“Thirty-nine degrees in Hartford at this hour,” Dave “Pit Bull” Peterson said,
glancing at one of three computer screens surrounding his broadcast desk in the studios of
Pinpoint Weather forecast calls for another sunny day, with highs in the mid-50s. And
now let’s get our first update on the Worlds Series with Sports Director Rich Poulin.”
Peterson pointed toward his in-studio engineer, who pressed a key on his
computer with his right hand, causing a canned snippet of music to play, the station’s
official sports theme. At the same time the engineer used his left hand to flip a switch on
a vast electronic console, activating the microphone in an adjacent studio, where the
Peterson pressed a button on a smaller console on his desk, which turned his
microphone off. He pulled his headphones down around his neck, leaned back in his
chair, and looked up at the ceiling. He let out a large sigh. The sports report would last
two minutes, followed by at least two more minutes of pre-recorded commercial spots.
During these regular breaks, if he didn’t have to use the men’s room, Peterson usually
With the left side of his headphones, the engineer monitored the sports report, as
it was his job to play the ads when it concluded. The right side headphone was perched
on his head above the ear. He leaned toward Peterson, about six feet away, and softly
said, “Pit Bull, you’re not yourself today. You all right?”
Peterson closed his eyes. I’ve got such a big mouth, he thought, angry at himself.
“Oh…just real busy yesterday…maybe too much coffee…a lot on my mind…you know.”
The engineer didn’t know. But he did realize it would be a long and tedious show
if Pit Bull did not get fired up and focused. That’s why people listened. A lively and
spirited show made the four-and-a-half hours fly by. On the other hand, a dull and clunky
broadcast made it seem like 10 a.m. would never come. “Hey, did you hear about the
drug murder over the weekend in your hometown?” the engineer said, hoping a violent
crime story would get Peterson’s juices flowing. “I’ve got two callers on hold—lines two
Oh great, Peterson thought. “Well, I was planning to talk about the state budget
this morning. Did you see the story in the Courant? The governor wants to create another
The engineer could believe it, since state spending was Pit Bull’s second favorite
topic—it was always too high and wasted too much taxpayer money. But Pit Bull’s
favorite topic, by far, was violent crime and the permissive lawyers and judges who, in
“So what should I, uh…” the engineer paused to focus on the sounds in his left
ear. He pressed a series of buttons as the sports report ended and the ads began. Now he
concentrated on his computer screen, clicked his mouse numerous times, in order to be
ready as the show’s precise schedule unfolded. “Dave,” he said hurriedly, “What do I do
Peterson thought for a moment and said, “Clear the board. We’ll start over after I
The engineer shook his head in confusion. Clear the board? he thought. Red hot
topic falls in our lap, callers lined up before six o’clock, and he wants to talk about the
Three hours later, which seemed like five hours later to the engineer, Peterson
Washington D.C. The pundit was on for a full ten minutes to hawk his new book, a
chronicle of corruption on Capitol Hill. God, that was awful, the engineer thought as he
disconnected the D.C. phone call. The guy thought he was talking to a radio station in
New Hampshire and he called Pit Bull “Don” at least four times. And Pit Bull never
even corrected him! Sheesh. “We’ll be back right after these messages with some open
Approximately four minutes later, after more commercial spots, another sports
update, and a traffic report, Peterson pondered one of his computer screens. The screen
listed callers currently on hold, displaying their first names, home towns, and discussion
topics. Of the four entries typed into the system by the engineer, who doubled as the
show’s call screener, three of the topics were some variation of “West Hartford shooting”
As soon as Peterson heard the traffic report finish in his headphones, he said,
“Thank you, Jennifer. It’s now twelve minutes before 9 o’clock. OK, let’s go straight to
the phones. We have Elaine from Manchester on line three, who wants to talk about our
I just said that, Pit Bull thought to himself. “Yes, hi Elaine,” he spoke out loud.
“Oh, I think it’s awful. All they do is spend money and raise taxes over there in
Hartford. But Pit Bull, what do you think about that drug murder in West Hartford?
“Well, uh, yeah, it’s terrible, of course,” Pit Bull stammered, now forced to
address the topic. “Anytime there is a violent crime in our state, it’s, uh, a tragic event.”
“No, I mean it’s terrible only one loser got killed,” Elaine explained. “Too bad
they didn’t both shoot each other at the same time, and then there’d be two dangerous
“Oh my, Elaine,” Pit Bull said, a bit flustered. “I guess that’s one way of looking
at it.”
“No, I’m serious,” she continued. “It’s like you always say, Pit Bull. We have to
clean up our streets. I don’t know exactly what happened in West Hartford, but I do know
what we’ve been told by the police, it does seem that the victim was not exactly an angel.
So I guess you might say no innocent people were hurt.” Peterson pondered this new
viewpoint, while Elaine continued to talk about cleaning up streets, impeaching judges,
imposing the death penalty, and a few other strong opinions about law and order. Most of
her opinions had been shaped by Pit Bull Peterson over the past decade.
No innocent people were hurt, Peterson thought to himself. His three co-
conspirators had been making the same point last night, but they had a vested interest in
that particular position. Now someone without a vested interest, someone who could offer
an unbiased opinion, someone who had no idea who had planned and carried out the
shooting, good ol’ Elaine from Manchester, was making the exact same point.
Interesting…
“Don’t you think so, Pit Bull?” Elaine paused, then repeated herself, “Don’t you
think so?” Peterson quickly came to his senses, realizing he hadn’t heard a word Elaine
“I’m sorry, Elaine. I was distracted here for a moment, uh, looking up something
“Oh, I was talking about those two crumb-bums who committed the home
invasion triple-murder in Wallingford last year. It would’ve been nice if someone had
shot them before the police arrived. Would’ve been quick and fair justice, and would’ve
“You know something, Elaine? You make a great point. I couldn’t agree with you more.
Thanks for calling. Let’s go to Mark on a cell phone. Mark, what’s on your mind?”
“Hey Pit Bull! Great to finally get through. You make my head explode! Heh,
heh. I been waitin’ for months to say that. So anyways, I guess that drug dealer in West
“All right, Mark, my friend, thank you for calling and exercising your First
Amendment right,” Peterson said with a smile. “Ah, I see our old friend Waterbury Wally
in on line one. Hello sir! What’s new in the Center of the Universe?”
The studio engineer smiled as he watched and listened to Pit Bull Peterson hold
court. Took a while, but he finally got fired up, he thought. Maybe the last hour of the
building of the West Hartford Police Department. The stenciled words on the door read:
“Capt. Raymond R. Bradford.” A gruff voice inside responded to the knock. “Yeah?”
“It’s Cavanaugh,” the detective said. “I’ve got the preliminary info.”
“Come in,” Bradford said. Cavanaugh entered the office, which was similar to its
occupant, meticulous and clean. Cavanaugh often marveled at how neat and tidy Capt.
Bradford’s office was, considering the vast amount of paperwork he had to process each
store.
had a lot of coworkers since he didn’t work too often.” Cavanaugh flipped the pages on a
small notebook. “Nobody heard anything, nobody suspected anything, and nobody can
him.”
Cavanaugh smiled. Bradford could be a clever and funny guy. Cavanaugh saw
that side of him occasionally. But the captain’s intense personality and frequent outbursts
the department, when an officer thought of Capt. Ray Bradford, the first word to pop into
his head was not “comedian.” It was more likely to be “jerk,” or a profane synonym.
“But here’s the weird thing, Captain,” Cavanaugh continued. “All of his friends
freely admitted Dykes was a drunk. They all figured he would die early, wrapped around
a tree somewhere. But every single one of them—including the girl he lived with—
insisted that he never did drugs. They said he hated drugs…pot, coke, pills, all of it. He
had that kind of redneck thing going, you know, a good ol’ boy drinker, yeah, but never
drugs. He wouldn’t even accept a free drink from anyone who used drugs—and he was
always looking for free drinks. So, it’s kinda weird he had cocaine on him.”
The captain didn’t seem too impressed or interested in this information. “Well, his
“Yeah…maybe.”
“Or he could’ve been selling the stuff to make money, but never used it himself,
“Well, if that’s the case,” Cavanaugh said, “he wasn’t a very good businessman.
The guy barely had enough money for shots and beer. Pretty much lived off his
girlfriend’s income.”
“Hmm…” Bradford grunted. “Lots of people are lousy businessmen. Look at us.
But it seemed he never wanted. Cavanaugh was convinced the atmosphere around the
WHPD could be so much better if Bradford would only lighten up a little and show his
funny, personable side once in a while. He still could be a really good cop, but at the
same time he also could be a really good guy. I know he’s capable of being human,
Cavanaugh often thought, but he just doesn’t seem to give a damn about that.
“Well, continue to work with the state police,” Bradford said. “If you get a clear
lead on a possible shooter, track him down. But don’t knock yourself out.”
“Don’t you think the townspeople will be expecting, uh, I mean, don’t you think we
ought to…”
“Look,” Bradford interrupted, “when a woman and her two daughters get raped
and killed in their own home, that’s murder. When someone’s driving home from the
supermarket and a drunk driver plows into the car head-on, that’s murder.” Bradford
paused and gazed out the window for a moment, his jaw becoming noticeably clenched.
He took a deep breath and looked Cavanaugh in the eyes. “This thing here?” Bradford
said, “We have a serial D.U.I. punk, a lazy, unemployed bum who is now dead and off
the roads. I’m not shedding any tears for this guy. And I’m not authorizing lots of PD
“Yes sir,” Cavanaugh replied. “You got it. When I get the toxicology report from
the lab I’ll let you know what his blood alcohol level was, and whether he had any
began reading. As far as the captain was concerned, the meeting was over and Cavanaugh
no longer was present inside the office. I hate when he does this, Cavanaugh thought as
“Man, that guy is a piece of work,” Cavanaugh muttered while walking back to
his cubicle. It’s almost like he wants people to dislike him, he said to himself. Cavanaugh
thought back to a time, at least 15 years earlier, when Bradford, then Sergeant Bradford,
was both a good cop and a likeable guy. But that was before the accident.
Back when both police officers were in their early 30s, Sergeant Ray Bradford
was a rising star on the police force. Dedicated, hard-working, smart, he was sure to
become a captain one day, maybe even chief. Bradford was a dedicated family man, too.
He had a lovely wife and two young daughters. His was the classic all-American,
suburban family.
Then one day in mid-December, just after dusk, Bradford’s wife was driving
home from the grocery store. The three-year-old daughter was securely strapped in a car-
seat in back; the six-year-old was in the front seat next to her mother. As their Ford
Escort drove along South Main Street in West Hartford, a Chevy Impala swerved across
the center line and hit Mrs. Bradford’s car head-on. The driver of the Impala was a 35-
year-old insurance agent, heading home after a Christmas office party. He was quite
inebriated.
The six-year-old girl in the front seat died instantly. The toddler in the back seat
was banged up but OK. Mrs. Bradford sustained severe injuries to her head and chest.
