Daddy's Gone a Hunting

55

On Tuesday evening, Doug Connelly returned home in a foul mood. He had gone to Kate’s apartment on the Upper West Side earlier. When he had arrived there, he asked the desk clerk if he would let him in; he told the clerk he had to check on a few things for Kate. Once upstairs and alone inside, he systematically had gone through Kate’s desk. There was nothing interesting in it, he decided.

He knew the combination of her safe. He had overheard her give it to Hannah shortly after it was installed. “Your birthday, three-thirty; my birthday, six-three; and Mom’s birthday, seven-nineteen.”

Doug had never forgotten that. Mom’s birthday, he had thought. How about me? But the information was useful, and if Kate didn’t pull through, he believed the jewelry that had been Susan’s belonged to him. After all, even though Susan inherited some of it, the rest of it I bought for her, he had told himself. It doesn’t matter what Susan stated in her will.

But when he opened the safe, it was empty. Hannah already took the contents, he thought, angrily.

On the way out, he bumped into an acquaintance of Kate’s. Justin Kramer, if that was his name. Decent-looking fellow, he thought, and then dismissed him from his mind.

He had gotten back in the car. As usual, when he was waiting for him, Bernard, his driver, had been listening to the news. “Mr. Connelly, they were just talking about that guy who was squatting in the van at the complex.”

“What about him?”

“I guess on television they were showing a family picture he had in the van.”

“I should hope that if he has any family and they happen to see it, that they’re smart enough not to claim him,” Doug snapped, clenching his hand involuntarily.

Bernard could see that his boss was in one of his black moods and that the best thing he could do was to keep his head down and his mouth shut. “Are you still planning to stop in at the hospital, Mr. Connelly?” he asked.

“No, I don’t think so. Dr. Patel has assured me that Kate’s fever is broken and that she is stable. I’m very tired. Let’s go home. I won’t be going out again tonight.”

“Yes, sir.”

Sandra had told him that she was going to go to dinner with some of her friends, then to her own apartment for the night. “I want to be here for you, Doug,” she had said, “but I do have to look at the mail and do a few errands in the morning.”

Doug wondered if any of her girlfriends were named Majestic, but it didn’t matter. He could use a rest from Sandra’s constant presence of the last several days. He decided to eat at the private restaurant in his apartment building, and then go to bed early. He needed to be calm and quiet and collect himself.

Jack Worth had called him earlier in the day. “I drove by the complex. The cleanup crew is there. That means the insurance investigators have taken what they want and they’re finished.”

“Well, now that they know there was someone else on the lot, maybe they won’t try to hold up on okaying the payout.”

I need the money, Doug thought. I’ll run out of cash in less than a month if I don’t get it… What was Kate doing with Gus at that hour of the morning in the museum?… By any chance did that homeless guy see anything that might jeopardize the settlement?… If I had found Kate’s jewelry, I could have pawned it until I got the insurance money, Doug thought. Hannah had one hell of a nerve to clean out Kate’s safe.

It was in this frame of mind that he arrived home at seven o’clock on Tuesday evening. He had no sooner walked in when the phone in the foyer rang. Let it ring, he thought. Almost everyone I know calls me on my cell phone.

But then he remembered that he had given both his cell and landline numbers to the insurance company. It was after office hours but… With two quick steps he was across the foyer and picking up the receiver. “Douglas Connelly,” he said.

“Douglas,” an unfamiliar voice said, “this is Father Dan Martin. You might not remember me, but at the time of the tragedy in your family, I was assisting at St. Ignatius Loyola and was present at the funeral mass. We got together a number of times after that but then I was transferred to Rome.”

“I do remember you very well,” Doug said, trying to put warmth in his voice. “You were very kind and I was in a pretty bad way.”

“It was a terrible time for you. I am so sorry about what is happening now. I stopped at the hospital today to see Kate and I administered the Sacrament of the Sick to her. I saw Hannah there and spoke with her, and now I’d very much like to connect with you again.”

There is no way I want to connect with you, Doug thought. I don’t need anyone to tell me that he’ll pray for me and for Kate. I don’t think I’ve been inside a church since the funeral. Rosie Masse always took the girls when they were growing up.

And I really don’t want this priest around here when Sandra’s on the scene. But if he’s free tonight, maybe I can get rid of him fast. “Father, are you calling from St. Ignatius?”

“Yes, I’m living here at the rectory.”

“Then you’re in the neighborhood. Have you eaten dinner yet?”

“Actually, I’m just on my way out to meet an old friend for dinner tonight. Maybe another night? I’m so glad I happened to catch you.”

“Sure. I’ll check in with you later in the week, then,” Doug said.

“Perfect.”

With a sigh, Doug replaced the receiver on the cradle. He’d call the priest back when hell froze over, he thought, then walked into the library. He went straight for the bar and poured a strong double scotch for himself. Sip it slowly, he warned himself. Get the edge off. But before you get too relaxed, call the hospital and ask about Kate. It would be just like Hannah to ask if I visited Kate tonight.

The nurse in ICU was reassuring. “I’m just going off my shift, Mr. Connelly. As you know, Kate’s fever broke this morning. She’s had a very good day.”

“That’s great to hear. Thank you for the update,” Doug said.

A thought was nagging in his subconscious. Was Kate awake when the priest was with her? He had administered the Sacrament of the Sick. Did that mean Kate had possibly been aware enough to talk to him?

And if she had, what had she told him?