There was an edge to Michael’s voice now. Father Riordan could feel a distinct change in the air around them. He knew, immediately, that whatever Michael was going to say to him, he did not want to hear. But he had no choice. He had to hear the confession, it was out of his hands. He was filled with a sense of trepidation, of the fear that always accompanied the unknown. He felt hot suddenly, sweaty. He knew he had to do his duty, to listen to Michael, and not judge him – no matter what he might say. He took a deep breath to steady himself before saying, ‘You can say anything in here, Michael. Remember, you are not talking to me, you are talking to the Holy Father Himself. You can tell Him anything. I can never repeat anything I hear in the confessional. You know that. It’s not for me to judge. I can only offer you an Act of Contrition.’

Michael sighed gently. Then, lifting his head up, he said softly, ‘I have killed, Father.’

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Patrick Costello was tired. He had been up since early morning, and now he was knackered. His anniversary party was about to start and he was fed up with it already. He loved his wife dearly, but she was what was known as ‘high maintenance’. If anyone else gave him the grief that she did, he would have shot them in cold blood without a second’s thought. Luckily, Carmel was a good girl, a great mother and, he had to admit, he loved her. But she had been on his back for the last few days about their wedding anniversary. It was like talking to the Antichrist; everything he said was wrong. She had decided that he had insisted on having an anniversary party, and he had been intelligent enough to go along with everything she said without a word. She could make him feel that he was in the wrong even when he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was totally in the right. If truth be told, he actually admired her for that. She was one of the few people in his world who was not scared of him, and that was why he loved her so much. If she had feared him, he would have walked all over her. They both knew it. Declan had hated her since day one, but he had accepted that she was what his brother wanted. As Carmel also hated Declan with a vengeance, it had made no odds.