True Detectives

CHAPTER 47

The Convent of Santa Barbara is a one-hundred-fifty-year-old masterpiece of Baroque and Moorish revival, weathered brick walls adorned with arches and pillars, central courtyards jeweled by voluptuous gardens. Long designated a national landmark, the convent is central-casting-perfect for the role of Sacred Refuge.

The Sisters of Gethsemane Convent is a tract home on Santa Barbara's east side, set on an undistinguished, poorly paved street in one of the city's vulnerable working-class neighborhoods.

Just another stucco bungalow, hastily nailed up to accommodate returning World War II veterans.

The seven nuns who live at Gethsemane are immigrants from Central America and when they are not tending to sick children or Alzheimer's patients or homeless people, they answer to a Superior General in El Salvador who ignores them. The oldest nun, Sister Lourdes Echevarria, has lived half of her eighty-five years at the convent.

The tiny lot upon which the bungalow sits is one of many parcels of real estate amassed by the Catholic Church; its value has appreciated many times over since purchase in 1938. Six months ago, the bishop of Santa Barbara, ensconced in a lovely mansion in a more fashionable section of town, served an eviction order to the nuns. The house was to be sold to help pay a nearly billion-dollar settlement to victims of sexual predator priests. The order would be broken up, the nuns “redistributed” at the archdiocese's discretion.

Among themselves, the nuns discussed the injustice of having to give up their home to atone for the grievous sins of the priests. Publicly, they clung to their vows of obedience and awaited their fate.

Many of them cried when certain no one was listening.

Someone listened. Took the initiative to call a reporter at the Santa Barbara News-Press.

The resulting front-page story fomented local, then statewide outrage against the archdiocese. Evictions plans were halted, though on a temporary basis.

The Sisters of Gethsemane continue their good works and try not to think about the future.

The nuns wear white blouses and dark skirts and white flat shoes or sneakers. The three oldest cover their hair with blue kerchiefs. The bungalow is barely fourteen hundred square feet, partitioned into tiny rooms. The nuns own nothing and seven of them manage to sleep comfortably in bunk beds in two bedrooms.

A third bedroom at the rear is maintained for guests the nuns call “sojourners.”

For sixteen months, a young woman with clipped dark hair, a soft voice, and willing hands has been the sojourner of residence. She calls herself Catherine and the nuns have never questioned whether or not that is her real name.

Catherine knocked on the door of the convent and asked if she could stay a few days. She insisted on pitching in with household chores, doing more than her share-doing the work of three, by Sister Lourdes's estimate. Days stretched to weeks, which stretched to months. Catherine asked if she could help outside the house as well, and she began accompanying Sister Maria-Guadalupe and Sister Maria-Anastasia as they made the rounds of a board-and-care home for severely retarded adults.

Catherine loves cleaning and feeding and singing to the patients. She changes their diapers without complaint.

The nuns love Catherine. All of them suspect it is she who phoned the reporter. The topic is never brought up because suspicion, accusation, and recrimination have no place in their world.

Of late, Catherine has put aside her young-person jeans and tops and has worn the white blouse and dark skirt favored by the nuns.

Alone in her bedroom, after a long day, she sometimes looks out the window at the vegetable garden that takes up most of the convent's backyard, marvels at tomatoes, eggplant, artichokes, grapevines. Cries.

Mostly, she is at peace.

Aaron and Moe watched her take out the garbage. Wheeling the third of two plastic bins to the curb, then stopping to look up at the sky.

Different hair, same face.

Not wanting to frighten her, they approached smiling.

She said, “You're here.”

Not a blink of surprise.

They'd warned Rory not to broadcast their arrival. The kid had defied them.

Gold stars for loyalty. Love.

Doing “the right thing,” again.

Moe introduced himself and Caitlin pretended to listen. He was willing to bet Rory's call had included their names and a detailed physical description.

Despite that, she hadn't rabbited.

“Pleased to meet you, Detective Reed.” Turning to Aaron.

He said, “Aaron Fox, Caitlin.”

“Pleased to meet you, as well, Mr. Fox.”

Pretty girl, clear-eyed, apple-cheeked. Same age as Rory, but she seemed more… adult.

Moe said, “We're not here to cause you problems. We know what your father did to you.” The plural pronoun came easy.

“That's in the past,” said Caitlin Frostig.

“It is, but it's still a crime.”

“I know, Detective Reed.”

“If you want to press charges-”

“I don't.”

“You're sure of that.”

“I am, Detective Reed. I've thought about it a lot and I don't.”

“We respect that, Caitlin. And we know how hard it would be. But what if your coming forward prevents the same thing from happening to another girl?”

“He'd never do that,” said Caitlin.

“How can you be sure?”

“Because I know.” Grazing one of the trash cans with her fingers. She studied the sky some more. Took in the cracked stucco front of the bungalow. Tomato plants trimmed the front of the little house, used as ornamental shrubs. Cherry tomatoes. Caitlin Frostig walked away and Moe was sure he'd lost her.

Picking a handful of tomatoes, she returned to the brothers. “Hungry?”

Moe quelled reflexive denial, took the four little red orbs she was offering. Popped one in his mouth. “Delicious.”

“Mr. Fox?”

“Thank you… really tasty, Caitlin.”

She said, “In terms of other girls, what happened between my father and myself was what psychologists call a situation-specific dynamic. My mother died when I was young. My father had no one and I became a substitute. I'm not saying it was right. But it won't happen to anyone else.”

Pronounced with clarity. Clinical detachment. Either she'd dealt with it and was ready to move on. Or the healing hadn't even begun.

Moe said, “I'm so sorry for what you went through.”

“Thank you… will it be necessary to tell him where I am?”

“Not if you don't want him to know.”

“I don't.”

“Then our lips are sealed.”

“Thank you so much.” Moving forward as if to kiss Moe's cheek, she stopped herself. “Would you like more tomatoes? They've grown like crazy, I'll get you a bag, take some for the road.”

Nice way to say please leave.

Moe said, “We'd like that.”