Wrestling With God Page 23

  "She's very good right now; she's sleeping." She chuckled.

  "Agnes, has anyone called asking about me or Kathy since I left?"

  "Yes, Jack Carroll called. He sounded kinda funny—like he really didn't know who I was. First, he asked about you and I told him you were downtown for a meeting. Then, he asked about Kathy. I really wondered why he would be interested in Kathy, but I told him that she and Julie were at University High. He hung up without saying goodbye or thank you. That's very unlike Jack. That's all."

  "Thanks, Ruth, I may be a little later than I thought. Bye." Then I thought about the policeman who was sent there. "Agnes, please take a look out the front window. Is there a police car there?"

  "Yes, there is. Why?"

  "Agnes, Joe Carroll is out of jail. He may be coming after me and Kathy. The last time I saw him at the hospital, he sounded threatening toward me, so I'm worried about him and asked that a patrol car be sent. So don't open the front door for anyone except me, the girls, and the police. Okay? I'm almost sure that it was Joe who called, and not Jack. They sound alike. Why don't you take April and Plato upstairs with you and wait for us."

  I turned to Dave, "Let's go."

  When we got to the high school we stopped in front of the auditorium and hurried inside. Julie gave me a brief hug and said, "I found a student who said that she saw Kathy leave with an older man. She said he had his arm around her and kinda pushing her out the door. She heard something about 'We'll see your mom' or something like that. That was about ten or so minutes ago. She wasn't sure but thought they left in a car out in front."

  We all rushed back to my car and I told Dave, "May I break a few speed limits?"

  "If you see a police car, keep going ... maybe we'll get a police escort."

  I drove as fast as the roads and traffic would allow and hoped I could get to the house before Joe did. I didn't get there fast enough as a strange car was in the driveway and I heard voices in the house. The front door was open and I was doubly glad that Dave was with us. We moved as fast and quietly as we could and stayed outside the line of fire that might come out of the front door.

  Standing beside the doorway, we heard Kathy shout, "Stay up there. I'll join you."

  Joe shouted, "Get the hell back down here."

  Then another man yelled, "Put that gun down now, or I'll shoot."

  Then there was a gun shot. I pushed Julie back and Dave and I looked through the open doorway. The policeman was writhing on the floor and we heard Joe's voice hollering, "Goddamnit, get the hell back down here." Then we heard Plato's deep growling and two more gun shots.

  I couldn't wait another second, and bolted to the door. Dave had his gun out and tried to stop me but I shook him off and ran through the doorway. We got to the bottom of the stairs quickly enough to see Joe trying, unsuccessfully, to get Plato off him. I froze near the stairs and then both Plato and Joe came tumbling down the stairs. Joe's head hit the post at the bottom of the stairs and I could hear a loud crushing sound of bones breaking. I saw Joe's limp body land at our feet. His gun went flying. Plato was whining and landed on Joe's body with his front paws seeming to be holding Joe's head down.

  I looked up the stairs and saw Kathy trying to get up and then falling and tumbling down the stairs, landing with her head above but near Plato. I told Julie to help Kathy and I jumped over all three of the bodies and hurried up the stairs to make sure April was okay. She was bawling and crying. Agnes was doing her best to hold on to April as she struggled to get down. I took April from Ruth and looked down at the pile of bodies. Julie was bent over with her own head near Kathy's head and trying to push some kind of cloth into her neck wound. Dave was talking into his cell, calling for backup and ambulances, I was sure.

  Plato was whining in pain, but moving rather easily and as Julie put her face near Kathy's ear, I heard Kathy's labored breathing, and barely able to say, "Oh, Julie, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

  Julie responded, "It's not your fault, Kathy ... I love you, Kathy."

  Plato licked their faces. I sat with April and Agnes at the top of the stairs and cried with them.

  I sat there for only a few minutes and heard the ambulance arrive. Before the paramedics came in the house, Julie shouted through her tears, "Mom ... Oh, Mom, I, I, I think Kathy is dead and maybe Joe, too. And Plato needs a doctor."

  Dave Lawson, the detective, bent down and felt for a pulse. He touched both bodies. His head fell and he quietly said, "Julie's right, Rebecca, they're dead. I'll help Julie put the dog in the car."

