Father Gerard slept fitfully that night. Finally, sometime in the early morning, he had a dream.
He was in the chapel where Sister Agnes had been murdered. He was kneeling, and praying for guidance – something he had not done in many, many years.
A voice came from behind him.
“You gave your oath as a priest. A confession is a confession”
Father Gerard spun around. Blind Tommy stood behind him. So did Sister Agnes, blood gaping from her wounds. She put one hand on Blind Tommy’s shoulder.
The other stretched toward him.
Father Gerard spent the rest of the night lying awake, staring at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of the jail above him, thinking of everything he had done in his life, but mostly thinking of his time as a priest.
Nearly all of it had been a waste. Much of the good he could have done had been washed away by liquor. Over many years, his spirit had grown ever smaller, the voice of God within him fainter and fainter.
As a young man, he had longed for God to call him to do one great thing, one act that would touch many souls.
But God had never responded.
Until now.
But what was he supposed to do? Let a real murderer go free? Should he take his place in prison?
If he knew that Blind Tommy had reformed, perhaps it would be different. If he was sure that the confession had been legitimate, perhaps it would be different.
What sort of test had God given him?
(more to come)
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