Iris Johansen - Bonnie

“And you’d like to defuse any situation for him.” She shook her head. “You’re a good friend to him. But you can call him and warn him I’m coming if you like. He might be able to escape out the back door.”

He shook his head. “He wouldn’t thank me for that.” He turned away. “If you change your mind, I’ll be in the confessional.”

“Waiting?”

He smiled. “Not for you particularly. We always hold confession at this time.”

He was a nice man, she thought as she moved toward the arched opening, and very loyal to Father Barnabas. It was interesting to know that Father Barnabas could inspire that kind of loyalty. But it also pointed out what an enigma was this man who had been Kevin Donnelly.

The oak door of the office was closed, and she hesitated before knocking.

She didn’t really think that questioning him again would do much good. She had principally wanted to make sure where he was in the church so that she could keep an eye on him as she’d told Gallo.

But she wasn’t sure that he was still in the office as Father Dominic had guessed.

She knocked on the door.

No answer.

“Father Barnabas.”

No answer.

Check to make sure.

She had been joking about him slipping out the back door, but he might have done that. She started to open the door.

“No! Get out!”

“Don’t be rude, Father. Let her come in.”

That last was not Father Barnabas’s voice.

Yet she recognized it.

She pushed the door open.

Father Barnabas was sitting on a green-padded office chair at a desk across the room.

Ted Danner was standing behind him, a knife to the priest’s throat.

“Run!” the priest said. “Out! Now!”

“But she won’t do that,” Ted Danner said. “Because she knows that it might save her but not you, Father. I knew the moment I met her years ago that she was one of the givers, not the takers.”

Eve had been frozen, but now she took a deep breath. “Perhaps I’ve changed, Danner. It was a long time ago that you came to see me when I was pregnant with Bonnie. People do change.” She continued meaningfully. “Events change them. Murderers take away everything that makes life worth living. That can twist their lives and what they are.”

He flinched but quickly recovered. “You haven’t changed. Not really. You’re not going to go anywhere as long as you think that I may hurt the priest.”

And Eve couldn’t deceive him that she would be that hard. She could only try to go around the situation from another direction. “But you don’t want to hurt him, Danner. Why would you? He’s been your friend. He’s been trying to help you for years. Why are you here anyway?”

“Because you’re here. You’re the one who is causing the problems for the priest.” He said jerkily, “Do you think I want to hurt him? I thought he could save me, but now I know that’s not going to happen. I only want to do what’s right, but you’re against me. You came here to turn him against me. If you hadn’t shown up here hunting for me, he would have been safe. But I know now that’s the way it should be, how it’s meant to be. I should have guessed it.”

“I did come to ask his help, but he refused me.”

“But you wouldn’t stop, you’d keep after him. You’re determined, and you’d have convinced him to trap me.”

“Put the knife down, Ted,” the priest said quietly. “It’s you who will be hurt if you keep this up.”

“I can’t put it down. It’s all up to me now,” Danner said hoarsely. “You wouldn’t help me, you wouldn’t tell me what I needed to know. I asked you and asked you. You were probably protecting her and hoping I wouldn’t know. Now I have to do it all myself.” He stepped back and gestured with the knife. “Come in and close the door, Eve. Throw your handbag on that couch and come forward with your hands raised.”

“When you let Father Barnabas leave.”

“I can’t do that. He’s not my friend any longer. He would run and tell everyone where I am.”

“Do you mean tell your nephew, John? He’s not here.”

“I know. I watched him drive away. I would have waited if he’d still been here. He would have tried to stop me, and I might have hurt him. I mustn’t hurt John.”

“Because you love him,” Father Barnabas said gently. “Can’t you see that’s going to happen sooner or later unless you give yourself up to the authorities? How many times have you told me how much alike the two of you are? It will be either you or him, Ted.”

“It will be later, and, by that time, I won’t care if he kills me. It won’t matter.” He grabbed the priest’s arm and pulled him up from the chair. “Eve, go out ahead of us through the back door to the garden. Then we’re all going to go out the garden gate and up the street to where my car is parked. When we reach it, I’ll let the priest go.” He met Eve’s gaze. “Don’t try to run, don’t make any attempt to attract attention, or I’ll put this knife in his back.”

“No!” She quickly came into the study and closed the door. She threw her handbag on the couch. “You want me to come with you? Why?”

“You have to come with me. You’re the reason I came here.”

“She’s not a demon, Ted,” the priest said. “Tie her up and let’s get out of here. I’ll go with you somewhere, and we’ll talk.”

“I know she’s not a demon. I was wrong. I understand now. It’s not a question of demons.” He pushed Father Barnabas toward the door. “I know how to keep them under control now. Coming, Eve? She’s waiting for you. I’ll take you to her.”

Eve stiffened as if he’d struck her. “What are you talking about, Danner?” But she had a chilling idea that she knew what he was talking about.

“The little girl.”

Eve’s breath left her body.

“You’re not taking her anywhere, Ted,” Father Barnabas said. “This isn’t smart.”

“You can’t expect a madman to be smart,” Danner’s lips twisted. “Do you think I don’t know you’ve always thought I was crazy? You were always so gentle, so patronizing. But you weren’t there. You didn’t see them.”

“You are smart. And you can choose to fight madness or let it destroy you. We’ve talked about that before. Come with me, let me talk to you.” He paused. “I can’t let you do this.”

Oh, Lord. Danner couldn’t see the priest’s expression, but Eve could. He was going to make a move on Danner.

And Danner’s knife was within six inches of Danner’s back.

She moved swiftly toward the desk. “Stay out of this, Father. This is between Danner and me.”

But Father Barnabas’s muscles were bunching, tensing.

And she couldn’t let him attack Danner to save her.

She was too far from Danner to attack him. But there was a granite paperweight on the desk.

The priest was going to make his move. He started to turn on Danner.

“No!” She leaped forward and snatched up the paperweight on the desk. She brought it down on the priest’s head, then moved to get between him and Danner’s knife.

The priest staggered and fell against the desk.

The edge of Danner’s hand sliced down on the side of the priest’s neck in a karate chop.

Danner stepped back as he watched Father Barnabas crumple and fall unconscious to the floor. “Fool,” he muttered. “I didn’t want to hurt him. I like him.”

“But you threatened him,” she said. “What did you expect? He’s a man who would try to guard and protect. It’s his vocation.”

“I know, I know. But he should take care of himself. He made me do it.” He glanced at the granite paperweight still in her hand. “Drop that and come along. Or you might force me to reconsider my feelings about Father Barnabas.”