Page 72 of Paranoia

Again, Doyle didn’t say anything. But I could sense that he was obviously conflicted. I glanced over at Trilling, hoping he had something to add. He looked like he wanted to speak, so I nodded.

Trilling engaged Doyle directly. “I was in the Army too. I ended up in the Rangers. In one of the last combat deployments. What about you? I haven’t had a chance to read your file com-pletely.”

I was surprised to finally hear Doyle’s scratchy and tired voice. “I mustered out at Fort Bragg. I was a Green Beret.”

Trilling said, “No shit. You’ve fallen a long way.”

Doyle hung his head again and mumbled, “I know.”

CHAPTER 107

I LEFT ROB TRILLING to try to soften Kevin Doyle up. When I stepped out of the conference room, they were chatting about their time in the military. Trilling was careful not to drift back into any incriminating subjects. We wanted Doyle to talk, not go silent.

It was late afternoon, an awkward time between lunch and dinner, but I realized we were all hungry so I got us some pizza from the little place around the corner. As I was bringing it back to the conference room, I noticed Walter Jackson working on two computers at once. That was always a good sign for an investigation he was involved in. I didn’t even bother him. He seemed to be onto something fairly big. I was hoping we could use it to convince Doyle to talk.

Doyle, Trilling, and I wolfed down a couple of slices of cheeseand pepperoni. It wasn’t bad. The food revived me, and the off-brand cola gave me a little sugar boost. God knows I needed it.

Trilling turned to me and said, “This guy has been on some high-profile missions. He was in the mountains of Afghanistan for five months straight. Very impressive.”

I saw what Trilling was doing. Showing Doyle we didn’t view him as a mad-dog killer. We respected his service to the country. We just wanted to talk.

I had seen in his file that Doyle was originally from Brooklyn. “Let me guess. You’re an Irish Catholic kid. You probably grew up with a bunch of siblings and cousins.”

That made Doyle smile for the briefest moment possible. He said, “Two sisters and a brother. And some older cousins who lived right next door to us.”

“You were never lonely.”

“It prepared me for living in a barracks. Snoring and noise didn’t bother me like it bothers a lot of guys in the service. As long as no one was peeing in the bed next to me, it was a step up from my childhood.” He spoke as if he was remembering what his life was like before he turned into a contract killer.

I didn’t push it. I sat there, thinking up my next angle of attack. That’s when Doyle surprised me.

He said, “Would it be possible to speak with a priest?”

“You mean, like, for confession?”

“That’s exactly what I mean. And Communion.”

Trilling said out loud, “Where will we find a priest to come to our office on such short notice?”

I said, “I know one.” I explained to Doyle my grandfather’s position in the church, how Seamus had become a priest later inlife, as a widower after having a wife and family and owning a local bar. “He may not be what you consider a typical Catholic priest, but I swear to God he’s a good man. Down to his very soul. He believes in God as strongly as anyone I’ve ever met. And he will not tell me one thing you say. This will have nothing to do with our case—you have my word on it.”

Doyle looked up at me and nodded. “I know your reputation. I’ll accept your word as gold.”

I was on the phone to Seamus before I even left the conference room.

CHAPTER 108

I WAS SURPRISED how quickly my grandfather showed up at the office, especially since he’d even taken the time to put on his full vestments and had brought a little satchel with everything he needed. He was ready to get to work immediately.

My grandfather and Walter chatted for a moment before I led Seamus to the conference room.

I took my grandfather aside. “I’m afraid this isn’t normal circumstances. This guy is super dangerous. He’s told me he won’t try anything crazy if we leave him alone with you in the room. That said, I want you to stay on the opposite side of the conference table. We’re leaving one of the blinds open so we can look in on you. Anything else you need from me?”

Seamus shook his head. “As long as you realize I’ll never say anything about what he tells me in there.”

“I don’t need you to tell me anything. I’d like to know theextent of the guy’s victims list. I’m hoping if he thinks he’s right with God, he’ll try to make it right with us as well.”

My grandfather gave me a sly smile. “If he sets himself right with God, he doesn’t need to worry about being right with anyone else.”

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