her to do that. She would force him to decide.” Puller sat there mulling all of

this over. “Is there anything you can tell me that might help me to find the

truth, Father Rooney?” The old man sat there for such a long time that Puller

thought he might have fallen asleep.

 

Finally, Rooney stirred. “Your father came to see me several days after your

mother went missing.” Puller went rigid. “What did he want?” “He wanted to take

confession. And before you ask, I can say nothing about what he talked about.”

Puller looked frustrated. “Well, I’m not sure that’s very helpful, actually.”

“What I can tell you is that your father was devastated by her disappearance. I

have never seen him so inconsolable. So if you’re thinking he had anything

whatsoever to do with whatever did happen to her, well, I would say that you’re

barking up the wrong tree. I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you, but I hope it

helped. I have witnessed much guilt in the confessional, Agent Puller. And the

only guilt your father had that day was not being there for the woman he loved

when she needed him.” Puller stood and held out his hand, which Rooney took.

“Thank you, Father. That was the most helpful thing I’ve heard in a very long

time.” Behind the glasses, the old priest’s eyes twinkled. “If you start going

to Mass regularly you’ll hear something uplifting like that every Sunday.”

 

Chapter 21

 

PAUL ROGERS ADJUSTED his shirt cuffs and then the headset, placing the mic an

inch or so from the right side of his mouth.