Chapter Fifty-Eight

Jack Angelhart

Margo's plan was so absurd that it just might work, Jack thought as he hooked up the camera and recorder in the rectory at St. Dominic's.

Convincing Uncle Rafe to be involved was the hard part, but Margo did the hard sell, explaining that if Carillo snuck in once when they weren't here, he might do it again.

"I'm not asking you to lie," she had told him last night when she came up with the plan.

"I feel like you are," he said.

"You want to mediate. Imply, but don't say that Annie is interested. He wants to believe it, so he'll come."

Jack hoped Margo was right, because they would only have one shot at this. If they screwed up, Peter Carillo would be a threat to people Jack loved—his uncle and his sister.

Jack wasn't certain that Margo had fully played out the odds, because she would ultimately be Carillo's target if they failed.

"Okay, we're good here," Jack said after testing the equipment.

Rafe didn't say anything.

"Talk to me. You're worried."

"Of course I am."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you. That's why you're going to wear a Kevlar vest under your shirt."

Rafe frowned. He hadn't wanted to wear a vest, but Jack had talked him into it.

"Just as a precaution," Jack said, not for the first time. "Hopefully, it doesn't go that far."

"I feel I'm being deceptive."

"You're not. You can be as honest as the day is long—just don't tell him where Annie's relocated. In fact, the more honest you are, the more he'll talk. To justify, to beg, to threaten." Jack narrowed his eyes. "You don't feel sorry for him, do you?"

"Yes, I do," Rafe said. "Not for what he did to his wife, but because a man like him who turns to violence against those he purports to love must have been hurt in the past. He's still a man, still a child of God, and deserves forgiveness and mercy."

"If he asks for it," Jack said. "And means it." Which, in Jack's experience, wouldn't happen. Abusers and rapists like Peter Carillo would never ask for forgiveness from anyone—their victims or God.

"I told Margo I would make the call if I could truly mediate. I will not back down from my word."

"I know."

Margo's initial idea was that Rafe call Carillo, but then leave the rectory and let Margo handle him. Rafe declined. If he made the call, he would be here because he didn't want anyone hurt.

But if Rafe knew the other part of Margo's plan, he might not help at all. So Jack agreed to remain silent.

"Do you regret helping Annie?" Jack asked as he cleaned up his tools.

Rafe looked surprised that he had asked. "Of course not."

"Then that's it. A woman, a mother, was so desperate that she reached out to a man of God to help her because she trusted you. You gave her Margo's name because you trusted Margo could help. Trust us now, Uncle Rafe."

He nodded. "I do, Jack."

"I'm going to move my truck," Jack said. "We don't know how much he's been around watching the place, and he might know I'm Margo's brother. But I'll be here, out of sight, the whole time. And Father Diaz and O'Neil won't be here, correct?"

"No. Not until nine tonight."

The school had a half day and the kids were already off campus. Father Diaz and Father O'Neil were at a day-long retreat in Sun Valley that Uncle Rafe was supposed to be at, but he backed out at the last minute. There was always the off-chance that a parishioner would come by the rectory or the church seeking guidance, but they would cross that bridge when they came to it. The office had a closed sign, as well as the church, and because the retreat had been scheduled long ago, they had no Mass this evening.

Jack hoped no one showed up. His concern was about innocent bystanders. He would let Uncle Rafe worry about Carillo's soul.

"Then we're good," Jack said and left.

He put his toolbox behind the driver's seat of his truck, then drove it around the block and parked. His cell phone rang. It was Rick.

"All good?" Jack answered.

"Why did you have to do this the day Sam graduates? I would be there."

"You can't, Rick. You know that." He was a cop, and if Carillo felt like he was being entrapped it could jeopardize the entire case against him. "Did you talk to Sullivan?"

"Yes, called him first thing this morning and said exactly what we discussed. That Margo, as a long-time friend, came to me concerned that Peter Carillo was following her, and I learned he'd looked up her license plate on Monday. I was going to call his boss, but noted that there was an investigation into his wife's disappearance and Sullivan was the lead detective."

"Good. Better that you keep your fingers as clean as possible."

"What are you two planning?"

"Better you don't know."

"Dammit, Jack."

"I'll see you at Sam's party on Sunday, okay?"

Rick grumbled, but said fine and hung up.

One down.

Jack arrived back at the rectory five minutes later. Rafe was right where he had left him, sitting in the kitchen, a glass of iced tea between his hands. "Ready?"

Rafe let out a breath, sipped the tea, put the glass down. His hand was shaking.

"Hey, Uncle Rafe, we're not going to let anything happen to you, okay? I promise."

"What about Mr. Carillo?"

"Neither Margo nor I want bloodshed."

Rafe walked to his office, picked up his phone, and dialed Peter Carillo's cell phone. As Jack had already told him, he put the call on speaker. Jack started the recording. Arizona state law allowed conversations to be recorded as long as at least one party knew they were being recorded. "Mr. Carillo?"

"Yes? Who's this?"

"This is Father Raphael Morales. You came by my church the other night asking about your wife, Annie."

Silence.

"Mr. Carillo, are you there?"

"Are you going to tell me where my wife is?"

"After you left, I've lain awake at night, trying to come up with a solution to your problem. I think the best thing at this point is to offer my services to mediate."

"Have you spoken to Annie? Has she agreed? Will she be there?"

"I don't know," Rafe said. "I have counseled hundreds of couples, but the common theme is that they believe their marriage is a sacrament and want to find a way back to each other, with God as their foundation. If you come in and talk, it would be a sign that you want to fix things in your marriage. Do you agree?"

"I need my family."

"I am free this afternoon at four thirty. Is that convenient for you?"

"Is Annie going to be there?"

"As I said, I don't know. This is a first step. You can't rush these things."

"Okay. But first, I want to confess."

Jack's heart dropped.

"You want to confess to me as a priest?"

"Yes. I'll be at the church at four thirty. Will you be in the confessional?"

"I will be there."

"Thank you, Father. I think...for the first time I believe I will get my family back."

Carillo hung up.

Jack refrained from swearing out loud, but a litany of damn-shit-fuck ran through his head.

"I am not going to deny anyone the right to reconciliation," Rafe told him.

"Just a slight change of plans," Jack said, knowing Margo would go ballistic. But they would tweak the plan as needed.

"Don't even think of wiring the church," Rafe said. "I consented to my office, but I will not consent to anyplace else."

"The goal is to bring him in here," Jack said. "And we need a plan to do that."

"I will ask him to come back with me after confession," Rafe said, "but I can't do more than that."

Jack looked at his watch. It was nearly three thirty. They had one hour to come up with another plan. He excused himself and walked outside, stood under a tree, dialed Margo. "Change of plans," he said.