Twenty-Six
“WHAT’S HE DOING HERE?” Trey Grant says, looking at me.
I’m wearing my clericals, sitting in the interview room with Helen at her request. Why I’m here, I’m not exactly sure. It’s one of the few times she’s asked me to be in an interview with her.
“Father Greer is our police chaplain,” Helen explains.
“He’s not a real priest.”
“Trey,” I say, “I assure you I am.”
“No, no,” he says, shaking his head. “Father Xavier says any priest who abandons his calling like you have is not a real priest.”
“Oh, I see,” Helen says. “So what else has Father Xavier said?”
“That a woman like you is a w***e,” he says.
I stiffen, but somehow Helen remains calm. “A w***e?”
“Yeah, yeah,” he nods. “A w***e of babble, or something like that.”
“Babylon,” I offer.
Trey snaps his fingers. “Yeah,
