A Perfect Grave Part 30

"Would you like to go somewhere private?"

"That would be preferable, yes."

They went to the seventh-floor news editors' boardroom. It had high-backed leather executive chairs around a ma.s.sive table. Mounted on the walls were the stories and news photos that had earned the Mirror Mirror its Pulitzer Prizes over the years. Dramatic photos of forest fires, war zones, a child rescued from a burning building. They were alone and Jason shut the door. its Pulitzer Prizes over the years. Dramatic photos of forest fires, war zones, a child rescued from a burning building. They were alone and Jason shut the door.

"Would you like a coffee, tea, or anything?"

"No, thank you."

Jason set his notebook down, flipped to a clear page.

"Okay, Sister, what can I do for you?"

"Please, this must be strictly confidential. You protect sources?"

"I do. You're one of the nuns from the Order?"

"My name is Sister Denise Taylor but you must not print it."

"I understand, Sister. Please, try to relax. Let's start by talking about why you're here."

She twisted the strap of her bag, then her cross.

"I'm a friend of Sister Anne's. Sorry. This is difficult."

"It's all right."

"I don't know where to start. The last few days have been so awful for us."

"Well, start at the beginning. What brought you here? It must be something that you felt was important."

She nodded.

"After Anne was killed, I was cleaning her room."

"Hold on." Jason produced a small recorder. "I just want to get things down right, okay?"

"But you can't use my name. Please give me your word. I need to know that I can trust you."

Jason's pulse kicked up when he glimpsed the envelope peeking from her bag. His instincts told him to play this right.

"I'll give you my word. I won't print your name, or indicate that we've talked, unless you agree to be named, or we negotiate something that puts you at ease."

Denise absorbed what he said before nodding and glancing at the tiny red light on his machine, indicating that he was recording. Jason twisted his pen.

"After Anne was killed I was cleaning her room and found that she'd hidden a private journal. None of us knew of its existence. It was hidden under the floorboards of her closet."

"Really?" Jason noted that.

"I know it's a private thing but I believe it might hold clues to her past that might point to her killer."

Jason sat up and took careful notes.

"Excuse me, have you gone to any other news organizations with this?"

"My Lord, no. I could barely walk into your building this morning."

"Do the police know about this?"

"No. Let me explain. The contents are cryptic and don't have many facts, but they're clearly self-recriminatory for the way she'd lived her life before she became a nun."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a bit tricky to explain. As lay women, we all had previous lives before we're accepted into the order. We all came from somewhere, we all had families, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters. We all have shared that divine moment when we realized we wanted to dedicate ourselves to G.o.d by living a religious life."

"So where's Sister Anne from? Where's her family?"

"That's just it, no one knows. She was traveling through Europe as a young woman when she realized she wanted to dedicate herself to serving G.o.d."

"And before that? Was she from Seattle?"

"We don't know, but her journal offers some indications that she was tormented by her previous life almost until her death."

"And you think this is a factor in her murder?"

"I think that it could be, yes."

"So why not go to the police?"

"This is complicated for me. I pa.s.sed the journal to my superior and I know that the Order is deciding on whether to go to the detectives with it, but there's another aspect."

"What's that?"

"Before being accepted as a candidate for the Order, you must be screened. The objective of the process is to study your personal history, your health, your psychology, moral standing, family background, everything to a.s.sess your acceptability."

"So everything should be in some file somewhere?"

"Not quite. What I understand is that the person who oversaw the process for Sister Anne is a retired hermit nun living in the Canadian Rockies."

"A hermit nun?"

"Old school. PreVatican II, adhering to the monastic code that brings one closer to G.o.d."

"So what has the Order found out from its hermit nun?"

"Nothing yet, they've only connected her to Anne and located her a day or so ago. They thought she'd pa.s.sed away."

"How old is she?"

"Ninety, or ninety-two. Something like that."

"Wow, so you're telling me this old hermit nun holds the key to Sister Anne's past, which might shed some light on who killed her, is that right?"

"Yes, that is my belief."

"So why come to the Mirror Mirror?"

"I think the Order first wants to privately determine what her past might entail and how it might reflect on the organization before informing the police or anyone."

"Really, in light of abuses and scandals, they'd still play it that way?"

"I'm sure you're aware that inst.i.tutions always protect themselves first, Jason."

