The Devil's Labyrinth

CHAPTER 18

FATHER LAUGHLIN MOUNTED the steps to the diocesan rectory slowly, feeling the weight not only of the problem at hand, which he was certain had to do with Kip Adamson’s death, but of his age as well. When the summons had come from the Archbishop’s office so late in the day, Laughlin had hurried to shave, change into a fresh collar and shirt, and get into a taxi, yet there had been none of the excitement that years ago had invariably accompanied a summons to see the Cardinal. Of course, the Cardinal was gone now and while Archbishop Jonathan Rand was certainly a competent administrator, it simply wasn’t the same. A Cardinal was a Cardinal, and an Archbishop an Archbishop, and that was that. But it wasn’t just the man at the top that had changed; in the last few years everything in the Boston Archdiocese had changed.

Laughlin hesitated to catch his breath and wipe a handkerchief across his forehead before pressing the bell next to the rectory’s simple front door. Something else that had changed. This was nothing like the Cardinal’s mansion Laughlin used to enjoy visiting. That mansion had been sold off to pay restitution in the unending lawsuits the Boston diocese had incurred, and this far simpler house seemed to Father Laughlin far too humble even for an Archbishop.

He pressed the doorbell and a few seconds later the door was opened by a young seminar student, who immediately ushered him into Archbishop Rand’s office.

An office with none of the luxury the Cardinal had enjoyed. True poverty, it seemed, had finally come to the priesthood, at least in Boston.

“Good evening, Ernest,” the Archbishop said, rising to his feet and coming around his desk to shake the old priest’s hand. “I am so sorry to have called you out so late in the day.”

“Always a pleasure,” Father Laughlin sighed, sinking gratefully into the nearest chair and hoping the words sounded more genuine than they felt.

Archbishop Rand returned to his seat behind the desk. “I wish I could say the same, but just now there seems to be precious little pleasure in this job.” His eyes fixed darkly on Laughlin. “In fact, since Saturday I’ve found no pleasure in it at all.” Father Laughlin nervously folded his handkerchief to a fresh side and wiped his face as the temperature in the office seemed to go up five degrees. “And I must tell you, Ernest,” the Archbishop pressed. “There is more Church business to which I must attend than acting as apologist for your school.”

Father Laughlin shifted uneasily as the temperature seemed to go up again. He was just beginning to formulate a reply to the Archbishop’s words when Rand leaned back and folded his hands together across his chest. “You are as aware as I am how restless the flock in Boston has become the last few years. What you might not be aware of is how hard I have been working to calm the flock. And then along comes the Adamson boy, and in a single evening nearly wipes out the effectiveness of what I have been trying to do for several years. What little time I’ve had not placating people, I’ve been spending in prayer.” He leaned forward, his eyes once more boring into Laughlin, his voice dropping. “Praying, and asking for guidance.”

“Oh, dear,” Father Laughlin began. “Everyone at St. Isaac’s—”

“Ah, yes,” the Archbishop cut in, leaning even farther forward. “St. Isaac’s. That brings us directly to the point, doesn’t it, Ernest?” The Archbishop’s voice took on a sharp edge. “St. Isaac’s mission is to heal the children and ignite the light of the Church within them. Am I correct?”

“Of course that’s one of our goals,” Father Laughlin said a little too quickly as a trickle of perspiration made its way slowly down his cheek. “And I’m sure you understand that we do our best. No one understands what caused the Adamson boy to do this terrible thing. Father Sebastian had been working with him and—”

“Father Sebastian was brought here specifically to make certain that things like this don’t happen,” Rand cut in.

“And he’s doing a wonderful job with the students,” Father Laughlin said, unconsciously shrinking away from the Archbishop’s accusatory tone. “But these things take time. Father Sebastian has only been with us since the fall—”

“We don’t have ‘time,’ Father Laughlin,” the Archbishop shot back. “Rome sent me here to clean up the mess this Archdiocese found itself in. The Vatican has its eye on us at every moment. They are watching me, and they are watching you, and what they see does not please them.” The Archbishop fixed Father Laughlin with a cold stare. “Father Sebastian has a reputation for dealing with evil. I sent him to St. Isaac’s for that express purpose.” He punctuated the last three words by dropping his fist to the desktop with enough force to make Father Laughlin jump. “I suggest you see to it that Father Sebastian does his job, or we will be forced not only to replace him, but you as well.”

