Chameleon (4 page)

But, he thought, it might have been better had he been able to use the snowblower rather than the present shovel.

The blower had been a present he had won for Dominic from a reluctant parish council. Koesler would never forget the first morning Dominic used the blower. It brought to mind the experience of a previous janitor in a previous parish. After the first few swipes, the janitor, looking like a snowman, had entered the toasty rectory kitchen to announce, “I’m-a-not like-a that machine.” But once he’d gotten the knack of turning the spout in any direction but directly at himself, all had gone well.

Koesler did not have to worry about the spout; he couldn’t get the motor to start. It was an ongoing manifestation of his undeclared war on machines and tools. After some twenty tugs on the ignition rope, he decided that if this kept up he was about to leave his game in the garage and be physically unable to push either the blower or a shovel.

Maybe there was something to that warning about heart attacks. He was now perspiring freely. He had cleared a path from the rectory to the church and also the church’s front steps, as well as the sidewalk from Orleans to the parking lot. That would accommodate the faithful few who attended daily Mass.

He returned to the rectory, showered quickly, and donned a cassock. As he descended the stairs to the first floor, he caught the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee. He smiled: Mary O’Connor had arrived. Business for this twenty-seventh day of December had begun.

Mary O’Connor, a widow, had, in a sense, come with him from the suburban parish to the central city. In suburbia she had been the parish secretary and general factotum. She was easily capable of managing all the necessary nitty-gritty of parochial life if only he would stay out of her way. He did and she did.

When he applied for St. Joseph’s parish Mary was faced either with having to get used to an entirely new and different style of pastoring, or retirement. Neither alternative had she found particularly appealing. So when Father Koesler hesitantly asked whether she would consider working with him again downtown, her problem was solved. Her only continuing concerns were the daily drive between Dearborn and Detroit, and getting used to how this antique parish functioned. She decided to live with the former and gradually solve the latter.

All that shoveling, plus his failed attempts at getting the blower started, had reduced Koesler’s routine to rubble. He had time only to duck briefly into the kitchen, acknowledge Mary’s presence, and hurry over to church.

He had practically no time for any last-minute preparation for the day’s brief homily, but this day he didn’t need much time. It was the feast day of St. John the Evangelist, one of Koesler’s favorite saints. Author of the fourth Gospel and three touchingly simple Epistles, he was self-identified and known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” John alone, of all the apostles, stayed with Jesus at the cross to the end.

And yet, what an odd and controversial conclusion to his own life. Tradition has it that he was the only apostle to escape literal martyrdom. Yet he is considered a martyr, since legend has it that the Roman emperor Domitian had John plunged into a cauldron of boiling oil from which he miraculously emerged alive. If this really happened, one wonders why Domitian didn’t try it again. Maybe there was some sort of Roman law forbidding double jeopardy. Maybe pardon was a reward for escaping death. Maybe it never happened.

In any case, Koesler determined to develop a three-minute homily on John as a very old man constantly urging his disciples to love one another. When they complained about this repetition, John assured them that, “It is the word of the Lord and if you keep it, you do enough.”

The fervorino on love went over well with Koesler’s tiny but devout congregation.

By the time he finished Mass, Koesler could almost taste the coffee Mary O’Connor was keeping hot for him. It was not yet midmorning but already he felt as if he’d put in a considerable day.

Cold cereal, a banana, and coffee would constitute breakfast. As he began eating, Mary joined him, pouring herself a cup of coffee. This was unusual. Ordinarily, he breakfasted alone while Mary continued to prepare St. Joseph’s books and records for the twenty-first century.

“Did you hear the news?” Mary asked.

Koesler looked up, startled. They did not often discuss current events unless it was something of truly pressing importance, “No, I guess not.” He’d heard the eleven o’clock news last evening, but that had contained nothing that Mary would consider vital. “I haven’t started the
Free Press
yet and, seeing my duty, I cleared snow instead of listening to the radio. Something important happen?”

“Sister Joan Donovan’s sister was murdered.”