"Right. Even news organizations."

"And there's more. It's just a feeling I have. Shortly before she was killed, she confided to me that she'd done a horrible thing in her youth. Something about destroying lives."

"What did she mean?"

"She never elaborated. I brushed it off, thinking that she'd meant she'd broken a young man's heart. When women leave their secular lives for the church, they often break a young man's heart."

"So why is this a factor now, after all these years?"

"After I found her journal, her comment took on a different meaning for me. It's complicated. I'm sorry this is so confusing and I could be wrong-but I got the sense that she felt something from her past was catching up to her."

Jason stared at her, absorbing everything.

"So what are you proposing, Sister?"

"Here," she produced a photocopy of Anne's journal, and the information on Sister Marie in Canada. "I'll give this information to you with the hope that you'll locate Sister Marie, and determine the truth, whatever it may be. I'll give you three or four days, then I'll be pa.s.sing this to police."

"Why not go to them now?"

"Your stories have been fair and accurate. I want to know that the truth will be known."

He scanned the journal and the material. It was dynamite.

"If we go ahead, I won't publish your name, but I think the Order is going to know where we got our information."

"The Order will ultimately deal with me as it sees fit. I've accepted that, but I know Anne would want this, which brings me to another reason why I'm coming to you. A man came into our home and murdered our Sister. He's still out there and he could harm others. I know we want him arrested and prosecuted."

"That's vengeful talking for a nun. Aren't you supposed to forgive your enemies?"

"We're also human, we get angry, and we seek what is right and just. Believe me, I have agonized over this."

Jason shook her hand.

"I'll do my best."

"I'll pray for you."

After escorting Denise out, Jason returned to the boardroom and spent half an hour reviewing Sister Anne's journal. Then he went to his desk and made a number of quick calls, to check out a few things.

Next he went to Reep, showed him the doc.u.ments, and pointed out Sister Denise in the background of recent news photos, a.s.suring him that she was a legitimate source. After he'd heard everything Jason had to tell him, and after flipping through the journal and the fax indicating where Sister Marie could be located, Reep steepled his fingers.

"So you want to go up to Canada, find this hermit nun, and see what secrets she holds about our murdered nun's previous life?"

"I think I could deliver a h.e.l.luva package."

Reep turned to look at the map on his wall.

"You'd have to fly into Calgary, which is not all that far."

"I checked. I can fly Seattle to Vancouver, British Columbia, connect to Calgary, rent a car, drive to the nun's place. Give me two days, tops."

"What if the nun doesn't talk to you?"

"We've got the 'secret diary' that was hidden under the floor of her room. That's a heck of a scoop. And I'll give you a Canadian place line, loads of color and intrigue. A Mirror Mirror exclusive, say, secret diary and hermit nun in Canadian Rockies may hold clues to Seattle nun's murder." exclusive, say, secret diary and hermit nun in Canadian Rockies may hold clues to Seattle nun's murder."

The beginnings of a tense smile flickered on Reep's face.

"Go. Get on the next plane. But, I'm telling you, Wade, you d.a.m.ned well better come back with a big one."

Chapter Forty-Two.

"An e-ticket will be waiting for you at the Air Canada counter. Take your pa.s.sport, it'll make things easier," Maggie in travel told Jason over his cell.

He was driving to his apartment, eye on his rearview mirror because he was speeding. Before he'd left the Mirror, Mirror, Maggie had given him four hundred Canadian dollars and a company credit card. Maggie had given him four hundred Canadian dollars and a company credit card.

"You've got over two hours to make your flight," she said. "I'll get a cab rolling to your place to take you to the airport."

At his apartment, Jason packed fast.

He grabbed his laptop, extra batteries, files, and enough clothes for two nights. Traffic was choked due to a wreck on I-5. By the time he arrived at Sea-Tac International, got his ticket, got wanded through security, and cleared Canadian Immigration, preboarding was commencing.

As the queue formed, Jason called Grace Garner. He had to smooth things over, he thought, as her line rang. If something broke on the story while he was away, he'd need help. And if he uncovered critical information on this trip, he might need to broker a deal. He got her voice mail. The sound of her voice resurrected memories of them together. He pushed them aside and he left her a message.

"Grace, it's Jason. I know things have been tense lately, but call me."