experience with women. I wondered if that was what was making Father Sojak so nervous. He had a direct, forthright manner that I thought few people could resist, and yet, I could feel that he was hiding something from them. Was it Maggie or his omissions that made him so nervous?
âFather,â Maggie said respectfully as she left the room. She, too, had been raised a Catholic, though I knew she no longer attended church and preferred instead to spend her Sunday mornings running along the shores of our townâs reservoir.
The doors had barely shut on the elevator before Calvano asked Maggie, âDid you see the eyes on that priest? I bet the nuns go crazy over him.â
âYeah, I saw his eyes,â Maggie admitted. âAnd I could tell from them that he was hiding something. So was the husband.â She sounded grim. She was not looking forward to telling Gonzales how she felt.
âYou think he did it,â Calvano said almost triumphantly.
Maggie gave him a look of half disgust and half affection. âI didnât say that. I just said he was hiding something.â She stared at the floor numbers lighting up as they descended toward the ground floor. âIf I had to put my money on it, Iâd say he was innocent. What about you?â
He shrugged. âI donât think he did it, either. But I definitely donât think drug cartels would send someone to Delaware to snatch a kindergarten teacher.â
âI donât think so either,â Maggie said. âBut they might if she was more involved than she told her husband. For all we know, sheâs the kingpin.â She realized what she had said and started to laugh. âA beloved preschool teacher would be a good cover, right? I really donât think thatâs the case, but I do have a friend at Quantico I can call. Sheâll run her name through the system and let us know if itâs popped up in an investigation before. That will allow us to at least evaluate whether that angle is a real possibility.â
âWithout actually having to work with the FBI, right?â Calvano said. He, like Maggie, believed that the answer to virtually every case that crossed their desk could be found locally, and that locals were the best people to find out the truth.
âRight. What did you think about the priest?â Maggie asked. âYou two seemed to hit it off, you brown-noser, you.â
Calvano looked vaguely ashamed at what he was about to say. âHeâs lying about something. But I think itâs probably got to do with how Danny brought her back over the border. Iâm not buying that story.â
âMe either,â Maggie said. âAnd I think Father Sojak is a lot more involved in this whole thing than he lets on.â
âYou donât go to church any more, do you?â Calvano asked.
âWhatâs that have to do with anything?â she said.
âI never met Father Sojak until today, but Iâve heard about him. The nuns at St Michaelâs and St Raphaelâs all think he has the touch.â
âWhat the hell is the touch?â Maggie asked.
âHe can heal people just by laying on his hands. He can reach people in comas. He can communicate with people close to death and reassure them before they go. They say heâs filled with the light and has the gift.â
âThat sounds a little New Age for any of the nuns I know,â Maggie said drily. Her view of nuns tended toward the unfavorable. I had eavesdropped many times on her conversations with her father and her memories of Catholic school were mixed.
âIt happens,â Calvano said, a little defensively. His faith was pretty important to him. âA lot of the saints were rumored to have a gift like that when they were mortals.â
âYou think Father Sojak is a saint?â Maggie asked skeptically.
âNo. I just think itâs possible he has powers we canât understand and I