Chief Among Sinners

by Lois K. Gibson

  Evans took a gentle hold and pulled the small bundle from their grasp. His eyes seemed to bore into the priest when he asked who she was and what happened to her.

  They climbed into the ambulance, Mrs. Murphy and Father Terry following close behind the medics. The priest was annoyed when Jack Evans asked where they thought they were going. He was proud of Mrs. Murphy standing up to the young man, telling him she wasn't going to let that poor baby out of her sight, but then Tom Halloran intervened. Tom said the priest had cause to be there, but not her, explaining that they needed room to work on the little girl and she should meet them at the clinic. Terry heard her loud protests as Tom helped her down, then he got back in the ambulance with Terry, closed the door, and sirens shrieked through the neighborhood for the second time that Sunday night.

  Terry was impressed with the speed and efficiency with which the paramedics checked the little girl's blood pressure, and put her on a heart monitor and an IV. When the doors opened at the clinic, a nurse and doctor had a gurney ready to take the stretcher and rush her inside.

  When Terry tried to follow, he was annoyed to find himself restrained by the strong grip of two EMTs. Very polite but insistent on keeping him from leaving the ambulance, Tom Halloran said, "Excuse us, Father O'Reilly. We have a few questions, sir."

  The priest grabbed the hands clutching his coat, pushed the two men aside, jumped to the ground, and rushed after the gurney. The child had pleaded and begged for help, and he had failed her. Now she was in this pathetic state and guilt washed over him.

  Inside the clinic, the only bright spot in the cold, white, brightly lit interior was the gaudy yellow, blue, and green striped curtains enclosing the beds in the emergency section, left of the main corridor. The place appeared to be empty except for Dr. Gold and two nurses. Terry remembered it was Sunday, the day after Christmas, and realized that with the holiday and all they were probably short staffed.

  One nurse pulled the curtains around the emergency area beds, closing him away from the tiny patient. Standing there alone, feeling helpless, he saw the paramedics striding toward him. He knew they had questions. He was a priest, and with church scandals in the papers every day, he knew what their questions were about.

  Jack Evans said, "You have a child in your arms, pregnant, in labor, dirty, and unrecognized, so you understand we have some questions, Father O'Reilly. What did she say to you? Tell us where you found her. If you know her parents, we would like to notify her family. Is she part of your congregation?"

  Terry held up his hands and said, "Whoa, back off. You aren't the police. First, I don't know who she is, and I don't know the answers to your other questions either. Call. Police Chief Addams and he can fill you in. Tell him the last message was, 'Why don't you help me?' and he should get here, quick. Then find Mrs. Murphy. She has some answers."

  Still wearing his heavy coat, he slumped onto a bench along the wall, willing himself to hold it together, mumbling, "All those Sundays since Halloween, and now it has come to this. If I had known...but how could I? How could we..." The paramedic, talking on a cell phone, turned to see if he was talking to them.

  Terry watched Tom Halloran go over to Evans, shaking his head, and thought he heard Tom mutter, "The poor guy is off his rocker." Jack came over and stood in front of Terry. He said that he talked to the chief, who said he might shed some light on the situation and he was on his way, so they would wait.

  He heard Tom whisper, "Hey, Jack, give him a break. I've known Father O'Reilly a long time, and believe me he's not going to be a Minnesota Catholic scandal. That's something they do in parishes up north, not here in Oakton. I don't think the priest I know is capable of what I think you're thinking. Let's wait for the chief."

  Terry and the EMTs looked up as they heard a siren, then he saw Chief Addams's car with flashing red and blue lights pull up to the emergency entrance.

  Terry watched Scott Addams stride in, his face almost black with rage, yelling, "Who would want to hurt a little girl? What the hell is going on here, and where is Father O'Reilly?" The chief spotted Terry and stomped over to him. "Father O'Reilly, does this have something to do with that crap behind the church?"

  Terry lifted his head to look at the chief as he hulked over to him. "I failed!" he sobbed. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "You didn't see that last message. She asked, 'Why don't you help me?' Well why didn't I?" He took a tissue from his pocket and wiped his eyes.

