41. Father Alexander
Father Alexander
I stand halfway in the door to my office as the police talk with Father Keaton. They tell him they received an anonymous call reporting an alleged assault against some of the women in the convent.
After explaining that they need to search his laptop, they present him with a warrant. He nods and steps aside, letting them into his office, but as he turns, his eyes fall on mine.
I’ve never seen this expression cross his face before. I would say it is livid, but that word wouldn’t begin to describe the energy that is radiating off of him. I swallow in discomfort, but then his eyes leave mine and shoot down to the end of the hall.
Turning my head to where he is looking, I find Celine and Esther with their heads around the corner. I fix Celine with a stern glare, subtly gesturing with my head for them to go. From here, I can see the way her jaw rolls with aggravation, but she disappears behind the corner as I ask.
With them no longer in sight, I put my focus back on what is happening in the office beside mine. Father Keaton had joined them in his office, and after a few minutes of staring at the blank wall, I hear an officer say to the other, “There is nothing suspicious on his computer.”
My heart deflates at the news. How the hell do they not see anything on there when Celine and Esther just watched the evidence?
“Do you mind if we check your phone?” One of the officers asks, a little too nicely.
“Not at all,” Father Keaton complies.
Silence thickens the air as the officers search through his phone. I’m not sure I like either of the officer’s tone, given the situation. One sounds too chipper, while the other seems annoyed, making it seem like this whole thing isn’t a big deal and that being called here was a waste of time.
I stand there, my heart threatening to burst from my chest, until I hear one of them say, “It’s clean.”
My teeth grind together, frustration taking over my entire body. When I hear their footsteps getting closer to leaving Father Keaton’s door, I slip back into my office, rounding my desk and pretending to be busy.
“Even though everything is clear, we would like to speak to Joanna and Bekah,” an officer says, which surprises me. I figured that with no evidence, they would have decided to leave.
There is a beat of silence before Father Keaton says, “Of course.”
I hear someone walking my way, Father Keaton mostly, but the footsteps stop when one of the men asks, “Is there someone else who can get them for you?”
They don’t want him to leave their sight. That’s good, right?
“Yes.” A few more steps and Father Keaton stands in my open doorway. “Father Alexander, can you please find Joanna and Bekah and bring them to my office?”
“Sure.”
When I step up to the door, he remains in my way for a moment, staring at me with a flame of rage in his eyes. I don’t back down and hold his gaze until he moves aside.
Making my way down the hall, I feel jittery. Every step I take feels unbalanced, like my head is swimming around with shock and adrenaline. I turn the corner to see Celine and Esther standing by the chapel, and when they see me, they push themselves off the wall.
“What’s going on?” Celine asks with urgency.
“The cops want to talk to Joanna and Bekah,” I tell them, looking down the hall.
“That’s good, right?” Esther questions.
Joanna and Bekah emerge from one of the courtyard, smiling and talking.
“They’ll lie,” Celine states.
I bring my eyes to her. “They might, but there is a small chance they won’t.” Without another word, I walk down the hall towards the women I need.
The two of them look up at me with a smile, Joanna being the one to greet me.
“Hello, Father Alexander,” she says with a kind expression on her face.
“Hello, Joanna.” I attempt my best fake smile. “Father Keaton would like to see both of you in his office.”
Joanna’s smile drops slightly and turns to Bekah, who shrugs. “Okay.”
They follow me past the chapel, where Celine and Esther are backed against the wall, watching us. When we get to the halls with the offices, I hear Joanna’s soft intake of breath when she sees Father Keaton standing with the two officers.
“Hello, Joanna, Bekah, I’m Officer Luther,” he politely introduces himself. “This is Officer Mason. We would like to ask the two of you some questions.”
Joanna’s body language has shifted. She is no longer full of happiness, but worry. Her shoulders fall a bit, and her lips form a straight line.
“Just the two of us?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Officer Luther responds. “We will speak with you first, Joanna.”
“You aren’t going to talk to us together?” she asks, eyes shifting to Father Keaton, whose eyes narrow at her in a secret communication.
“No, we are not. Now, if you could please step into the office. It will only take a few minutes.” Officer Luther gestures for her to enter Father Keaton’s office and then looks to his partner. “Stay out here.” And then he turns to me. “You too.”
