The Skeleton Box (25 page)

“How’d you hit them?” I said.

He turned. I saw the Roman collar beneath his Lost Valley fleece. He smiled, his cheeks pink. He looked tired.

“Not as bad as yesterday,” he said. “See, they let an old man come play the first hole a couple of times a day, and I say an extra prayer for them at morning Mass.”

“Nice arrangement.”

“Had a birdie on the first try and then, of course”—he looked heavenward—“a double bogey, to set the world back on an even keel.”

I extended my hand. He took it. “Gus Carpenter, Father.”

“Apologies, Father, he just barged right in.” It was Regis, but the priest’s eyes stayed on mine. “Yes, Mr. Carpenter,” he said. “I’m Father Timothy. Please.” He gestured for me to sit. I did, to his left. He looked up at Regis and Joanie, standing at my shoulder.

“You must be Ms. McCarthy,” the priest said, offering his hand. “My mother was a McCarthy, and she was just as redheaded and lovely as you, if you don’t mind my saying.”

“Not at all,” Joanie said. She sat down across from me and set her notebook and pen down in front of her.

Father Tim looked up at Repelmaus. “Well, Mr. Repelmaus,” he said. “Are you going to join us?”

“Of course,” he said, sitting. “I was hoping we could establish a few ground rules first.”

“Give it up, Regis,” Joanie said.

Regis started to say something, but Father Tim interrupted, speaking to me, “Are you a Catholic, son?”

I answered as politely as I could. “Can I ask why that matters?”

The priest leaned forward on his iron and smiled. “So you’re a smart aleck, but you are not a Catholic, are you?”

“Not really, Father.”

He chuckled, his wattle jiggling. “You’ll have to do a good bit more than that, son. I understand your given name is actually Augustus. You remind me of another saint, Augustine. Are you familiar with him?”

“No.”

“He was, I’m guessing now, a little older than you when he wrote a series of books—I suppose today they would be called memoirs—in which he renounced his sinful youth and embraced Christ.”

“They’d probably be best sellers today.”

“That they would. Ah, Lolly.”

A woman in a gray sweatshirt stitched with the words LOUNGE STAFF appeared with a coffeepot. “Top you off, Father?” She poured without waiting for his reply.

“Anyone else like a cup?” the priest said.

All three of us demurred. Father Tim told the woman, “A three and a six today, Lolly. You’ll mark them down?”

“Indeedy,” she said. She lifted the Jameson and poured a splash into his cup before going back behind the bar.

The priest flipped the iron over and leaned the grip against the table. “I like to keep track of my scores,” he said. He took a sip of his coffee, set the cup back down, and folded his hands on the table. “So, your mother,” he said. “Beatrice Damico, yes?”

I was so startled that Joanie spoke before I could. “What’s that got to do with anything?” she said.

“I met your mother, Augustus. Just briefly. A long time ago, before she was Carpenter. I was on a little vacation, a cabin at Burt Lake, and came down to visit St. Val’s, met with a number of the classes. I recall that your mother had a devotion to the Blessed Mother.”

“Did she?”

“When Mr. Regis told me your name was Carpenter and you had come from up north, I wondered if it could be Beatrice’s son.”

And I wondered how he would have known that Mom eventually became a Carpenter.

“So that’s why you agreed to see me? To reminisce?”

“I wish,” he said.

“You must have known Nilus then—Father Nilus, that is. And Sister Cordelia?”

“I’m sorry,” Repelmaus said, “but Father Timothy, we really should go off the record.”

I ignored him. “Are you representing the archdiocese, Father?” I said. “We asked to speak with somebody from the archdiocese. Excuse me if I think it’s a little weird to be sitting at a golf course with a priest who’s drinking before ten a.m., questions my religion, and then claims to know my mother.”

I thought Joanie might flinch. She didn’t. Neither did Father Timothy. Repelmaus said, “That’s quite unnecessary, Gus.”

I turned to him. “Who are you representing, Regis? Not the archdiocese, of course.”

“My client is a Detroit law firm that represents the archdiocese.”

“You mean Eagan, MacDonald and Browne?” I said.

“I have not been authorized to—”

“That will suffice, Regis,” Father Timothy said. “Yes, Augustus, I speak for the archdiocese, and yes, Mr. Repelmaus is here on behalf of that firm.”

