“Uh-huh. And I don’t like coincidences, They smack of blind luck and we deal in facts. Whether we find anything or not, we’d better check on whether there’s any connection there.”
“Connection?” Moore asked.
“Where does Stapleton fit in? As far as the Church is concerned.”
“You mean …?” She didn’t finish her thought.
“Well, liberal, conservative? Left wing or right?”
“Oh, Stapleton is a liberal.”
“And Carson is a conservative.”
“Off the globe.”
“Ah,” Tully observed, “that would explain the pushing incident.”
“Yes. Stapleton and Carson were always on opposite sides of just about everything.”
“Just about,” Tully observed.
“What are you getting at, Zoo?”
“They’ve got some common ground now.”
“Common ground?”
They’ve both been listed as being opposed to practices and laws of the Church.”
“Oh, yeah, Zoo. But the things that Carson can’t stand just couldn’t be the same problems Stapleton has.”
“Maybe not. But suppose they agree to bury the hatchet for the duration so they can get the Church’s attention. Suppose that’s the purpose of this crime spree. Suppose they find they have the same goal for different reasons. We can’t overlook the possibility … or any possibility, for that matter. This is growing into one slippery case.” Tully might have added that it was the sort of case that he most appreciated. One that called on every skill he possessed. “But, go on, Angie. What else about Stapleton? Besides the pushing incident and the resignation report?”
“Well, there were quite a few items either featuring him or mentioning him.”
“Oh?”
“He’s a psychologist. Kind of prominent, at least locally. Every so often you see him on one or another local TV news program. You know how the news anchors get into pop psychology and they get local authorities for ‘expert’ commentary. Well, Dr. Stapleton is there pretty regularly giving his opinion. He’s also quoted on radio and in newspapers along the same line, His picture’s been on TV and in the papers pretty often.”
“Ever give expert testimony in court?”
“Well, yeah, a few times.”
“In homicide cases?”
“Once in a while. Although, evidently, not in any of your cases. I think most people in the metropolitan area would be fairly familiar with Stapleton. In fact, from the number of times their pictures have been in the media, I’d guess that Carson and Stapleton are equally recognizable to a lot of people.” She stopped, almost embarrassed. She did not want to make her point too plainly. But it was evident that while Carson and Stapleton would qualify as local celebrities-at least in the sense of being easily identifiable-Tully had paid no attention to them.
It was one more indication of the measure of dedication Tully gave to his work. To a significant extent, as far as he was concerned if a news item had no relevance to his work it was not news. Some might call such an attitude tunnel vision. Others, dedication. Whatever one called it, Tully was near totally absorbed in his work. His former wife had discovered this truth early in their marriage and thought she could fight this intangible enemy. She spent a few years of her life in this doomed struggle. Tully’s present-day companion recognized and understood his priorities early on and was able to handle being a very strong but definite second in his life.
Anyone who had eavesdropped on this present conversation would have come to the same inevitable conclusion Angie Moore had reached: Alonzo Tully did not pay much attention to the passing parade. It was almost as if he did not want extraneous information crowding out the things he needed to know to do his job as well as or better than any comparable officer.
Tully’s unexpected grasp of the effects of Vatican II on current Church affairs was a case in point. From some source, presently unknown to Sergeant Moore, he had been briefed on the council and its impact on Catholicism. Still, there was no indication that Tully had mastered more than he needed to know to further the investigation of this case.
At any rate, Tully clearly did not seem embarrassed, defensive, or even concerned that a couple of otherwise famous faces were foreign to him. “Stapleton: rich?” he asked.
“Comfortable. I talked to a few people who knew him well-therapists, priests, ex-priests. Stapleton does a lot of charity work, mostly at old Trinity parish in Corktown. He’s married, got one daughter who’s going to school at that music academy up north-Interlochen. That must cost a bundle.
“Oh, and one more thing: He belongs to CORPUS.”
“What the hell is that?” Tully was growing irritated at the continuing confusions he found in Catholicism.
“It’s an organization for ex-priests who want to be able to function clerically again. They meet, put out a publication, lobby bishops, even the Pope.”
“Mostly talk?”
“I guess so. But Stapleton’s been very active in the group.”
“So? It seems.harmless enough. If all they want to do is get their preacher’s license back, what’s the problem? I don’t see why he’s on Bash’s shit list.” He seemed puzzled. “He was even mentioned by some of the other department heads.”
Moore didn’t reply immediately. Finally, she said, “Well, I can’t speak for the others ’cause I didn’t interview them-but I’d be willing to bet they agree. My man, Father Bash, doesn’t consider either Carson or Stapleton as physical threats. Of course he undoubtedly didn’t know about Carson’s all-out fight yesterday at the post office. So I think he could be mistaken about Carson.
“Anyway, I think Bash sees Carson and Stapleton as … well … just troublemakers. And if you saw things through … what? — institutional eyes-that’s all they’d be. As you know”-although she didn’t know how he knew-“that Vatican council stirred up lots of controversy. I get the impression the institutional Church desperately wants everything to calm down. And people like Carson and Stapleton won’t let that happen.
“That’s my impression. People like Bash would like to see Carson and Stapleton just go away-or at least shut up. But neither one of them seems to want to do that. So they are seen as people opposed to Church rules and regulations. And from that point of view, they are.
“Of course Bash sees them as personal enemies. But I don’t think it would take anybody long to become a personal enemy of Father Bash.”
They both laughed.
Quickly returning to seriousness, Tully said, “Let’s keep as tight a rein on Carson as possible. I don’t see Stapleton as a violent type. And I wish to God that we could keep that nun in a jar.”
“Sister Joan? You think somebody’s still after her?”
“It would tie things up neatly, wouldn’t it? She’s still the first base that nobody’s touched yet.”
“There’s no way we can keep her under surveillance. She’s determined to continue doing her job. And her job drags her over the Whole metropolitan area.”
“Uh-huh.” Damn! It could almost drive a man prayer.
18
“Where’s father Benz?”
Cardinal Mark Boyle finished chewing the morsel of lamb before answering. “There is a gathering of his priest friends at the seminary this evening. I gave him the night off.”
“Good.” Archbishop Lawrence Foley was pleased to be able to spend the evening alone with his friend. Benz, secretary to the Cardinal, was a nice enough young man, but he was from a different era, two or more removed from these two old bishops. Without the young man, who, courtesy demanded, should be included in the conversation, the older men were free to retreat as far as they liked into history. And they would.
Foley lived in a condominium on Detroit’s far east side, He could have lived virtually anywhere he wished, but he wanted to reside in the city, though not in an area inhospitable to strolling the streets, and not in a rectory. He had reached an age where he would deal with people and the clergy in particular only when he wished. Not when they wanted him. Retirement, he thought, should have some privileges.