Father Laughlin’s heart began to pound and his breath caught in his chest. Was it possible that he was about to be dismissed after forty-six years of dedicated service without so much as a single blemish on his record? The room felt hotter than ever, and he ran a finger around his collar in a futile attempt to loosen it. The Archbishop continued to talk, but Father Laughlin could no longer follow his words. He felt ill — dizzy — as if he might faint and, as his heart continued to throb, waited for the heaviness in his chest that always came just before one of his angina attacks. He slid his hand into the pocket of his cassock, failed to find the medicine, and remembered he’d left it on his nightstand. Stay calm, he told himself. Just breathe. After a moment the pounding of his heart began to ease slightly, and with it the pressure in his chest. He turned his attention back to the Archbishop just as his superior was finishing.

“Do I make myself clear?” Archbishop Rand asked.

“Yes, yes, of course,” Father Laughlin said, though he had missed at least half of the tirade. “Perfectly clear.” He took one more deep breath and wiped his handkerchief across his upper lip with a trembling hand. “I shall speak with Father Sebastian in the morning as soon as I return and I assure you we shall take measures.” He looked up to gauge his effect on the other man, but the Archbishop’s expression was unreadable. “Stringent measures,” he said. “Nothing like this will ever happen again.” He took a breath.

“Good,” the Archbishop said, leaning back in his chair once more and finally smiling. “We all pray for a healing in this community. Especially at St. Isaac’s.”

Father Laughlin did his best to return the smile. “Thank you, Archbishop. You have nothing to worry about — you have my word on that.”

Archbishop Rand’s smile compressed to a thin line, and his brows arched slightly. “Brother Simon will see you out.”

As if in response to some unseen cue, the office door opened and the young seminarian stepped in, extending his hand to help Father Laughlin out of the chair, and two minutes later Father Ernest Laughlin was on his way back to St. Isaac’s, wondering whether he would soon be as summarily ejected from his school as he had been from the rectory.

No, he decided. Whatever I have to do, I will do. But I will not leave St. Isaac’s.

† † †

Sofia Capelli stared numbly at the last inch of the candle, willing it to burn more slowly. She was clutching it so hard that her fingers actually ached, but far worse than the pain in her fingers was the agony in her legs. It felt like she’d been on her knees for hours, silently repeating her prayers over and over again, certain that at any moment the door would open and Father Sebastian would come in and end her vigil in front of the altar. But the door hadn’t opened, and Father Sebastian hadn’t appeared. With every passing minute the pain in her knees grew worse until now there was nothing but a horrible cold, throbbing ache, punctuated with even the slightest movement by the sensation of a thousand needles jabbing into her legs. She wasn’t even praying anymore.

Instead, she was listening to the sound of her own heart, which seemed to be getting louder and louder as each moment passed.

She was tired — more tired than she’d ever been in her life. Her eyes felt heavy, and all she really wanted to do was stretch out on the floor, let the candle burn out, and go to sleep. But what if Sister Mary David came in? That would be even worse than if Father Sebastian caught her.

At least Father Sebastian’s eyes were always kind.

Sister Mary David’s were hard; she could make you feel like you’d been slapped just by looking at you.

How long should she stay here? Had Sister Mary David really meant for her to stay on her knees for hours? And what would happen when the candle finally burned out?

The dark.

She would be trapped in the dark with the door locked and nobody except Sister Mary David knowing where she was.

She waited, the candle growing shorter, the agony in her body building with each beat of her heart.

Then, just as the candle burned short enough that she could feel its flame starting to sear her fingers, a faint sound came to her ears.

Hope surged in her heart, and now she prayed — truly prayed — that at last someone had come to release her from this prison.

The sound of the lock clicking open answered her prayers, and tears of gratitude sprang to Sofia’s eyes.

