"True Crime Catholics" Trivia Quiz

Answer: He was having an affair

At one time, before the coma, Marshall tried to convince Merritt out of eating so much, asserting that she was in the ideal range for issues stemming from hypertension. Seeking support from Lois he tried to make a more compelling front for their daughter's sake, but the conversation fell apart quickly with Merritt claiming he was fat shaming and Lois not lifting a finger to help. Marshall reminded her that she would be killing herself, but Merritt walked away from the dinner table instead.

Lois would later tell Marshall that she believed no one in the history of humanity had ever succeeded, really, in getting anyone to give up their vices. Marshall suggested that it was a corrosive philosophy to take, especially since her drinking had been transitioning from pastime to profession. She chose that moment to confront him about his affair, letting him know she had him tailed.

She kicked him out that night, even though he wanted to keep the family together. As he left, she claimed she wished, sometimes, that she would receive a phone call from someone to let her know he had died. Before leaving, he said he hoped it wouldn't happen, leaving her to regret those words.

Answer: The presence of guards

Back at the hospital, Lois takes a long swig of her flask in the hall before crying to herself. She's met by Nurse Redd who wastes no time in suggesting she cry in Marshall's room instead, if only to give him the hope that, despite her crocodile tears, she might have the wish that he recover. Lois, frustrated with Nurse Redd's constant disrespect, gets ready for a fight, but she's held at bay by the threat of the nurse's guards, at the ready, stationed down the hall.

Instead, Lois goes to the cafeteria for a coffee. When she returns to Marshall's room, however, she witnesses the nurse being indecent with her husband's comatose body. The blame is still, somehow, passed to Lois for not being more active in her husband's care, but Lois affirms her belief that Nurse Redd may be a sexual predator. The nurse accuses her of being a broken woman who has no idea how to handle her case or care for her husband before they part ways.

Answer: Alcohol

Merritt finds Lois at the dining room table after the gets home from the hospital and, even though it's late at night, she's playing loud jazz, drinking, and reading over copies of 'The Catholic Guardian'. Merritt notes that she's listening to Marshall's favourite record. When she brings out a ham to dig into, she and her mother trade barbs about their particular vices before leaving it at that.

Lois changes the subject back to her work and her fascination with Sister Megan who, as it seems, is obsessed with true crime. Merritt suggests that maybe her mother should retire and go to rehab; it might be that time. Lois refutes this, however, claiming that she needs to drink on this case because it sharpens her attention, especially in the face of how grisly the murders are. The drinks will manifest the solution.

Lois thinks that perhaps the killer knew the Burnsides from their work at the university, and it could be that their motivation was a sense of vicious and unmitigated hatred.

Answer: Religious

At the police station, Lois goes over the details of the case with her team, reminding them that any fingerprints or blood or other samples that don't link to the victims will point them in the proper direction; they just don't have any of it yet. There was a lot of cutting done in the household; there's got to be something hidden in plain sight.

She instead heads to the local church to visit Sister Megan, intending to bounce ideas off her and get an outsider's take on the situation. Though Lois believes that the killer came from the university, Sister Megan doesn't at all. Instead the nun shows her to the library where she has a crime web splayed on the wall. She believes that Lois isn't looking at things the right way; her gut says so.

Sister Megan continues that the killer is leaving a calling card that speaks to a larger scale. They want to live in an apocalyptic reality and the tableaus being left behind are an indication that the murderer sees themself as God. They're religious statements. It's a testimony.

Answer: Personal trainer

Sister Megan attends Father Charlie's service with the aim of hearing his sermon on good, evil, hubris, and faith. He waxes on the importance of guns and other weapons, but he insists that faith is the way to make strong and positive change in their community.

The two of them enjoy a meal at a local diner and it's the opportunity they need to discuss the recent murders. They joke about their pasts-- Sister Megan wasn't always a nun, and Father Charlie was, at one time, a personal trainer-- but both reverify their predilection towards faith. Father Charlie says that he wants to remove the cancer from peoples' souls, and it's a tough job because society is getting sicker by the day.

