Repairman Jack [08]-Crisscross Read Online Free PDF Page B

forward and whisper something. He'd nod and she'd lean back.
    The priest on the altar was not Father Ed; he displayed about the same level of interest in what he was doing as his parishioners, which was not much. Jack tuned him out, trying to get a fix on the relationship between Maggie—if that was her name—and her man friend. He'd thought at first that they might be having an affair, but he sensed a distance between them.
    About halfway through the Mass the man rose and sidled to the aisle, then headed back toward Jack. He looked to be about fifty, with a good haircut and features that might be described as distinguished looking except for the haunted look in his eyes and the circles beneath them. He gave Jack a friendly nod and a reflexive smile as he passed. Jack nodded back.
    Jack counted to five, then stepped to the front doors. He watched the man stand on the corner, looking for a cab. It took a couple of minutes but he snagged one and it headed uptown.
    Jack leaned against the rusty iron railing by the building-fund sign and waited. Soon the parishioners began to filter out. He spotted Maggie among them, head down, lost in thought.
    "Sister?" he called softly. "Can I have a word with you?"
    She looked up and her initial look of confusion vanished in wide-eyed shock.
    "You! How did you—?"
    Jack motioned her closer. "Where can we talk?"
    She glanced around at the final parishioners straggling from within and heading down the steps.
    "In a moment this will be as good a place as any."
    "You're kidding."
    "No. I can't be seen strolling around with a man, and certainly not sitting in a bar with him."
    Jack noted the emphasis on "bar."
    He lowered his voice. "What's your real name, sister?"
    "Margaret Mary O'Hara." She flashed a tiny smile. "The kids at the parish school used to call me 'Sister M&M.' They still do, but now they spell it differently."
    Jack returned her smile. "Sister Eminem. That's cool. Better than Sister Margaret. That'd make you sound ninety years old."
    "Around the convent I'm known as Sister Maggie, but lately I have felt ninety years old."
    Movement caught Jack's eye. He spotted a white-albed altar boy at the front doors, kicking up the hooks that held them open.
    "Hi, Sister," he said as he spotted her.
    "Hello, Jorge," she said with a genuine smile, wider than Jack had ever seen from her. "You did a good job today. See you in school tomorrow."
    He nodded and smiled. "See ya."
    When the doors had closed she turned back to Jack.
    "Obviously you followed me. Why?"
    "Too many unanswered questions. But at least now I know who referred you. Does Father Ed know you're being blackmailed?"
    She shook her head. "No. He just knows I need help and can't go to the police. I went to him for advice and he suggested you. Did… did he hire you for something?"
    "You'll have to ask him. My memory's very unreliable."
    The answer seemed to please her. "That's good to know."
    "Are you and that man I saw you with in the photos together?"
    "I'd really rather not say."
    "Fair enough." Jack looked around. They were alone on the steps, alone on the deserted street. A man and a nun standing a good two feet apart. No one could infer anything improper from that. "How bad can the photos be?"
    She looked at her feet. "He sent me copies. Very bad. Nothing left to the imagination."
    "Well then let me ask, How much can they hurt you? I'm assuming you were with a guy, but even if you weren't, I mean, they made some openly gay guy a bishop, so what could—?"
    "Good gravy, Jack. Those were Episcopalians. This is the Catholic Church."
    Good gravy?
    "You're kidding, right? After what Catholic priests have been up to?"
    " Some Catholic priests. None that I've ever known. But this is different. Nuns are different. My order would banish me. I'd be out on the street with no home, no savings, and no job."
    "Seems pretty cold."
    "I love my order, Jack. But more than that, I love serving God and I love teaching these children. I'm a good