Bonnie

by Iris Johansen

  “Then he won’t tell you anything. I used to ask him to tell me if those nuts he talked to had any weird stories that would give us a chuckle. He’d never say a word. Asshole.”

  “You didn’t get along with him?”

  “He was always trying to get me off the booze. It’s not his business. Just because he doesn’t want to have a good time, why try to keep me from doing what I want to do? He was lousy company, always sitting around brooding or taking walks. He said that he had some heavy thinking to do. That was okay, but when he tried to tell me what to do, I blew up. I told him I didn’t want him around here any longer.”

  “You kicked him out?”

  “I had a right. We got along real good when we were in school together, but then he got all serious and telling everybody what to do. He wouldn’t leave me alone. He even offered to hypnotize me to get me to quit drinking. He said that it would reinforce my will. I’ve got plenty of will if I want to use it. I know what’s good for me.” His tone was surly. “I told him to go and lecture someone else and leave me to go my own way. Do you know what he said? The bastard said if I needed him, to call, and he’d be there and work with me.”

  “Terrible. And you only received one card from him after he left Dublin? The one from Valdosta, Georgia.”

  “I got a couple more from him, but I tore them up. I didn’t need him whining at me.”

  “From Valdosta, Georgia?”

  “Yeah, I told the Ling woman that was the only address I had from him.” He suddenly burst out, “It’s not as if I’m some kind of criminal, dammit. So I like to drink a little. I don’t hurt anyone. He acts as if I’m going straight to hell. I threw that rosary down the toilet.”

  “Rosary? He gave you a rosary?”

  “No, some priest stopped by the pub about a year ago.”

  “You didn’t mention that to Catherine Ling.”

  “Why should I? I just wanted to get rid of her. And all she wanted was to know if I had an address for Kevin.”

  “I think she would have been interested. What was the name of this priest?”

  “Father Dominic from some church in Atlanta. He said he’d just come from Rome, and he’d promised my cousin he’d get a rosary blessed by the Pope and give it to me.”

  “What church in Atlanta?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t ask. I told him to tell Kevin to go to hell. I don’t need his rosary.”

  “The name was Father Dominic?”

  “I think so. I didn’t pay much attention. I just wanted him out of my pub.”

  “And that’s the last contact you had with Kevin Donnelly?”

  “That was no contact. I told you, I threw the rosary down the toilet and told the priest to get out.” He was silent. “When you get hold of Kevin, you tell him that I’m doing just fine. I don’t need him or anyone else telling me what to do.”

  “I’ll be sure to let him know.” Gallo hung up and turned to Eve. “Father Dominic. He had contact with Donnelly no longer than two years ago.” He paused. “And Donnelly offered to use hypnosis to help O’Leary stop drinking.”

  “It could be an innocent offer. Hypnosis is often used by psychiatrists. It doesn’t have to mean that he’s endangering anyone.”

  “He was brought up on charges for implanting false memories. What better way than using hypnosis? I’ll slit his throat if he was doing his experiments on my uncle.” He checked his wristwatch. “We have forty minutes before our flight. Let’s get to the gate and see if we can start making some phone calls to see if we can find a church in Atlanta that has a Father Dominic.”

  “There may be more than one.”

  “Then we’ll start interviewing all the Father Dominics and try to find the right one.” He took her elbow and strode toward the security gates. “And hope to hell he’ll lead us to Kevin Donnelly.”

  CHAPTER

  9

  “ONLY TWO FATHER DOMINICS in the greater Atlanta area,” Eve said as she hung up her phone thirty minutes later as she went down the jetway to the plane. “One in Marietta, the other in Buckhead. I’m opting for the one in Buckhead. O’Leary said the priest who visited his pub was a young man, and the priest in Marietta is in his sixties. The priest who is at St. Cecelia’s is no kid any longer, but he’s much younger. I tried to call him at the church, but he’s not going to be there for the next six weeks. He’s helping out at a church in Rome, Georgia.”

  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 CLENCHED with 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 SAID as 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.”

  Her gaze narrowed on his face. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

  “That Kevin is the priest who requested I come here and help him for a few weeks?” He nodded. “Father Barnabas.”

  She had suspected it was coming, but she was still stunned. “Why?”

  “I assure you that he wasn’t trying to go undercover or some such nonsense. He took the name when he graduated from the seminary.”

  “In Valdosta, Georgia.” She was putting the pieces together. “That’s where he went to seminary.”

  He nodded. “That’s where I met him. We were students together. We became friends. We’re still good friends. Kevin is a remarkable man. It’s not often a man gives up a lucrative medical practice and years of training to devote himself to God.”