The door opened, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Father Sebastian slip in and go into a tiny carved confessional she hadn’t even noticed in the heavy gloom of the chapel. The priest disappeared, and a moment later a yellowish light behind the little booth began to brighten, casting golden highlights onto the tortured face of Christ.

The Savior’s enormous hollowed eyes seemed to be boring into her from a hideously jaundiced face.

Sofia flinched away from that condemning visage, blew the candle out as the heat of its flame threatened to char the flesh of her fingers and struggled to her feet to go into the confessional. Her legs screamed in protest as she forced first one foot, then the other. A wave of dizziness broke over her.

As her knees started to give way she suddenly realized that there was someone else in the chapel — a black-clad figure silhouetted in the doorway.

Sister Mary David, savoring every moment of Sofia’s agony.

No, she commanded herself. Don’t give her the satisfaction.

She hobbled over to the confessional, pulled the musty curtain closed, and eased herself down onto the hard bench, sighing as a little of the pain in her legs began to ease.

The small partition between the booth’s two compartments opened and Sofia saw the screen, which normally hid her from the priest, was missing.

She was staring directly into the deep warm eyes of Father Sebastian.

His eyes held hers, and for the first time in her life, she found herself confessing directly to the priest, unafraid, and truly contrite. “Bless me, Father,” she whispered, “for I have sinned. It has been six days since my last confession.”

“Yes, my child?”

Father Sebastian’s voice was as soothing as the warm milk her mother had given her when she had awakened from nightmares when she was a little girl, and she knew that no matter what she told him, Father Sebastian would understand. “I have had impure thoughts, Father. I have had lustful thoughts about my boyfriend, and resentful thoughts against Sister Mary David, who caught us kissing.”

“And?” the priest gently prompted, his eyes still holding her gaze.

“In my room.”

“Go on.”

The words poured easily from Sofia’s lips. “And I let him touch my breasts.”

The priest nodded slightly. “Is that all?”

“That is all,” Sofia replied, feeling the burden of guilt lift slightly from her spirit.

“These are grave offenses, Sofia,” the priest said softly. “I shall have to give your penance some thought.”

Sofia’s eyes widened slightly. Had she heard right? He wasn’t going to assign her punishment right now? She looked into his eyes. What did it mean? What might he do? “I’m sorry, Father,” she whispered. “It won’t happen again.”

“I’m sure it won’t, Sofia,” Father Sebastian replied. “For now, I want you to say six Hail Marys before bed tonight, and six more before breakfast tomorrow. Then I want you to meet me back here tomorrow before dinner.”

“Back here?” Sofia echoed, her skin crawling at the thought of returning to this strange chapel. “No, Father, please—”

Father Sebastian raised a single finger, silencing her. “You may go.”

Sofia’s head whirled. This wasn’t right — this wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. After she confessed she was supposed to get absolution and penance, and then it was supposed to be over! “Aren’t — aren’t you going to absolve me?” she stammered.

“Tomorrow,” the priest replied, smiling gently. “But don’t worry, Sofia. It’s going to be all right.”

The little partition slid closed, and Sofia was suddenly alone.

She sat silently in the gloom of the booth for a moment, feeling none of the sense of relief that making her confession had always brought. Why had Father Sebastian withheld absolution? But even as she silently asked the question, she knew the answer: he wanted her to think about what she’d done. If he’d simply given her the usual Hail Marys and Our Fathers, she would have forgotten all about it by tomorrow morning.

Father Sebastian was simply making her live with her sin until tomorrow, so she’d think harder next time.

He was simply doing his job, tending to her soul.

After a moment, Sofia crossed herself one last time and pulled back the dusty curtain.

There stood Sister Mary David. Startled, Sofia gasped and almost slipped on the worn wooden step.

The nun, her lips pressed together and her eyes nothing more than accusing slits, held her ground, and Sofia had to grasp at the confessional door to recover her balance.

Silently, Sister Mary David walked to the chapel door, turned, and beckoned Sofia to follow her.

As she left the chapel, Sofia wasn’t sure which was worse — Sister Mary David’s cold silence, or the feeling that from the crucifix behind her, Christ Himself was glaring down upon her, condemning her for her unforgiven sins.