28 George and Father Make Plans

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The Father sat behind his desk looking for a way to fill this short stub of time. He tapped his pen on the desk. George should be here soon. He picked up a stack of payment authorizations. He started reading the cover memo for the first. When he reached the bottom he couldn't remember who it was from. He set it aside. Why was he troubled? A priest should be helping his people - the living, the undead, and he hoped the dead. He checked the wall clock. She's not late. She could be here any minute.

His first few group meetings Tuesday nights with the reapers went very well, better than he could have hoped, and he liked this idea of helping lost souls. It positively resonated. He knew from his talks with the reapers several of whom he had taken confessions from that there were many souls who did not cross over. He already had guessed that from that seance in LA at Maria's house. The obstacle was that he couldn't see or hear them unaided. The reapers did not as a general rule, he gathered, maintain close contact with these lost souls. The two groups were wary, or more to the point the ghosts did not trust the reapers. Ray he knew was an exception. Ray was his contact to that other community and had told him much about the size and extent in Seattle. But for his idea to work he needed to get George onboard and according to Ray that could be problem. Last year George had rescued John from a severe attack by several ghosts who beat him badly and might well have killed him if she hadn't intervened. Apparently, a Meigan Hesburgh, when alive, had hired Ray and others to kill her relatives and ended up dead herself. She had not crossed over - wasn't clear on the why of that since George was her reaper, and well, George was a believer in ghosts crossing over, all ghosts - and Rube and the others believed Meigan was allied in death again with the same group to have another go at killing the Hesburghs plus the little boy Tommy and a few more. Was Tommy his uncle? His grandmother adopted and was raising the boy…but…anyway. He dropped the pen and leaned back.

Sister Katherine came to his door. He sat up. "A young lady is here to see you, Father."

"Please show her in."

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Sister Katherine escorted the young girl through to the Father's office. She entered with the girl and was surprised when the Father said, "Sister could you shut the door, please. Thank you."

That was not really appropriate. These days… Sister Josie who had been watching from across the altar came over and whispered, "Who was that young girl? She drove a very large truck into the parking lot."

"He's talking to her…alone in his office…just…the two of them."

Josie ignored her implication. "The man has too much energy. I've never seen a priest so active as this one. Nor have I seen so many new people coming into the Church, and from all over Seattle. He said he's never been to Seattle before and yet so many people have been coming to see him."

"Did you see Mr. Hesburgh himself come in?"

"I did, I did. And did you see the offerings he's been giving over? I don't believe he's Catholic and he doesn't attend services, and yet he is so familiar with the Father."

"Those bodyguards…it's a good thing Sister Angelina wasn't here. The two entered the office with Mr. And Mrs. Hesburgh and looked like they should have been in the confessional, if you ask me."

"Did you see that young woman with the little boy that came by last week?"

"He's the boy whose parents were murdered last year. That's what I heard."

The door to the office remained closed and Katherine and Josie went off to finish their work.

After almost an hour Katherine heard the door open and the girl's voice although she couldn't make out what she was saying. She moved over to her own open door across the hall from the Father's office. Josie heard also and came over to her office door.

She heard the Father. "Tonight then Georgia. You won't regret it."

The girl, Georgia, looked like she regretted something already. "I'll be here ready to go." And she left.

The Father smiled at them and returned to his office.

Sister Josie hurried to one of the back room windows overlooking the parking lot where the girl had parked. A minute later she returned. "I saw her drive away. Now what do you suppose that was all about?"

Sister Katherine was wondering the same thing.