Page 137 of Vicious Behaviors
“What’s going on?” I ask once inside.
Haynes continues to fume, distastefully eyeing the two other agents in the room, one of whom looks like a woman I saw Izzie train back at the gym. My father doesn’t explain, his gaze flicking to the agents, alerting me to keep silent. He turns to the mirror, and I follow his lead, surprised to see Izzie inside with none other than Alejandro and Giovanni. They all remain silent until Roderick enters the room.
“You may proceed, Father Torres,” Izzie says, her voice piercing straight to my heart like salt on a fresh wound.
“As I was saying, the day of Father McDonagh’s disappearance, I was the last one to see him alive.” He then looks at Gio, who encourages him to go on. “And that’s because I’m the one who killed him.”
The fuck?!
My head swings to my father, who keeps his gaze fixed on Alejandro, silently ordering me to do the same.
“And that’s because he caught you in a tryst with your lover, is that not correct?” Izzie probes, leading his words.
“Yes,” Alejandro lies. “At the time, Enzo Romano and I had been in a relationship for a couple of months, and though Iknow it goes against every vow I ever made to the Church, my heart spoke louder than my oath to the priesthood,” he says, the first truthful words he’s uttered so far. “Enzo and I were… being intimate that night at the small chapel at Sacred Heart when Father McDonagh surprised us. I fear he already had his misgivings about me since he was supposed to be at St. Mary’s Cathedral at that time. Suspicion must have driven him to visit the chapel that afternoon, and there he found his proof that I had broken my vow.”
“And what happened next, Father Torres?” Izzie encourages, only for Gio to halt Alejandro from saying anything else.
“I want it on the record that my client is waiving his Fifth Amendment rights with the understanding that his confession will not be used against him in a court of law.”
“Yes, yes, Mr. DeLuca,” Director Roderick waves off, clearly annoyed. “Your client has full immunity as per our deal. However, for the agreement to hold, we need his complete confession to establish that Father Torres acted in self-defense, not out of cold-blooded murder. Please proceed, Father Torres.”
Alejandro nods and takes a deep breath before continuing with his lie. “When Father McDonagh saw us together, he went mad. He started raving and thrashing, using one of the tall candlesticks to beat me.”
“Let the record show that a subpoena was issued to Mercy Hospital to release Father Torres’ medical files to the FBI. Those files show that Father Alejandro Torres checked himself in with grave injuries on the same day Father Liam McDonagh went missing, proving his recounting of events,” Izzie says, ensuring the information gets recorded.
“Before I joined the priesthood,” Alejandro continues, “I vowed to live a nonviolent life. That I would lead by love and grace. And because of that, I didn’t react. I let Father McDonagh beat me until I was hanging on death’s door. Seeing that I wasdown for the count, he then turned his rage on Enzo. And that’s when I reacted. I knew he would kill my lover, since he saw us as fiends—something he needed to eradicate from the world. But my love for Enzo is not something ugly that needs to be expunged, Director. Love is not a crime. It is not a sin. But what Father McDonagh was about to do was. He was going to kill Enzo. I knew it. Enzo knew it too. The fear in his eyes was what drove me to act and attack Father McDonagh, using whatever strength I still had in me to snap his neck until he was no more.”
“What about the body? What did you do with the body?” Director Roderick asks, brow arched up high.
“We are the Catholic Church, Director. Do you think Father McDonagh’s death is the first crime to be committed on sacred grounds that was made to disappear?”
That’s all he says, leaving it to Director Roderick to fill in the blanks. In his lie, Alejandro sprinkled enough of the truth to make his statement not only plausible but irreversible. The FBI could question the Church all they want, demanding to know where the body was buried, but the Church plays by its own rules. They’ll assume some nun got rid of the evidence before they were able to. And hiding behind that blanket of assumption is how Alejandro will ensure that the truth of what really happened never sees the light of day.
“Thank you, Father. I’m sure that wasn’t easy for you to relive. But now we can at least close the case on Father McDonagh,” Izzie says, keeping her excitement in check.
My girl didn’t rat me out. She didn’t tell Haynes that I was the one who really killed the priest. Instead, here she is, fighting for me. Fighting to keep us together. Last night, she showed me the lengths to which she would go to fight for me and our love. What a fool I was to doubt her now. I will never make that mistake again.
“Do you have anything else you would like to ask Father Torres, Director Roderick?”
Director Roderick looks at Izzie with a cold stare before shaking her head. “No. You can leave, Father. And thank you for clarifying everything for us.”
“Of course. Glad that my client was able to be of assistance,” Gio says, standing up and helping Alejandro out of his seat.
I frown when I see that Alejandro is visibly shaken. This must have taken a toll on him. Not only reliving what must have been one of the worst days in his life, but also lying on my behalf. He’s made his choice now. His priesthood is no longer something he can keep. He gave it all up. I’m not vain enough to think he did it for me. I know what drove him to this. He loves my brother. It was Enzo that he chose.
“Let’s go,” my father says, placing his hand on my shoulder and leading me out of the room.
I can’t help but look at a red-faced Haynes, his beady eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.
“Better luck next time,” I wink, then proceed to walk out the door.
Alejandro and Gio are already standing outside at the end of the hallway, while Izzie and her boss remain near the interrogation room, probably to dot the i’s and cross the t’s on the case.
I throw her a glance, her golden eyes doing their best not to shout that we did it. And we did. We fucking did do it. All because of her.
I reluctantly turn my back on her and walk down toward Gio and Alejandro, who are waiting for us.
“I can’t believe we are letting this fucker walk?!” Haynes shouts like a madman behind me.