She lingered in the Intensive Care Unit of St. Francis Hospital in Hartford for about a
week before finally passing away. She never regained consciousness. The driver of the
Mike Cavanaugh was a patrolmen at the time. He didn’t know Sgt. Bradford too
well, but what he did know of him he liked. After the accident, Bradford became a
different person. The deaths of his wife and daughter just devastated him.
Few members on the force these days were around back then. The younger guys
just assume Capt. Bradford was born a jerk. However, Det. Cavanaugh was old enough to
remember. He understood that the captain’s cold, distant, and anti-social personality was
not inbred; it developed only after his all-American, suburban family was shattered.
One of the side effects of Bradford’s altered personality was a burning hatred
toward anyone who dared to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle after drinking. For
many years he volunteered to work Saturday night sobriety checkpoints, and not a few
drivers arrested for D.U.I. woke up the next morning in the WHPD holding cell with
more than a hang over. The lumps and bruises were explained away with a shrug and the
comment: “You musta stumbled and hit your head when we put you in the cell last
night.” A few expensive out-of-court settlements put an end to that rough and tumble
practice.
When the drunk driver who destroyed Bradford’s family was given a slap on the
wrist—a fine, probation, and loss of driver’s license for two years—Bradford was livid.
He began to follow the man around town. “Stalking” was the word used by the man’s
attorney when he filed a complaint with the Police Department. Eventually Bradford was
given a mild reprimand for harassing the man, which incensed him even further. The man
finally moved out of state, mostly to get away from Bradford’s hateful gaze. This hatred
for drunk drivers prompted Bradford to suggest the vigilante group’s first target, and to
Det. Cavanaugh sat at his messy desk, in his even messier cubicle, and asked
himself, How would I react if my family were suddenly destroyed? Then he cringed,
realizing that he had been using that same word—destroyed—whenever he thought about
his family. He never failed to get a sinking feeling of despair deep in his gut whenever he
thought about that fateful day almost four years earlier when his wife of 16 years, Susan,
came home from work and announced matter-of-factly that she wanted a divorce. Two
days later Susan and their two children, Mike Jr., age 14, and Sarah, age 11, were on a
flight to Phoenix, where they moved in with Susan’s sister. In the four years since his
marriage dissolved, Cavanaugh had seen his kids exactly five times.
Whenever Cavanaugh thought about his ex-wife and kids, thousands of miles
away in Arizona, his whole countenance sank. He had thrown many spur-of-the-moment
pity parties for himself during the past four years. Now, having gone from mild
annoyance at Bradford to major self pity in a matter of moments, brought on by the mere
thought of his children, the following thought actually ran through his head: Well, at least
The instant Cavanaugh completed that thought, he shook his head, ashamed of
himself for even thinking such a thing. Bradford’s wife and daughter were dead,
tragically killed in a head-on collision. His ex-wife and children were very much alive,
Then Det. Cavanaugh thought about Bradford’s surviving daughter, Tina. She
was a toddler at the time of the accident, and over the years the girl was the only thing
that could bring a smile to Bradford’s face. Bradford’s sister in a nearby town helped a
great deal in raising the child, but it was Bradford himself who did most of the cooking
and cleaning and checking of homework. He was practically a model parent. For as rude
and cold and mean he was at work, he was just as much kind and caring and thoughtful
with Tina. Bradford acted as if Tina was the only thing that made life worth living,
especially foul mood. One of the other officers explained the situation. Bradford had just
moved Tina, now age 18, into the freshmen dorms at Central Connecticut State
University. Although New Britain was only 15 minutes away, Bradford was crushed that
his little girl, the only connection to his once all-American, suburban family—the only
person on the planet that made him feel human—was grown up and no longer living
under his roof. Everyone at the WHPD walked on egg shells that week.
Chapter 7
Rev. G.W. Morton set a satchel on the shelf of one of the bays at the Coyote Gun
Club in Bristol, Connecticut. Since two other shooters were firing away in other bays,
Morton had already put on his ear protection before entering the firing range room. Even
after all these years, the muffled sound of the repeated explosions and lingering echoes
off the concrete walls always struck Morton as odd. It was very different compared to the
Rev. Morton was a member of the shooting club, and usually stopped by the range
at least once per month to shoot at targets with the assortment of revolvers and pistols he
owned. Target shooting was one of his favorite hobbies. Morton had learned to shoot as a
boy. Like most youth in southwestern Missouri, hunting and target shooting were a
routine part of growing up, which was quite unlike New England, a fact Morton
discovered when he traveled north to start his latest church. When Morton had become
convinced that the Lord was prompting him to move his ministry to the secular northeast,
he knew the culture would be different. But he was genuinely surprised at the attitude
toward firearms. Very few people in Connecticut had ever even fired a gun, let alone own
one. And a large number of people were convinced that guns themselves were inherently
evil, as if a manmade steel device could make moral decisions. Conventional wisdom
back home in Missouri, wisdom Morton accepted wholeheartedly, was that the true
source of good or evil was located in the heart and soul of the person holding the gun, not
Morton opened his satchel and began to remove weapons, boxes of ammunition,
and paper targets. He had with him on this day his favorite pistol, an expensive 9mm full-
sized Beretta, model M9, which could hold a maximum of 16 rounds. He also brought
along his silver Smith and Wesson .357 magnum revolver. He was extremely accurate
with both of these guns. However, the third firearm he pulled out of his satchel was the
real reason Morton was at the range. He wanted to get familiar with the pistol Capt. Ray
Bradford had given him, a blue steel Glock, model 26, known as the “Baby Glock,” a
When the four-member secret vigilante group first had formed about six months
earlier, they agreed on a handful of ironclad rules. First, absolutely no one else besides
the four men were to know about the group. No talking, no bragging, no communication
to anyone whatsoever about the existence of the group. That was the most important rule.
The next rule was that each of the four members would be fully involved in the
group’s activities. All four men had an equal say in planning the missions, including the
selection of targets. And each member would take his turn—hopefully multiple turns—to
be the trigger man. There would be no “hired guns,” no contracting with outsiders to do
the dirty work. Each of the four men would take full responsibility for the group’s actions
—all of its actions. That was one of the first things Capt. Bradford insisted on when the
discussions of the four men moved from the “wouldn’t that be interesting” stage to the
“we really should do it” stage. Having everyone take turns to carry out the missions
would be the best way to insure that everyone was not only fully committed to their
primary goal—ridding the community of thugs who made a mockery of the criminal
justice system—but also fully committed to keeping silent about the conspiracy.
Each man in the group knew the seriousness of their undertaking. They knew
what they were risking. If events did not turn out as planned, scandal, shame,
imprisonment, and even death were very distinct possibilities. Long and respected careers
would be ruined overnight. If things went poorly, if average citizens did not understand
what they were trying to do, they knew they would go down in history forever as a group
of psychotic murders. When the decision was made to move forward, the group members
solemnly pledged to each other to risk everything for their common goal. They even used
the concluding words of the Declaration of Independence to swear their allegiance to one
another as they embarked on their noble mission: “With a firm reliance on the protection
of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our
sacred Honor.”
The group’s final formal rule was that Capt. Bradford would provide the weapons.
Each of the other three men had pistol permits and owned guns. But the missions would
be carried out using the untraceable firearms Bradford had collected over the years. A
few of these guns were from the days when the WHPD’s evidence room was one big
knick-knack drawer. Firearms and drugs and all kinds of miscellaneous items were piled
hither and yon in the often unlocked room. Record-keeping was practically non-existent.
An officer could walk in and grab whatever suited his fancy. Only after a major scandal
did the situation change. About ten years ago, two West Hartford cops were arrested for
selling drugs to drug dealers, drugs which had been seized in prior raids. The state police
and FBI were called in to institute a strict inventory and accounting system. Now it was
very difficult to swipe anything from the evidence room. There were too many checks
This did not bother Capt. Bradford. He still had been able to increased his secret
gun collection over the years using a different method: grab the desired item before it
ever made it to the evidence room. The ideal situation for this was a drug bust. If the
person being arrested had a pistol in his pocket, that was all the police needed to add a
felony firearm charge. If other guns happened to be uncovered in the drug dealer’s house
or car, those weapons simply disappeared long before anything was turned over to the
evidence room inventory management team. Capt. Bradford assured the other three group
members it would be a long time before they ran out of untraceable guns.
One other group rule, which was not really official and had never been spoken
aloud, was that any group member who got cold feet and wanted out—or even worse,
Capt. Bradford’s grim stare and fiery eyes spoke this message eloquently, without the
need for words. One-hundred-percent commitment and no turning back were the rallying
cries of the group. Each of the four men fully understood this, and each of the four men,
Dave Peterson’s momentary crisis of faith the night before notwithstanding, were fully
Rev. Morton loaded fifteen 9mm rounds into a magazine clip and then snapped
the clip into the hand grip of his Beretta. He put the gun down on the shelf and attached a
paper “bulls eye” target to an overhead cable and pulley system, using two clothes pin
type spring clips. Pressing a switch on the left side wall of the little shooting booth, he
watched as the motorized cable moved the target out into the firing lane. When the target
reached the 25-foot mark, Rev. Morton took his hand off the switch. I like to warm up at
short distances, he thought. With his right hand he lifted up the pistol. With his left hand
he grabbed the slide and gently pulled it back. Then he let the slide snap forward,
chambering the first round. With his right thumb he moved the safety lever to the off
position. With his left hand he checked briefly to make sure the cups of his ear protectors
were directly centered over each ear. Then he spread his feet apart to about shoulder
width, flexed his knees slightly, and raised the pistol using both hands. Closing his left
eye, he focused with his right on the gun sights. When the center of the target’s bulls-eye
was right at the tip of the gun sight, he pulled the trigger. A loud boom exploded in the
room, the roar and echo sounding muffled in Rev. Morton’s ears.
Rev. Morton looked out at the target and saw a small hole about one inch from
dead center. Not bad, he thought. He raised the gun again and carefully fired off six more
shots, pausing a few seconds between each to re-aim. The clump of small holes on the
target were within two inches of center. Then he raised the gun and began fire rapidly,
taking less than six second to empty the eight remaining rounds. The target now had
small holes all over it, many nowhere near the center. I probably missed the target
completely on a couple of those, he thought. Rapid-fire shooting was not too accurate, but
Rev. Morton had planned to shoot with the Beretta for a while, switch to the .357
revolver, and then when he was good and warmed up, finally try the Glock. But now he
couldn’t wait. He just had to know what that small pistol, the pistol he would use on his
first “mission,” felt like. He brought the target back in and replaced it with a clean sheet.