  I surprised myself by being aware enough to say, "Julie knows where the emergency pet hospital is. Julie, get a blanket from the hall closet to carry Plato."

  Julie jumped up and got the blanket and she and Dave used it to carry Plato to the car. Dave quickly returned and told me Julie was okay with taking Plato by herself. I nodded. I was glad Dave was staying to help out with everything.

  Two more officers and a second ambulance arrived. The first paramedics were taking care of the officer who was shot. From my perch atop the stairs, I gathered that he had been shot in the right shoulder. They put him on a gurney and ran to the ambulance. The other medics put Kathy and Joe's bodies in the second ambulance. I hated to see them both so close in the same ambulance, even if they were dead.

  The vehicles had hardly left when two TV station trucks arrived. Dave bounded up the stairs and said, "Rebecca, these people won't go away until they learn what happened. Would you like me to talk to them?"

  "Oh, God yes! Thank you, Dave, thank you. You've been so wonderful, thank you."

  "I'll handle them. You've got enough to do just taking care of April, Agnes, and yourself. I'll stay as long as it takes."

  I handed a sleepy April to Agnes and said, "Thank you so much, Agnes, for your help tonight. I don't know what April and I would have done without you. How are you doing?"

  Through her tears, Agnes murmured, "Frankly, I'm exhausted, and I'm so sad about poor Kathy. And, Rebecca, I feel so bad about my telling Joe where the girls were. I just didn't know, Rebecca, I didn't know. I'm so sorry."

  "I don't blame you, Agnes, not at all. How could you have known what that lying bastard was up to? Would you please put April down while I call Jerry?" She nodded.

  I glanced at my watch, 9:30. It seemed like a week since I left for the DA's office. I punched the button for Jerry's cell. Jerry, or I should say, Jack picked up immediately.

  I responded drearily. "Oh God, Jack, tell Jerry ... " I couldn't hold back the tears and started bawling. Between sobs, I muttered, "Oh, Kathy's dead. Joe Carroll shot her and Plato. But Plato managed to get to him and knock him down the stairs. Joe broke his neck falling. Julie has taken Plato to the hospital. The police detective, Dave Lawson, is here. He has been so helpful. But, oh God, tell Jerry to please hurry, I need you both. Please? I'll tell you all about it when you get here."

  "Rebecca, we're going as fast as this little car will go, we'll get there as quickly as we can. Oh God, Rebecca, it sounds terrible."

  I turned toward our bedroom and heard Dave Lawson saying, "Yes, one officer was shot, a teenage girl was killed, and a former jail escapee was killed. And a heroic dog was wounded and is in the vet hospital."

  Chapter 34

  JERRY

  It was near midnight when we pulled into our driveway. All the lights in the house seemed to be on. I ran in and Rebecca and Julie ran to me and we hugged. Jack hugged Agnes then Rebecca and Julie. I hugged Agnes and Rebecca introduced us to Dave Lawson. Rebecca said that Dave had been wonderfully helpful. "He helped Julie get Plato into the car and talked to the media about this disaster."

  Dave said, "Thanks, Rebecca, l gave you my card and I'll call about Joe's bail and all that money and where it went as soon as I learn something. Give me a call if you need anything before I get back to you."

  Rebecca and Julie gave him hugs. I imagine policemen rarely get that but I'm sure he deserved them.

  Agnes said, "Well, folks, I'm go
ing home. I'm so sad ... especially for Kathy, so sad. Oh, and how is April?"

  "I'm not sure how April is. As you know, she was upset a lot when she saw Kathy and Plato get hurt. Oh, and Joe shot a police officer first. That's when she first starting crying." Seeing my questioning look, she said, "Let me start from the beginning ."

  Julie interrupted, "Mom, I'm so tired, I'm going to go to bed. I know most of the story, except one thing. How did Joe get out of jail and how did he get a car and a gun and everything?"

  "He inherited several hundred thousand dollars and made bail. Go to bed and I'll fill you in tomorrow. It's a long story." Julie gave us both a kiss and dragged herself up the stairs.

  "I'm sure you're as tired as I am, but I'm really glad that you came home tonight. This whole thing is so awful." Rebecca started with Stewart's phone call and their meeting at the DA's office and continued with the "short version" which wasn't that short either. Most of the time, after she mentioned Kathy being shot, she talked through her tears, and I listened between my tears. We went to bed around 1:00 a.m.

