Ruddy Richardson: The Innocence

“The story of original sin? You mean where Eve takes the apple that will destroy their innocence and gives it to Adam to take a bite of as well?”

“Yes, the story goes that the two had the innocence of children as they lived in the garden. However, by eating from the tree of knowledge that innocence was shattered and they were exiled from Eden.”

Rita had been looking at the mural and admiring the depictions with ease until her head snapped around to look at the father as he was talking. “What did you say? What was that about children?” she asked, pointing her finger at him as she came closer.

“Adam and Eve. They’ve been described as having the innocence of children before they ate of the forbidden fruit.”

“That’s it isn’t it? Innocence?” Rita became more and more animated with the dread and exhilaration of discovering the evil truth. “All of the children still had their innocence before they died. They never had the chance for it to be lost or stolen did they? And now they are gone. Just in time for All Souls Day, a day of spiritual purification and preparation for a purer faith.”

Father Phillip’s eyes widened with the implication and connections the young woman had drawn. Suddenly the two saw that it was exactly as they had connected the murders of the children. That someone had sacrificed them in order to save their own innocence before it was stolen from them. Rita glanced at her watch. She had been with the Priest for much longer than she had anticipated. She needed to get home, get the kids prepared and head out for her blind date although the mood for that event had long since left her. The question now was who could possibly be behind these actions. Who had a past twisted enough to need to create a reality such as this? She thanked Father Phillip who blessed her and excused her as she flew out the churches doors.

Father Phillip waved her goodbye and turned to enter into the confessionals chamber of the church where a parishioner had been waiting for a while now. His heart felt heavy with the development he and Rita had just made on the crimes. How could this happen in his little town? Where had he gone wrong to lose one of his flock to such evils? Casting the disparaging thoughts aside he entered into his side of the partition and slid open the grating. As he began making the sign of the cross he saw the glint of metal as a blade sliced through the thin netting and into his throat. As he crumpled down to the floor, blood oozing from between his fingers the last thing he heard was, “Forgive me father, for I have sinned.” And then all was blackness.

The date had been a big success. Although she had been more than slightly uncomfortable in the beginning, Rita had found herself warming up to Jack more than she expected and by the end of the evening they were laughing and talking as though they were sitting alone. Kelly and Matthew had also hit it off with each other, flirting and touching arms and hands by the end of the evening. They had known each other for years but this was the first opportunity the four friends had found to see if their relationships might go somewhere further. After the last bottle of wine had been drained Matthew and Kelly said goodnight and left Rita and Jack at the table, arms linked, waving as they walked past the restaurants large windows. Rita couldn’t help but feel a little of the good hearted nature of the evening suffusing her body. It felt good to forget for a moment that all of the world's ugliness was occurring right outside. Jack was charming and handsome, she had to admit the attraction, but when Kelly and Matthew left, she suddenly felt the urge to get back to work. She turned to her date who had been watching her face slide slowly into concentration.

“Where did you go stranger?” Jack asked her, pushing one of her loose hairs back into line with its partners.

“Oh I’m sorry. This has been such a lovely evening but with the newspaper headlines yesterday and the kids that were found I’ve been so distracted.

Jack’s face immediately creased into a deep frown. “I know. I’m sure as a mom you feel it a little bit more, but I know everyone is so affected by what is happening. Parents have been calling all week to ask what measures the school is taking to make sure no children go missing during school hours”

Rita felt tears threatening her eyes and gazed down at her empty wineglass to refocus. Feeling Jack’s presence she wanted more than anything to share her conclusions from her talk with Father Phillips. “Can I tell you something? I just need to share it with someone else.”

Jack drained the last of his glass and met her gaze without flinching. “Of course. What do you need to tell me?”

Rita told him the events of the day before, of her research in the library, of talking to Chief Merrels and Father Phillips and of the conclusion she had reached with the help of the Aztec engraving. Jack listened without interruption and when she finished she realized his hand had been twined with hers the entire time. She glanced down at it and back at Jack but didn’t remove her fingers from where they were entwined. Right as he went to respond Deputy Patrick burst into the restaurant and spoke to the host. He was animated and his voice quickly rose before he burst back out the door. The restaurant manager looked incredibly pale and motioned for the patrons to all be silent. The sizzling of the pans in the back room was all that could be heard.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. You are about to hear this news anyways so I would rather tell you now. Father Phillips was found murdered in the confessional this afternoon. The coroner’s office has just confirmed he was stabbed. There’s a fingerprint but we don’t know anything else.”

The restaurant burst into pandemonium as everyone at once grabbed cell phones, asked for bills, and discussed what had just been shared. A priest murdered! Children found in caverns. This had gone much farther than accidents and child abductions. Jack turned to look at Rita whose face had paled to a deathly shade. “Rita. Rita!” He shouted to her, grabbing her shoulder to yank her out of the shocked stupor she had slid into. “Jack. If someone was there…” she started but didn’t need to finish. Jack threw a handful of money on the table to cover their bill, grabbed her with one hand, and their jackets with another and they were out the door heading to her house as fast as the accelerator would allow. “Judy and Brian.” Rita thought. “Judy and Brian.”

RICHARDSON, Ruddy

THE INNOCENCE (A Thriller)

As Jack drove his small 4 door to Rita’s house swerving cars and people without breaking Rita frantically called every phone number she could think of. The house phone had gone straight to voicemail, as had Judy’s phone. Hesitatingly she called Kelly, not wishing to further destroy the women’s nerves but it had gone immediately to voicemail anyways telling Rita it was switched off. She had nothing else to do but clutch the small device to her chest, willing it to ring and thinking the whole time of her children’s faces.

When they arrived at the house the first thing she noticed was the TV was off and the lights were still on. Knowing her son and his affinity for television she felt the dread rise up, threatening to choke off her air supply completely. Jack parked a few houses down and grabbed her head, forcing her to turn and look at him.

“Look at me Rita.” He said. “No matter what happens in there you keep that smart brain of yours functioning through it all. You got me?” Rita nodded at him, trying to swallow the fear she had ripping through her body.

“I’ll go by the front door. Are there any more openings into the house?”