Dressed in her Sunday best, Kate accompanied Luke’s mom to church. After days of endless interviews with neighbors, friends, and distant relatives, Kate and the rest of the detectives had yet to find a decent lead. But, after another sleepless night, she decided that following her gut and witnessing the fathers in their natural environment could spark a new idea.
Or perhaps enlighten her as to what the religious nature of the murder scene had been all about.
The drive over to St. Alban’s church was done over the incessant jabber of Mrs. O’Brien, who couldn’t get over her excitement at having Kate join her for mass. Nearly a year of begging had taken place, so Kate decided it was easier to let Mrs. O’Brien believe her offer had finally been accepted.
Mrs. O’Brien didn’t need to know the grisly details going around in Kate’s head. But then again, Kate didn’t want to set the wrong expectations. No way she was going to make a habit of this. So she settled for a politically correct statement that would not affect her ongoing investigation.
“Mrs. O’Brien, I’m really doing this for work, so please don’t expect me to join you every week.”
“I’ll take whatever I can get. Work or not. Maybe the words of the good Lord will reach your heart, and you’ll decide to come back for more.”
“Yeah,” Kate said as she parked her Subaru, forcing herself to keep the rest of her thoughts to herself. “Do you know Fathers Miller, Matthews, and Coffedy?”
“Father Coffedy’s been around for decades. Lovely man. Wonderful baritone voice.”
Kate thought back to her meeting with him, and she agreed. He did have a nice tone of voice. “What about Miller and Matthews?” Kate asked.
“Father Miller is a bit sterner. But his health has been declining a lot over the years. He rarely holds mass anymore. In fact, I haven’t seen him in months.”
“And Matthews?” she asked as they turned the corner, the church now appearing in the distance.
“Ah, swell young man. He’s new to town. Too bad we’re not going to mass at the cathedral in the South End. That’s where he is these days. I think you’d like him. He’s quite… hip.”
Kate stopped walking and grabbed Mrs. O’Brien by the elbow. “Would you mind if we headed over there instead?”
“What?” She blinked faster than normal.
“I’d like to attend Father Matthews’ mass.”
“Oh!” Her brows furrowed, then she looked at the watch on her wrist. “By the time we get there, mass will have already started…”
Kate stood firm. “I can leave you here, then come back and get you after. Or you can join me there.”
Mrs. O’Brien appeared to ponder her options. “As long as we’re hearing the words of the Lord, it doesn’t really matter where we go, I guess.”
“Wonderful, I appreciate it very much. Let’s go and see that swell young priest,” Kate said, partly mocking Mrs. O’Brien and partly excited.
What better way to find potential suspects than to go where they congregated?