The Scarlet Cross by Lyn McFarlane

Author:Lyn McFarlane
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780648795209
Publisher: Pantera Press

In Persona Christi

24 December 1990

Level 5 West – St Jude Catholic Hospital

After Lachlan put the phone down, he ran through the numbers. If they could arrange the sale right away, the two eastern lots would fetch well over twenty million each. A handsome sum. Father Bart would be safe, the bishop would be pleased – it would be enough to cover the settlements for all the abuse complaints in the New Westdale Diocese. And there would even be a little something left over at the end – for services rendered. He smiled to himself.

A rustle in the hallway distracted him and he looked up to see her standing there, framed by the doorway, clothed in black, her blue eyes rimmed with pink. She was a tall, muscular woman, but age was winning and her flesh hung heavy from her frame, like meat on a butcher’s hook.

‘I didn’t see you there,’ he said, trying to be casual. But his eyes were tethered to her, watching her every move, wondering how long she’d been standing there and what she’d heard. ‘I thought you’d be down in the chapel helping Father Collins prepare for Mass.’

‘Father Collins can manage,’ she said quietly, coming into the room with large strides, her nun’s skirt rustling as she walked. She sat in the chair opposite his desk as if she owned it, her eyes scanning the papers under his hands. ‘There are more pressing matters.’

Closing his notebook against her roving eyes, he began to organise his files. ‘What matters do you mean?’

‘You know what matters I mean, Lachlan.’

He looked up sharply and then closed his eyes, sighing heavily. ‘You aren’t going to start that again. I mean really, how many times—’

‘Just stop. Right there.’ Her eyes were wide and intense, their rims made redder by the light over his desk. He saw the muscles in her face, how they were set like concrete. He wanted to tell her to relax, that she was getting too worked up. But when had that ever worked with his mother? Since his father died and she grew closer to the Church, he’d never managed to calm her down. With every passing year, life had grown more rigid, until he left home and she became a nun.

‘You simply cannot continue in this way,’ she snapped. ‘I need to know about the finances. It’s utterly unacceptable that you haven’t provided the hospital board with an audited financial statement in two years.’

‘We’ve spoken about this.’

She leapt out of her chair and stood, towering over his desk. ‘I know we’ve spoken about this!’ she cried. ‘I also know the eastern lots at Leyton were just sold. Everyone knows – it’s in the newspaper, for heaven’s sake! That’s St Jude’s land, Lachlan. Where’s the money? Where have you put it this time?’

She started to pace in front of his desk, her legs moving heavily through the thick fabric of her skirt. She turned her head to look at him, eyes blazing. ‘Is it going to pay

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