by Jim Sano
Chapter 27
David thought about Jimmy on his brisk sunny morning run. He could see Jimmy moving into dangerous territory on his own in the diary at a time when he was only a few years older than his own daughter, Amy, was now. His mother had told him and his siblings the hard reality about their father being the influence that took their brother away from them and destroyed their family.
He forced himself to put any deep thoughts about Jimmy and his father on hold during his business trip. On a flight home Tuesday evening, his stomach clenched as he thought about Jillian, Amy, James, and even Kathleen. All the casualties of his own life caused by his own hypocrisy and hidden life, just as his father’s secrets had broken his childhood. How was he being any better a man than his father to the people in his life? He was angry at his father for not living up to what he had wanted him to be.
He was tired when he got back to his apartment, which felt empty without Trooper, who’d been left with Lucy while he was away on business.
Thankfully, there weren’t any riddles or clues left to greet him. His fortress had held and there was not a sign of intrusion or any messages left for him to decipher.
He hadn’t exercised while he was away and wanted to go for a short run on the treadmill to loosen up but first went over to pick up Trooper at Lucy’s. Trooper bounded into the house, happy to be home. David changed and went into the exercise room to run a few easy miles on the treadmill, then he would shower and relax with Trooper before bed. He ended up running longer than he had planned, and he walked out with a good sweat to show Trooper, then he noticed something on the dining room table. He stepped quickly to the door to open it up to see if anyone was on the staircase and then checked all the other doors and windows. Everything appeared tight and untouched. He checked on Trooper, who seemed more amused at watching him run around than phased by an intruder.
David walked over to the table to see a fine, lace-type material laid on the table. He knew that it wasn’t there when he left, nor was it anything he’d ever seen before. As he stared down at the translucent cloth, he noticed something underneath and wasn’t sure if he wanted to lift it to find out what it was. He asked Trooper what he would do, but Trooper offered no advice.
Sitting down at the table, he realized that it was October 15. He remembered his mother sitting him down at the table in their North End apartment to give him the devastating news she had already given to Bobby and Abbie. She was in a state of shock but knew she had to tell them before others did. He didn’t comprehend anything she was telling him. Nothing she was relaying seemed possible, and nothing was translating into anything he could process. She went off to her room for days, sobbing and wailing, even when people had come over to console them.
David, Bobby, and Abbie spent time at Nonno and Nonna’s while Annie spent hours at the police station answering the same questions over and over from different police officers and detectives. When it finally hit him that he would never see his brother or father again, he couldn’t process the concept at eight years old but felt completely numb in between the crying and unanswered questions to his mom. He now stood up to break the anticipation that he was going to get sucked back into that black pit and pulled the veil off of the table to find a piece of paper underneath with something in a foreign language written on it. He quickly covered it back over and took a long, hot shower, hoping the veil and paper would be gone once he got out.
Εἰς μίαν
Καθολικὴν Ἐκκλησίαν Ἀποστολικὴν
Ἁγίαν
In the morning, after dressing, David walked by the dining room table and stared at the cloth and paper, still sitting where he left them. He wasn’t sure if he would ask Tom about this fourth riddle but stuffed both articles in his bag to give him time to decide.
At the office, he was restless and almost a little testy during the day. At 4:00 p.m. Izzie entered his office and cleaned up his desk while he worked. When he asked what she was doing, she kept humming. David got the hint when she closed the folder he was perusing and scooped it up before he could say a word. Then Izzie turned and smiled at him as she flicked off the lights in his office. He grabbed his bag. “Goodnight, Izzie—and thank you.”
“Goodnight, Mr. Kelly, and say hello.”
He turned with curiosity. “Say hello?”
She shook as she chuckled, “To whoever you see, say hello for me.”
He walked to the church, and instead of going to the rectory, he headed to the school gym to see if anyone was there. At the door was Sister Helen. “We don’t just let people walk in off the street into the school without being accompanied. What were your plans, Mr. Kelly?”
Tom came up from behind him. “It’s okay, Sister. David has a pass and will be helping to coach the boys’ basketball team this year, so I can vouch for him.”
David smiled at Sister Helen as he stepped into the hallway and then turned to Tom. “What was that you signed me up for?”
Tom grinned. “It got you into a nice, dry basketball court now, didn’t it?”
Sister Helen called out, “I will still be watching him, Father.”
When Tom opened the gym door to let David in first, David was surprised to see a group of boys in practice clothes and sneakers standing around at center court. They had no basketballs and appeared to be a rag-tag group, to say the least. He glanced over to Tom, but Tom had already proceeded to center court to talk to the boys.
“Boys. I assume you are all interested in trying out for the team in November?” All the boys nodded. Tom waved David over. “Boys, this is Coach Kelly. He may be helping out with teaching you boys if we have a team this year.” He turned to David. “Coach Kelly, official tryouts aren’t for a few weeks, but these are some boys who’d like to have a chance to play and could use help learning some basics.”