Then he sent it back out to the 25-foot mark. He began to load six 9mm rounds into the
As he prepared the gun, Rev. Morton whispered to the weapon, “You, my friend,
are a sword for the Lord. You are a tool of righteousness, which will help to purge evil
from a desperate and hurting world.” He thought about the other three men, and how they
had formed their vigilante group in the first place. Tom Wilkins was the one who
originally knew the other three men. His family had been selling Ford vehicles, mostly
Crown Victorias, to the West Hartford PD for decades. Because of this connection, he
had become friends with Ray Bradford, as much as that’s possible. Tom’s dealership also
advertised for years on WCTR radio. He and Pit Bull Peterson went way back, their
families even vacationing together. Pit Bull often did live broadcasts on Saturday
mornings from the Wilkins Ford-Nissan showroom. Rev. Morton first met Tom Wilkins
about four years earlier. Wilkins barged into Rev. Morton’s office at the Faith Cathedral
one day. He was distraught and seeking help. Mrs. Wilkins had threatened not only to
divorce him, but also to make a public stink about his strip-club-and-prostitutes lifestyle.
Wilkins knew his life was a mess and had heard that the Faith Cathedral could help. A
At first, the idea of forming a vigilante group was just talk, a bunch of hot air
when four powerful personalities got together to complain about lawlessness and the
lenient criminal justice system. Rev. Morton could not remember which of the four was
the first to discuss the idea in earnest, as if they really could and should do it. Probably
Capt. Bradford, he thought. After all those months of talking, Rev. Morton was a bit in
disbelief that the plan was now in action. As Pit Bull had expressed the night before, “It’s
real now.” Unlike Pit Bull, Rev. Morton had no temporary crisis of faith, no lingering
doubts. He knew, absolutely knew, they were doing the right thing.
Holding the Glock at arm’s length, Rev. Morton aimed and fired. The pistol was
double-action only. He could not cock the hammer first and then gently squeeze the
trigger a fraction of an inch to discharge the weapon. With this gun, he had to pull the
trigger a relatively long distance so that the internal hammer would cock back and then
snap forward against the firing pin all in one motion. This, along with the very short
barrel, made the gun far less accurate than the Beretta. Rev. Morton looked out at the
target. A small hole was visible at the lower-left corner of the paper sheet, at least nine
inches away from dead-center. He scowled and then tried again. The next hole was about
five inches directly above center. When the gun was empty, six hole were scattered on
the target, with only one within a few inches of center. Oh well, he thought, it’s just not a
very accurate pistol at a distance of 25-feet. Then he smiled and thought, But it only has
Fr. Dan Cavanaugh paused after reading the final scripture verse, then said, “The
Gospel of the Lord.” Only about half of the 30 people scattered in the pews at St.
Lawrence Church knew the reply, and weakly mumbled, “Praise to you, Lord Jesus
Christ.”
Fr. Dan closed the Lectionary book, placed it on a shelf of the Ambo, more
commonly known as the pulpit, and grabbed a sheet of yellow lined paper, which
contained his homily notes. This was one of the worst parts of his job. Fr. Dan knew that
he was expected to speak about the deceased, who was lying in the casket about fifteen
feet away, as if he or she had been a good friend. Sometimes the dearly departed had
indeed been a close friend of Fr. Dan. For those funeral Masses he did not need notes; he
could speak eloquently and passionately from the heart. But most of the funerals he did,
included today’s, were for people he either barely knew or had never met at all.
Technically, Fr. Dan only had to perform funeral Masses for parishioners. And
technically “parishioner” was defined as someone active in the parish who attended Mass
regularly. So technically, Fr. Dan should’ve been acquainted with every dearly departed
about whom he had to speak. But Fr. Dan knew he did not live in a “technically” type
world. If someone came to the church Rectory and tearfully told Fr. Dan that a loved one
—father, mother, uncle, cousin, neighbor, grandmother, you name it—had passed away,
he never turned them down. He knew how important the funeral ritual was for grieving
family members. Whenever he noticed he was becoming a bit cold and jaded about
funerals, he just thought back to the time his own father died suddenly when Dan was
It was about this same time of year, late October. Dan Cavanaugh, a senior at
Conard High School in West Hartford, was the starting quarterback on the school football
team. One of his favorite targets was his younger brother, Mike, a sophomore. The Cav-
to-Cav combination had already hooked up for 11 touchdown passes, with three games
still left to go in the season. More importantly, Conard High, for the first time in decades,
was undefeated and in position for its first-ever trip to the state playoffs.
Dan and Mike came home from football practice. It was a Wednesday and already
dark. As they jumped out of Peter Reynolds’ car, who was one of the few guys on the
team who owned a car and gave the brothers a ride home every night, they saw an
ambulance parked in the driveway. Just as they approached the small two-bedroom cape,
paramedics burst out of the front door wheeling a stretcher. One paramedic was
performing CPR on the person lying on the stretcher. Despite the oxygen mask on the
The next few days were a blur. The family was devastated. Mike took the news
especially hard, as did their mother. They loved Daniel Patrick Cavanaugh, Sr. Everyone
did. He taught them how to play ball. He checked their homework. He chastised them
when they needed it, which was often, but never let them forget how much he cared for
them and how proud he was of them. He taught the boys to love God and to respect the
Church, even if sometimes the people who run the Church acted more like Pharisees than
good shepherds. In talking with some of the other guys at school over the years, it
became clear that Dan and Mike were very fortunate. Many of their friends came from
terrible homes, where drunkenness, physical abuse, and, maybe worst of all, emotional
As the older brother, Dan felt responsible for helping his mother and brother cope
with their sudden and crushing loss. But he was powerless. There was nothing he could
do except grieve along with them. From the moment his dad died, Dan felt burdened to
care for his family. That’s why he was especially glad when his request to be transferred
to his boyhood parish was approved by the Archdiocese three years ago. He finally was
back home, close to his elderly mom and younger brother, the recently divorced cop. Dan
was able to help his distraught brother in ways not possible if he were still assigned to his
The only thing Dan remembered clearly from the days just after his dad’s death
was the funeral Mass. At the last minute, their regular pastor was stricken with a stomach
bug, and so a kindly old priest, Fr. William Blaney, pinch-hit on a moment’s notice to
conduct the Mass. At first, it seemed like another cruel blow. First, their father suddenly
was dead; then a priest who never even met him was going to do the funeral Mass. What
did he possibly know about their dad? But to everyone’s surprise, Fr. Blaney’s homily
was the most compassionate and comforting words they had ever heard. Using a few
tidbits of personal information gleaned from the two teenagers just before Mass began,
the kindly old priest wove together a stirring presentation, focusing on these themes: God
loves everyone more than we can begin to comprehend, and our entire natural life here on
earth is just the pre-season training camp of our eternal existence. Fr. Blaney logically
and powerfully made the case that God had a very good reason for calling home Daniel
everybody present in the church could be reunited with him someday if they just put their
Fr. Dan often thought about that terribly sad and terribly wonderful day. Although
Fr. Blaney was destined to be called home himself less than four months later, his
compassionate homily brought great comfort to the Cavanaugh clan. It also planted the
first seed in Dan’s mind about maybe choosing the priesthood as his career vocation.
Now, over 30 years later, Fr. Dan thought about the kindly old priest’s homily every time
he had to preside over a funeral. Not surprisingly, whether he was acquainted with the
person in the casket or not—such as on this day—Fr. Dan’s talk usually focused on two
main themes: God loves us all more than we can comprehend, and our entire natural life
Fr. Dan looked down at the yellow lined page, where he had scribbled some basic
facts and figures, names and places, about the deceased. In large letters at the top of the
page was written: DAVID “DAVE” MORIARTY. He made a habit of writing the name
of the deceased in large letters on all of the notes and readings he would use during a
funeral. One time, many years earlier, he had referred to a man named Tim as “Tom”
throughout the funeral, and caught loads of grief afterward from the angry family. Fr.
halfway through his homily, he looked out at the handful of other people scattered in the
church. In a pew near the rear of the church, on the right hand side from Fr. Dan’s point
of view, he spied an angelic face staring at him and hanging on every word he said. It was
Anna Rivera. Anna was one of the most dedicated parishioners at St. Lawrence church.
She was a bit on an anomaly for the old and dying parish: she was only 38 years old. And
she was a bit of an anomaly for any group of average citizens: she was drop-dead
gorgeous.
Many times Fr. Dan would be distributing communion at one of the Sunday
Masses, and as a person received the host from Fr. Dan and then stepped aside, the priest
suddenly would find himself face-to-face with a living fashion magazine cover. During
the summer, if Anna wore a low-cut, form-fitting dress, Fr. Dan’s face would blush.
Wherever she went, Anna Rivera turned heads. And not a few husbands felt a sharp jolt
to their ribs, as their wives’ elbows gave a silent and painful message: “Put your eyes
The odd thing about Anna Rivera was that she did not realize just how attractive
she was. At age 38, she looked no more than 28. She worked for the State of Connecticut
as an accounting clerk in one of the many office buildings surrounding the Capitol in
Hartford. She had been a devoted wife until her husband died of cancer five years earlier.
Now she was a devoted mother, who prayed constantly for her two teenage children, one
boy and one girl. She didn’t go on dates, as far as anyone knew. And she had no idea how
many men would jump at the chance to be with her. The fact that she was so good
looking, but didn’t quite realize how much, and that she never flirted or flaunted her
beauty, only made her even more alluring to men. Unfortunately, because of her looks,
When Fr. Dan saw that Anna was in the church, he smiled briefly and continued
his homily without missing a beat. He was not surprised to see her, as she often used
vacation days from her job to attend weekday funeral Masses, just to pray and offer
comfort to the grieving family, whether she knew them personally or not. Fr. Dan was
glad she was in attendance. He was always glad when she was in his presence—
sometimes too glad. If he could jokingly think that he needed to go to confession because
of what he thought about the parish’s chronic complainer, Mrs. Mullen, then when he
was near Anna Rivera, it was no joke that he often thought to himself, Now I gotta go to
Fr. Dan had become puzzled in recent years. When he was a newly ordained
priest in his mid-twenties, and throughout his thirties, he rarely struggled with his vow of
celibacy. Lustful thoughts were rare. As he moved through his forties, and especially
after being transferred to St. Lawrence and meeting Anna Rivera, he found himself more
and more preoccupied with the idea of being intimately involved with a woman. On the
verge of turning 50, he thought those temptations would be a thing of the past. Maybe the
problem was for the first time since becoming a priest he experienced prolonged periods
of extreme loneliness. Or maybe the problem was that the widow Rivera was simply a
knockout.
Chapter 9
Rev. G.W. Morton sat in a silver Nissan Maxima parked on a quiet stretch of
Flatbush Avenue, near the intersection with Oakwood, in a section of West Hartford that
is part industrial, part low income residential neighborhood. The car was supplied by
Tom Wilkins from his used car lot. In the right hand pocket of Rev. Morton’s black
overcoat was the Glock pistol, given to him by Capt. Bradford. In his left coat pocket was
a flashlight. On his hands were black leather gloves, and on his head was a grey tweed
touring cap to cover his prominent silver hair. Rev. Morton kept a watchful eye on the
sidewalk alongside Flatbush Ave., looking for any sign of his target, a young man called
“Jitterbug.”