  When he looked up again, the chief's face was less explosive. "Now, now, Father O'Reilly," he soothed, "this isn't your fault. You can't blame yourself. I promise you, I'll get to the bottom of this."

  Terry was relieved when the chief turned to Tom and Jack, asking, "Well, what do you have for me?"

  The paramedics looked at the chief and shrugged. Tom told the chief they didn't have anything. They got an emergency call to go to St. Timothy's where Mrs. Murphy and Father O'Reilly were holding a little girl wrapped in a blanket. They brought the child and Father O'Reilly here, and that's all they knew. He repeated that the priest said to call him and they were mighty glad he was there to take over.

  A cold blast blew through the corridor, and Terry was glad to see Mrs. Murphy, Kate, and Dan rush in. "What's going on?" Kate asked. "Does this have to do with the back steps?"

  He wasn't surprised to hear Mrs. Murphy confront the EMTs. "Where is that child? You must let me see her right away. Tell me who her family is. They must be going out of their minds. Let me see her so I can tell them her condition."

  Terry watched the scene unfold as if he were sitting on the sofa in his study watching a movie. Tom Halloran took Mrs. Murphy's arm, led her down the corridor, and tried to settle her down and explained that no one had been notified, not family or anyone else, and if she wanted to be a good Samaritan, she would hold off until they knew a little more. When the doctor said it was okay, she could notify the family, but it would probably be a while before they knew anything and the best thing she could do was go back to St. Timothy's and pray for the little girl. He offered to give her a ride back to the church.

  Terry smiled at Kate when she sat down next to him and took his hands in hers. He said, "Kate, I'm so glad you're here."

  The chief harrumphed at Terry. "Well, I'm not glad they're here! This is Oakton police business and they'll both be back in the Twin Cities before the end of the week. So, they should keep their noses out of my business."

  Gathering himself together, Terry stood up and put himself between the chief and his son and daughter. "Now wait a minute, chief. Stop strutting around and flinging orders right and left. I may have blubbered at you in a moment of frustration, but I assure you, I have some clout in this town, and I can order people around, too. I got you involved in this mess some time ago, so tell me, what have you come up with? You haven't solved diddly."

  Not waiting for an answer, Terry went on, "I asked them to get involved, and I want them here."

  The chief sputtered. "Okay, Father O'Reilly. If that's the way you want it. But remember what I said, and I promise I won't say I told you so when it's over."

  The chief struggled out of his heavy fleece-lined coat, tossed it on the bench, turned his back on Kate, Terry, and Dan, and walked over to the curtained examining room. Terry heard him call through the curtain, "Anything yet, doc?" He pulled the curtain aside, saying, "I'm coming in to see who you've got there so I can start to get to the bottom of this."

  The priest heard the doctor's rebuke. "Not now, chief! Back out. Give me time with my patient, then we'll talk. Have coffee, sit down, relax, and I'll be out as soon as I can."

  Father O'Reilly turned to the group sitting, standing, waiting. "The doctor's right. I could use a cup of coffee." He took Kate's arm and steered her to a large coffee urn on a cart next to the nurse's station.

  Terry was a little unsteady on his feet, but Kate helped him refocus when she asked if this was the child who left all those packages with the notes. "Do you know who she is? Where did
you find her?"

  "I'm pretty sure this is the mystery child. She only muttered something neither Mrs. Murphy nor I understood, but we're sure she's the one. I know I failed her. Now I need to find out what happened and make it up to her."

  They felt another rush of cold air and turned to see Rabbi Gordon and Reverend Schultz hurrying down the hall, shedding their coats as the warmth of the clinic caught up with them. "What's going on? Can we help?" they said in unison.

  Terry answered, "I don't think there is anything you can do right now. How did you hear about it?"

  Herb said, "You know this town. By now, everybody knows an ambulance went to St. Timothy's and took somebody to the clinic. That's all they know and that's enough to start the rumor mill. The story could be going around that there's an ax murderer loose who tried to kill the priest. So, tell us, what's really going on, Kate?"

  Before Kate could answer, Terry said, "Kate and Dan just got here. Of course the chief is here, but he doesn't know anything, yet. The doctor has a little girl behind that curtain." Kate nodded along and pointed behind them. "He'll come out after his patient is stable."

