AN: This is a reminder for all the people who thinks (and they are right) that my grammar sucks. I'm still Spanish and english is not my mother tongue. You have the option to read the story or not to read it. It's your choice, so if you want to continue reading go ahead. I'll be grateful for that. If you stop reading, it will be a shame. I'm not perfect.
Chapter 16 – The Headmaster Ritual
"Our bodies are prisons for our souls"
The words that Father Silecio had pronounced, kept replaying in Catherine's ears. She had seen the body and the thin yet deep lines that formed that sentence in Carl Roth's chest and now that image returned to her like a blow on her head. She looked at Sara who was in the same position as before. Her lips pressed together, her eyebrows in a frown.
"Gotcha" She said most to herself than to Catherine.
Catherine approached to her and whispered in her ear that she was going to dial Brass and ordered her to keep and eye on the priest. Sara only nodded still looking at the lectern where Father Silecio carried on with his sermon. Little did he know that after the funeral, Brass and a couple of officers would be waiting for him to drive him outside of the Church.
The ride was short. They had had a few problems when it came to put Father Silecio in a police car. People were staring at them with rancor and at the same time in disbelief. In one hand they considered Father Silecio as an example to be followed, in the other hand people couldn't believe that he was taken by the police to be questioned. The only people who believed and trusted completely him were the group that Catherine saw on the photograph at Owen Wilson's house, but the group was three people short. One of them was Betty Wilson, the other one was Father Silecio, and the last one was Sabina Kestch. Now she could put a face to the person who lied on the coffin.
Father Silecio didn't protest at all when they led him to the police car. He only remarked that he needed to be at the funeral, but the ceremony was over and the only thing that was left to do, was put the coffin six feet under.
He wasn't surprised when he was taken in an interrogation room. He just waited for the two women to make an appearance. He looked like a man of firm hand. He had black hair with a few grey hair above his ears. His grey eyes were cold, didn't express any emotion, but you could say by his posture that he was an authoritative man.
Catherine and Sara both took a seat in front of Father Silecio.
"Do you mind if I record this session?" It was Sara who broke the silence first, challenging him with her eyes, meanwhile she extracted a tape recorder not bigger than her hand.
"I don't have any objection. Go ahead" He said with a gesture of his hand.
"Father Silecio, just for the record, what are your functions in St. Thomas Church?" Catherine asked
"I'm the priest in charge of the church. The typical activities for a priest, and organize certain activities" His voice was calm, peaceful, almost hypnotic.
"What kind of activities?"
"Activities like rehabilitation of people who had been in jail, people who had to fight to recover from their drug addiction. We are a center of rehabilitation."
"How did you do that? Do you have specialists in that area, like doctors or nurses?"
"Yes and no"
"Could you elaborate?"
"Yes of course. We had volunteers that help us. They could be doctors or nurses, psychologists… but mostly we try to help them through the faith. We have a group which goal is to integrate people with problems into society."
"Is Owen Wilson one of the people of the group of rehabilitation?"
"Yes, he is one of our most fervent volunteers"
"Was Betty Wilson one of them too?" Sara asked him. Maybe if she talked about Betty she would provoke a reaction in Father Silecio's attitude.
He looked at her during a few moments. There was something in his eyes that Sara couldn't put a name on. Hurt, maybe.
"Yes, she was" He looked to the right. "She was an excellent person. Her death stunned to all of us". His tone was distant, giving the impression that he didn't want to remember.
"Did you know Carl Roth?" she asked. He took his time to respond. Slowly he turned his head to the brunette. His eyes were cold again, and his grip to the table made his knuckles turn white.
"Yes I knew him. He was one of the persons we tried to help, that Betty tried to help." His tone was harsh.
"Father Silecio, where were you two days ago?" Brass asked
"I was with the group preparing an excursion to Lake Mead. We where checking our scuba materials and forming the new group that would join us," he said turning his attention to the detective
"Owen Wilson was with you?"
"No, he wasn't, but I had lunch with him that day, like the rest of the group".
"Honesty is always worthy of praise, even though does not report utility, neither compensates, nor benefit" Sara said staring at him. "Do you know these words?"
He marked a pause before answering to Sara's question. A smile formed on his lips, a sadistic one. His eyes darkened.
" Cicero" After a few seconds he looked at the three persons that where in the room "Is this some kind of test?"
"Our bodies are prisons for our soul" Sara added. "What does it mean to you?"
"There it goes now it's nothing or everything" Catherine thought to herself. She could see that Sara was taking the opportunity to make him flinch or get something from him that would lead them to a real suspect.
He looked at her, still smiling. "It means that our skin and blood, are the iron bars of confinement. All flesh decays. Death turns all to ash. And thus, death frees every soul"
"Did Carl Roth have a soul?"
"Every person in this planet has a soul, even you, Miss Sidle" He said with an understanding smile "Carl was a person that needed help to liberate his soul from his sins. He came to us in search of that help. Later we discovered that he was more interested in Betty than in his soul." He made a pause, studying the table in front of him "I guess he finally found the peace he needed".
"Did you help him to find that peace?"
"Yes, I helped him"
Catherine could sense how Sara's muscles tensed. Sara was indignant, and dared him to gloat at his actions
"Did you torture him for entertainment or to liberate his soul?" Sara asked, leaning forward. He mimicked her position in response.
"I'm only saying that he is now liberated from his sins." He replied calmly and still smiling.
"I'm sure that he was better without your help" Sara realized that she wasn't going to trick him into confessing, and they needed to change tactics.
Before she could speak again, he interrupted her thoughts. "Ms. Sidle, not a believer?
"This has nothing to do with faith, Father"
"You can't understand then, that without faith there is no redemption."
"In three parts the human soul is divided: in mind, in wisdom and wrath. I think that the last one was the dominant" she replied firmly
He stayed still, his eyes never leaving hers.
There was a knock on the door of the interrogation room. Brass went there and exchanged a few words with the officer that just came in. A few seconds passed. Finally, Brass turned to them, looking directly to the man who was questioned.
"Father Silecio's attorney is here"
Sara never took her eyes from their suspect "He's not in custody; he's just here to help us answer some questions".
A blonde man entered the room "The group of volunteers where concerned and asked me to make sure there were no problems I needed to know about:"
Catherine looked to Sara. She was in tension. Father Silecio rattled her with his attitude, and she knew that they wouldn't have enough evidence against him to keep him in custody or to accuse him.
"We're through here anyway" Catherine said.
Father Silecio stood up and cleared up his cassock. He looked at the two women that were examining every movement he did. When he started to leave the room, he turned to them one more time, both women were with her backs to him.
"Maybe we could talk about your soul Miss Sidle, I'm sure that it would be interesting."
With that, he abandoned the room, leaving Sara and Catherine alone with Brass.
"I don't think we can catch him with all we have" Catherine said breaking the silence.
"We need more to catch him than what he said." Brass added. "No judge will give us a warrant just by his statement"
Sara leaned forward to the table and took the audio recorder smiling. "No, you're right, but now we have his voice." She said looking at Catherine still smiling and with a look that Catherine had missed in a long time. The sparkle that used to make those chocolate eyes so alive had returned. "Let's compare it to the audio of the videotape". She said showing the tape recorder to them.
TBC