What Have You Done(34)

Liam’s head sank. “You always could see right through me.”

“A gift.”

“I recently lost someone close to me. A friend. She was killed.”

Father Brennan bowed his head for a moment. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I’m completely torn up. I can’t sleep. Can’t think straight. When I close my eyes, all I see is her face. I have this void in my soul, this emptiness.”

“It sounds like she meant a lot to you.”

“She did.”

“When did you hear the news?”

“Couple days ago.”

The priest shrugged. “Give it time. Don’t run from the memories you had with this person, but don’t let them cripple you either. You’ll mourn her the way you’re supposed to, but you can’t allow it to take over your life.”

Liam closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on. “There’s so much violence in this world. So much death. The way she was killed got me thinking about my own life. Like, what drives people to commit these acts? This is the kind of stuff I investigate all the time. Homicide shouldn’t be something you build a career off of. You ever stop to think about the evil in this world?”

Father Brennan chuckled. “Of course. The evil in this world can seem quite overwhelming sometimes, but we have a choice to give in to it or not. For example, you choose to see evil because you’re tasked with bringing murderers to justice. People who watch television see evil because that’s what sells, so that’s all the media shows them. Me, I choose to see life. I see the joy of a new mother holding her child for the first time. I hear the laughter of newlyweds as they walk down the church aisle together as husband and wife. I see the joy of a family getting together for the holidays. These are the things that give me hope. I’ve seen the dark side too. More times than I wish to count. But I balance it with the good. I suggest you do the same. Evil is part of this world, as it’s part of your job, and it will remain so until the end of days, I’m afraid. You need to counterbalance it with the good. Find the good.”

Liam met the priest’s eyes. “You ever notice a violent side of me growing up? Like a darker side? A side that might’ve been affected by how my dad died or what happened with Mom? Anything like that?”

“No. Never. Not once.”

“What about Sean?”

“No. Sean can be more serious, but his heart is pure. What I’ve seen from the both of you are caring, nurturing, mature young men who are still full of love. You’re a good person, Liam. Sean too. Always have been.”

Liam checked his watch and rose from his chair. “I think that’s all I needed to hear, to be honest. I need to get to work.”

“You and Vanessa okay?”

Father Brennan didn’t know about the issues he and Vanessa had gone through. Liam was determined to keep it that way. “Yeah, we’re fine. I think I just needed to hear you say it was okay for me to mourn in my own way. I also needed to hear that I’m a good person. The stuff I see, it can throw you for a loop.”

“Don’t doubt yourself. You’re a fine lad, and you’ll find peace in your friend’s memory.”

“Thanks for always being there for me. For me and Sean.”

“I serve the Lord,” Father Brennan replied with a beaming smile plastered upon his pink face. “Anything you need for as long as I’m on his planet, I’m here.”

“Thank you.”

“And don’t forget to find the good. That’s the key to everything.”

Liam’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and stared at the screen. It was Sean.

“I gotta take this,” he said.

Father Brennan waved him away. “Go. Do what you need to do. Bring justice to the world.”

Liam walked out of the priest’s office and answered on the third ring. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“Where are you?” Sean asked.

“South Street Mission.”

“What the hell are you doing there?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure.”

“You get the phone records?”

“Yeah, I got ’em.” Liam pushed through the metal door out onto the street. “I’ll download them when I get into the office. It’s still too early for me to go in. It’ll look weird if I show up now.”

“Meet me at the Liberty Diner in ten minutes. I got us an appointment to talk to Marisol and her nurse. You wanna know if Don really did go see his mother Saturday night?”

Liam climbed into his car and started the engine. “Yes.”

“Good. We’re going to go there and ask her. You and me.”

Liam put the car in gear and pulled out into traffic. “Liberty Diner, ten minutes. I’m on my way.”





24

Tender Cares Adult Living Facility looked like a typical condo complex from the outside, uniform and plain with beige siding on all the structures and black shutters on all the windows. Each door was red, and every front yard had a flagstone walkway that cut through the grass to the sidewalk. The roads were fresh blacktop, and the trees were all still in their infancy. The place had been built only three years prior and hadn’t begun to show the wear and tear of seasons gone by. Everything was still so sterile.