Twenty-Three
“I’M ASSIGNING YOU PERMANENTLY to Saint Clare’s, Father Tom.”
The statement from the Archbishop delivered over the phone does not surprise me. After I told him about Father Leonard’s plan to take a plea deal, it was inevitable.
“Yes, Archbishop.”
“Have you seen him recently? How is he doing?”
“I haven’t spoken to him in a couple of days,” I say. “When I last saw him, he was . . . pitiful is the only word I can say.”
“He sounds like a man guilty of something,” he says.
“Oh, he’s guilty of many things,” I agree. “But not murder.”
He pauses before saying. “Perhaps, perhaps.”
“No, sir,” I say, “no, he did not kill Rachel Watson.”
“Your loyalty does you credit, Father, but I’d say on balance, if I were on a jury hearing the case . . .”
I sigh. “As I explained to you, he
