Sacred Sins

owned a house.”
    “Hell, everybody's going to be thirty-six once, but not everybody has to own a house.”
    “Shit, I never even lived in one. We always had apartments.”

    The kitchen smelled of decades of grease, but this time Ben said nothing.
    “There's an attic. The kind you see in shows where there're trunks and old furniture and funny hats. I like that. I'm going to do the kitchen first.”
    Ben stared out at the pitiful clump of grass. “Steam,” he said. “That's the best way to strip this old wallpaper.”
    “Steam?”
    “Yeah.” Ben pulled out a cigarette and grinned. “You're going to need plenty of it. I dated this woman who worked at a paint store. Marli … yeah, I think her name was Marli. She'd probably still give me a discount.”
    “Date anyone who works at a lumberyard?”
    “I'll check. Come on, I have to make a call.”
    They stopped at a phone booth a few miles away. Ben found a quarter and dialed Tess's office number while Ed went into the 7-Eleven.
    “Dr. Court's office.”
    “Detective Paris.”
    “Yes, Detective, just a moment.”
    There was a click, then silence, then another click. “Ben?”
    “How are you, Doc?”
    “I'm fine.” As she spoke she was clearing her desk. “Just on my way out to the clinic.”
    “What time do you finish there?”
    “Usually five-thirty, maybe six.”
    He glanced at his watch and shifted the rest of his schedule. “Fine. I'll pick you up.”
    “But you don't need—”
    “Yes, I do. Who's on you today?”
    “I beg your pardon?”

    “Who's watching you at the office?” Ben explained, and tried to find a corner in the phone booth where the wind wouldn't reach.
    “Oh, Sergeant Billings.”
    “Good.” He cupped his hands around a match as he lit a cigarette, and wished like hell he'd remembered his gloves. “Have Billings drive you to the clinic.”
    There was silence. In it he heard her temper, and was tempted to smile at it. “I don't see any reason why I can't drive myself to the clinic as I've done every week for the last several years.”
    “I'm not asking you to see a reason, Tess. I've got plenty of them. See you at six.”
    He hung up, knowing she'd hold the phone, and her temper, until she could replace it quietly. She wouldn't want to do something as childish, and typical, as slamming it down.

    H E was right. Tess counted backward from five, slowly, then quietly replaced the receiver. She'd hardly set it down when Kate buzzed her again.
    “Yes?” It took effort not to bite the word off.
    “You have another call on line two. He won't give his name.”
    “All right, I—” The nerves in her stomach tangled, and she knew. “I'll take it, Kate.”
    She stared at the slowly blinking button. Her finger was steady when she pushed it. “This is Dr. Court.”
    “I saw you in church. You came.”
    “Yes.” The instructions she'd been given raced through her head. Try to keep him on the line. Keep him calm and on the line. “I was hoping to see you there so we could talk again. How are you feeling?”
    “You were there. Now you understand.”
    “What do I understand?”

    “You understand the greatness.” His voice was calm. A decision reached, faith confirmed. “The sacrifices we're asked to make are so small compared to the rewards of obedience. I'm glad you were there, so that you understand. I had doubts.”
    “What kind of doubts?”
    “About the mission.” His voice dropped, as if even whispering of doubt was a sin. “But not anymore.”
    Tess took a chance. “Where is Laura?”
    “Laura.” She could hear the tears. “Laura waits in purgatory, suffering, until I atone for her sins. She's my responsibility. She has no one but me and the Blessed Mother to intercede for her.”
    So Laura was dead. Now she could be sure of it. “You must have loved her very much.”
    “She was the best part of me. We were joined before birth. Now I must make restitution for her before we can be joined after death. You understand now. You came. Your soul will join the others. I will absolve you in the name of the Lord.”
    “You can't kill again. Laura wouldn't want you to kill again.”
    There was silence … three, four, five seconds. “I thought you understood.”
    Tess recognized the tone, the accusation, the betrayal. She was going to lose him. “I think I do. If I don't, I need you to explain things to me. I want to understand, I want you to help me understand. That's why I want to come talk to