Chapter Sixteen

I RETRIEVED HANNAH and Chris from upstairs. Drew remained with his mother, a choice I encouraged since we needed to keep Mary’s location as confidential as possible. Once downstairs, I updated Hannah and Chris regarding Mary’s MapQuest search. While we were speaking, Detective Ross continued looking through Drew’s computer and copying his hard drive for a more thorough review back at the station.

Hannah began making calls as soon as she heard about the Cleveland address. After a quick Google search, we found that the address in Mary’s MapQuest history corresponded to the Lakeview, a small hotel on Cleveland’s West Side.

Hannah’s first call was to her captain. She filled him in on the latest developments and asked if he could assign someone to speak with the hotel desk staff and verify that our suspects had rented a room. For his part, Chris called the New Orleans Eighth District and faxed pictures and descriptions of Mary and Dr. Grieve to a number Hannah provided.

On her captain’s suggestion, Hannah then spoke to Andrew Roberts, a Cleveland detective who had already assisted in what he called the “Confessional Murders.” I felt a chill when I heard that name. It was a natural for the media, and the Jesuits would have my head if it were publicized. Once Detective Roberts received the pictures of our two suspects, he agreed to contact the Lakeview and call Hannah with an update.

When Hannah and Chris finished making their calls, we then sat down to discuss our next steps. Hannah and I had a flight back to Cleveland the following day, so we needed to make the best use of our remaining time in New Orleans. I had an idea based on another unanswered question.

“We’ve established a likely connection between the New Orleans’ murders and the ones in Cleveland. Unfortunately, we still haven’t figured out what that connection is. Our working hypothesis is that Dr. Grieve committed the murders in this city. Sometime after Father Samuel’s transfer to Saint Edmund’s, Grieve followed him to Cleveland and committed three additional murders. If that scenario is correct, we still haven’t figured out why he followed Father Samuel. If all Grieve wanted was to kill, New Orleans would provide a much larger playground.”

“There’s also a related question,” I continued. “If Samuel is the connection, then why did Grieve commit one more murder in New Orleans before following Samuel back to Cleveland?”

“Don’t forget Mary,” Hannah said. “We still don’t know why Grieve would want her in Cleveland.”

“I’ve been thinking about that. One thing that always bothered me was the lack of forced entry into the victims’ homes. Looking at the Cleveland murders, there’s no way in this day and age that two housewives and an older widow would open their doors to an unfamiliar male visitor. Common sense and a million TV shows would tell them that was a really terrible idea. Those women wouldn’t open their door to a man, but they might open up to a pretty, white woman who looks like she just came from a debutante ball. I think Grieve may have used Mary to gain access to his victims.”

“There is some logic to that,” Hannah admitted. “The lack of forced entry was bothering me as well.”

“Agreed, but where does that leave us?” Chris asked.

“I’d like to call Grieve’s parents when we get back to the station,” I said. “We know Grieve was Catholic and educated by Jesuits. By themselves, those things prove nothing. There are probably thousands of men in New Orleans and Cleveland, including me, who fall into both of those categories.

“What we need to figure out is how deeply religious Grieve was. His office wasn’t far from Father Samuel’s church, and that could have been where the connection started. When Detective Page and I get back to Cleveland, I’d also like to have another conversation with Father Samuel and see if he has any memory of Dr. Grieve.”

While Detective Ross was still working on his computer, we told Drew that Chris, Hannah, and I would be leaving. After again cautioning Drew about attempting to contact Mary, Chris drove us back to the station. Once there, we took over the meeting room we’d used the previous day and waited while Chris contacted Grieve’s parents.

After some initial reluctance, the parents agreed to speak with all three of us. Chris transferred the call to the conference room phone, and George Grieve, Michael’s father, got right to the point.

“The longer this drags on, it seems you’re looking at my son more as a potential suspect than a victim. Can you give me one straight answer as to where things stand? Do you have any new information you can give us?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Grieve,” Chris responded, “we don’t have a definite suspect at this point. We’re still leaving ourselves open to all possibilities, and that does include your son. Regarding new information, we believe there might be a religious link to this case. For that reason, we wanted to ask you about your son’s connection to the Catholic Church. Would you describe your son as religious? Did Michael attend mass on a regular basis?”

