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Pastor Jonathan Costigan was finishing up his sermon for Sunday when his private telephone rang.
“Our Lady of the Lakes, Father Jon speaking.”
“Hi, Father Jon. This is Jenny Tracey. How are you?” She fought hard to sound pleasant.
“Jenny! How nice to hear from you. I’m fine, thank you; how are you and the boys?”
“Better, I think. Thank you for asking.”
“I presume you didn’t call just to say ‘hello.’ What’s up?”
“I need to see you, Father. It’s important.”
“What about?” Jon was curious.
“I’d rather not go into it over the phone if you don’t mind.”
“Say no more, Jenny. When would you like to do it?”
“Would now be too inconvenient?”
This must be important. Jon completed writing his Sunday sermon and had a couple of hours.
“Now would be fine. Your place or mine?”
“Would you mind coming here?”
“Not a problem, Jenny. I’ll be right over.”
“Thanks very much, Father. God bless you.” She bit her tongue.
Father Jon drove the old van the short distance to the Tracey home. As he approached the front door, he heard classical music playing at a deafening volume. Before he could knock, Jennifer appeared at the door and stepped onto the porch.
“Let’s take a walk, Father,” uttered Jennifer, nudging him down the stairs.
She passed him by, ambled down the steps, and up the sidewalk. He turned to follow her. Curious behavior.
Jennifer looked up and down her street for suspicious people or cars. When they reached the end of her walkway, she turned up the city sidewalk and continued walking away from her home. Father Jon was bewildered by her behavior but said nothing.
“I believe my house has been bugged, Father, the church and rectory at Lakes, as well. Dr. Rothenberg says his office is also monitored. That’s the reason for the loud music and this walk. With these precautions, I doubt they can hear us.”
“What in heaven’s name are you talking about, Jenny?”
“You know perfectly well what I’m talking about. The question, before we go any further, is whose side are you on? Can I trust you?”
“Of course you can trust me, Jenny.” Jon was confused and upset. “What’s this all about? And who’s doing all this monitoring you’re talking about?” What the hell is going on?
“I was hoping you could tell me, Father. Dr. Rothenberg tells me that whoever it is told you to retain him to counsel the boys.”
Now he understood. Rothenberg told Jenny about the Voice and the Coalition, but why? What happened to cause him to cross the Voice? This was a dangerous move—there might be consequences.
“Rothenberg told you this?”
“Yes, Father. Someone is trying to cover up Father Gerry’s abuse of my two sons. Since you retained the doctor at this person’s request, it stands to reason you’re also involved in this cover-up.”
Jon felt incredibly guilty. It was not that way. He had to make her understand he only wanted to help her without jeopardizing his church.
“Jenny, listen to me. I am not involved in any ‘cover-up.’ Yes, when I found out about your boys and Father Gerry, I called the division office. And, yes, this ‘someone’ you refer to returned my call and requested I keep this matter quiet. This man works in some capacity with the church hierarchy. He felt it would be in everyone’s best interest to prevent this from becoming a scandal, and I agreed. What if they removed me and left Gerry in place? I needed to go along to protect not only your kids but also any other child from Gerry’s misbehavior. I insisted the boys receive treatment as a condition of my silence, which is why they were referred to Dr. Rothenberg.” She has this all wrong!
“How long have you known?”
“Shortly after the boys came home from the camping trip. I overheard some of the kids talking about someone spending the whole weekend alone with Gerry. When I saw the boys on their return, I put two and two together and reported it to division almost immediately.”
“But you chose not to tell their own mother?” Jennifer shook with rage.
“I was told not to, Jen. I was afraid if I didn’t go along, I’d be replaced and unable to protect the children. I’m terribly ashamed. You have an absolute right to be angry, but I thought it was in their best interest.” He was frantic.
“And the church,” Jennifer charged.
“Yes, and the church. A scandal could destroy all that I have worked for. Am I wrong for even considering it? Gerry was at Lakes for a short while. No one from Division gave me any reason to distrust him. I couldn’t let him bring down my parish. I couldn’t let this Voice decide the best interests of one of my kids. I needed to be silent to ensure he trusted me. Now, all I can say is I’m sorry.” Jon felt terrible.
Jennifer would not let him off the hook. “But, Father, when you came to my house and offered to pay for counseling, you knew the boys were molested and kept it to yourself?”
“Yes, Jen, that’s true. It sounds awful now, but I honestly thought it was in everyone’s best interest to keep this quiet.”
“Even from me?” Jennifer cried. “How could you? I have been in agony for over a month, trying to figure out what was wrong, and you knew? I’ve known you for most of my life. How can I ever forgive you? Did you think I would run to the press?”
“You’re right, Jenny. I’m so sorry. I thought what I was doing was best for all concerned. M-may I ask you a question?”
“Go ahead,” she sniffled.
“Why do you think we are being monitored?”
“Dr. Rothenberg says that this man—this Voice—calls him. He knows way more than he should unless he monitors the boys’ sessions. I don’t know if my house or Lakes is bugged, but the doctor thinks they must be. He wants to meet us at a private location. He thinks you can be trusted. I’m not so sure.”
“Jenny, what can I do to convince you? I would never deliberately do anything to harm Kenny and Jake.”
“Do you know what that animal did to my sons, Father?”
Jon was very embarrassed, almost red-faced, but he answered her question. “According to Mr. Voice, there was, perhaps, some inappropriate touching. Is that what you mean?”
“He raped them, Father,” Jennifer revealed.
“Oh, my God!” Jon was stunned. “Jenny, I s-swear, I-I didn’t know!”
Jennifer fell into Jon’s arms and sobbed. After what seemed like several minutes, she broke the embrace, took out a tissue, and dried her eyes.
“Dr. Rothenberg says I can trust you, Father. I don’t know if I agree, but I trust him. If you cross my kids or me again—”
“Jen, I swear, you can trust me. What’s the plan?”
“Meet with Dr. Rothenberg and me. We must be discreet because we may be followed. Dr. Rothenberg doesn’t want this shady ‘Voice’ fellow to know we’ve met.”
“You can count on me from this moment forward. Where and when?”
“Tomorrow is Saturday. How about lunch somewhere?”
“Tomorrow and lunch are both fine.”
“How about the Little Daddy’s on Northwestern Highway, say 1 p.m.?”
“That’s fine.”
“You must be discreet. Someone will try and follow you.”
“I understand. I’ll do my best.”
“You need to do better than your best. You need to lose them.”
“I will, Jenny.”
“And make sure you are careful when using the phone. I’m sure it’s tapped.”
“Unbelievable! I understand.”
“Can I count on you?”
“Absolutely.”
They walked toward the van in silence. When Jon got to the driver’s side door, he stopped and studied Jennifer. “I’m truly, truly sorry, Jenny.”
“I know you are, Father,” she placated him.
“I will never let you or the boys down again. I want these bastards to rot in hell.”
“Father Jon,” she scolded with a wry smile, looking up to the sky. “Such language!”
