Iris Johansen - Bonnie

Gallo frowned. “That’s north of Atlanta, isn’t it?”

“Yes, northwest. It’s closer to Chattanooga than Atlanta, but we can make it an hour or so. I got the address from the secretary. Suppose we rent a car when we arrive and drive straight up there?”

“That sounds like a plan,” Gallo said. “We’re more likely to get answers if we question him face-to-face.”

“I doubt he’s going to give us any problem. After all, he’s a priest. We explain what we want, and he tells us where to find Kevin Donnelly.” She sat down and fastened her seat belt. “Priests are definitely not any kind of threat.”

DANNER’S HANDS CLENCHEDwith frustration at his sides as he watched Father Barnabas from where he stood inside the garden shed. The priest was on the outdoor basketball court with the two young boys. He was laughing, his T-shirt wet with sweat as he ran down the court and made the basket. The two teenage boys groaned and ran to retrieve the ball.

The priest was happy. Once, Danner would have been glad that Father Barnabas was able to take such joy in life but not now.

He needed him. He had been trying to see him since early morning, and the priest had always been surrounded. First, with those sober people who had come to arrange a funeral, then with these kids from the boys’ club. None of them were important. Couldn’t Father Barnabas feel the torment that was tearing at him? His need was greater than theirs. The child was getting closer and would not leave him alone.

But if the priest was able to sense his torment and anger, perhaps he was afraid. Father Barnabas had great powers, and perhaps he’d been able to sense Ted’s anger the last time he was here. Maybe he was trying to avoid him.

He could feel the rage growing within him.

No, control it. That was the demons again. Father Barnabas was never afraid. Even when he suspected that Danner was not… normal, he would only become more quiet, stronger. He would talk to him, soothe him… cleanse him.

Get rid of those boys, Father. Send them home.

I need to talk to you.

The little girl came to me again.

Help me. I have to do what she wants me to do.

I think she wants me to kill the Delilah demon, but I can’t be sure. I can’t make a mistake. That would be another sin, and I have committed so many.

Maybe it’s something else that I have to give her…

“VERY IMPRESSIVE,” EVE SAIDas she gazed at the huge gray stone church looming on the corner of the street in the long rays of the afternoon sun. “And unexpected in such a small Southern town. Atlanta is heavily Baptist, not Catholic.”

“Well, evidently, they must have enough people to fill this cathedral.” Gallo parked the rental car. “It looks very Gothic.”

“Yes.” Eve jumped out of the car and started up the stairs. “But I’m not very interested in architecture at the moment. We need to find this Father Dominic. I just hope-”

“Just a minute.” Gallo’s phone was ringing, and he glanced at the ID. “Catherine. Go on. I’ll catch up.”

“Right.” She swung open the heavy oak door of the sanctuary. “I’ll be here. Though we may have to go to the residence if there’s no Mass scheduled for-”

“May I help you?” A tall, thin man in clerical garb was coming down the aisle toward them. “I’m afraid Mass isn’t until seven tonight. We had to change the schedules because of the services we had to add.” A crooked smile lit his thin, angular face with warmth. “Are you a member of our parish? I don’t believe I’ve met you yet. I’m a little new here.”

Pay dirt, Eve thought. “Father Dominic?”

“That’s right.” He shook her hand. “And you are?”

“Eve Duncan. No, I’m not a member of your church. I have a few questions we’d like to ask. I wonder if I could speak with you.”

“You’re thinking about joining? I’d be glad to accommodate you, but if you need any information about St. Michael’s, you really need to talk to Father Barnabas. This is his church. I’m just visiting and helping out. Father Barnabas has had an unusually heavy surge of people who have joined the church lately.” He shrugged. “Though that’s not unusual. Times have been hard lately, and people have a tendency to turn to God when they’re in need.”

“Even in your church in Buckhead? Not many people are in financial need in that area, Father Dominic.”

His smile faded. “How did you know that my church is in Buckhead?”

“Because you’re the one I came to see. Not this Father Barnabas. May I sit down?”

“Of course.” He gestured to the pew next to them. “This is God’s house, not mine.” He smiled again. “Well, maybe it’s a little Father Barnabas’s. He seems to put his stamp on everything around him.”

“That’s interesting,” she said absently as she sat down. Get down to the reason that she was here. She just hoped he was the right Father Dominic. She hadn’t even established that fact yet. “Several years ago, you visited a James O’Leary at his pub in Dublin. Is that right?”

“O’Leary?” He made a face. “Oh, yes. Not one of my most pleasant memories. He threw me out.”

She gave a relieved sigh. First bridge crossed. “After you gave him a rosary blessed by the Pope.”

He nodded. “And I prayed for his soul after I left him. I’m not even sure the Holy Father could-” He broke off, gazing at her curiously. “Why are you asking me this?”

“Because you told O’Leary that his cousin, Kevin Donnelly, had asked you to give O’Leary the rosary. I need to know how to find Kevin Donnelly.”

He tilted his head. “You don’t know?”

“If I knew, would I be asking you?” she asked impatiently. “The hospital where he worked isn’t being very cooperative. We’ll track him down, but there’s no reason why you can’t tell us where he is. It will save us time.”

He chuckled. “You sound like a bill collector. Though I know Kevin would never be a deadbeat.”

“You know him well?”

“Very well.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

He didn’t answer directly. “Why do you want to find him? Are you one of the patients he worked with at the hospital?”

“No, but I have questions about one of this patients.” She said. “You’re trying to protect him? I don’t want to cause him any trouble. I just want to locate one of his ex-patients and ask Donnelly a few questions.”

He shook his head. “Kevin won’t disclose any confidences.”

“Isn’t that up to him? There’s a very good reason for him to tell me what I need to know.” She added deliberately, “Life or death, Father Dominic. So why don’t you tell me when you saw him last and where I can find him now.”

“Life or death?” He was silent a moment. “Truly, Ms. Duncan?”

She looked him in the eye. “I don’t lie, Father.”

He nodded slowly. “No, I don’t believe you would.” He thought for a moment. “I don’t know why I’m trying to guard him. He can take care of himself. He’d laugh at me.” He grimaced. “He does that quite a bit actually.”

Present tense. She stiffened. He was going to give her the information. “Tell me.”

“When did I last see him?” His lips turned up at the corners. “About forty-five minutes ago.”

“What?”

“And where can you find him?” He nodded at the door to the left of altar. “Out in the garden. He’s trying to repair the fountain.”

She stared at him blankly. “He’s a handyman?”

“Kevin is many things, a regular jack-of-all-trades.” He stood up and helped her to her feet. “And actually I offered to try to fix the fountain, but he said it was his responsibility.” He paused. “Since it was his church.”