“Then maybe you can tell me why the archdiocese is buying up land around Starvation Lake?”

I was taking a chance, jumping my question to a conclusion in the hope that they’d think I knew the answer anyway, so they might as well tell me. The priest shrugged. Repelmaus said, “The Detroit archdiocese hasn’t had jurisdiction up north in decades.”

“That doesn’t mean they can’t buy land,” I said.

“Have you documented this?”

“I can document that your buddies at the law firm are buying land. But no way they’d be interested on their own. They must have a client who wants it, or wants control of it.”

“Please tell me why you think that client would be the archdiocese,” he said.

“Who’s interviewing whom here?” Joanie said.

“Maybe the archdiocese is interested for the same reason Wayland Breck is.”

I turned to the priest, who wore a purposeful smile.

“Ah, Mr. Breck,” he said. “Our lost sheep. We had high hopes for him.”

“He works for you,” Joanie said.

“No,” Repelmaus said, a little too quickly.

“Bullcrap,” she said, pointing the notebook at him. “He digs up dirt on—”

“Please, please,” Father Timothy said. “Can we all remain calm?”

Joanie sat back in her chair.

The priest said, “It is true that Mr. Breck assisted us with necessary research on litigation in which the archdiocese was involved. But that was some time ago. He is no longer in the employ of our counsel. Which is unfortunate, because Mr. Breck is afflicted with certain, shall we say, paranoid obsessions that we thought we were helping him with. Apparently we were mistaken.”

“Obsessions with his grandfather?” I said. “And the murder of a nun?”

“Excuse me, Father,” Repelmaus said. “Gus, you didn’t hear this from me, but you might want to make a discreet inquiry about Mr. Breck with the state attorney discipline board.”

“Noted,” I said. “Father?”

The priest took up his club again, stood it on its handle. “I knew of Mr. Breck’s grandfather. Joseph was a fine groundskeeper, a hardworking man who also played hard, as it was told to me. A man with good intentions. We know where those lead.”

Repelmaus placed a hand flat on the table. “I’m sorry, Father,” he said, “but we really must go off the record. If you say the wrong thing, Breck could sue for slander and—”

Father Timothy reached down and grasped the shaft of the golf club and raised the blade up and brought it down hard enough on the table that his cup spat up coffee and whiskey. Repelmaus pulled his hand away. Joanie sat back in her chair, wide-eyed. I kept my eyes on Father Timothy. His face had flushed red.

“I am quite capable, Mr. Regis, of determining what I can and cannot say,” he said.

“Of course, Father, it’s just—”

“Pipe down, man.”

“I apologize, Father.”

Father Timothy took the golf club from the table and dropped it on the floor with a thump. “I’m sorry for my lack of restraint,” he said. He slipped a handkerchief from a pocket, wiped it across his mouth, dabbed at the spilled coffee and booze. “Forgive me, Lord.”

He tucked the handkerchief away and turned to me. “You have done your homework, Augustus. But—some unsolicited advice?—you should worry less about Mr. Breck and more about your mother.”

“Meaning what?”

The priest raised his shaggy eyebrows. “She hasn’t told you about the poor Sister?”

“I know about Sister Cordelia, how she disappeared.”

“But your mother, son.”

“She told me she knew her, that she liked her,” I said. “That’s all.”

He leaned forward, scrutinizing my face, searching for a hint of guilt in a tic, an exaggerated blink, an averted gaze. I imagined that I gave him nothing, but inside I felt as I did at the rare interview for which I hadn’t had sufficient time to prepare, a reporter who not only didn’t know the answers, but wasn’t sure which questions to ask.

“That’s all?” he said. “I see. All the better, I suppose.”

“It would be better if you answered our questions,” Joanie said.

He picked up his cup. It wobbled as he brought it to his lips, took a sip, set it back down. “I have answered what I can without violating confidences or the good Lord’s trust in me. I will say, though, that for all of your enterprise, you may have stumbled onto a story that is not fit to print.”

“Why? Because Nilus was a serial womanizer and you wouldn’t want that exposed?”

The priest shook his head. “That’s news that’s almost older than me. I can’t imagine anyone would care, but if it sells some more papers, have at it. The story I was talking about has more to do with you and your family, Augustus. I would assume your mother asked for God’s forgiveness.”