The secret vigilante group had agreed the next target should be a drug dealer.
After reviewing a sizable list of possible targets provided by Capt. Bradford, they chose a
19-year-old man known to everyone in the area as “Jitterbug.” The nickname came from
his days as a football and basketball star at Conard High School. Jitterbug could have
gone on to play college ball, but why bother with college, he reasoned, when you can
make close to $75,000 per year tax-free selling drugs. From all accounts Jitterbug was a
very kind and polite young man, something Rev. Morton hoped to capitalize on. Jitterbug
only had two flaws: he liked to sell cocaine to 8th graders, and he liked to get 10th
graders pregnant. Word was that at least three infants currently being pushed in strollers
around neighborhood streets by unmarried teenager girls looked an awful lot like
Jitterbug.
The target was selected in large part because he had regular habits. Almost every
afternoon Jitterbug played basketball at the Charter Oak playground, where he dazzled
the other kids with his quickness and shooting touch, and also set up numerous drug
deals. Just before dark he would walk the two blocks along Flatbush Ave. toward his
house, where his mom was preparing dinner. After dinner he would kiss his mom on the
cheek, tell her he was going to hang out with some friends, and leave to complete his
many lucrative transactions. Another habit that made Jitterbug the target of choice was
the fact he always wore a red New York Yankees hat with white pinstripes. It would be
Rev. Morton reached down with his left hand and pulled the lever that releases the
hood latch—for the fifth time. He knew the car’s hood was already unlatched, since he
had opened the hood 20 minutes earlier. At that time he had draped an extra spark plug
wire across the engine and then gently lowered the hood, making sure it did not click
shut. During the time Rev. Morton sat waiting, only three people had passed, two
teenagers on foot and an adult on a bicycle. On the side of the street where the Nissan
was parked, beyond the sidewalk, was a chain link fence. Behind the fence was an open
lot, overgrown with weeds, where a factory once stood. On the opposite side of the street
was a two-story factory building that spanned an entire block. The factory had no
windows facing the street. No one could see Rev. Morton unless he or she walked right
up to the car. This is the perfect spot to conduct the “mission,” he thought. Very quiet
street. Then he reminded himself of the firm instructions Capt. Bradford had given him:
“We’re not in a hurry. We can always do it another day. If there is anyone else on the
To drown out Capt. Bradford’s voice, which was replaying in his head, Rev.
Morton began to pray. Quietly he said, “O Lord, please make my hand firm and my aim
true. Please guide me as I do your work here on earth. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
Instinctively he closed his eyes halfway through the pray. When he looked up after
saying “Amen,” he saw a figure walking down the sidewalk. The car was facing west and
the setting sun made it difficult to see in that direction. A few moments later, as the figure
drew to within about 50 yards, Rev. Morton saw that the figure was bouncing a
basketball as he walked. The red baseball cap perched sideways on the figure’s head
caused Morton to blurt out loudly, “That’s him!” He hurried out of the car and lifted the
car’s hood. He pulled the flashlight from his coat and leaned over, pretending to look at
the car’s engine, but instead he concentrated on the bouncing sound as it drew nearer and
nearer. The sound of Rev. Morton’s heart pounding in his chest almost drowned out the
When the young man with the basketball was about ten feet away, Rev. Morton
stood up straight, shook his head, and said loudly, “Darn it!” Even as he intended to gun
down a total stranger, the good Reverend could not bring himself to use profanity.
Jitterbug slowed down and looked at the middle-aged man with the disabled car,
noticing that he was very well-dressed, with a shirt and tie, black overcoat, tweed cap,
and polished wing tip shoes. Jitterbug instantly pegged him as a salesman who was
visiting one of the nearby factories. With a pleading tone in his voice, Rev. Morton said,
Rev. Morton took a step away from the car and replied, “I’m not sure. It just
won’t start.” Jitterbug stepped off the sidewalk and reached down to set the basketball on
the road against the curb, so it wouldn’t roll away. He took the flashlight from Rev.
Morton’s extended hand. Spinning his cap directly backwards, with the bill in back like a
baseball catcher, Jitterbug leaned toward the engine and began looking for anything out
of the ordinary. As the young man bent over in front of him, Rev. Morton pulled the
Glock from his coat, reached out his arm to less than a foot from Jitterbug’s head, and
Nothing happened. The trigger wouldn’t move. The safety is still on! a panicky
voice screamed inside Rev. Morton’s head. Just then Jitterbug turned. Rev. Morton
lurched his right arm down alongside his leg, as if snapping to attention. “What the hell is
Jitterbug raised his hand, which held the loose spark plug wire. “What is this?” he
asked again.
Rev. Morton stared at the wire. He was frozen, like a soldier on guard duty, but
his mind was racing, on the verge of panic. Jitterbug had not seen the gun. Morton
pressed the black gun, held by his black-gloved hand, against his black overcoat, hoping
the weapon would blend in and not be visible. The sun had just dipped below the horizon
and it was getting darker by the moment. Rev. Morton tried to remain calm, but his heart
was pounding like a jackhammer. He could feel his forehead getting clammy with sweat.
Finally, he cleared his throat and said weakly, “Uh, I don’t know. Where’s it supposed to
be connected?”
Jitterbug turned back toward the car and said, “Well, man, it’s suppose to be over
Rev. Morton’s right thumb quietly pushed the gun’s safety to the off position.
Once again Rev. Morton raised his right arm to within a foot of Jitterbug’s head.
He squeezed the trigger, which this time did move. A loud explosion burst from the
weapon. A 9mm slug tore directly through the center of the interlocking N-Y logo on the
cap, then through the back of Jitterbug’s skull. After ripping through the entire length of
his brain, the slug came to a stop just behind the left eye.
Jitterbug’s lifeless body slumped onto the car engine. Blood seeped from under
the baseball cap and down his neck. Rev. Morton stood still, the only movement coming
from his chest, which heaved in and out with his rapid breathing. After a second or two,
he sprang into action, noting with puzzlement that the gun blast had sounded more like
the shooting range boom and echo rather than the higher pitched crack he had expected in
the great outdoors. He quickly shoved the pistol into his coat pocket. Then he grabbed
Jitterbug by his belt and pulled him off of the car, careful not to get any blood on his
overcoat in the process. The body fell to the road and settled against the sidewalk curb,
right next to the basketball. Rev. Morton reached onto the motor and grabbed the loose
spark plug wire and flashlight. He closed the hood, then hopped into the car and turned
the key. The engine roared to life. He backed up about five feet, to make sure he did not
run over Jitterbug’s body. Then he pulled forward and away from the curb, and drove
down Flatbush Avenue. At the end of the road he took a right. A few blocks later he took
another right. As he drove, his shaking hands put the gun, the flashlight, the spark plug
Rev. Morton steered the Maxima north onto New Park Avenue. He noticed that
he was drenched in sweat. His breathing finally had returned to normal, and his hands
had stopped shaking, but he could feel that his undershirt was soaked. His mind stopped
racing a bit, and he began to replay in his head the events of the preceding five minutes.
Only then did Rev. Morton realized that he had never checked to see if anyone else was
on the street when he began speaking with Jitterbug. The Reverend’s damp undershirt
Rev. Morton steered the silver Maxima into the Service Department entrance
driveway of the Wilkins Ford-Nissan dealership. He drove around to the rear of the
building and pulled into an empty parking space. He entered the building through the
door that was next to the four roll-up garage doors, the same entrance he always used
when he visited the dealership, either to see Tom Wilkins socially during the day, or to
attend secret vigilante group meetings at night. Under his left arm Rev. Morton clutched a
blue plastic bag. In his right hand he held the gray cap, which he had taken off when he
walked through the doorway. His silver hair was wet with sweat, and matted down on his
forehead.
Many of the workers in the service area were finishing up for the day, putting
their tools away, washing their hands in the large utility sink, and turning in oil-smudged
paperwork at the service manager’s counter. Most of the workers recognized Rev.
Morton, since he was a frequent visitor. Some of them knew the reverend personally, as
they attended the Faith Cathedral. Tom Wilkins urged all of his employees to attend Rev.
Morton’s church. Ever since his personal conversion, Wilkins was not shy about
discussing his new-found faith in God with his employees and even with his customers.
Some were turned off by it, but most understood it was just his sincere belief. Those who
had known Tom Wilkins for many years realized his new faith in God had transformed
his life—for the better. They were genuinely happy for him, even if they did not share his
evangelical zeal. Besides, Wilkins was not the type to beat people over the head with a
Bible. He was more interested in “beating people over the head” with the keys to a brand
new Ford.
area. Rev. Morton smiled and waved back, the cap still in his hand. He made his way
down a small hallway, turned left, then walked to the last door on the right. He knocked
on this door, which quickly was pulled open by Tom Wilkins, who stood with an anxious
expression on his face. “Come in, G.W.” he said. Rev. Morton entered Wilkins’ office,
which was adorned with family photos, dealership award plaques, and framed
Wilkins closed the door just as quickly as he had opened it. He grabbed Rev.
Rev. Morton smiled slightly, nodded his head, and said, “Mission completed.”
“Yeah, really?” Wilkins said, almost breathlessly. “You, you did it?”
“Did it. It’s over. The target is, uh…down. Done. No more.”
“Whew!” Wilkins said. “I’ve been sitting here fidgeting for a the last hour, going
out of my mind. Whew, good job, G.W.” He stepped away from the preacher, and
noticed his matted down hair. “Jeez, what did you do, jog all the way over here? You’re
all sweaty.”
“Oh, well…” the preacher stammered, “I, uh, it was kind of tense, of course. The
adrenaline gets flowing, you know, and before you know it, well…”
street clear? Did you see anyone else anywhere near you when you, uh, did it?”
Rev. Morton paused for a moment, then replied with complete honesty, “I did not
“Great,” Wilkins said, breathing a big sigh of relief. “Let’s call the captain.” He
went behind his desk, sat down, and dialed Capt. Bradford’s cell phone number. Then he
Recognizing the phone number and expecting a call, Bradford answered with a
curt, “Yeah?”
Wilkins glanced at Rev. Morton, who shook his head from side to side. “No,”
“Good,” Bradford said, then hung up. Bradford already knew the mission had
been completed. He had been standing inside the emergency dispatch room of the WHPD
headquarters when the 9-1-1 call came in. A body lying in the street on Flatbush Avenue.