  I was awake around 7:00 when April hollered, "Mommy!" I jumped out of bed so Rebecca could sleep, and we went downstairs. She looked around for Plato, asked where he was, and I told her he was in the doggy hospital but that we'd bring him home this morning. "I member now. Poor Plado got shot."

  I made coffee for me and cocoa for April. She held on to my pajama leg as I moved around. When all was ready, I handed her the cocoa and poured myself a cup of coffee. We went into the living room. I started to turn on the television but April said, "No TV, no TV."

  She sat on the arm of the recliner while she drank her cocoa. I honored her by staying quiet, which was unusual for both of us. When she was finished with her drink, she handed me her cup. I put both of our cups down on the end table and April climbed over onto my lap and kneeled facing me, with her bony knees digging into my thighs. She put both hands on my cheeks and said, "Daddy, wook at me." I opened my eyes wide and she said, "Not like dat, jus see me." I relaxed my eyes and she went on, "Daddy, I'm bery sad today. Poh Kaffee got shot." Tears began to flow down her face. "Ulie say she shot dead by dat mean man. Poh Plado shot but not dead. Plado jump on mean man and make him dead too. I didn' like da mean man. Poleseman shot but not dead ether. Nobody shoot you, did dey, Daddy?"

  "No, Punkin, I didn't get shot." I held her close for a while and let my own tears run down my face.

  She pushed herself back and said, "Daddy, is Kaffee in heaven now?"

  "I'm sure she is, Punkin, I'm sure she is."

  She looked up at the ceiling and asked, "Is Kaffee seeing us now?" "I imagine that she is. What do you think?" "I think dat she is."

  I think I had thoughts like these when I was three years old but I'm sure I never expressed them so well to anyone. Nor was there anyone who would have taken the time. I never dared to even think about kneeling on my dad's lap. April and I changed our clothes and took a walk down and around the small park that was only a few blocks away.

  When we got home, I picked up the morning paper. Rebecca was up and drinking a cup of coffee and volunteered to fix breakfast for us.

  I sat down in the kitchen and saw the paper's headline, "PRIEST AND TEENAGER KILLED AND OFFICER WOUNDED at St. Louis residential disaster." It went on to say that the priest had been out of jail after making $200,000 bail and that he had been incarcerated for sexually molesting several children and had been jailed in Belleville, Illinois. Detective David Lawson, a St. Louis Police detective, stated that the priest, Joseph Carroll, had been arrested earlier in St. Louis for attacking and attempting to murder the teenage girl whom he did murder last evening at the home of Gerard and Rebecca Haloran."

  The article went on to say that the Haloran family dog, a Collie-Shepherd, saved the life of Mrs. Haloran and their two daughters. The Collie, named Plato, was also shot but not killed and was recovering at a local vet hospital. There was no mention of the $700,000 that Rebecca had mentioned last night.

  The house phone rang. I picked it up. It was Dave Lawson. "Good morning Dave, do you want to talk to Rebecca?"

  "I could give you the information I have, but Rebecca knows me better and she's prettier, so ..." I chuckled and handed the phone to Rebecca. As I continued reading the paper, with half an ear I listened to Rebecca's Yeses, Nos, for about fifteen minutes.

  After hanging up, she said, "Dave has been very busy already this morning. It seems Mrs. Stewart wanted to give Father Carson-Carroll's parish, St. Mary's, in Belleville, $200,000 and made the check out to him and the parish. It never made it to the parish's bank account. It somehow grew to be $700.000, and was cashed four days ago by Joe Carroll. Joe had an attorney 'friend' who arranged to pay the bail of $200,000 and give the same amount to himself and to the judge who was also a 'friend'. It sounded to me like Joe was 'martyring' himself by taking "only" $100,000. Dave has already turned it all over to the FBI or the Treasury Department. He wasn't sure who would be handling the case."

  "Dave also had talked with the Belleville bishop who said that the only good thing Carroll did was to get himself killed, so there would not be the scandal and trouble of a trial. The bishop would do some research to find out what would be a fair settlement for each of Joe's victims. The bishop would like to have all the information I have on each of the victims. Dave said the bishop asked him to tell me that I would be paid for all my time and expenses." She got up to get herself more coffee and get me a refill.