“For what?” I said.

Father Timothy picked up his wedge and stood, leaning on the club like a cane. “I’m afraid we have to wrap this up,” Repelmaus said.

“Allow me to clear up one small item,” the priest said. “Unlike most Irishmen, I am
done
drinking by eleven.”

“Father,” I said. “What did you say your last name was?”

“Reilly, son. Not like the life of, but Reilly: R-E-I-L-L-Y.”

I wrote it down.

The priest nodded at Joanie, then offered his hand to me. “Thank you for your trouble,” he said. “If you write your story, Augustus, please be kind enough to send us a copy.”

R
epelmaus walked Joanie and me to the parking lot.

“Well,” he said, as the pro shop door swung shut behind us. “I thought that went well.”

“For you or for us?” Joanie said.

“For all concerned, I hope,” Repelmaus said. “I thought Father was candid. Maybe even a little too candid. Which reminds me, Gus.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pink While You Were Out slip. “The archdiocese got a message this morning from Luke Whistler of the
Free Press.
Didn’t want to return it until after we met. You know him?”

I tried not to look surprised. “Yep. He works for me.”

“At?”

“The
Pine County Pilot
.”

“Ah. Hadn’t heard. I’m usually up to date on reporter comings and goings.”

“He came up north after retiring, though you’d never know by how hard he works.”

“As opposed to when he was at the
Freep,
” Joanie said. “Come on, I’ve got to get downtown.”

Joanie and I walked to Soupy’s pickup as Repelmaus’s Caddy pulled onto Six Mile.

“Well,” Joanie said, “at least you got his name spelled, huh?”

“Don’t be a smart-ass.”

“It was like he interviewed you.”

“I learned what I came to learn,” I said.

“Like what?”

“Like, the archdiocese is buying up that land.”

“He never confirmed that.”

“Not so I could write it in the paper, but enough that I believe it. Also, he bullshitted us about Joe Wayland. That’s why I asked about his name.”

“What do you mean?”

“It dawned on me when he was drinking his coffee. His hand was shaking like a leaf, and I thought, man, he’s old. And then I remembered there was a priest quoted in one of the old
Pilot
stories about the nun and Joe Wayland.”

“That was him?”

“Pretty sure. I’ll show you. In the truck.”

“Hey.” She stopped and faced me. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why didn’t you come up last night?”

“Up?” I started walking toward the truck again. Joanie followed.

“To my bed,” she said. “Am I too young for you?”

“Come on.”

“Or are you intimidated because I work for a bigger paper? Your old paper?”

“No.”

“For the record, I don’t really care.”

“Joanie, I didn’t come—oh, what the fuck?”

The dome light was on in the truck. I ran over. As I got closer I saw that the driver’s side door was ajar, and there was a jagged hole in the window. Someone had punched through the glass and unlocked the door. I pulled the door open, climbed across the front seat, and plowed through the garbage on the floor.

The lockbox was gone.

“Son of a bitch,” I said. “My mother—” I stepped away from the truck and looked around the parking lot, up and down Six Mile. “Fuck.”

“Someone broke in?”

“Yeah, and stole something. Something important. I’m an idiot. I shouldn’t have left it.”

“What was it?”

“A box. Something Mom gave me.”

“How would anyone know it was there?”

“Nobody would. Except me. And Soupy.” I looked back toward the clubhouse. “Maybe the good Father had the truck searched while we were in the clubhouse, and he got lucky.”

“Too obvious,” Joanie said. “But why would he care about your mother’s whatever?”

“Your boyfriend didn’t know, did he?”

“I told you I don’t have boyfriends.”

She blushed as she said it.

“Shit,” I said. “Frenchy knew we were coming here, didn’t he.”

“He helped us, Gus. I’m sorry. Besides, I thought, you know, the small world of newspapers, he might know you from your time here.”

“Oh, he knows me, all right.”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind. I’m such a jackass.” I pointed at the clubhouse. “You don’t think he’s working for those guys, do you?”

“He works for a lot of people.”

“Great.”

“Should we call the cops?”

“No.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. I appreciate the help. Talking to the priest actually made things a little clearer. I’ve got to get back and make sure Mom’s OK.”

“Give her my best.”

She stepped close and hugged me around the waist. The fragrance of her body wash was gone. She stepped back.