Chapter 2: The Inmate's Confession - Sins Spoken in the Sanctuary

"Get the paramedics in here immediately!" Dr. Aris bellowed over the screaming and fainting mourners. "We need to get this lid off! Help me!"

Three men rushed the altar, ignoring Richard, who stood paralyzed, staring at the casket as if it were a bomb about to detonate. Together, they ripped the top half of the casket open, the hinges groaning in protest.

Clara remained on the floor, her hands clasped together in fervent prayer. "Thank you, Lord. Thank you for not letting the darkness win."

Suddenly, heavy boots pounded against the marble. Four police officers, weapons drawn, stormed down the center aisle.

"Get down on the ground! Hands behind your back!" the lead officer shouted, aiming his weapon directly at Clara.

Clara didn't fight. She calmly lay flat on the cold marble, extending her bruised, bleeding hands to be cuffed. "I'm not running," she said softly into the stone. "My work here is done."

As the cuffs clicked shut, a sharp-eyed detective named Vance walked up the steps to the altar. He looked at the open casket, then at the doctor desperately performing CPR on a supposed corpse, and finally down at the inmate.

"You're Clara Hayes," Detective Vance stated, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "You assaulted two guards and crashed a transport van on Interstate 9 to get here. Why?"

Clara looked up at him, her eyes fierce. "To stop a murder."

Vance raised an eyebrow. "The deceased is Eleanor Vance. My sister-in-law. She died of natural causes."

"She was poisoned, Detective," Clara spat out, struggling as the officers hauled her to her feet. "By a synthetic neurotoxin. It slows the heart rate down so low it mimics death. It's designed to fool the coroner, to get her buried quickly. But God’s grace is stronger than chemical poison."

Richard finally snapped out of his stupor. He marched over, his face flushed red with rage. "Detective Vance, get this lying piece of trash out of my church! She’s a convicted felon!"

"I'm a convicted felon because you put me there, Richard!" Clara screamed, thrashing against the officers holding her. "I was Eleanor's private nurse! I found the vials in your safe! You framed me for stealing her jewelry to get me out of the house, and then you bought the judge to ensure I couldn't speak!"

Richard turned to Detective Vance, spreading his hands in a gesture of mocked innocence. "She's delusional. She's been in solitary confinement. The isolation has broken her mind."

"Has it?" Detective Vance asked, his eyes narrowing as he looked closely at Richard. "Because Dr. Aris just found a pulse on a woman who's been in a morgue cooler for three days. That's a hell of a delusion, Richard."

"It's a mistake! A muscular spasm!" Richard insisted, his voice pitching higher.

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"Detective!" Dr. Aris yelled from the casket. "I have a steady heartbeat! It's accelerating! She's fighting the paralysis!"

Clara smiled, a bloody, victorious grin. "You hear that, Richard? That's the sound of judgment day. And it's coming for you."