Cee Cee shrugged. ‘Fine with me.’

‘I’m game,’ Adam said.

So I called, loudly, ‘Father Dominic?’ and banged into the father’s hospital room.

The room wasn’t as big as Bryce’s or as cheerful. The walls were beige, not yellow, and there was only one vase with flowers in it. The window looked out, as near as I could tell, over the parking lot. And nobody had hooked Father Dominic up to any self-pumped painkiller machine. I don’t know what kind of insurance priests have, but it was nowhere as good as it should have been.

To say that Father Dominic looked surprised to see me would have been an understatement. His mouth dropped open. He seemed perfectly incapable of saying anything. But that was OK because Cee Cee came bustling in after me, and went, ‘Oh, Monsignor! Great. We’ve been looking all over for you. We’d like to do an exclusive, if that’s OK, on how last night’s act of vandalism is going to affect the upcoming visit of the archbishop. Adversely, right? Do you have any comments? Maybe you could step out here into the hallway where my associate and I can—’

Looking flustered, Monsignor Constantine followed Cee Cee out the door with an irritated, ‘Now see here, young lady—’

I sauntered over to Father Dominic’s side. I wasn’t exactly excited to see him. I mean, I knew he probably wasn’t too happy with me. I was the one whom Heather had thrown Father Serra’s head at, and I figured he probably knew it, and probably wasn’t feeling too warmly towards me.

That’s what I figured, anyway. But of course, I figured wrong. I’m pretty good at figuring out what dead people are thinking, but I haven’t quite gotten the hang of the living yet.

‘Susannah,’ Father Dominic said in his gentle voice. ‘What are you doing here? Is everything all right? I’ve been very concerned about you—’

I guess I should have expected it. Father Dominic wasn’t sore at me at all. Just worried, that was all. But he was the one who needed worrying over. Aside from the nasty gash above one eye, his colour was off. He looked grey, and much older than he actually was. Only his eyes, blue as the sky outside, looked like they always did, bright and filled with intelligent good humour.

Still, it made me mad all over again, seeing him like that. Heather didn’t know it, but she was in for it, and how.

‘Me?’ I stared at him. ‘What are you worried about me for? I’m not the one who got clobbered by a crucifix this morning.’

Father Dom smiled ruefully. ‘No, but I believe you do have a little explaining to do. Why didn’t you tell me, Susannah? Why didn’t you tell me what you had in mind? If I had known you planned on showing up at the Mission alone in the middle of the night, I never would have allowed it.’

‘Exactly why I didn’t tell you,’ I said. ‘Look, Father, I’m sorry about the statue and Mr Walden’s door and all that. But I had to try talking to her myself, don’t you see? Woman to woman. I didn’t know she was going to go postal on me.’