  April had gone into the living room and became engrossed in the cartoons and pried herself loose to join us for breakfast. I took her with me to bring Plato home. Plato's front right leg was in a cast and he wagged his tail so vigorously when he saw us that the attendant had to hold him to keep him from falling over. April hugged him so close he whimpered as he licked her face.

  I called Wayne Cameron when I got home. He said he'd come over and celebrate the funeral Mass and conduct the burial service for Kathy.

  Chapter 35

  REBECCA

  On the last Saturday of May, we arranged for a funeral Mass at Loyola University's chapel. I had been in the chapel only once before and loved its warmth and beauty. The sanctuary was beautifully paneled with native oak that was enhanced by stained glass windows depicting Jesuit saints. It was a sunny spring day that reflected Kathy Brassley's newly-found loving spirit.

  Father Wayne Cameron gave a brief eulogy that emphasized that we begin to experience heaven as we learn to love and accept love from others. It was a surprisingly large congregation in attendance being that Kathy had lived with us for only five months. All of Jerry's team from the Booneville Prison project was present. Warden Henry Bonhoeffer and his wife and daughter were there, along with Agnes and her daughter and daughter-in-law. Dave Lawson and, surprisingly, one of Jerry's younger brothers who he hadn't seen since his ordination fourteen years ago, showed up. The rest of the congregation was Kathy's eighth-grade classmates and Julie's basketball coach and teammates from Loyola University High School.

  Julie and I wanted to give eulogies because of the closeness we felt with Kathy. I had put April in the hands ofJerry and Julie. As I adjusted the mike, April stood up between Jerry and Julie and shouted, "Dat's my mommy!" I saw many hands covering mouths stifling laughter.

  "I wasn't sure how to begin my eulogy, so thank you, April, our three-year-old daughter. I was proud to hear Kathy Brassley call me 'Mom' within a month of her moving in with us last February. The day we met was one of the worst days of her life—and one of my worst. I came to visit her as her name was given to me as a possible victim ofJoe Carroll's immoral and criminal life. She lived in a grubby and rundown trailer in a decrepit trailer park. Her mother was an alcoholic and drug addict who had few sober days in Kathy's life." I had been holding back tears and at this point the tears began to run down my face. I just let them flow and occasionally wiped them away. "While I was visiting Kathy, I asked her about her mother and she told me she was asleep in the back of the trailer. She
went to wake her so I could meet her and immediately screamed. I ran to the back and discovered that her mom was barely breathing. She had overdosed on OxyContin. We called 911 and was quickly taken to the hospital. She didn't make it through the night ... she died without waking up.

  "Two things that night are most memorable for me. One was Kathy taking my hand as we entered the hospital. We had met only two hours earlier, but she felt safe enough to take my hand. The second memorable thing was this: After the doctor informed us that her mother might not make it, Kathy asked me to pray with her and we knelt down by the hospital bed and prayed. Her prayer was that of a sincere child and ended with her saying, 'I love you, God.'" My tears continued to roll down my face. "I cried then, too. Despite all the things that had gone wrong in her life, she still had the faith to say, 'I love you, God.' I think that definitely strengthened my own faith. She asked if she could go home with me, after only knowing me for a few hours. And she has been a blessing to us for these past few months. I'll let Julie tell you about that."

  Julie bounced up the aisle and stopped and gave me a hug before proceeding to the podium. She grasped the sides of the podium with her hands and began. "Wow, I'm already crying and I haven't even started to talk. You've just heard the most wonderful and loving woman in the world--my mom! I think Kathy saw the love in my mom the minute she met her. And I'm glad that Mom brought her home to us. At first, I kinda resented her because Mom was MY mom. I could share her with April because April was a baby but Kathy was almost as old as me." April interrupted her by loudly proclaiming, "I no baby!" Again, there was partially stifled chuckling.

  Julie went on, "I apologize, April. I know you are no longer a baby. Back to Kathy. She began to idolize and praise me so much I was beginning to be so self-conscious. I couldn't live up to all the expectations. Early on, I said, 'Damnit, Kathy, knock it off. I'm no saint and I screw up like everybody else, so stop it." The basketball team chuckled.