“The delegate for religious? I didn’t know she had a sister.” This though Koesler had been around long enough to be extremely familiar with the archdiocesan structure and personnel.

Mary sat down opposite him, cradling her cup. “My impression is that not many people knew. According to the news report, her sister was a high-priced call girl.”

“No kidding!”

“The report I heard said she was killed at St. Leo’s convent … at least that’s where they found her body.”

“Wait a minute: Sister Joan lives at St. Leo’s. Everybody knows that. Was her sister visiting her?”

“I don’t really know. The report was kind of sketchy and I’m not sure of all the details. I guess the body was found sometime this morning—not too long ago; there’s nothing in the paper about it.” A playful expression crept into Mary’s eyes. “It’s times like this that I wish I knew someone who knew somebody in the police department so we could find out what really happened.”

Only gradually did what she was saying dawn on Koesler, “You mean—” He smiled as he shook his head. “Oh, no!”

“Just think, we’d be the only civilians in this area who would know what the police know.” Her suggestion was made mostly in jest.

“You make much—much too much—of my contacts with the police, Mary. Just because I know a few names in the department doesn’t mean I can get any special treatment,”

He was being unassuming.

He had, in the course of several homicide investigations, collaborated with the Detroit Police Department, and over the years he’d become fast friends with the head of the Homicide Division, In any case, it was the furthest thing from his style to bother an extremely busy police force just to get a little gratuitous information. But she was teasing, and he knew it.

“Did the report you heard have any other details?” he asked.

“The only other thing I remember is the address of the victim.”

“Which was?”

“Thirteen hundred Lafayette.”

Koesler’s eyes widened. “That’s right in our backyard.”

“That’s probably why I remember it.”

The area in the immediate vicinity of St. Joseph’s church comprised a potpourri of cultures. On its northern side were a string of small businesses and a rundown residential area. Many of the houses were vacant. But between the church and the Detroit River were a series of high-rise apartments, some of them swank. In the latter group was 1300 Lafayette.

Parishes in that area, principally Old St. Mary’s and Sts. Peter and Paul, as well as St. Joseph’s, more or less scrounged for members. But, of all the churches in that general location, St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s were the most popular. Although Holy Family had its own faithful circle.

Still, it was difficult to distinguish who of those attending the various Masses considered themselves parishioners and who were regular free-lancers.

Thus the there fact that the deceased had lived in St. Joseph’s neighborhood and, being the sister of a nun, probably was a Catholic, was no indication that she had actually joined any of the parishes. Koesler would have to wait until the dead woman’s photo was inevitably published in the papers to see if he recognized her. “I guess I’ll have to wait till I see her picture in the paper before I can tell whether she looks familiar … or ever attended Mass here,” Koesler said.

As usual, Mary O’Connor had a better idea. “Why don’t you attend the wake? Then you can get a better idea than any newspaper picture can give you. Besides,” she added, “I’ll bet Sister Joan would be grateful if you showed up.”

“As usual, Mary, you’re absolutely right. I’ll do it. Sister probably could use a few extra friends just now.”

Mary rose and moved to the hallway leading to the front offices. “I guess this means you’re not going to call your friends in the police department.” She was smiling.

“Absolutely not. For one thing—though realistically there’s not much chance of its happening—I don’t want to be anywhere near police headquarters or even in the consciousness of any of the officers when they investigate this case. The murder of the sister of a nun is just the sort of case that I might get roped into. And, in the immortal words of the late Samuel Goldwyn, when they get going with this one, I want to be included out.”

A vague sense of frustration rather than obligation prompted Lieutenant Tully to attend the wake for Helen Donovan.

There being no other surviving close relatives, Sister Joan Donovan had made all funeral arrangements. A central west side funeral home was selected, mostly because it was handy to St. Leo’s where the Mass of Resurrection would be offered.

Joan had expected some sort of opposition to her request for a Catholic burial. Helen’s Catholicism had been virtually nonexistent since she had escaped from parochial school. Joan was reasonably sure she’d be unable to locate anyone who had seen Helen inside a church—any sort of church—for a goodly number of years.

