Hugh Pratt lived in South Roanoke, only half a mile from Louis. I got to his house before he did and I waited in the drive, car running, windshield wipers throwing rain but not making a difference. The cheery lights from his house smeared back and forth.
He arrived ten minutes later. I got out and hustled into the passenger seat of his Porsche Boxster. He held the weariness that came with a prolonged drive.
“Cats and dogs,” he said and he yawned.
“This car is tiny.”
“It is you, my friend, who are too big. Don’t blame the Porsche.”
“You want to go inside, first? Kiss your wife and kids?”
He said, “No, I want this settled. I won’t go into my home with guilty hands. Why couldn’t you text me the video?”
“I made that mistake once. I won’t distribute the evidence again.”
I passed him my phone. He pressed play and watched the parking lot encounter between Louis and Nicholas. His shoulders slumped and he seemed to shrink as Louis’s tirade bounced around the Porsche’s cab. Hugh’s face shimmered with bleary light coming through the deluge, and his wire-framed glasses reflected the scene.
“A lie. A lie August has filled your head with.”
“I only said things because you made me, Father Louis.”
“Lies! Lies from hell. You are deceived and you need my council. You need to be righted.”
“No I don’t think I do. I love my wife.”
“No you don’t. And if you do, so what. She doesn’t deserve you.”
“I won’t listen to this. I’m leaving.”
“No! I need you, Nicholas. Please. I’m…I’m out of sorts. It’s all crashing on me at once. It’s spiritual warfare and I can’t do it alone. The boy at our church is missing. My retirement. Celia and I aren’t getting along. Inspector August is ruining my life. But you, Nicholas, are all I need.”
At the end, Hugh bent forward until his head rested on the steering wheel.
“The poor young man,” he whispered. “He’s scarred for life. Him and Jeremy. Thank God Jeremy had the courage to come forward.”
“Yup.”
“This is my fault. I wasn’t the man…I’m not the man the church deserves. I let this happen.”
“Don’t place blame. Let’s end this ordeal. And maybe save Alec Ward.”
“You still believe Father Louis has him? You’re the only one who does,” said Hugh.
“I’m stubborn. And nothing has convinced me otherwise.”
“We need to show Rob. Then…then confront Father Louis, I suppose,” he said in a small voice. I almost didn’t hear him over a thunder peal.
“Tonight.”
“Poor Rob, he’ll be crushed. His grandfather founded All Saints. He’s the final remaining grandson and he took it upon himself to protect the sanctity of the church. Think about it from his point of view. After the arrival of Father Louis, church attendance tripled. Tithing skyrocketed. All Rob’s hard work, all his sacrifices, paid off when Father Louis arrived.”
“He wants to preserve the church, he’ll see reason.”
Hugh returned the phone, dropped the car into reverse, and twisted to look over his shoulder.
“Let’s do it. I’ve delayed doing the right thing for too long.”