Apparent gunshot wound to the head. No sign of life. It had only been mere minutes since
patrolmen and an ambulance arrived at the scene, but from what Bradford could discern
by listening to the radio conversations, it seemed there were no witnesses. He knew the
next thing the patrolmen would do is canvas the area and search for people who saw or
heard something. Bradford grabbed his jacket from the coat rack in his office, and headed
for his Crown Victoria in the parking lot. He would drive over to Flatbush and take
charge of the crime scene, and make sure the patrolmen did not spend too much time and
Tom Wilkins sat back in his chair behind the desk. “OK, so what have you got for
me?” he asked. Rev. Morton handed over the blue plastic bag. Wilkins took the bag and
placed it in the bottom drawer of the desk, then locked the drawer and put the key in his
shirt pocket. “All that stuff will be destroyed and disposed of tonight,” he said. He waved
his arm and said, “Take a seat, G.W. Relax.” Rev. Morton sat down in one of the two
“Too bad you made me quit drinking,” Wilkins said. “This would be the perfect
Rev. Morton, who had not let “demon rum” pass his lips since a few rebellious
teenage episodes many years earlier, frowned and said, “No no, Tom. The Lord does not
want us to dull our senses now. We are engaged in important work, holy work. And we
“Yeah yeah, I know,” Wilkins said, a bit annoyed that Rev. Morton had taken him
seriously. Alcohol was the source of most of his problems in the “bad ol’ days.” He
While Wilkins was thinking about not drinking, Rev. Morton looked down and
noticed that his hands were still quivering slightly from the rush of adrenaline. On the
other hand, he thought to himself, If there ever was a good time to throw back a shot of
bourbon…
“Hey,” Wilkins said loudly, interrupting Rev. Morton’s thoughts, “How’s the car?
Did you hit anything? Any damage? Any bullet holes in the engine?”
“That I don’t know, Tom. It was getting dark and I got out of there in a hurry.”
“OK, that’s all right,” Wilkins said. “When I’m here by myself tonight, I’ll bring
the car inside and wipe it down. I’ll even steam-clean the engine if I have to.”
The phone on Wilkins’ desk buzzed. It was the intercom. Wilkins pressed a
A female voice said, “Mr. Wilkins? We’re finished now. We’re heading home.”
“Fine, Doris,” Wilkins said. “Have a good night. See you tomorrow.”
The office staff was done for the day, but since it was Thursday, the showroom
would be opened until 9 p.m., and at least four or five salesmen would be in the building.
Wilkins knew he could not begin to dispose of any evidence until much later in the
evening. He stood up and said, “Hey, G.W., let’s go out to dinner. I’ve got a few hours to
Rev. Morton loved juicy steaks, but at this moment the image of red juice
dripping from a steak brought on a twinge of queasiness in his stomach. “No, Tom.
Thank you,” he said. “I have to get going.” He wanted nothing more than to race home
and take a long hot shower. His underwear was still damp with sweat and he was
beginning to shiver involuntarily. “I’ve got things to do, Tom, and you should go home
“OK, fine. Whatever you say,” Wilkins said. Both men stood up to leave. Wilkins
walked over and looked Rev. Morton straight in the eye, from no more than a foot away.
He grabbed both of Morton’s elbows in his hands. “Great job, my friend,” he said. “You
“Thanks, Tom. Thanks,” the reverend said sheepishly. “It, it had to be done.” Yes,
it had to be done, Rev. Morton repeated to himself in his head. We are definitely doing
the right thing, he thought. He was convinced they were doing the right thing. They had
to purge the evil from among civilized society. But Rev. Morton was a little
uncomfortable. He had not anticipated that the actual deed would be so emotionally
wrenching.
“Right,” Wilkins said. “It had to be done. And I’m next. The next one is my turn.”
Rev. Morton nodded, wondering if his friend Tom Wilkins also would be
“So we’re meeting here tomorrow night to begin planning my mission, right?”
Morton nodded.
Rev. Morton nodded again. He turned to leave, then paused. He reached into the
pocket of his black overcoat. “Oh, I think you need these,” he said as he held up the keys
Dept. and went outside. He began to wander through the vast parking area, filled with
cars, and said out loud, “Now where did I park my car?”
Chapter 11
Fr. Dan Cavanaugh stood at the sink in the kitchen of the St. Lawrence rectory.
He rinsed off the plate and silverware he had just used to eat dinner. The housekeeper had
prepared a delicious meatloaf with mashed potatoes earlier in the day, and as usual,
although she cooked for only one priest, she made enough for at least four people. Fr.
Dan hated to throw away so many leftovers each day. He hated it even more on the days
when he gave in to temptation and wolfed down the entire meal. The way she cooks, it’s
a miracle I don’t weigh 400 pounds, he thought. He looked over and saw another plate
sitting on the kitchen counter, its contents hidden by aluminum foil. He peeled back the
foil a couple of inches and revealed a small mountain of freshly baked chocolate chip
cookies. “Oh God,” Fr. Dan said out loud. “She’s really trying to kill me.”
Staying in decent physical shape was a constant struggle for the 49-year-old
priest. The basic lifestyle of a parish pastor did not help. There was precious little free
time to exercise on a regular basis. The few times Fr. Dan attempted to start a regular
regimen of jogging or weight lifting or attending a local gym, it lasted no more than a
month or two. The pressing demands of the job—the endless series of evening committee
meetings and especially the midnight phone calls when a parishioner was taken to a
hospital emergency room—seemed to take up all of his spare time. The only days when
his housekeeper did not prepare a lavish feast were the days he was invited to a special
was Thanksgiving Day for Fr. Dan. He figured he was about 20 pounds heavier than he
ought to be. At six-foot-two with broad shoulders, he hid it fairly well. But he knew that
he was at the age when his extra 20 pounds easily could turn into an extra 80 pounds.
Overeating was a socially acceptable vice, but Fr. Dan realized that gluttony was just as
much a sin as lust. The allure of both sins of the flesh seemed to be more powerful than
ever.
Fr. Dan dried his hands then looked at his watch. He still had about an hour before
he had to be at a meeting in the church’s social center with the head of the Religious
Education program and members of the Liturgy Committee. It was time to begin making
plans for this year’s Christmas pageant. Fr. Dan already knew this year’s pageant would
be exactly like last year’s—and the year before that and the year before that. Also, he was
certain it would be like next year’s and the year after that, etc. That’s what the
parishioners wanted and expected, which was fine with him. The Christmas pageant
should be a time-honored tradition that evoked warm memories in everyone. What wasn’t
so fine with Fr. Dan was attending a three-hour meeting that should be no more than a
half-hour meeting.
Fr. Dan went into the living room to watch the news on television. Just as he was
about to sit down, the rectory door bell rang. He groaned. The rectory door bell rang
often, and at all hours of the day and night. Whenever the bell rang, Fr. Dan could not
even guess what it might be. Sometimes it was simple and brief: the groundskeeper
saying good night after working late or a parishioner dropping off some paperwork. Other
times it was a little more involved: someone with a personal problem in need of a
sympathetic ear or a stranger down on his luck looking for a handout. Fr. Dan always was
willing to help. After all, his desire to help people was the reason he became a priest.
However, he rarely gave out cash, primarily because he rarely had any on him. Also, in
most cases he knew the cash would be used to buy drugs or booze. He did invite people
inside quite often and fed them, putting the leftover food to good use. On some occasions
the reason the doorbell rang was a full-blown crisis: someone just had a stroke; someone
was just in a car accident; or someone at hospice was not expected to make it through the
night. At these times Fr. Dan dutifully would gather his coat and his “Anointing of the
Sick” kit and leave the rectory, and any plans to get a good night’s sleep would have to
Before opening the front door, Fr. Dan peered through the peep hole. After a
parish priest was murdered a few years back in a neighboring town by a mentally
disturbed man who had come to the rectory door at night, all pastors had been warned by
the Archdiocese to be much more careful about answering the door. Fr. Dan always
looked through the peep hole before opening the door, not out of concern for his personal
safety, but mostly to see if he recognized the person. If it was a parishioner, he wanted a
few moment to try and remember the correct name, so he didn’t stumble and fumble once
the conversation began. He was always amazed that most parishioners just assumed the
priest knew everyone in the parish by name, and were quick to take offense if the priest
through the distorted wide angle, fish-eye lens, she looked gorgeous. Fr. Dan shook his
head and groaned. This exact scenario—Anna coming to the rectory door in the evening
—was the way a very vivid and sensual dream had begun about a week earlier. At about
2 a.m. that night Fr. Dan had bolted upright in bed, drenched in sweat and with his heart
pounding, waking up at the very moment in his dream when he and Anna were about to
consummate their love. He immediately had jumped out of bed and went into the
bathroom to wash his face with ice cold water. He paced around the second floor of the
rectory, replaying the events of the dream in his head. It had been so vivid. He could feel
her smooth skin as she embraced him. He could taste her neck as he kissed it. As he
paced in the dark, there were moments when he was not sure if it had been a dream or
not. It seemed that real. Fr. Dan never fell back to sleep that night. He paced some more,
and he prayed. He read his Bible for a while. He went downstairs and turned on the TV.
He did everything he could to get her out of his mind, but to no avail.
For a moment he thought of not answering the door. She doesn’t know I’m here,
he thought. It will be best—for both of us. He looked through the peep hole again and
noticed that she was crying. Uh oh, something’s wrong, he thought. His romantic
attraction toward her immediately diminished and his pastoral concern for her wellbeing
came to the fore. He opened the door and said, “Anna, what’s the matter?”
She pushed her way into the rectory without being invited, and embraced the
priest in a tight hug, burying her face into his shoulder. Except for the tears, this was
exactly how his dream had begun. Fr. Dan could feel her firm, perfectly-shaped form
pressing against him. His pastoral concern waned as his romantic attraction returned.
Before he could say or do anything, in fact, even before he could quite figure out what
was happening, Anna pulled away from him slightly, looked up and sobbed, “Oh Father,
Instantly, every lustful molecule in Fr. Dan’s body disappeared. He no longer was
a lonely man fantasizing about falling in love with a gorgeous woman, but had once again
become a dedicated priest focused on serving the needs of others. “What do you mean?”
“Oh Father,” Anna moaned. “They shot him. Right in the head! Just this evening,
Fr. Dan led her into the living room and sat her down on the couch. He took a seat
“I don’t know,” she wailed. “The druggies he’s been hanging out with, I guess.
Oh Father, I told him over and over he was running with the wrong crowd. He was going
to get in trouble, get arrested or get hurt. But I never thought they would kill him!” She
slumped over, burying her face into his shoulder again, and sobbed uncontrollably. Fr.
Dan held her in his arms. He knew there was nothing he could say. The best thing he
Most of the dozen or so people who regularly attended the 8 a.m. weekday Mass
shuffled out of the church. Fr. Dan figured the youngest of the group was about age 70.
Standing near the altar Fr. Dan looked anxiously toward the entrance of the building. He
was exhausted from staying up most of the night worrying about Anna Rivera. They
hadn’t said much when she was at the rectory. He just held her in his arms for about an
hour. Then he suggested that she return home to be with her daughter and try to get some
sleep. Fr. Dan escorted Anna to her apartment. When he left the rectory, arm in arm with
the beautiful woman, he was seen by a couple of parishioners who wondered why their
pastor had not appeared at the Liturgy Committee meeting. Immediately, the gossip mill
began to buzz.
