'Yes, you remember me? Father Ahearn from Proctor?'
'Of course, the hat and the coat fooled me. I thought you were out of uniform.'
I unlocked the office door and we went in. The priest put his hat on the edge of my desk and sat uneasily on the front edge of one of my client chairs. Hawk always said that the presence of four client chairs in my office was the embodiment of foolish optimism.
'Want some coffee, Father?'
The priest hesitated as if I'd asked him too hard a question. Then he nodded.
'Decaf if you have it,' the priest said.
'You're in luck, Father. I'm a decaf man myself.'
Susan had given me a Mr. Coffee machine for the office to help me in my long-standing quest for decaffeination. I put some ground decaf in the basket, added the water, and turned it on. Then I went around my desk and opened the window a little so that fresh, or at least different, air could drift in from the Back Bay. Then I sat down at my desk.
'What can I do for you, Father?'
'You are still looking for the Anglo woman in Proctor?'
'Lisa St. Claire,' I said.
The priest frowned slightly as if I'd given the wrong answer.
'Do you still think she is with Luis Deleon?'
'I think she might be, Father.'
The priest was silent. The coffeemaker stopped gurgling and I got up and poured us two cups of coffee.
'Got sugar and condensed milk,' I said.
'Just black, thank you.'
I handed him a mug, added sugar and canned milk to mine, and took it back to my desk. I had a sip, it wasn't bad. Once you got over thinking it was going to be coffee and started thinking of it as a hot drink for mornings, it wasn't so disappointing. Some donuts would have helped. On the other hand, I couldn't think of anything some donuts wouldn't help. The priest blew on the surface of his coffee for a moment, then took a sip.
'I have been asked to publish the banns of marriage,' he said, 'on behalf of Luis Deleon and Angela Richard.'
Bingo!
'Do you know Angela Richard?' I said.
'No. But I am scheduled to marry them.'
'You've not met her?'
'No.'
'Who asked you?'
'Luis Deleon came himself.'
'Alone?'
'No, there were some other men with him.'
'But without the bride-to-be,' I said.
'Yes.'
'Isn't that unusual?'
'Yes.'
'Don't you usually want to see both of them and counsel them on the high seriousness of holy matrimony?'
'That is customary.'
'Did he show you a marriage license?'
'No.'
'Can you marry him legally without one?'
'No.
'So does he have one? Why didn't the bride-to-be come along? Why aren't they doing their prenuptial counseling?'
'I don't know,' the priest said. 'You do not question Luis Deleon about things.'
'You don't,' I said. 'I might.'
The priest shrugged.
'It is your work,' he said.
It might have been his too, but I let it slide. He seemed to know his failings already. And the knowledge had
