The Priest (The Original Sinners #9) - Tiffany Reisz Page 0,117

that little girl.”

“Even a cleansing fire can burn you, if you stand too close. Churches are burning in this town. I see the fires on the altars. But better careers burning than children.”

“They’re saying Archbishop Dunn may have to resign. There might even be criminal charges.”

“Hope so,” Mercedes said. “If he does go to jail, it’ll be thanks to you.”

“Thanks to you,” Nora said. “I wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t warned me I was going to make the wrong choice. The men in my life made very persuasive arguments.”

“So easy to choose between good and evil. So hard to choose between good and good. Hardest of all is choosing between what you want to do and what you ought to do.”

“It was all on me,” Nora said. “My choice. Just me. I was the one vote and if I’d voted the other way, how many kids would… I guess we all thought it was over.” The big clergy abuse scandals of the ’90s had been all over the papers. Then they just stopped. Out of sight, out of mind.

“You know how many supposed ‘witches’ and ‘psychics’ are just con artists?” Mercedes said. “How many of those ‘mediums’ take the hope and the money of grieving parents, claiming they can communicate with their dead children? My own house needs cleaned, too. Nothing new about people abusing their power. Your Church doesn’t own the on that.”

Mercedes gave her a little smile, a littler wink.

Nora had to ask. She just had to.

“Is it real? Did you really see what you say you saw in my cards?”

“Does it matter?” Mercedes shrugged. “Maybe I saw it in the cards. Maybe I had a vision. Maybe I just used my brain and two eyes when I saw a handsome man in black drive up to your house one night, Bible in his saddlebag, inscribed, ‘To Father Stearns with deepest love and gratitude.’” The Bible was a gift from parishioners at Sacred Heart when he left to come to New Orleans.

“So you knew I was sleeping with a priest. That still doesn’t explain—”

Mercedes held out her hand. “You Catholics have your mysteries of faith. We have ours.”

You Catholics.

“You already know what I’m going to do, don’t you?” Nora asked.

“I think I know,” she said and took The Hierophant card out of her desk and laid it before Nora. Dressed as the pope with two priests at his feet as if in worship, Nora found herself repelled by him, by his throne, his staff of power, his cold, uncaring eyes “Scared?”

“I don’t want to hurt him. He’ll think I’m doing it to get back at him.”

“Give the man some credit,” Mercedes said. “He’s loved you all your life. Would he think that little of you?”

“You’re defending him? The Catholic warlock I’m sleeping with?”

“You’re no fool. If you love him, there must be a reason. Isn’t there?”

There were. Many. Too many to count. But one in particular.

“I was fifteen when I fell in love with him,” Nora said. “Or whatever feels like love to a fifteen-year-old girl. There was nothing I wouldn’t let him do to me, and he knew that, too.” Nora swallowed hard. “I hated him when he pushed me away. Now I’m so grateful it hurts. I didn’t realize how much power he had over me until now. The only reason I’m not more fucked up than I already am is because he…protected me. From himself. As best he could anyway.” Nora wiped the tears off her face. “You know how we met? He was never supposed to be a parish priest. They’d trained him for a career in Academia. He’d be president of a Jesuit university by now if things had gone differently. But he found out about a coverup of an abusive priest, and he contacted the victim’s attorney. They punished him with the last assignment he ever wanted—pastoring a little church in a small town. And there I was. Why was it so easy for him to turn in a priest then and not this time?”

“No one he knew or loved was at risk back then. Only his own career. This time…you know how ugly this could have been for you if the media knew about you two.”

“I know. It’ll keep me up at night for a few weeks.”

“I won’t give your man any medals,” Mercedes said. “But I’ll tell you this: when I look for him in your cards, I don’t find this one.” She held up the Hierophant