But the nun had been most pleasantly surprised and relieved when, far from official prohibition, retired bishop Lawrence Foley had assured her that he himself would celebrate the Mass. And that was doubly providential since St. Leo’s pastor was somewhere in Central America. Foley solved her problem of having to find a priest to fill in during the pastor’s absence.

Tully was unaware of all that Joan had feared and accomplished in the brief time since her sister’s murder. He was aware that Catholic Church law might deny Church burial under stated circumstances such as in the case of a lapsed Catholic or a suicide. But what sort of burial rites Helen Donovan was accorded did not concern him. What did bother him was the lack of progress in her homicide investigation.

The paraffin test had established nothing. The result was negative in the case of both Sister Joan and Henry Taylor. But then, in both instances, the time was marginal. If either had fired a handgun, proof might have surfaced in the test. On the other hand, so many hours had passed since the shooting that any trace on the subject’s hand could have faded from recognition. So in the end there was no proof of anything. The lapse of time might have ruled out a positive result.

Or it was just as possible that neither of them had fired a gun.

As it happened, there was no cause to further detain Taylor, Cautioned that he might be needed to answer more questions, he was released, to return to Toledo undoubtedly a chastened husband, firmly resolving never again to stray, Until the next sales trip.

Nor had there been any breakthrough in hunting down the johns listed in Helen’s book. Most of the men were easy enough to locate. Many of them were considered prominent in anyone’s roster of Detroit’s movers and shakers. Noted figures from the business, political, entertainment, and sports worlds had been among Helen’s clientele. Some members of Tully’s squad took special delight in any investigation that legitimately called for the grilling of powerful and pompous men. Gratification aside, the interrogation of all Helen’s clients had turned up nothing. Not even any additional likely leads.

Of course, that segment of the investigation was not yet complete. But with all these dead ends, hope dwindled that any breakthrough was in the cards, at least from that direction. So, uncertain of what he might accomplish, or even what he was looking for, Tully had come to the wake.

It was a small funeral parlor—too small. Tully had no idea why this mortuary had been selected. Whoever was responsible seemingly had not anticipated this mass of people.

Tully tried to study each individual he could isolate in the throng. The room was too congested for him to see everyone. In the far corner, clustered at the rear of the room, were five, maybe six women who shared Helen Donovan’s line of work. He knew them from his years on the vice squad. They spied him at about the same time he spotted them. They smiled and nodded recognition. Though Zoo was on the opposite side of the law, they were not hostile. In their dealings, Zoo, as they all knew him, was always fair, frequently even tolerant.

A good bit of the reason they had clustered together was the nature of this crowd. Most of the other mourners appeared to have some sort of religious affiliation. Many of the men wore clerical garb. Most of the women were attired in a hint of a habit. Many of those in civvies seemed so familiar with those in uniform it seemed safe to assume that nearly all of them had some sort of religious status.

In such a gathering, Tully was, for the most part, a stranger at the gates of paradise.

Then he saw him.

This room wherein Helen Donovan was lying was actually two rooms. The divider wall had been opened up. So there were two doorways. Standing just inside the other doorway was a priest Tully recognized. Koesler—Father Robert Koesler.

Tully and Koesler had been associated in a couple of previous investigations. Tully’s verdict on Koesler as a sleuth: not bad for an amateur. Tully’s guess for this moment: The guy must feel right at home in this crowd.

He did. Koesler knew just about everyone there, with the major exception of a small group of women at the rear of the room. Considering their clothing and makeup and given the fact they were much more likely to be friends of the deceased than of anyone else in the room, they had to be ladies of the evening and not ladies of the Rosary Altar Society.

As for the others, as far as he could tell without a program, nearly all—if not all—the archdiocesan department heads were here, along with many of their personnel. It figured they would be here in respect for Sister’s rank. As delegate for religious, she too was a department head. The nuns undoubtedly were friends from Joan’s religious order as well as from other orders who knew her through her office as delegate. Koesler didn’t know many of the nuns. He hadn’t expected to.