Father Charlie notes that Sister Megan's work is a big help in having people turn out to church and he may want her to speak to the congregation. She admits she might be willing to do that, but only when the case is solved.

Answer: Ed Gein

Father Charlie tells Sister Megan that he believes the perpetrators are Satanists, if only because of how elaborate the murders truly are. He likens the events in town to those performed by the Chicago Rippers and agrees with her that these crimes are connected by their religiosity. The conversation pulls away from the murders, however, as the pair find they share common interests in true crime, even if it's a bit uncomfortable. He likes Ed Gein, but Sister Megan says her favourite is Sister Mariam Soulakiotis-- a murderer nun.

There's a bit more idea-sharing, especially as the murders pertain to the Bible, before Father Charlie heads home. It's there that, after he performs wicked acts upon himself, he brandishes a spiked whip and flagellates his back, causing gruesome scars.

Answer: Dead

While writing her next article, Sister Megan contacts Lois to let her know she's going to press with her new angle, and while she doesn't know if it's right or wrong yet, it's too compelling not to send to the readers. The spin is about Satanism, naturally.

Lois asks the nun to avoid sending out anything yet as her men have found a blood sample on a sidewalk near one of the crime scenes and they've traced it to a man by the name of Sullivan Firkus who, at one time, was an organ harvester who sold on the black market. She and a SWAT team have staked out his mother's property in an effort to trap him and bring him in.

When Lois and her men break into the Firkus household, what they find is just as horrifying as could be expected. There, in the basement, they find Sullivan dead, his body splayed on the floor and his head in his still-living mother's lap; his mother is chained to the basement wall. As Lois nears her, she turns to face the detective and says "wake up!"

Answer: 'Grotesquerie'

Lois meets up with Sister Megan over dinner and expresses her frustration, explaining that Sullivan Firkus was a bad lead and that she now needs to stay so sharp that she's getting off booze. Sister Megan orders a cocktail regardless, staying away from a conversation about a bruise that's appeared on her face in the meantime.

The two discuss the case though-- Firkus' basement was staged, even the blood out in front of the trap house was staged. Investigators noted that he may have even been the first victim altogether. While Mrs. Firkus recited Psalms 5:5 as she was carried from the room, Lois located a note left behind by the killer. It was signed only by 'Grotesquerie'.

"I belong to those who have troubled the sleep of the world.
May all your dreams come true."

Sister Megan doesn't recognize the phrase in the letter, unfortunately.

Answer: A wooden box

Before dinner comes to an end, Lois and Sister Megan, agreeing that they're working together to an extent, think on whether or not the most recent crime scene was presented in a Biblical tableau. There's not much to go on, but Sister Megan believes that perhaps someone in the clergy could be responsible or, maybe, there's a tie to an organization that believes unlocking the dream indicated in the note will solve the crime.

That evening, when Lois returns home, she finds herself on edge, so much so that she accidentally draws her gun on Merritt when she turns on a light. Seeking help, Lois reveals to Merritt that she found a mysterious, ornate puzzle box in the Firkus basement that doesn't appear to have any way in. She says she'll look into it even though it might not mean anything. Lois asserts that everything at a murder scene means something.

Answer: The Last Supper

Lois nearly falls asleep in the living room when Merritt heads to bed, but she awakens when her record player skips and turns off. It manages to scare her enough to, once again, draw her gun and proceed through the house. She heads to her bedroom to find the wooden box left, by Merritt, on her nightstand, and she gets ready for a good night's sleep.

It doesn't take long before Lois is called into action though. She receives a phone call and is sent to meet her men at another crime scene, and it's perhaps the most grisly yet. She arrives at the church, and Sister Mary is close behind her, to find that thirteen dead men, all homeless people from throughout town, have been killed and posed on stage in a manner depicting Da Vinci's 'The Last Supper'. The man in the middle, representing Jesus, is a man who'd asked Lois for money several times over the past several days.

There's not much else to say about the tableau. These men were preyed upon and defiled. Lois departs for home; she needs a drink.