"You brought wine."
"I didn't want to come empty-handed."
"Why do you have a glass?"
"I wasn't finished."
She closed her eyes.
I sat down.
"This seems serious." I said jokingly, while giving her a sly smile.
"It is."
She pressed a button.
The projector changed.
Several documents appeared.
Financial statements.
Requests from federal agencies.
Investigation notices.
Search requests.
"The police have begun investigating our finances. They've requested tax documents, and they're also looking into the retreat center as of late."
I paused.
"Aw man, I just got that thing. Do you know the face I had to put on for that?" I said with the fakest frown I could muster.
Alexandria pointed at me.
"There it is."
"What?"
"That expression."
"What expression?"
"That one."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You know something."
I considered lying.
Then decided it wasn't necessary for now.
"I may know something."
The room collectively groaned.
"You knew this would happen?" one member asked.
"No."
"Then why are you smiling?"
"Because this is fascinating."
The man looked shaken.
Alexandria looked at me quietly.
"Joe."
"Yes?"
"People are scared. Look around, this is not gonna end well for us."
I looked around. Okay, maybe she was a little right. Only a little.
Some looked nervous.
Others looked angry.
One looked like he was considering a new career.
I folded my hands.
"Then let us discuss fear."
Nobody looked thrilled about that.
"When people are afraid, they make mistakes. The police and the detective know this."
I stood walking slowly around the room, examining everyone's faces.
"They aren't attacking us."
I smiled.
"They're shaking the cage."
I stopped behind one of the chairs.
"They want us nervous. Panicking and shaking, making hasty decisions, and they want us turning on one another."
I looked at everyone.
"So don't." I give a close-eyed smile.
The room had become very quiet.
I continued.
"If they had enough evidence, I would already be in handcuffs."
"Instead...they're fishing."
Alexandria frowned.
"You think this is a bluff?"
"Oh, no, not at all."
I looked at the documents.
"This is an invitation."
She blinked.
"Eleaborate."
I turned toward the window.
"Someone out there wants me to react. They want to see what kind of monster I truly am."
I looked back at them.
"Unfortunately for them..."
My smile widened.
"...I also want to know what kind of bastards they are."
Nobody seemed reassured. Which was okay. Let them think this way for now.
One of the senior members finally spoke.
"What do we do now?"
I thought for a moment.
Then...
"Nothing."
"What?" the senior member said, surprised.
"We do nothing." I said once again forever smiling.
Alexandria stared at me.
"We can't just sit around and do nothing while they are out there seizing our assets"
"We absolutely can."
"They're investigating us and tearing us down slowly."
"Then let them." I responded back intertwining my fingers.
"You can't be serious."
"I am very serious."
I looked around the room.
"No bribes."
"No threats."
"No intimidation."
Several people looked confused.
A few looked disappointed.
"No contacting government officials."
"No moving money."
"No destroying evidence."
Now everyone looked horrified.
"Joe…"
I held up a hand.
"If someone is watching us..."
"...then let's give them absolutely nothing to see."
Silence.
Then Alexandria slowly understood.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh."
I pointed at her.
"There's my queen."
"Like we discussed, they're waiting for us to panic. If we react now, we will only confirm they're suspicious, and with the evidence of us moving, they could finally go public to the people about their investigations."
I nodded.
"Good."
Then I picked up my wine glass.
"Meeting adjourned."
Nobody moved.
"That was it?" someone asked.
"Yes."
"That's your plan?"
"An excellent one."
"This is insane."
"Possibly."
The under the breath complaints kept rolling in as I just leaned back and sipped on my wine.
Alexandria stared at me.
"You're really enjoying this."
I smiled.
"Immensely."
The room slowly emptied.
Eventually only Alexandria and I remained.
She sat heavily in her chair.
For once…
She looked tired.
Actually tired.
I walked to the window.
The city glimmered beneath us.
"Joe."
"Hm?"
"If this goes badly…"
I looked at her.
She looked genuinely worried.
"...Everything we've built could disappear."
I thought about that.
Really thought about it.
Then I smiled.
"There will always be another party."
She stared at me.
"You really don't care, do you?"
I looked back at the city.
The church.
The cult.
The power.
The money.
The people.
All of it.
I smiled softly.
"Do I?"
Silence.
"Sometimes I'm not entirely sure myself."
For the first time in a long while…
Alexandria looked defeated. She always hoped her controlling personality would keep Joe from just throwing away everything he's built. But it seems she can't keep the bird in its cage forever.
Then my phone rang again.
Unknown number.
I stared for a second before answering.
"Golden and caring Pastor Joseph Bishop speaking."
Silence.
Then a man's voice.
Calm.
Measured.
"Good morning, Pastor."
I smiled.
I knew that voice immediately.
Or perhaps…
I simply knew what it represented.
The first move.
"I was wondering when you'd call."
There was silence.
Then...
"You don't seem surprised."
"Should I be?" I hummed, twirling my glass in my hand.
"Most people don't answer an unknown number so cheerfully."
"Most people aren't being hunted by detectives."
I looked out over the city.
At the millions of little pieces moving below.
This is truly wonderful.
The anticipation was enormous.
I smiled.
A genuine smile.
"Detective."
The man on the other end of the line went silent.
Then...
"How did you know?"
I laughed.
Because honestly?
I had no idea.
But it was far more fun to pretend that I did.
"Call it a lucky guess."
The detective said nothing.
I smiled wider before saying.
"Yeah, let's meet, detective."