Other Men's Sins by Lawrence Falcetano

Author:Lawrence Falcetano [Falcetano, Lawrence]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-07T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

I was in Father Sidletski’s office by eight the next morning. The father had called me the night before, insisting that I come by to see him. He claimed he had important information pertinent to the Father Conlon case.

Sidledski looked older than the other priests who lived in the rectory. I guessed he was pushing eighty. He was short and weighed more than he should for his height. His hair was peppered gray and neatly parted to one side. The thick rimless glasses he wore sat comfortably on his wide nose.

His office was much like Father Conlon’s but smaller and less ornate. A large desk, a pair of visitor chairs, and a metal file cabinet completed the furnishings. Two double-hung windows let in plenty of light from the street side of the building where the sound of children playing filtered in from the outside.

“Please, sit,” the Father said, gesturing for me to take a chair.

As I sat, he lowered himself into a high-back chair behind his desk.

“Thank you for coming,” he said.

He pulled a tissue from the box on his desk, leaned back in his chair, and took his time wiping his face and forehead. When he was through, he carefully placed the tissue in a nearby wastebasket, squared his blotter evenly on his desktop, and slid three pencils back into the top drawer of his desk. His senseless fidgeting told me he was not comfortable with what he was about to tell me and was searching hard to find a place to begin. I thought I’d help him alone.

“On the phone, you said you had information pertinent to Father Conlon’s case.”

I waited...

When he was ready, he sat back in his chair, laced his fingers together across his ample belly and looked directly at me. “I’ve been struggling lately with the laws of the church and the laws of man,” he said. “An exercise that has cost me more than a few night’s sleep.”

A silence fell between us while I let him arrange his thoughts.

“In all my years of divine service, I have never been burdened with a situation such as I have been presented. I have always been mindful to keep a person’s relationship with the Lord a private and personal matter. Confession is between God and his brethren.”

He took another tissue from the box, wiped his face again and continued. “But occasionally—in the interest of spiritual and social justice—man’s laws can supersede the laws of the church. I have, therefore, with guidance from the Lord, summoned you here today to tell you what I know.”

I sat quietly and let him continue.

“This has not been easy for me, detective,” he said. “But I have assuaged all guilt and believe I am doing the right thing. However, before I continue, you must assure me that the information I am about to disclose will not be passed to anyone other than those who need to know.”

“If it’s important to the case,” I said, “I assure you it will be kept confidential and used with discretion.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.