  Terry and Kate fixed their coffees, and joined the group of people standing, sitting, shuffling around, waiting for word from the doctor.

  Terry knew Dr. Gold was a member of Rabbi Gordon's congregation, so he wasn't surprised when he saw the rabbi approach the curtained area. He told Herb if he was going in, they would go in together. The rabbi poked his head inside the curtain, with Terry standing right next to him.

  Terry, taller than the rabbi, stretched to see what was going on, but all he saw was a sheet covered mound on the gurney and a nurse standing under the bright lights, looking like she was gently rubbing the child's back. Or stomach. He couldn't tell which. Another nurse was at the sink, rattling a few instruments.

  Herb asked, "Doctor, how is it going? Can you tell me anything so I can relieve the minds of these people out here? Do we have a death on our hands?"

  The doctor walked over, and holding the curtains together with just his head showing, he spoke to them quietly. "Not quite, but it's too soon to tell. It is not a happy situation. The little girl is almost stable, but it will be a while until we get her cleaned up. I will sedate her, that's a given, so she won't be answering any questions tonight. I'm glad you're here, Rabbi. I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes when I'm through here. This case is very upsetting. Can you stick around?"

  He looked at Terry. "I'm not sure if I want you in on some of this, Father O'Reilly. I know as a priest you are bound by confidentiality, the same as me and Herb Gordon. It isn't that I don't trust you, but I don't know you very well, so for now I'm going to stick with the rabbi. I hope you understand."

  Terry said, "I don't know you either, Dr. Gold, but believe me, there's no way you're keeping me out of this. Ask Herb, and he'll tell you I'm the one who brought him into this muck up in the first place, and I'm not backing off for you or anybody. Tell me, what do you mean you may not have a birth?"

  Terry was relieved when Dr. Gold said he hadn't performed an abortion on the girl. He could see behind the doctor's head that the little girl on the gurney was almost asleep, but according to the doctor, she had endured an ordeal that would strain a grown woman, let alone a child.

  The doctor told them that this twelve year old had just given birth to a three pound boy. "It's hard to describe that thing. Years ago thalidomide babies were born with gross deformities but nothing like this. Usually, it the babe wouldn't survive the labor of birth, but given the circumstances, I chose to take extreme measures."

  He explained what he'd done. The baby hadn't taken a breath, so he put it on a ventilator to try to expand its lungs. The tiny torso has stubby limbs, no motor functions, no sucking mechanism, no eyesight or hearing. "It's on a breathing machine, a heart machine. I wouldn't really call it living. It is so wired up it looks like a Frankenstein monster. And, that's my other big problem."

  Herb said, "Explain."

  Dr. Gold said, "We haven't been able to get in touch with Maggie or Sally. I'm a doctor, whose sworn oath is to do no harm, and since I'm the one who wired the boy up, I don't know if I can unhook the tubes and wires without their consent."

  To Father Terry, every child deserved the chance to live life to the fullest. He wondered what the doctor had in mind for this newborn, whatever its condition.

  Herb said, "You know I'll be here if you need me, Joe. I would be here anyhow. Terry called me a few weeks ago about some mysterious goings on at St. Timothy's. I think this is the culmination of a lot of other things. We can fill you in later so you'll have some perspective on the case."

  Terry and Rabbi Gordon turned away from the curtain to face the waiting group, and Herb repeated what the doctor said. There was a collective gasp. Pregnant, a twelve year old! Chief Addams turned ghost white, but he quickly recovered and harrumphed. "Well we certainly will look into this. But first we have to determine if there was a crime."

  All eyes turned to the chief.

  Father Terry roared, "What do you mean if there was a crime? Isn't it sexual abuse, molestation, pedophilia? Someone got a twelve-year-old child pregnant. Where is your head, chief?"

  At that moment, Terry saw Louise Addams rush into the clinic, coat flying, running down the hall and calling out, "What's going on? I heard a child was brought in. Who is it? What happened to her?"

  The priest watched a new drama unfold. The chief looked at Louise and said with some restraint, "What makes you assume it's a girl Louise? And what are you doing here anyhow?"

