Chapter 12

It was late when Deacon Alfeo Gronchi tapped on Father Ewen MacCailein’s office door in the rectory of the Holy Mother of God parish rectory. Father Ewen was finishing his homily notes for Sunday’s 9:15 mass when Alfeo tapped on his door. He was writing his notes out by hand, as he has always done for the past four decades. “Come in Alfeo! I always have time when you knock on my door. What would you like?”

Alfeo looked around the office, the ancient dark wood paneling gleamed in the candlelight, Father Ewen loved working by natural light, the Lord God’s second creation, everything that man attempts to make to replace natural light is a vile insult and falls far short of His creation, especially LED lights which are so painful to the eye. “You look happy this evening Father Ewen, is there cause for celebration?”

“There truly is! His Holiness has seen fit to ordain me as a Chaplain of His Holiness for my work as a military chaplain with our fighting men in Afghanistan! I don’t know if it is a cause to celebrate but I am happy.”

Father Ewen was a modest man, and his modesty often made Alfeo smile. Besides, it carries a title that is becoming rare in today’s church. “Let me be the first to address you properly ... Monsignor MacCailein ... Ah, I do see a smile!”

“Enough Alfeo, lets concentrate on you, What can I do this warm Saturday evening?”

“Sadly, there was a death in the family, I must make a perilous journey to my family in Italy. I was wondering if you could hear my confession before I leave tonight.”

“Absolutely Alfeo! Should we do it here or...”

“Oh please, Monsignor, I am a traditionalist! If it isn’t too much to walk over to the confessional?”

“By all means.” Father Ewen made one last entry in his journal, then blew out candles and put his notes away in his drawer. With his work cleaned up; the two men left the beautiful old rectory designed to look like a building that would have been built by the original Spanish priests that first worshiped in Florida 500 years ago. They walked over to the main building, which was lit inside only by the scores of flickering red votive offertory candles by the two side altars and the soft LED exit lights on the aisles.

Monsignor MacCailein stepped into the center confessional and prayed for mercy and guidance. Then he slid open the privacy screen and saw the dim outline of Deacon Gronchi. Actually, it could be anyone over there. “How may I help you my son?”

The dim light in his confessional winked off when Monsignor MacCailein opened the panel and Deacon Gronchi said softly, “Forgive me father for I have sinned, it’s been two days since my last confession.”

“Go ahead my son.” Two days may not sound like a long time since his last confession, but he’s taking a transatlantic flight and if something should go wrong, he will die with a cleansed soul. Monsignor Ewen was glad that Alfeo was taking the Sacrament of Reconciliation seriously.

“I’ve betrayed a trust twice,” said Alfeo Gronchi. Then he took his Beretta 92 SB 9mm pistol and fired two rounds through the privacy screen into Monsignor Ewen MacCailein’s head. “That’s three times now.” He promised himself that he would say confession as soon as he got to Italy. He got up and stepped out of the confessional, cleaned off the pistol, then slid the gun under the central curtain, and it came to rest under Monsignor Ewen’s slumped, lifeless body.

Thirty minutes later Alfeo Gronchi was heading north at exactly two miles per hour under the speed limit in a rented Toyota, rented under the assumed name, Lindsay Davis. Mr. Davis was going to Jacksonville airport, where he would catch a flight to JFK. After a quick stop at JFK in New York, he would become Mr. Walter Hagan and board a Lufthansa flight. In Venice, he will drive to Pordenone, where his room was waiting for him at his uncle’s villa. Walter is a contractor with General Dynamics and will fit in nicely at a nearby American air base and he will live in the land of his grandparents while commiserating with the Americans of his generation. Maybe the base chaplain will need a deacon.