MASS MURDER (67 page)

“
W
here did the name Frances come from?”

“His mother’s name is Frances
.
I suppose it was a familiar name
.
And,
as you suspected, Brye was
in the same class with Mallery Olsen and Marino
.
In fact, the three of them hung out together
.
Brye was a quiet kid, good student, studied a lot
,
and finally went into the church
.
The two men looked enough alike to switch places occasionally when it was convenient
.
Back then, Brye just put on a dark wig and added glasses.”

“Just the opposite of what Marino did this time,” Giorgio added.

“I guess that’s what got her killed,” Rocky speculated out loud, wiping crumbs from his lower lip
.
“Olsen probably saw him at the monastery and thought he was Brye
.
Then, on closer inspection, she realized it was Marino in disguise, or something like that.”

Angie appeared again with several cold beers
.
Swan thanked her, popped his can open and then grabbed a chunk of cheese as Angie left again
.

“We also have a better idea of when Olsen was murdered,” Swan said
.
“Father Rosario finally remembered seeing Frances slip out of the five o’clock Mass
.
He assumed he was going to the restroom, but admits he didn’t see him return.”

Rocky reached for more food
.
“Do we know what happened to Brye?”

“The last time we can confirm anyone seeing him was two weeks before he was scheduled to come to the monastery
.
He told a neighbor that a college friend was coming for a visit the next day
.
The
San Francisco
police are looking into it.”

“Some friend,” Giorgio mumbled.

“McCready also found out
that
O’Leary was
actually Christian Maynard’s roommate
when
Father Wingate was killed
.
”

“Bingo,” Rocky blurted, spitting out a spray of cheese and crackers
.
“
He showed Frances the secret door.
That’s gotta be wh
at got him killed
.
”

“By the way, we found the suave Father Daniel,” Swan said
.
“He’s living with an old girlfriend
.
Apparently, he decided the monastic life wasn’t for him.” 

Angie re-entered with a vase filled with Rocky’s flowers
,
and the men fell silent
.
She placed the vase on the desk and turned to them.

“Don’t stop on my
account,” she quipped.

Giorgio was about to say something just as the doorbell rang
.
Rocky grabbed Grosvner as
Angie left to get the door.

“
By the way,
” Rocky began, “what are you going to do about
Grosvner
?”

“We found an animal psychologist.”

Swan chortled out loud.

“I’m not kidding
.
Matilda has already spent two sessions wit
h him and thinks he’ll be
just
fine.”

Voices in the hallway interrupted them
,
and
E
lvira Applebaum entered the room with Angie close behind
.
She was dressed in brown slacks and a tan sweater
.
Her face was a little pale, but she had a cheerful smile
.

“Ms. Applebaum, it’s nice to see you again,” Giorgio said,
standing up and
extending his hand
.
“Thanks for stopping by.”

“It’s no trouble, Detective
.
I’m glad to help if I can.”

Everyone remained silent while all eyes shifted to Angie
.
She seemed to sense the awkwardness and stepped forward
.

“Won’t you sit down, Ms. Applebaum
.
Can I get you something to drink?”

“Oh, no
.
I just had a late breakfast
.
I was hoping we could look around the house.”

Angie’s eyes grew wide
.
“Look around the house?  What for?”

Elvira Applebaum turned to Giorgio
.
In fact, the whole room turned their focus on him
.
He moved over to take one of Angie’s hands just as the children came bounding down the stairs
.
They skidded to a halt in the hallway as if knowing something big was about to happen
.
Angie looked at her husband, the furrow
already deepening in her brow.

“What’s this all about, Joe?  We’re not selling the house are we?”

Her lip began to quiver and Giorgio knew he had to act fast.

“No
.
We’re not selling the house
.
Ms. Applebaum runs a c
onsortium of day care centers.”

The crease between Angie's eyebrows deepened
.
“What?”

“She wants to talk to
you about running a day care.”

He said it quickly and then held his breath
.
He hadn’t dared say a word to Angie until he’d worked out some of the details, but he’d been thinking about it for weeks
.

Angie just stared at him without blinking
.
Then she turned to look at Elvira Applebaum and then at the children
.
A moment later, the tears began to flow
.
Her hands flew to her face and her slender shoulders shook
.
Giorgio panicked.

“You don’t have to, Angie,” Giorgio put his hands on her shoulders
.
“It was just an idea
.
I thought you’d like it
.
I wanted to make you happy
.
Angie, stop
.
Please.”

Everyone else in the room stood as still as statues
.
Finally, Angie let her hands drop
,
and she turned back to her husband, her face flushed and wet with tears.

“Oh, Joe, I think it’s a wonderful idea!”  Her face was alive with a light that had been missing for weeks
.
“Thank you, Joe
.
Thank you so much.”

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely
.
The tension broke and everyone smiled
.
Rocky even patted Swan on the shoulder as if they’d just delivered a baby together.

“Your husband said you were a teacher once,” Ms. Ap
plebaum said in the background.

Angie turned, wiping her eyes
.
“Yes
.
I taught second grade
.
I miss it terribly.”

“Well, having a house full of children should fix that.”

Giorgio thought for sure he saw the glint of a halo above Elvira Applebaum’s head.

“Shall we take a look around?  We’ll need to do a formal inspection later, but let’s just talk it through to see first if
the house will work.”

Angie threw a last, grateful look at her husband and then led Elvira Applebaum into the hallway
.
“I’ll show you the kitchen first,” she said as they disappeared.

The children followed with Grosvner not far behind
.
All three men stood
immobile as if holding their breath
.
Finally, Giorgio turned t
o them and let out a deep sigh.

“That was close.”

“Yes, big brother
.
You finally pulled one off
.
Good job.”

“Listen, I gotta go,” Swan cut in
.
He grabbed a last piece of cheese and started towards the hallway.

“Wait.” Giorgio stopped him
.
“How’s Father Damian?”

“He’s been relocated again
.
And, I’m told they plan to tear down the entire west wing of the monastery.”

Giorgio stopped short
.
“What?”

Swan stood in the entryway with his hand resting on the doorknob, his mouth curved into a sly expression
.

“Don’t look so surprised,” he said, draining the beer before handing the empty can to Giorgio
.
“The Bishop said you took him up to see that room with the shackles
.
It was all the ammunition he needed
.
When
did you slip away to do that?”

Giorgio shrugged nonchalantly.

“Anyway,” Swan continued, “the whole west wing and the tower will go
.
He wants to erase the past as quickly as possible
.
The other tunnels within the main building will be filled in and sealed for good.”

Giorgio kept his thoughts to himself, but the vision of Father Wingate and Christian Mayn
ard
had crept into his dreams for the past several weeks
.
Perhaps with the building gone, Christian Maynard
would be free to rest in peace.

“I’d like to be there when they send in the wrecking ball,” Giorgio muttered to himself
.

“By the way, Rocky, you know there’s an opening in the department,” Swan offered
.
“Samson took a job in San Diego
.
The Captain mentioned your name
.
You interested?”