Mrs. Grieve answered, “Michael was raised to be religious. He even considered joining the priesthood. As to what he is now, he rarely talks to us anymore. I couldn’t say if he still attends mass or not, though I always assumed he didn’t.”

My interest perked up when she spoke about the priesthood. “You said Michael considered becoming a priest. Can I ask why he didn’t?”

After a notable pause, Mrs. Grieve finally answered. “There was a family issue we would prefer not to discuss. Can I ask why this is important?”

“We can’t go into detail,” Hannah said, “but this is the best lead we have right now. It could determine whether or not we find your son and how quickly we do so. I understand how family situations can be delicate. We will try to be as confidential as possible with any information you give us.”

After another long hesitation, it was again Mrs. Grieve who spoke. “You’ve got to understand, Michael was a unique boy. Among other things, he was very handsome—girls always wanted to be around him. Despite that, he never showed any interest. He wasn’t gay,” she added hastily. “He didn’t have any friends of either sex.”

“With that and Michael being so religious,” she continued, “we weren’t at all shocked when he decided to join the priesthood. Michael went to the seminary after high school, but he was forced to leave after just one year. The next part is rather sordid, and I would ask that you keep it as confidential as possible.

“Early on, Michael’s cousin, Susan Leads, visited him at the seminary. Susan was my sister’s only child, and she was the closest thing to a friend Michael had while growing up. The seminary allowed visitors, so having Susan there was not a problem. The incident I’m referring to occurred when Michael’s roommate, Josh, returned to the seminary after visiting his parents. Josh not only found Michael’s cousin in their room, he found them together in Michael’s bed.

“Michael and Josh never got along, and Josh told the rector in charge of the seminary. The seminary insisted Michael leave immediately. We tried to speak to the rector, but there was no absolution. Michael left the same day.”

“What did Michael say when he got home?” Hannah asked.

“He refused to say anything at all. Susan told my sister the affair had been going on since they were both fifteen. As you can imagine, the whole mess really blew up my family. My sister blamed me, and she even tried going after Michael for statutory rape. Luckily, the two of them were too close in age to fit under the law. My sister, her husband, and Susan eventually moved to another town. We’ve barely spoken since the whole thing happened.”

“Can you describe Susan’s appearance?” I was playing a hunch.

“She was quite pretty, tall, blonde, and very graceful in appearance.”

She looked, in short, just like Mary Dhillon. Being his patient, Mary was also forbidden. That was another trait she shared with Grieve’s cousin, and I wondered if that played a role in the attraction. From Mary’s standpoint, Grieve was good-looking and also cold-blooded in his dealings with other people. Mary’s mother had described her as “almost clinical” in her approach to dating. With that, it was possible to see how she might view Grieve as a kindred spirit. Together, the two made quite a pair, terrifying but logical as a couple. The case was starting to fall into place, but I had one more question.

“After the incident, I understand that Michael gave up on the idea of being a priest. Did he break from Catholicism altogether, or did he still attend mass and accept the sacraments?”

“As I said, I can’t speak to what happened after Michael moved to New Orleans. He did attend mass after the incident while he was still here. Michael may have held a grudge against the priesthood but not against the Church itself. I know that sounds odd, but I think he separated those two things somehow.”

“You said he kept up with the sacraments,” Chris said. “Did that include confession?”

“I don’t remember him going to confession. I think that would have been too close to a priest for his comfort.”

“The seminary Michael attended,” I said. “Was it a Jesuit seminary?”

“It was. Michael was quite taken with the Jesuits from the time he was in high school.”

Before we ended the call, Hannah had one last question.

“Mr. and Mrs. Grieve, we wanted to thank you for your honesty in answering some very difficult questions. I have just one more. You know we are investigating a series of murders tied to your son’s psychiatric practice. You know him better than anyone else. Do you think Michael is capable of murder?”

“I love my son,” said Mrs. Grieve. “I loved him as a boy, and I love him now as an adult. Still, Michael could justify almost anything, and yes, that does include murder.”