Fr. Dan didn’t doze off until almost 4:30 a.m. At most he had gotten two hours of
sleep. Now, besides feeling exhausted, he also felt guilty because he had enjoyed Anna’s
embrace so much. She’s grieving and you’re lusting after her, he thought to himself
numerous times while he had been holding her. Oh that’s real nice, you creep, his mind
accused sarcastically, as an internal war raged between Fr. Dan’s fleshly desires and his
As the last few senior citizens exited, Fr. Dan saw a much taller, spry figure enter
the church. Fr. Dan made eye contact and waved the man forward. “Hi Mike,” he said in
a stage whisper when his brother reached the altar, “Thanks for coming on such short
notice.”
The priest did not answer, but instead escorted Mike into the Sacristy, a small
room behind the Sanctuary. Fr. Dan began to change out of his vestments while Mike
waited impatiently.
Finally, Fr. Dan spoke. “Mike, I know you’re busy. I know you have another
“No. I heard about it from the mother of the murder victim,” Fr. Dan answered.
“They’re parishioners here. So now I do have to do a funeral for a—how did you phrase
“Really?” Mike said. “Luis ‘Jitterbug’ Rivera was a member of this parish? He
“Well, his mom and sister come to Mass a lot. I haven’t seen much of Jitterbug
since his confirmation a couple of years ago, but the times I talked with him he always
“Hmm, that’s not exactly the way the Police Department would describe him.”
“Yeah, I figured that, Mike,” Fr. Dan said. “I mean, he must’ve been involved in
some pretty nasty stuff. His mother told me he hung out with druggies.”
“Well, his mother’s partially right,” the cop said, trying to be diplomatic. “He did
hang out with druggies—but mostly so he could continue to sell drugs to them.”
Fr. Dan paused in the middle of putting on his jacket. “Really?” he said with a
Mike nodded. Fr. Dan finished putting on his jacket, and the cop added, “Um,
apparently he was a pretty nice guy, like you said. But he, uh, he must’ve just been one of
those guys who decided that he’s gonna define what’s right and what’s wrong for
Fr. Dan paused again, then broke out in a smile. “Hey, have you actually been
pay attention…sometimes. I’ve heard you preach about people who decide to play God.
People who define right and wrong, good and evil, for themselves, based on whatever is
best for them. Hell, Danny, I see that all the time in my line of work. You wouldn’t
believe how many people—right after we arrest them, of course—who sincerely say, ‘I
“Well, I’m impressed, little bro’. I’m glad you pay attention…sometimes.”
“Yeah, I hate to admit it,” Mike said with a smile, “because you’re such a
You know, sometimes we cops get so caught up in the craziness of trying to maintain law
and order, we actually lose sight of what’s right and wrong ourselves. I’ve seen it happen
on the force. It’s tempting to rationalize that if something works best for us, it must be
right. So, big bro’, I hate to say it, but you do help me…sometimes!”
The two brothers chuckled. “Well, now I need your help. I’ve got to do a funeral
Mass for a murdered drug dealer, and somehow I’ve got to provide some comfort for his
grieving loved ones. I can’t screw this one up. I’ve got to help them, but I can’t just B.S.
it, either. So, I want to show you my sermon notes and have you tell me if I’m
Sure, I guess I can do that,” Mike replied. “I mean, I never met the guy, but we
have a pretty large file on him. I’ll just tell you the truth. If you say he was a saint, I’ll
have to tell you no. If you say he was a nice guy who got caught up with the wrong
crowd, I’ll tell you, yeah, probably. If you say he’s now in Heaven, well…that’s your
Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Mike changed the subject and said, “You think
you need help? I’m the one who needs help. We’ve got two execution-style murders in
less than two weeks! This town is turning into Hartford or Bridgeport, for God’s sake!”
“Yeah, that is unbelievable,” the priest said. “What’s going on? Is it a drug war,
“No, that’s what’s weird, Danny,” the cop said as he rubbed his chin. “Neither of
the murders fit the usual profile. The first guy, even though he was a boozer and had
some drugs on him, he had no connections with any criminal activity in the area. And the
second guy, Jitterbug, nobody knows this, Dan, but we found over a thousand dollars in
cash stuffed into his pockets. If it was a drug deal gone bad, I can’t believe whoever shot
him didn’t check his pockets and grab the money. And it was point-blank in the back of
the head, too, not a drive-by spray of bullets. There was no struggle. Whoever did it took
“C’mon, let’s go over to the rectory and have some coffee,” Fr Dan said. The
brothers walked out a side door of the church. Fr. Dan turned toward Mike and said, “I’m
sorry, but I don’t really understand how you guys investigate these kind of things and
“Yeah, that’s another thing,” Mike said sternly. “My psycho boss won’t even let
us investigate properly. He’s making us treat these murders like a couple of jay-walking
tickets.”
“Captain Bradford. Ray Bradford. You’ve heard me complain about him before.
A real law-and-order freak. Stickler for details. Now, all of a sudden, he won’t let us
work a minute of overtime to investigate the biggest crimes this town has seen in the last
50 years? Go figure.”
They reached the main sidewalk and turned right toward the rectory, which was
about 100 feet down the street. They saw a women dressed in black hurry up the rectory
“Hey, look’s like you have company,” Mike said. “And looks like pretty nice
“What’s that suppose to mean?” Fr. Dan asked, his eyes fixed on Anna Rivera.
“Nothing, bro’, nothing,” Mike replied, feigning innocence. “I just figure your
typical rectory visitor doesn’t often look like a Victoria’s Secret model.”
Fr. Dan stopped walking and grabbed Mike by the elbow. They were about 25
feet from the rectory steps. Anna turned and saw the two men. She smiled and waved. Fr.
“Look, Mike,” he said out of the side of his mouth while still smiling at Anna.
“That’s Jitterbug’s mom. Please do me a big favor. Please pray for me. Pray that I’ll be
strong. I’m awfully weak right now. I need a lot of help. Pray that I don’t decide to play
God.”
“Yeah, sure, Danny,” Mike said, completely confused. “Whatever you say.”
“OK, take care. I’ll see you later, you knucklehead,” Fr. Dan said. He shook
Mike’s hand then walked to the rectory steps. Mike watched him for a moment, then
headed back toward the church parking lot. Weak? Play God? the cop thought to himself,
What did he mean by that? A number of possibilities popped into his head, the most
Dave “Pit Bull” Peterson and Tom Wilkins sipped coffee in Peterson’s office in
the studio complex of WCTR radio. Wilkins usually stopped by the radio offices about
once every three weeks to meet with Pit Bull after his show to plan new advertising
campaigns for the car dealership. Although the two men were meeting ostensibly to
discuss how many commercial spots to run per hour and when Pit Bull would do another
Saturday morning live broadcast from the Wilkins Ford-Nissan facility, the only thing
they wanted to discuss was the previous day’s successful “mission.” However, the offices
at WCTR were rather cramped, and by mid-morning the full compliment of employees—
scurrying to and fro, which caused Dave and Tom to speak in whispered tones to each
other.
“Some of them,” Wilkins replied cautiously, not wanted to admit that he usually
listened to the broadcast only to make sure his commercials aired at the proper time. Tom
considered Pit Bull a very close friend. He agreed with virtually everything Pit Bull said
on the air. However, he was not fond of Pit Bull’s over-the-top, inflammatory style. It
was a sore subject the two men years ago had agreed to disagree about, and not discuss
directly anymore.
“Um, no. I must’ve been in the shower then,” Wilkins said. “What did he say?”
“Well, at first he made me a little nervous,” Pit Bull began with a chuckle. “He
Tom stared at Pit Bull with a puzzled expression. “Charles Bronson? I, uh, I don’t
get it.”
“Oh, Tom,” Pit Bull said with surprise. “Charles Bronson. You know, the popular
“Well anyway, after Vinny said that, every caller for the rest of the show wanted
to talk about whether a vigilante, an ‘avenging angel,’ as one caller put it, might be at
“That’s not good,” Tom said. “That’s not good at all! Pit Bull, don’t you
remember our plan? We want to clean up the streets, yes, but we want it to look like the
criminals are shooting each other. We don’t want people to think it’s vigilantes. If that’s
who the cops start looking for, that could lead them to…to us.”
“No, don’t worry, Tom,” Pit Bull said. “I’ve been thinking a lot about that. Even
if some people suspect a vigilante, they’ll never trace it back to us.” Peterson paused and
looked around, making sure he had not raised his voice too loudly for the thin-walled
office. “Um, you see,” he continued, noticeably quieter, “we have Captain Bradford on
our side. He’ll steer the investigation far away from us. He’s the key, Tom. We’ve got an
insider on our team. Even if they think it might be a vigilante, they’ll be looking for
someone else, I don’t know who, maybe a younger, hot-headed gun nut, or something.
“I don’t know, Pit Bull. That doesn’t reassure me.” Wilkins stood up and paced in
the office. “We said from the beginning that we wanted this to look like thugs shooting
thugs. That was the plan. If they think it’s a vigilante, they’ll stop investigating the thugs
and start investigating law-abiding citizens. And that’s simply not good for us.”
“Aw Tom, you’re just a little nervous because it’s your turn next. You want to be
sure everything will go according to plan—and it will! Trust me, our plan is perfect. You
“Two things,” Pit Bull said excitedly. “First, the Rev’s mission went off without a
hitch yesterday. I mean perfect. With Captain Ray’s assistance, we are planning these
“Yeah, yeah. The other thing, Tom, is something I realized during the show today.
Everybody was excited about the idea of a vigilante. Do you know what that means?”
Without waiting for an answer, Pit Bull continued, “It means we are doing the right
thing!”
After only two missions, the good and decent citizens of our state instantly took notice.
They instantly sensed that something exciting and thrilling is taking place: a couple of
scumbags are off the streets! I know these people, Tom. I trusts my listeners. Through
them I can take the pulse of the entire state. Just think how excited they’ll be when you
do your mission next week, then I do mine the week after that. Then we start over again,
the captain, then the Rev, then you, then me, and on and on until every last creep is either
dead or fled!”
Wilkins shook his head and laughed. “You’re starting to sound like Rev. Morton.
“Hey, I’ve been preaching on the radio for decades. It’s not a religious thing, but it’s still
“Well, what we need right now, Pit Bull, is a level head. Yes, we’re doing the
right thing, and yes, Captain Ray is our inside guy who can steer the investigation away
from us. But we cannot afford to let our emotions run wild. We have to be ultra cool and
calm and level-headed. If we get too giddy, that’s when we’ll screw up. And that’s when
“Yeah, I understand,” Pit Bull replied. “But you have to admit, this whole thing is
so, so…invigorating.”
“David,” Wilkins said slowly, as he sat back down in his chair, “do me a favor.
Imagine you’re saying everything you just said to me, but you’re saying it to Captain
probably shoot me on the spot. I’m only telling you because we’ve known each other for
“Yeah, that’s right, I do understand you,” Wilkins said, sitting up straight in the
chair and staring directly at Pit Bull. “I understand that you can get very excited at times,
and we all have to be very careful not to get too excited. We have to remember that we
“I’m with you, Tom. I get it. I’m not letting my emotions run wild. I’m just…I’m
just pumped, man! I’m just fired up because instead of yapping about right and wrong all
“Yes, we are, my friend,” Wilkins said with a smile. “We sure are. But just don’t
Pit Bull laughed again. “No chance of that! I don’t want to be his next target.”