Tom asked David if he would agree to split up the boys and do basic skills drills to see where players were with dribbling, passing, shooting and rebounding skills. They started doing basic drills with defense, boxing out, and running a fast break to see if they could pick up the concepts. Finally, they played a game, which was as sloppy a game as he had seen in a long time, but a few of the boys did stand out as potential players.
After practice, Tom picked up the remaining ball and put it in the bag as he walked over to David. “I’m sorry for springing that on you. I hope you didn’t mind, and if you did, then I owe you a game.” David reached into the mesh bag and grabbed one of the balls out and shot it one-handed towards the basket and sank it. Tom dropped the bag of balls, retrieved the ball and began bouncing it at the top of the key. They played a back-and-forth game until it was tied at thirteen each, then David hit two straight pull-up jump shots to win.
Tom shook David’s hand. “Nice game. You know, some of the boys don’t have dads around to teach them, and the boys really took to you today. Maybe you can become a player-coach for the team? How about I buy you a drink and we discuss your contract?”
David hesitated for a second, thinking about how James had said he wanted to learn how to play. When they got to Dempsey’s, a few booths were filled with some regular guys and some new men playing darts. Dempsey brought over two half-and-half beers and asked if they wanted anything to munch on as well. They each ordered a burger and then caught up on the past few days.
Tom looked over at David’s bag and then back at David. “Any more messages lately?”
Dempsey put down their plates and David took a bite before he said, “Yes.”
Tom’s mouth was full as well, but he managed to mumble, “Yes, what?”
David, still chewing, said, “Yes, I’m a victim yet again, and who else would I come to? So last night, it’s always a Tuesday night, someone left something in my apartment while I was taking a shower, and I don’t think it’s my dog, even though he seems like the only possible candidate.”
Tom was holding his beer in both hands as he was thinking. “And you don’t have any clue as
to how they are getting in?”
“Not a one. It may be time to call in a detective.”
“So, what was the surprise this time?”
David scanned the tavern first and then pulled out the sheer lace cloth and held the paper under it, placing it on the table between them. Tom stared at the material for several moments. “It looks like a veil of some sort.”
David asked, “A veil? What do you mean?”
“Women used to wear head coverings as a veil. I can see markings underneath it.” Tom lifted the veil to see the odd writings. It didn’t take Tom long to recognize the Greek lettering but took a few minutes to decipher the words behind the lettering.
David chuckled. “Hey, it’s all Greek to me as well.”
“It has been a while, but these are not unfamiliar words. I’m just trying to tell why they are laid out like this.”
Εἰς μίαν
ΚαθολικὴνἘκκλησίαν Ἀποστολικὴν
Ἁγίαν
“Laid out like what?”
“Like the Cross. The top essentially says ‘one.’ The next row says, ‘catholic’ then ‘church’ and then ‘apostolic.’ Oh, okay, the bottom says ‘holy.’ These are the four marks of the Church Christ founded.”
“But there are five terms, not four.”
Tom tapped the paper. “The one in the middle is protected and defined by the four others that are laid out like the Sign of the Cross. At the top is ‘one’ and then at the bottom is ‘holy’ and then on the left ‘catholic’ and on the right ‘apostolic’ and finally at the heart is what Christ left us, ‘his Church.’”
David rubbed both hands on the sides of his forehead. “Okay, religious again. And again, you didn’t have anything to do with it, but each time the messages were left the night before I’m going to see you, so these have to be left by someone who knows both of us.”
“That makes a lot of sense. Who are the potential candidates?”
David thought of the potential candidates. “Luke?”
“Luke didn’t know you before the first message, and neither did Sister Helen for that matter. And I promise you, Luke has no knowledge of Greek.”
“Let’s just make sure. How about—? No, you wouldn’t even know Jillian. There’s no one at my office who knows where I go. It has to be someone who comes to this bar or at My Brother’s Table. Or one of us?”
“No one stands out to me as having had the interest or the capabilities to be a prime suspect. It’s definitely a mystery.”
“Okay. I get the Greek but what about the cloth on top?”
Tom paused. “Hmm. A veil is used to protect something that is sacred. In the Jewish temple, there was a large curtain or veil between the people and the ‘Holy of Holies’ that was reserved for the presence of God. Only the High Priest could enter this chamber once a year on the Day of Atonement. A veil is also used in the Mass to protect the Eucharist or the real presence of Christ. And a veil is used for another situation that most people are familiar with.”
David answered, “The only thing I can think of would be at a wedding.”
Tom nodded. “Sure. The bride wears a veil to signify her honor and purity in coming to the relationship. Lifting the veil is a sign that they have permission to consummate the relationship in an intimate way as they become one while remaining two individuals. Marriage is thought to reveal the nature of God as a communion of love of three persons in one God.”
“Okay. This is getting a little deep for me. Why the veil over these words then?”