  Then he exploded. "This is police business, not anything for you and your busybody friends. Go home, and I mean NOW!"

  Louise composed herself, ignored the chief, and head high, Terry watched her walk down the hall, get a cup of coffee, then pace back and forth, the expression on her face changing from grim to a broad smile. He wondered if he should speak to her, ask if she understood the tragedy in their midst. There was certainly nothing to smile about.

  Terry followed after her, and Herb joined him. "Louise?" he said. He reached for her, but Louise yelped and pulled away from him. "What are you doing Father O'Reilly? Let go of me!" She looked past Terry at Rabbi Gordon standing behind him. "Can you tell me what in hell this man thinks he's doing."

  Rabbi Gordon spoke softly, "He wasn't trying to harm you, Louise. You are acting rather strangely, holding your head back, laughing out loud. Are you all right?"

  Tears brimmed around her eyes as she pleaded, "Please, Herb, I want to be alone for a few minutes. Leave me alone and go do something for that little Clark girl."

  Louise knew she said too much when the priest and rabbi shared a concerned look between them. Louise saw Herb nod at the priest and tell him he'd see him later at Millie's for their usual breakfast. Terry backed away, retreating down the corridor to join the rest of the waiting group where Chief Addams was pacing back and forth, yelling every few minutes about the awful conditions in Oakton and exclaiming that this was his town and questioning the actions of everyone around him.

  Turning to Rabbi Gordon, Louise took a sip of coffee and through tight lips said, "I'm not crazy, you know. I'm just as upset about that little girl as everybody else. Except the chief. Please, Herb, go with Father O'Reilly. I'm fine, and I really do want to be alone for a little while."

  Herb took her hand and used a soothing tone to whisper to her, "I've been watching you, Louise. You may say you are all right, but how about I take you away from the chief's ranting? We can sit in my car, relax, talk, or not. As you wish."

  Louie let Herb steer her toward the parking lot doors, just as Dr. Gold emerged from behind the striped curtain, his sleeves and the front of his starched white coat smeared with colors of indefinable detritus from his small patient. He was shaking his head, blotting his forehead, and wiping his hands on a small towel. Everyone edged closer, and Louise pushed ahead of the rabbi.

  He spoke slowly, "I don't know what to tell you except, we have a f
ragile twelve year old who just delivered a deformed baby boy. I can understand how you couldn't recognize her, Father, under all that dirt and grime, but the girl is little Lucy Clark. I would like to wring the neck of the man responsible, but right now, keeping Lucy alive is more important."

  Louise avoided Herb and Father O'Reilly's looks when the doctor confirmed the girl's identity. She shouldn't have revealed she knew who the girl was before listing to what the others knew already.

  "Not only was she abused by some deranged pedophile, but she was neglected by her family. That poor child is emaciated, weak, and dehydrated. She hasn't had enough food for herself, let alone to sustain a pregnancy. I sedated her so she will sleep for quite a while. I suggest you all go home now. I'll be able to tell you more in the morning."

  A nurse wheeled a gurney from behind the curtain and down the hall to a hospital room. The doctor reached for Louise's cup of coffee, took a long drink, sputtered, then announced, "This has no sugar. How can you drink that?" A giggle went through the group and the tension was broken. The doctor managed a weak smile and headed to his office.

  As she turned to leave with Herb, Louise stopped to watch the chief confront the doctor. Addams roared, almost loud enough to be heard all over town. "So you're telling us that's Lucy Clark you've got there!"

  Everyone saw him get red in the face, yelling and waving his arm around to include all of them. "I hope you people aren't taken in by that little slut. The police know that family. They're a bunch of whores who spread their legs for any man that comes along. Don't believe a word she says! Listen to what I say, and don't waste any sympathy on that lying little brat." He turned, grabbed his coat, shoved people aside, and stormed out.

  All those present, including the paramedics, looked at each other. Not a word passed between them. Louise could imagine their concern and worry. They didn't know Scott like she did, but this wasn't the time or place to tell the truth about Scott Addams. She didn't want to admit anything with emotions running hot. She only wanted to get out of there, even if only to the parking lot.