Officer Mason stations himself beside the now closed door.
There is an awkward, tension-filled silence in the hall, and I position myself closer to my office.
Father Keaton and Bekah don’t stand close to each other, the latter looking utterly confused by what is going on.
I drop my eyes to the floor because I don’t want to make eye contact with anyone, but I can still feel the heat of Father Keaton’s stare as it sears into my skin.
Of course, he knows that I had something to do with this, and because of that, I wish I could disappear into my office or be anywhere else in the church right now.
The sound of a door opening has me raising my eyes, and Joanna enters the hall with a weight to her step. Her arms are crossed over her chest as she places herself next to Bekah, who then walks cautiously into the office.
Joanna’s face is flushed, anger spewing out of her pores. I notice her fingernails digging into her arms, but she keeps her eyes forward and jaw tight while the officer questions her friend.
Father Keaton, on the other hand, stands there with a calm expression, apparently because he has nothing to worry about.
You can tell by the way he holds himself that this will go in his favor.
The cops didn’t find any evidence on his computer or phone, and I’m sure these women have been trained to lie to protect him.
After a few more minutes, Bekah steps out of the office with a pink tint to her cheeks and stands next to Joanna, who takes a small step to the side to distance herself. Hurt flashes across Bekah’s face, but she keeps quiet.
Officer Luther leaves the office and looks to Father Keaton. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Father, but when we get those types of calls, we need to take them seriously.”
“I completely understand,” Father Keaton says patiently
“We will get out of your hair,” Officer Luther says. “Again, sorry for the bother.”
What? No, they can’t leave.
“I’ll walk you out,” Father Keaton offers, leading the officers down the hall.
I glance over at the two women standing in the hall with me. Joanna is still staring forward, that anger threatening to explode and take out anyone in its path.
“Joanna?” Bekah tries to get her attention.
“Don’t talk to me,” Joanna says sharply.
Bekah’s shoulders tense, and then she closes in on herself. When I hear footsteps coming from the lobby, my eyes shift to Father Keaton. The rage is evident on his face, but before he can say anything, Joanna leaves the comfort of the wall, stomping his way and slaps him.
Bekah gasps, my eyes go wide, and Father Keaton lifts a hand to where hers met his cheek.
“How dare you!?” Joanna yells, pointing a finger in his face. “You told me that I was special. That I was the only one. I sat in there and lied to the cops to protect you!”
“Joanna…” Father Keaton says her name calmly.
“But you lied to me because clearly I wasn’t the only one,” she seethes. “What else did you lie about?”
Yes, Joanna. Push him to tell the truth.
“Nothing,” he spews yet another lie. “Bekah came to me needing help.”
Joanna turns towards her friend, fury taking over her body as she lunges for Bekah. I quickly shove myself off the wall and grab Bekah’s arm, tugging her into me as Father Keaton wraps his arms around Joanna.
“You little bitch!” Joanna screams. “You were so jealous of the attention I was giving Father Keaton that you went behind my back—”
Father Keaton covers her mouth to stop her from saying something she’d regret.
“Calm down.” He demands as she thrashes in his arms, putting up a fight until she eventually gives up, and her body relaxes. With his mouth next to her ear, he quietly says, “Go back to your room, Joanna; get some rest, and calm down. We will talk about this later, okay?”
He slowly unwraps his arms from her and drops his hand from her mouth.
Her eyes find mine, an apology hidden behind the anger, but when she walks away, she doesn’t spare a glance at her friend.
Bekah has tears in her eyes as she watches Joanna walk further away from her.
You can almost see her heart break with the way the pain appears on her face.
“Bekah,” Father Keaton says her name softly, gaining her attention. “I’ll talk to her, and she will be fine. You don’t need to worry.” She nods with a sniffle. “Go to your room.”
“Okay,” Bekah mutters, leaving us.
Here I thought the tension was thick earlier, but now? It’s consuming the air, and I can barely breathe. I don’t look at Father Keaton before I turn and try to enter my office, but then he speaks, causing me to pause.
In a grim tone I’ve never heard come from him before, he demands, “Go get Celine.”