A Clean-Up Gone Foul (Day 1)

January 13th, 2019....

It was about a week after the New Year's. Detective W had invited you to do some volunteer clean-up at the local church. Ha-Eun and Ha-joon also joined. They took off their thick winter jacket once they got inside the church, showing off the loose t-shirts underneath.

The tall stained glass painted the spacious church with various colors. Several chandeliers hanged from the ceiling, radiating warm, peaceful light. A life-sized marble statue of Jesus was standing besides the altar, serenely watching over the pews. A huge white banner spanned the entire width of the church. It wrote: "Happy New Year! Have Fun And Stay Safe!"

You found Ha-joon and Ha-Eun praying. They all muttered indiscernible things. Detective W was observing the church and wrote down some things on his notepad.

"Boss, you're a Christian?" you asked, looking for the right words to say.. "You certainly...um... don't give off that vibe..."

Detective W harrumphed. "Of course not. I believe in science, not some superstition. Science drives the world, my friend."

"W..." a throaty voice said. "One day... you will realize God... our wonderful God... is everywhere."

"Priest Morgan... glad to see you here. How's old age treating you?" Detective W addressed the wrinkly, white-haired, white-robed priest with a huge smile.

Priest Morgan's sharp eyes twinkled in delight. "72 years now... still going strong! God has given me strength to continue boxing!" He then launched a few punches at Detective W and chuckled. "We should set up another sparring session, if God allows."

"Certainly."

Ha-joon and Ha-Eun finished praying. Priest Morgan gave a slight bow from the shoulders and croaked, "These are your friends, W? Glad to see them under God's grace..."

Ha-Eun shrugged, "That's what my parents used to do. They used to go to church and pray." Ha-joon agreed.

Three people walked behind Priest Morgan. Priest Morgan introduced them. "They are the teachers in this wonderful Catholic school. From the left, the intelligent Ms. Rebecca, our English teacher."

A medium-sized, oval-faced woman with long brown hair waved at them. She adjusted her blue-rimmed glasses. "Nice to meet you all!" she greeted you with a small, cheerful wave.

"The strong Mr. Medico. He's our Physical Education teacher."

A tall, well-built man with grizzly beard and flowing hazel hair showed off his toned muscles. "Yep, that's me, the famous Medico!" he exclaimed.

"And here's our melodic music teacher, Mr. Benjamin!"

A short man donning a blue suit and an umber ponytail sang, "Hello, everyone! I'm Benjamin!"

Detective W introduced himself, and prompted you to do the same. "I'm W, a former engineer. Now a local detective."

You shook everyone's hands. "Hello. I'm his assistant," you said.

"I'm Ha-Eun," Ha-Eun introduced herself with a slight smile. "I'm in my third year of college."

"Ha-joon here. It's a pleasure to meet you all," Ha-joon greeted.

"Okay!" Priest Morgan clapped his hands. "Now that everyone know each other, let's get cleaning! We will clean the altar first!"

You and Ha-Eun grabbed the brooms and dustpans, while Ha-joon and Detective W took the mops, rags, and the buckets of water.

"Service starts at 2:00 PM today. Please get the cleaning done before then," Priest Morgan reminded everyone.

As you were sweeping the floor, you saw Priest Morgan pick up a bright yellow chalice from the altar and carried it to the changing room. Detective W and Ha-joon was busy cleaning the Jesus statue. Ha-Eun was sweeping in the pews.

"Raahh!" A loud roar came from the changing room. Several clangs ensued. You could hear Priest Morgan's tenor voice screaming. The ringing door slams reverberated throughout the church.

Detective W jumped down from the ladder and dashed straight into the changing room. Ha-Eun and Ha-joon rushed after him.

"Priest Morgan! What happened here?!" he shouted as he flipped on the light switch.

Priest Morgan groaned, and rubbed his head. Thankfully, there was no bleeding. "Argh... someone just closed the lights and hit me in the head. Thank God that I have no severe injuries."

You scanned the changing room. One door led to the altar, and the other door led to the hallway. White robes, candles, and several leather-bound copies of the Bible filled the room. However, a certain golden thing was missing from the table.

"Priest Morgan... where did your chalice go? I saw you bringing it to the room." you realized.

"Oh... no..." Priest Morgan moaned, his hands trembling as he searched all over the room. "The Holy Chalice... someone stole it!"

"Why would someone steal it?" Ha-Eun asked. "How much does that cost?"

"It's made of pure gold," Priest Morgan confirmed. "A close friend of mine gifted it to me during Christmas."

You took a closer look at the ground. Some long hair strands were on the floor. There were tracks of something red at the exit. Detective W noticed that, too, and gave you latex gloves to safely examine them.

You poked the red trail. "It's a bit sticky... and it's still bright red." You put your index finger close to your nostrils. "It smells metallic, boss."

"It's blood, then," Detective W verified. He also put on latex gloves and picked up some tiny yellow chips from the exit and put it in a small vial. "What the heck is this...?"

The group, along with Priest Morgan, followed the blood trace further. Each of the blood drops were circular and were evenly spaced. The blood trail ended at Mr. Medico's classroom. Detective W looked around the area some more and found another clump of tiny golden chips.

He walked further forward and around, this time to the sanctuary entrance. A visible tiny yellow chip was on the ground. Sauntering around the sanctuary, he walked to the other end. At the end of the other hallway was Mr. Benjamin's classroom. Another yellow chip was found at the classroom entrance.

Detective W scratched his head. He dashed back into the sanctuary and asked for the teachers' permissions to do a search on all the classrooms. Once they agreed, you, Ha-Joon, and Ha-Eun split up and did an intensive search on all the classrooms. You guys came up with nothing.

He then walked to the exit doors near the restrooms. He walked out of the church and closed the doors. After a minute of fumbling and banging on the door, Detective W shouted, "Can someone open the door for me?! I'm locked outside!"

Priest Morgan let out a quiet laugh. "My goodness, W. I forgot to tell you that all the doors are locked from the outside."

Detective W grinned. "No worries, Priest Morgan. Now, is there a floor layout of the church somewhere?"

Priest Morgan led them to library entrance. The window revealed little kids reading books. On the wall was a map of the church. The sanctuary, the largest space, was sandwiched in between the classrooms. Two changing rooms flanked the sanctuary. In front of the sanctuary was the reception area, which the main entrance led to. There were restrooms on both ends of the church, and the kitchen was right across the library.

Detective W closed his eyes, memorizing the map. He then looked at the reception area and looked back at the sanctuary. The reception area was nearly empty, albeit for a single desk with a vase of flowers and a pile of brochures. A security camera watched over the reception area.

'The sanctuary... seems about 40 feet away from here. The library... except for little kids, no one else is there....' he observed while stroking his chin.

Detective W told Priest Morgan, "Priest Morgan, please bear with my logic for a second. I have confidence in the chalice location, but I'm still figuring out the thief's identity."

"No, take your time, W. It's been a long time I've seen a detective at work," Priest Morgan coughed.

Detective W glanced at you. "My friend, you've seen all the same evidence that I have. Where do you think the chalice is?"

You shrugged. "I will try, boss. Don't expect me to get it right on the first try, though."

-------------Where is the chalice hiding?------------------