“Oh, that’s simple. The Church isn’t thought of as a thing made by men but the actual Body of Christ and at the same time the Bride of Christ. Paul tells us that we should love our spouse as Christ loved the Church, his Bride since he was willing to give and sacrifice his entire life for her.”
“I’ve never heard of the Church being referred to as a bride. How can the Church be both the bride and the body of Christ?”
“Think of a marriage. We become one but still remain two distinct people who maintain our integrity as individuals. It is a mystery, but in a marriage, the one Church can be both the Bride and the Bridegroom, a term Christ often used when referring to himself.”
David leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Very poetic, but what does that have to do with me?”
“Probably the same as it has to do with each of us. Think about the messages and where they are pointing. Do you believe in truth? Do you believe in God? Do you believe in God revealed to us in Christ? And now, do you believe in the Church that Christ left us, so we can know him? I know that all sounds very religious, but it’s the crux of what life is all about.”
David sighed, “Tom, I wouldn’t want anyone trashing my company, so I haven’t really said too much about yours, but I have some issues with the Catholic Church. I’m not sure I’m up to listening to why it’s so great when I know that quite the opposite is true. I’ve been seriously conflicted. I have a lot of respect and, believe it or not, admiration for you as a person while on the other hand, I don’t understand how someone like you can’t see what seems so clearly rotten about your Church.”
One of the guys in the next booth said, “This sounds like a heavy conversation for a sports bar. Mind if we listen in?”
Tom shrugged. “If David doesn’t mind, I’m okay with it.”
David nodded, almost relieved to have other voices included. “Why don’t you join us?”
They introduced themselves as Pete and Andy and slid into the booth with Tom and David. Andy said, “We didn’t mean to eavesdrop but how often do you hear actual conversations about anything except sports at a bar?”
“I guess this is your first time at Dempsey’s.”
Tom laughed. “So, what did you hear that piqued your interest?”
Pete answered, “You mentioned something about the Church and about Catholics. I’ve been studying more these days at my Baptist Church. I was curious where your conversation was going to go. What’s the writing on the paper you were talking about?”
David turned the paper so that Pete and Andy could see and told them about the four marks of the Church. Pete said, “Sure, we read that in the Creed all the time. One, holy, catholic and apostolic church, but that doesn’t mean the Roman Catholic Church. I’m pretty certain of that.”
David glanced over at Tom, but he seemed relaxed and interested in Pete and Andy’s perspective.
Tom met Pete’s gaze. “How do you feel specifically about the Catholic Church versus say the Baptist Church?”
“I don’t want to be negative, but I don’t even think Catholics are actually Christian, never mind the one true Church. I really don’t think Jesus meant a physical church, but a universal community of followers.”
David knew this conversation wasn’t headed anywhere good and motioned to Dempsey to bring over another round.
“I appreciate your honesty and your sincere interest in being a follower of my all-time favorite person,” Tom said. “I think of us as fellow Christians on the same journey. What would you say are your top issues with the Catholic Church?”
Pete sat back. “Let’s see. Where do I start? I think the Catholic Church got lost and focused on power instead of Jesus. It put its own traditions and authority ahead of what’s in scripture and put doing works ahead of faith and salvation through Christ alone. Catholics worship Mary, saints, and statues, which is wrong. The Mass is a perverted ceremony to sacrifice Jesus every week, and the Church thinks a piece of bread is the actual body and blood of Christ. Purgatory, indulgences, you name it.”
Andy added his own complaints. “Not to pile on, but what about corrupt popes, the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, being anti-science, and the current sexual abuse scandal? The Catholic Church is certainly not ‘holy’!”
Tom didn’t appear to take offense. “Boys, I know exactly how you feel and why you may firmly believe everything you do. I don’t know your history or the information you have, but
I can remember saying the exact same things you are saying and feeling just as strongly.”
“So, what’s changed?”
Tom raised his mug. “Me. With the help of some history and the truth. I challenged someone once with pretty much the same list you just rattled off. He asked me just one question–‘If this was the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, would you want to know?’ It took me a few weeks of soul searching to ask myself if I would honestly want to know.”
David smiled. “So, you were sleeping on Procrustes’s magic bed?”
Tom nodded. “Every night, and comfortably too. But following Christ isn’t always comfortable. I had to look seriously at why Jesus built a Church and how he did it. He handpicked and trained twelve apostles, representing the twelve scattered tribes of Israel. When he came back from the dead, he trained them some more to make believers and proclaimers of his Good News to all nations. He gave them gifts through the Holy Spirit to teach His authority. Jesus said, ‘He who listens to you, listens to me, and he who rejects you, rejects me.’ He gave them the ability to perform miracles, to forgive sins, to speak so that people of any language could understand them, to baptize, and to turn simple bread and wine into the true presence of Christ Himself. These were not all educated men, and they went from being afraid to having the courage and gifts to spread the faith in the face of agonizing torture and death. These men couldn’t have been acting on their own; they were guided in the fullness of truth and filled with the Holy Spirit.”