“So anyway,” Wilkins said, “I’m running late. Gotta get back to my office. Let’s
look at this new proposal you sent me. What the hell’s up with this? I don’t want to spend
“Well, I am. At that hour I’ve been awake for a long time. You know, 3 a.m.
“Stop saying that, please! No, I want to focus more on the 8 o’clock hour.”
The two men continued to talk business, but each had a difficult time
he was a part. The other man couldn’t stop thinking that his excitable friend was a little
too focused on Charles Bronson movies rather than the very real and dangerous path they
were on.
Chapter 14
St. Lawrence church was filled to overflowing for Luis “Jitterbug” Rivera’s
funeral. The old, staid parish had never seen quite a mix of humanity at one time. Anna
and her daughter Maria sat in the front pew, surrounded by relatives. About a dozen
people from Anna’s deceased husband’s side of the family had flown in from Puerto Rico
for the funeral to say good-bye to their nephew, cousin, and grandson. A couple of car-
loads of loved ones from Anna’s side of the family drove to West Hartford from the
Albany area.
Former members of the Conard High football and basketball teams of a few years
earlier were congregated in one area toward the back of the church, looking somewhat
like a gathering of guys from a jock fraternity. Most of these young men were enrolled at
various colleges now and hadn’t seen much of their old friend and popular teammate in
recent months. But all were greatly saddened at his murder and made a point of returning
for the funeral. The rest of the building was filled with a diverse assortment of people, of
all colors and styles and languages and fashions. It’s safe to say the old church building
had never hosted a greater collection of tattoos and body piercing at one time.
Fr. Dan looked out at the vast throng as the Mass began and suspected that many
of the people in attendance had not only been Jitterbug’s friends, but also his customers.
He assumed they rarely set foot in churches, except possibly for the funerals of fellow
drug abusers. Fr. Dan was torn between a desire to read them the riot act—rail against the
evils of drugs and demand that they get their acts together—and a desire to show
compassion and embrace them in unconditional love. What would Jesus do? Fr. Dan
thought. When the Prince of Peace spent time with prostitutes and sinners, gluttons and
drunkards, did He read them the riot act? No. And why not? Was it because He didn’t
care about right and wrong? Was it because He was complacent regarding good and
evil? Of course not. It was because He knew they had been hearing the riot act most of
their lives, and if yet another religious preacher condemned them for their behavior,
they’d surely move even further away from God. They needed to hear about God’s love
and forgiveness first before hearing about God’s righteousness and justice.
A few moments later, when everyone sat down to listen to the first Scripture
reading, Fr. Dan continued the little dialog he had begun with himself by thinking, Who
were the people that Jesus did read the riot act to? Hypocritical religious professionals,
that’s who. He looked down at his shoes and felt his face begin to flush. And I bet Jesus
had some choice words for any Pharisee who preached purity but all-the-while was
Fr. Dan had not seen much of Anna over the weekend, except briefly at the
Sunday evening wake. She had been quite busy receiving the many out-of-town guests,
accepting their condolences and catching up on other family news, all-the-while helping
them find hotel accommodations and making sure they were well-fed and comfortable. It
wasn’t until just before the funeral Mass that Fr. Dan had a chance to speak with Anna.
He was worried about her. She was obviously becoming exhausted and seemed especially
frail. He was genuinely concerned that she might faint at some point during this day. He
also was genuinely concerned that in the coming days or weeks, when all the friends and
relatives returned to their respective hometowns, Anna would be extremely lonely and
sad, and come to the rectory for comfort. Fr. Dan knew that scenario could only lead to
trouble.
The previous day, on Monday afternoon, Fr. Dan had met with his brother Mike
to review the sermon notes. Fr. Dan welcomed the policeman’s point of view on how
Jitterbug as an innocent victim who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or declare
that he got was he deserved because of his lawless lifestyle. He wanted the homily to be
honest and yet convey comfort and hope to the grieving loved ones, especially Anna.
Fr. Dan has another reason for meeting with his brother. He had been disturbed
during their conversation on Friday when Mike mentioned Heaven and then quickly said,
The more he had thought about that comment afterward, the angrier Fr. Dan had
You’ve been listening to my sermons for years. That’s my job, for crying out loud! To
make sure everyone who hears me preach knows how to get to Heaven. If my own
brother is clueless about the most important question facing mankind, then I’m a total
failure as a priest.
Fr. Dan’s concern about his physical attraction to Anna was already making him
question his effectiveness as a priest. Now with his own brother expressing ignorance
about eternal salvation, his self-esteem was really taking a nosedive. All along he had
planned to include a clear presentation of the basic Gospel message in his funeral homily:
Jesus loves each and every one of us so much that He willingly gave up His life on the
Cross to pay the price for our sins, and if we put our faith in Him we can receive the gift
Fr. Dan knew that many people in attendance at funeral Masses never went to
church otherwise. He figured funeral homilies were his best and only chance to reach
some lost and hurting souls. Obviously during a Catholic Mass there would not be an
“altar call,” like at one of those televised Billy Graham crusades or, for an example closer
to home, the services conducted by Rev. Morton at the Faith Cathedral. “Different
traditions seeking the same goal,” Fr. Dan often said when confronted by zealous
Evangelicals who questioned the validity of Catholicism. But Fr. Dan did not pull any
Now, to his chagrin, Fr. Dan had to admit that his own brother might be numbered
among the lost and hurting, those people who did not know the Gospel. While reviewing
his sermon notes with Mike, Fr. Dan made sure he covered the entire presentation,
including faith in Christ, forgiveness of sins, eternal life in Heaven, and a call to
repentance; and not just the parts where he tactfully dealt with Jitterbug’s lawless
lifestyle. He insisted that his brother hear every word, even if under the guise of
that rumors were swirling around town that Jitterbug’s murder might have been the work
of a vigilante. Although Mike had concerns that the two recent murders did not fit the
usual profile, he dismissed the vigilante talk as nonsense. “No. It’s a drug deal gone bad.
As the funeral Mass finally came to a close, Fr. Dan realize he too was exhausted.
In his estimation, the homily went fairly well. He could see in the eyes of many people,
especially Anna, that his words were comforting and hopeful. He wasn’t quite as sure if
the Gospel portion of his sermon, the call to faith and repentance, was as well-received.
When he looked into the eyes of some of the more heavily tattooed and pierced young
people, he saw either confusion or simply a blank, hollow stare. It’s almost as if they are
from a different planet, he thought. These kids are in such emotional pain, it’s not that
they don’t agree with the Gospel, it’s that they can’t even comprehend there could be a
God who loves them unconditionally. The only love most of them know comes with
numerous strings attached. “Do this for me and I’ll love you. Don’t do it, and I’ll dump
Anna did not faint. But when the funeral parlor employees wheeled the casket
down the aisle toward the front entrance of the church where the hearse waited, with
Anna and her relatives solemnly walking behind, her knees buckled and she had to be
propped up momentarily by her daughter on one arm and an uncle on the other. It was a
painfully sad scene. Fr. Dan looked on, knowing that he still had to perform a service at
the cemetery and then return to the church’s social hall for a reception afterward, and he
thought that his knees also might buckle before it was all over.
Chapter 15
About 50 people mingled in the social hall, a drab cinderblock structure attached
to the side of St. Lawrence church. About a third of the ceiling lights did not work,
making the already gloomy mood even more so. At one end of the large, open room,
trays of assorted sandwiches, pastries, and cookies sat on a rectangular table. Nearby, a
round table was covered with soda bottles, wine, and six packs of beer. Less than half of
the people who attended the Mass had gone to the cemetery; and less than half of those
returned to the social hall for the reception. Small groups of people congregated
throughout the room. To the right side of the food table was a predominantly Spanish-
speaking group. An English-speaking group was across the room near the wall. In the far
corner was a gathering of young adults and teenagers. Language and race did not separate
this mixed group, as their common status as societal outcasts produced a bond more
powerful than any ethnic differences. Some members of this group periodically went
outside for five or ten minutes at a time, and then returned noticeably glassy-eyed.
Anna and Maria methodically worked their way around the room, thanking each
person for his or her show of support. Fr. Dan stood alone near the kitchen, keeping an
eye on the refreshment tables in case more napkins or plastic cups were needed. He was
more than willing to talk with anyone who needed grief counseling, or who simply
wanted to comment on topics such as life or death or faith. But so far, no one seemed
interested in engaging the priest in conversation, save for a nod and a quick, “Hi Father,”
Fr. Dan had told Anna the mourners could use the hall as long as needed, but it
seemed likely the somber gathering would dissipate within an hour. Many of the people
who returned from the cemetery had already grabbed a sandwich and a drink, offered
their condolences to Anna, and left after no more than ten minutes.
As the number of people in the room dwindled, Fr. Dan went back into the
kitchen area to check on the supply of cups, napkins, and plastic spoons. From behind a
wide serving counter, he still could see out into the large room. The kitchen cupboards
were very bare, a result of the parish’s poor financial situation. He located a small bag of
plastic cups along with about 20 Styrofoam coffee cups, which he calculated would be
enough for this day. He made a mental note to order more kitchen supplies before the
next social event—assuming there were funds in the parish checking account to do so.
Closing a cupboard door, Fr. Dan was surprised to hear Anna’s voice in the
kitchen behind him. He turned and saw her standing about ten feet away with her arm
Anna walked toward the priest and said, “Father, this is Jamal.”
“Hi, Jamal,” Fr. Dan said with a smile, extending his right hand. The boy looked
at Anna nervously, then reluctantly reached out and shook hands with the large man
dressed in black.
“Father Dan,” Anna said, “Jamal saw something the other day, something that
might be very important, but he is afraid to talk to the police about it. I promised him that
he could talk to you and that you would never tell the police who told you this
Fr. Dan looked at Anna with a puzzled expression. He didn’t say anything.
Anna’s head nodded every so slightly and her eyes pleaded with the priest to agree. He
sensed her concern and said, “Oh, yeah, sure. I won’t tell anybody, Jamal.”
“Go ahead, tell him what you saw,” Anna said gently to the frightened boy. “Just
Jamal cleared his throat and said in a quiet voice, “Well, I was walking home. It
was getting dark, and I didn’t see nobody else on the street. Then I came near this car that
“The hood,” Anna said. The boy paused. She rubbed his shoulder and said, “Go
on.”
Jamal took a deep breath and said, “So, um, I’m walking, and all of a sudden I
hears a gun shot. I didn’t know where it come from, but it sounded real close. So I, I duck
down and I hide behind the car, a silver car, in case, you know, in case there’s any more
shots.”
“Then what happened?” Anna asked. Fr. Dan looked on, fascinated by the boy’s
story.
