Chapter 2

Frost looked at Jane before asking Sister Winifred to join them in the interview room to help them with the case. Jane hurriedly grabbed the relevant folders, catching up with the others. When they arrived at the interview room, Jane sat down facing Sr. Winifred, while Frost readied the tape recorder. When it was all set, he nodded. Jane gave a warm look to the nun, encouraging her to begin her statement.

"Sister, when you are ready, you can tell us what you remember and who these men were."

The nun nodded.

"I remember these men from Dublin, Ireland. You see, I was part of the Boston delegation to the International Eucharistic Congress, which was held in Dublin in 2012. The IEC is a very important event in the Catholic Church. Held every few years, Catholics come together to celebrate the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist."

Frost asked her to clarify.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand what this means. Can you explain a bit, in case it might be relevant? Thanks, Sister."

The nun looked at him before realising he was being serious. Frost looked at her steadily, waiting for her response with a warm expression on his face.

"No problem. The Eucharist is a Christian sacrament, where the last supper of Jesus Christ, before he was crucified, is commemorated by the eating of bread and drinking of wine. We believe that it is actually the blood and body of Christ.

"Well, at the American Embassy in Dublin, there was a banquet for the American IEC delegation. That's where I met these men."

At this point, her voice wavered. Jane put her hand on the nun's. "I know it must be hard for you. We really appreciate your assistance." the nun sniffed away a tear, trying to contain her upset, and bravely nodded, saying "anything I can do to help you with your investigations." Jane smiled warmly and beckoned at the photographs, gently drawing the sister's attention to the gruesome images.

"So these men were at the IEC with you. Were they also part of the Boston delegation? Do you remember their names? As you said, anything you say would be really helpful."

"No. I mean, they were American, yes, but not from Boston. For some reason, though, they stuck with us in the Boston delegation. I'm sorry, I cannot remember their names."

Jane let out a sigh of disappointment, but the nun continued.

"However I think I can still help. It's rather complicated, from what I remember. There were about five priests, these men were priests."

Jane sat up, interested, pointing at the photographs.

"Yes, that's a lead of sorts. Good, ok, so they were Catholic priests, yes?"

Sr Winifred nodded,

"Yes, they were, and what stood out about them was that they went everywhere together. They were not very warm people. They drew attention to themselves when I attempted to ask them to move their seats so more room would be made at the banquet for others. This man," pointing to the photo of the second victim, "scolded me for having the temerity to address him in such a fashion, and the five of them refused to budge. Even for the security staff. They only moved when the ambassador himself asked them, and with marked reluctance, even then."

Jane looked at her, asking:

"So would you say they had a superiority complex of some sort? Or is there another reason they treated you with such disdain?"

Sister Winifred shifted in her seat, shaking her head.

"I don't know, but they had this air of entitlement. They did not even appreciate my talking to them, never mind asking them to move. They didn't seem to respect anyone apart from themselves."

Jane nodded, before continuing,

"I see. Could you tell us your impression of each person? You said there were five. The three victims and two more. Apart from this air of entitlement you noticed, was there anything else about them? What about the internal group dynamic? Any leaders in that group?"

The nun frowned, trying to remember, glancing around the room, then looking down at the table.

Sucking in her upper lip, she looked up, glancing at the photographs, pointing at the first victim.

"This priest was the most friendly of the five, but not by much. He did not really have any time for women, preferring the company of other priests. He particularly detested lay women, or so it seemed, from his behaviour. He would only address a woman if she was wearing a nun's habit. I was wearing one and hence he spoke to me once, asking me something. The other two victims, I can't really remember anything about them apart from their attitude and their cold offhand manner, I'm sorry. It's been such a long time."

Frost nodded. "That's ok," he said, reassuring her that she was still very helpful.

"Did you get the impression that these priests were homosexual?"

Sister Winifred smiled sardonically before shaking her head.

"I don't think so. They did not seem to want to touch anyone, and often spoke of the sexual act with disgust."

Frost nodded, understanding what the nun meant, thinking to himself "Some Catholic priests were like that alright,"Jane could only sit there, red faced, pretending to look through the case files. She was uncomfortable talking about sexuality with this particular nun, remembering her from her school days. Changing the subject, Jane asked the nun about the other two men in the group.

Sister Winifred pondered for a moment.

"Come to think of it... you asked about the group dynamic. The other two were very much part of the group, but one was slightly older than the victims, and one slightly younger. The younger one was the quiet one. He did everything asked of him by the others. Anyone else, he ignored. He had a particularly creepy manner. The older man was extremely cold, more so than the others, but apart from this coldness in his personality, there was nothing else. The only priest who had any interactions with them was my parish priest, Father O'Brien. He might be better able to help with your investigations."

Jane looked up at the nun, smiling at her.

"Fr. Dermot O'Brien of St. Dominic's? He was the priest who gave me my First Confession and first Holy Communion. That's a blast from the past! Thanks, you've been a great help today."

"Anything at all."

Jane smiled at her once again and nodded.

Frost stood up before remarking: "Anything else comes up, we'll ask you, but thanks for your time."

Leaving the interview room, Sister Winifred left to get a cup of coffee while the detectives returned to their desks.

In the Bullpen, the three detectives discussed the case further, before agreeing the next logical step was to go to St. Dominic's to interview Fr. O'Brien. By general consensus, Frost was to ask the questions, while Jane took notes. Korsak would check the files again, completing the paperwork. All set, Jane and Frost stood up, while Korsak grunted as he proceeded with his work.

Grabbing their coats, the pair left the bullpen and made their way to the church. As they left the building, an elderly man sitting on the bench opposite the BPD stared malevolently at Jane and noted the direction they were going. He picked up his mobile phone and tapped a few keys. When the other person answered the call, he confirmed that Jane Rizzoli was based at the BPD at this station. He listened to the instructions. "Understood. I'm on her. The Master will be pleased." He stood up and walked off with a menacing air.