Unholy Orders: Mystery Stories with a Religious Twist (2000) by Serita Stevens

Author:Serita Stevens [Stevens, Serita]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

George Chesbro

George Chesbro, creator of the Mongo, Veil and Chant mystery series, is the author of 23 novels and upwards of 100 short stories and articles, and a past Executive Vice President of Mystery Writers of America. The first ten Mongo novels were recently reissued in trade paperback.

MODEL TOWN

George Chesbro

“Should I call you Father?”

“No. My name is Brendan Furie.”

Father Gary Walsh smiled shyly, shifted in the chair behind the small desk in his small, bare office, then ran his hand back through his thick brown hair, which he wore in a blow-dried pompadour that made him look even younger than his twenty-four years. “Word’s gotten around since you’ve been in town. I heard you used to be a priest, but you were excommunicated. Now you’re a private investigator working on some special assignment.”

“I think your story is far more interesting, Father Walsh. That’s what were here to talk about.”

The young curate flushed. “Of course. I didn’t mean to pry.” He abruptly rose and stuck out a pink, pudgy hand, continued: “Call me Father Gary. Everybody does.”

“Pleased to meet you, Father Gary. I appreciate your cooperation. You seem nervous. There’s no need.”

“I’m not nervous,” the other man said quickly, dropping rather than sitting back down in his chair.

“Okay. That’s good.”

“I’m just kind of puzzled that Father Reilly would allow you to interview me—I mean, he made it plain that I should answer all your questions.”

“Father Reilly was the first person I interviewed a week ago. I’ve also interviewed twenty-four of your parishioners who have seen the weeping Madonna, or had other miraculous experiences.”

“There are a lot more than twenty-four.”

“It’s a sufficient number for the statistical sample I need. Since all of the unusual occurrences that have happened in Craiggville in the past three months began with you, I figured I’d end with you. Why are you puzzled?”

Again the curate shifted in his chair, fidgeted with his Roman collar. “It was Father Reilly, on the orders of the bishop, who told me to stop talking to the press. The bishop himself turned down an offer by one of those psychic researchers to come in and try to prove that the incidents were either really miracles or a hoax.”

“It’s not my task to prove or debunk anything, Father Gary. I do field research for a group that’s studying human behavior in response to extraordinary events like the things that have happened here. I make no judgments on the events themselves, which is probably why your bishop and senior pastor agreed to cooperate. You shouldn’t take their previous actions personally. You have to understand that, from the Church’s point of view, the question of miracles puts them in a no-win situation. If the Church officially declares some incident to be a miracle and it turns out to be fake, the Church looks ridiculous; if they declare something a hoax, it discourages the faithful who may have come back to the Church because of what they perceive to be miracles. Usually the Church takes no position, which is the case here.

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