The Trinity Game

clamped Daniel’s shoulder in a vise, found the pressure point on the joint, and dug in with a thumbthat felt like an ice pick. He spoke into Daniel’s right ear. “You investigators think the sun shines from yer arseholes. Got news for ya: It don’t. So you can quit acting like you’re fucking
Bono
.” Then, to Nick, “Father Nick, if I may be so bold: Perhaps it’s time you let me take our little rock star downstairs, teach him some manners.”
    “Appreciate the offer, George, but I’ll take the meeting.” He nodded assurance. “I’ll be fine, please close the door on your way out.”
    The pain in Daniel’s shoulder eased into a dull throb as George let go. The door clicked shut behind him.
    “Didn’t you get my message?” Daniel said.
    “Which one?”
    Daniel now heard the sharpness in Nick’s tone, saw the anger behind his eyes.
    “Way I see it,” Nick went on, “you’ve been sending very mixed messages. And here’s one that confuses me: Under orders to
stand down
, you instead call a member of the
press
? Who happens to be your
ex-girlfriend
?”
    “Are you spying on me?”
    “Looking out for you. And starting to have serious doubts. This isn’t just a job, Daniel, we take an oath.”
    “OK, look, it’s—well, complicated.”
    “Yeah, I bet.”
    “Not what you’re thinking.” Daniel raised his hands, took a slow breath. “I know, I disobeyed a direct order, and I’m sorry, but there were exigent circumstances, and the thing is, you’ll understand once you hear my report.” He pulled his notebook from the breast pocket of his jacket, flipped it open. “The thing is, Nick, we’ve got a real miracle on our hands.”
    Nick sighed, ran a hand over his head. “Holy Mother of God. I didn’t send you to find a miracle. I sent you to debunk a cheap, gaudy Holy Roller, who you already
know
is a con man. And not only did you blow it—he converted you.”
    “It’s not like that. In fact, I’m angry at God for choosing him. But I can’t deny the evidence of my eyes, and they’ve seen the impossible. Did you even read my e-mail?”
    Nick nodded. “And I think you’ve been played for a sucker. Trinity’s got tons of cash, he could’ve paid the trucker to take out the billboard at a pre-arranged time.”
    “Not possible. You weren’t there, you didn’t see how it went down.”
    “And quite conveniently, there’s no videotape.”
    “The chip blew in the camera. That’s
why
the accident happened.”
    “Or that’s the way it was staged. Did you check the camera?”
    Daniel shook his head.
    “Then how do you know Trinity didn’t pay off the cameraman?”
    “Stop,” Daniel said, a little too loud. He started walking the floor to keep the tension out of his voice. “Just give me a chance. Believe me, if you’d been there…You can talk to the other witnesses, the state trooper—”
    “Or your girlfriend.”
    “Goddamnit!” Daniel’s entire body welled with rage. “Yes, she saw it too, talk to her if you want. And—because I know you’re curious—I’m not fucking her, OK?”
    Nick turned his attention to the file folder on the desk. “You shouldn’t have come here tonight, Daniel. I’m not willing to discuss this while you’re so emotional.”
    “But you’re not listening to me.”
    “No, you’re not listening to me. This conversation is over.” Nick signed the top piece of paper in the folder, handed the form to Daniel without looking up. “Here are your orders: You are off this case. You are now officially on sabbatical, for spiritual renewal. You will go home and you will get some sleep. In the morning, you will fly to Florence, and from there you will be driven to Poppi, where you will engage in quiet meditation and prayer.” He sent Daniel a hard look. “Get your head together. At the appropriate time, I’ll bring you back to active duty.”
    The walls closed in on Daniel. The retreat just outside Poppi was a dumping ground for broken men—whisky priests with the shakes, spiritual burnouts addicted to online gambling, pedophiles addicted to altar boys—once you went in, you stayed until they decided you were fit for service. Some men lived there for decades. Others quit the priesthood to get out.
    Nick had sent Daniel to Poppi once before, four years earlier, after Daniel returned from Honduras with blood on his hands. He spent nearly five months in counseling at the retreat before he was deemed spiritually and psychologically fit to