“Then I can tell somebody gets in the car. I hear the door slam shut. Then the car
starts up. I can feel the pipe thing blow smoke near me. Then, then the car starts backing
up—right at me! It almost runs me over!” Jamal raised his voice above a whisper for the
first time.
“I had to jump out of the way onto the sidewalk, or else I woulda got run over!
Then, then the car drives away real fast. And I, I look over, and that’s when I seen
Jitterbug. I mean, I didn’t know it was Jitterbug then. I just seen a guy laying there with
lots of blood near his head. He was wearing a red hat. So then I just start running, and I
Fr. Dan looked at Anna and silently mouthed the word, “Wow.” His own brother,
the police detective, had told him just yesterday that there had been no witnesses to
Jitterbug’s murder. As far as the police knew, no one in the neighborhood had seen a
thing. But here was a youngster who had been there, probably ten feet away, when the
shooting happened.
Anna smiled at Jamal and said, “Thank you, that was very good. Now, Jamal, tell
Father Dan the other thing you told me. C’mon, you can tell him.”
“Well, um, when I was hiding behind the car, I saw the license plate.”
“You know the plate number?!” Fr. Dan blurted out. Jamal recoiled in fear. Anna
“Now now, that’s all right, that’s all right, Jamal. It’s OK,” she said in a soothing
voice while glaring at Fr. Dan. “It’s OK,” she continued, “Father is not going to tell your
“Um, OK,” the boy said. “It was white, the plate was white, with, um, red
Jamal looked a bit indignant. “Yeah, I’m sure. I gets all A’s in math class. I
knows my numbers.”
“OK, good,” Fr. Dan replied. “I can tell you’re very smart. Um, I’m just going to
write that down, OK? Because, um, I’m not so good with numbers, Jamal, and I’ll
forget.”
He reached into his black jacket and pulled out a pen. Then he reached over and
grabbed a clean napkin from a cupboard shelf. “OK, you said, ‘3-1…’ And what were the
other numbers?”
“That’s right, Jamal. I’m not going to tell anyone that you told me.”
“‘3-5-7’ Jamal said. “The last three numbers was ‘3-5-7’ on the drug dealer
license plate.”
Anna bent over and gave Jamal a big hug. “Thank you so much,” she said. “Why
“Um, wait, Jamal,” Fr. Dan said, before the boy could run back to the snack table.
“Wait, wait,” Fr. Dan said rubbing his forehead. “You mean the word ‘dealer’
Fr. Dan and Anna looked at each other. Anna then turned to Jamal and said, “You
“Yes, of course,” Anna said, patting him on the shoulder. “Thank you so much.”
Visibly relieved the ordeal was over, Jamal turned and ran out of the kitchen.
“Wow,” Fr. Dan said, this time out loud. “That’s amazing. I can’t believe he was
right there.”
“Father,” Anna said, “You must give this information to your brother, the
policeman.”
“But Father,” she quickly added in a pleading tone, “Please, you must not tell him
Jamal’s name. You promised. Please, will you do that for me?”
He looked at her and thought to himself, I’d do anything for you, Anna. The
words he actually said were, “Of course. I promised the kid. I’ll tell my brother it’s a
She smiled, then hugged him tightly and said, “Thank you, Father Dan. I don’t
The priest could feel a warm glow surge through his body. I DO know what I
would do WITH you, he thought, and I really shouldn’t even be thinking about it. Then he
looked out over the counter at the remaining few people in the large room and noticed
that some of them were staring at him and Anna. He felt his face turn bright red and he
clumsily pushed Anna away. “Um, OK, right,” he said nervously. “You, uh, you should
say goodbye to the guests. Some of them are, um, are leaving.”
Fr. Dan quickly led Anna through the kitchen doorway and back into the large
room. Then he mumbled, “Excuse me,” and hurried to the other side of the room, as far
from her as possible. During his brief lust-turned-to-panic moment, he had forgotten all
about Jamal’s information. When he regained his senses, he left the social hall and
walked quickly toward the rectory to make a phone call to his brother.
Chapter 16
The doorbell rang at the St. Lawrence rectory. Fr. Dan sat at the kitchen table
reviewing a pile of paperwork recently sent over from the Archdiocese. He cringed when
he heard the bell. Oh, I hope it’s not her, he immediately thought to himself.
The priest cautiously approached the front door and peered through the peephole.
A huge, distorted eyeball peered back at him from outside. Fr. Dan yanked the door open
“Because I know you always look to see who’s standing here,” his brother Mike
replied with a laugh. The cop entered the rectory and followed his older brother into the
kitchen.
“Want some coffee?” Fr. Dan asked, even though he was already in the process of
“Is the pope Catholic?” Mike answered. “Of course I want some coffee. I’m a
“Milk’s in the fridge,” Fr. Dan said as he handed over the steaming mug. “So,
Mike, what’s up? Find out anything about the license plate?”
“Yeah, kind of interesting, Danny.” The cop sat down at the kitchen table and carefully
pushed some papers aside to make room for his coffee mug. “You’re as messy as I am,”
he said. “You should see my cubicle at headquarters. I’ve stopped trying to keep it neat.
It’s a losing battle. I just bring in a snow shovel once a week to move the piles of paper
around.”
“The age of computers,” the priest said with a smile. “We were suppose to have
paperless offices by now. But instead we just print out twenty copies of everything. So
Mike,” he said, shifting to a more serious tone, “What did you find out?”
“Well, at first I found nothing on the plate. Speaking of computers, the main
database at Motor Vehicle returned nothing. No match. So I figured your, uh, your
‘source,’ had given you some bum information. By the way, you’re not gonna tell me
Fr. Dan shook his head. “Can’t do it, bro. The kid is—I mean, the ‘source’ is
“Danny, come on, I’m not grilling you. I didn’t even ask you to tell me. I just
wanted to confirm what you said the other day, that you’re not going to tell me.”
“OK, fine,” the cop said. “So, I have a buddy over at Motor Vehicle. And I asked
him to do me a favor and look through his old paper archives. He wasn’t really thrilled
about that, I can tell you. I had to promise him a case of beer. Hey, I should send the bill
to your church.”
“Well, he finally called me back this morning. He actually dug out the old record.
That dealer plate was issued in the 1960s, but in 1985 it expired and was never renewed.
“Right. I’m not sure why they never renewed it. Dealer plates are golden, you
know? When you have one of those on a car it’s like having diplomatic immunity. The
cops assume the car is owned by a dealership with a big group insurance policy, so unless
the driver is blatantly breaking traffic laws, we usually leave them alone. The only
reasons I can think of why one of those plates would not be renewed is if the dealer went
out of business—obviously not the case here—or if the plate was lost or stolen.”
“Realistically, I think it’s just an old lost plate. Someone found it or stole it years
ago and realized it’s the perfect thing to slap on the back of your car if you’re gonna
commit a crime.”
“Well, you’re going to check it out, aren’t you?” Fr. Dan asked. “I mean, what did
“I didn’t tell anybody,” the cop replied. “And I’m not going to.”
“What?” Fr. Dan said incredulously. “What are you talking about? This is a really
course it’s important. I realize that. It’s definitely worth checking out. The problem is, if I
tell anybody, specifically the guy I’m suppose to tell, my boss, I already know what he’ll
say.”
“He’ll say, ‘Meaningless. Dead end. Make a note in the file and forget about it.’”
“Really? Why?”
“I truly do not know, Danny. It’s the weirdest thing. He is allocating more
department resources trying to track down somebody who stole a bicycle off a porch than
“What about the state police?” the priest asked. “Aren’t they doing most of the
“Yes and no,” Mike answered. “They’re certainly doing a lot. They have all the
fancy, expensive tools, like the mobile crime lab and the DNA testing and all that stuff.
But the local PD still does most of the grunt work, knocking on doors, following leads,
asking questions. And besides, if I gave this information directly to the state police—
meaning I’d be going over the head of my boss, Captain Psycho—within an hour I’d be a
“I’m gonna look into it myself, off the record. Maybe sniff around that car
“Yeah, I know,” Mike said. “Maybe I’ll give up sleeping this week. That’ll free
Fr. Dan nodded his head and smiled. “You get used to it after a while,” he said. “I
gave up sleeping when I was assigned to this parish. On the plus side, though, it’s kind of
“Coffee, me lad!” the cop declared. He stood up and went to pour himself another
cup. “A steady supply of coffee be the only thing standin’ between civilized society and
complete lawlessness!” Mike was acting silly, affecting a rather bad brogue, reminiscent
of a 1930s cops and robbers movie. “If there be no coffee, why, we would never solve a
single case. And don’t forgit the occasional nip of Irish coffee,” he added with a leer.
“OK, OK, give me a break,” Fr. Dan said as he stood up from the table. “It’s too
“Yeah. No problem, Dan,” the cop said in his own voice. “This, uh, this case
Fr. Dan nodded. Mike continued cautiously, “Um, it’s none of my business, I
know, but, uh, I didn’t really understand what you were talking about the other day, you
Fr. Dan shrugged. After a few moments he said, “Nah, don’t worry about. It’s
“You sure? Are you OK?” Mike asked. “Is there something you want to talk
about?”
The priest laughed out loud. “Now that’s the question I usually ask.”
“Well, I worry about you sometimes, Danny. I just want to make sure
everything’s OK. You know, you’re a healthy, normal guy, and she’s a really healthy gal,
and…”
“Oh yeah, she’s really healthy all right. You should feel how hard she can hug the
“Well, I guess that’s kind of the problem, Mike. She’s in the middle of a crisis,
right? So she goes to her parish priest for comfort, let’s say a shoulder to cry on and
maybe some firm, prolonged hugs. And her priest,” Fr. Dan continued, shifting to the
third-person, “who apparently and maybe unfortunately is still a somewhat healthy guy…
Well, let’s just say this parish priest kind of enjoys the hugs…a lot. More than a lot. And
let’s just say his imagination starts to run a little wild…” Fr. Dan’s voice trailed off. He
The room was silent for a few minutes. Finally Mike said, “Danny, I don’t know
what to say. You’re the strongest guy I’ve ever known. I mean, strong as in strength of
character. While I’m one of the weakest guys I know. If anyone can deal with certain
situations, with temptations, it’s you. And since my marriage is wrecked and I’m
currently shacking up with a very lovely, uh, high-maintenance airhead, it’s not like I’m
exactly the best guy in the world to be giving out advice about women, you know?
Especially to priests!”
Fr. Dan laughed. “Mike, you don’t have to say a thing. There is no specific advice
needed here. I’m just glad I could tell you what’s on my mind, get it off my chest. It’ll
“Right,” Fr. Dan answered. The two brothers hugged. As they released their grasp
of each other, Mike whispered, “So be honest, who’s the better hugger, me or her?”
“Get out of here, you knucklehead!” Fr. Dan yelled while offering a broad smile.
Mike grabbed his jacket and walked toward the front door. He turned back and waved to
his brother, who stood in the kitchen watching him leave. When the front door closed, Fr.