  “Why did he do it? You’re saying he had some kind of calling?”

  “I’m saying that he’s a fine man,” he said quietly. “And that if you want to know anything else about him, you should ask him yourself.” He gestured to the door. “And tell him if he wants to go to the office and talk to you, I’ll take over repairing that fountain.” He smiled. “Kevin gets fixated on a project once he starts it. He won’t stop until he finishes. He’s always sure that nobody else can do it as well as he can. I always tell him that God doesn’t approve of the sin of vanity.”

  “And what does he reply?”

  “He says that God wouldn’t have given him a mind and a skill if He hadn’t meant him to use them.” He started to turn away. “Kevin always has an answer.”

  “I hope he has a few for me,” Eve said grimly as she headed for the door he’d indicated. “I have a friend, John Gallo, who should be here soon. He stopped outside to take a phone call. Would you tell him what you told me and where I am?” She saw him hesitate, and added, “He’s no threat to Kevin Donnelly either. I promise you, Father Dominic. All he has to do is answer a few questions.”

  He nodded. “I believe you. As I said, Kevin can take care of himself.” He headed down the aisle. “If he couldn’t, he wouldn’t be capable of caring for hundreds of parishioners.” He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes twinkling. “With the help of God … and his friends, of which I count myself one of the more intelligent. I’m afraid I have a bit of vanity myself.”

  She could feel the excitement tingle through her. Close. She was so close. She had never dreamed that she’d be lucky enough to be heading straight to Kevin Donnelly when they’d driven up to this cathedral. “A little vanity never hurt anyone.” She was moving quickly toward the door. “Thank you, Father.” She opened the door, and her gaze quickly searched the spacious rose garden. It was a lovely, formal garden with a two-tiered stone fountain in the center of it. The fountain was encircled by three stone benches.

  But there was only a dark-haired teenage boy in a Bon Jovi T-shirt near that fountain. He was squatting down and peering at—

  “Give me the screwdriver, Billy.”

  “Did you find it, Father?” He moved, and Eve could see that the side of the fountain had been jacked up, and a man was on his back and half under the fountain.

  “I think so. It’s calcium deposits blocking the filter. If I can clean them out, the water should run fine until I can get a new filter.”

  “Do you want me to do it?”

  “No, not this time. I’m getting it. But the next time I expect you to be able to recognize the problem and be able to take care of it. You’re studying to be a gardener, and taking care of the hardscape is as important as the planting.”

  It had to be Kevin Donnelly, Eve thought, as she walked toward them. Though all she could see was two black-clad legs protruding from beneath the fountain.

  But when she was within a few yards of the fountain, he suddenly s
cooted out into the path with a quick, lithe, undulating motion. “Done.” He grinned at the boy and handed him the screwdriver. “Go turn the water back on. It should flow like the Red Sea rushing back to drown the Egyptians.”

  “You shouldn’t be so bloodthirsty, Father.” The boy chuckled. “You’re always telling me that I need to—” He broke off as he saw Eve. His smile faded, and he quickly whirled on his heel. “I’ll go turn on the water.” He hurried down the path toward the church.

  Eve’s gaze followed him. “I didn’t mean to scare him off.” She turned back to the man who’d emerged from beneath the fountain. If this was Kevin Donnelly, he was a man in his fifties, with a strong, tall, muscular body, a shock of gray-flecked hair, and blue eyes surrounded by laugh lines. “You’d think I had a contagious disease.”

  “You’re a woman,” Kevin Donnelly said as he wiped his wet hands on a towel he’d picked up from the ground. “Billy has problems with women.”

  “He’s shy?”

  “No, just wary.” He got to his feet. “Forgive my appearance. I’ve been training Billy on the basics of becoming a gardener. He has a real talent for it. I’m Father Barnabas. Is there something that I can do for you?”

  “Father Dominic thought you might.” She paused. “I’ve been looking for Kevin Donnelly.”

  He grinned. “You’ve found him.”

  “Also Father Barnabas?”

  He nodded. “One name I was given, the other I took. These days, sometimes it’s hard to remember that other life.”

  “Well, your cousin, James O’Leary, remembers you very well.” She paused. “But he didn’t know you had become a priest.”

  “He wouldn’t have understood. He didn’t accept my advice as a psychiatrist, he certainly wouldn’t have let me help him as a priest.” He shrugged. “I know a few people in the city, and they keep an eye on him for me. When he reaches the point of no return, I’ll be there for him.”

  “‘Point of no return,’” she repeated. “And what is that?”