“Sorry, Father, I didn’t know that anyone knew about this place, well... anyone else.”
I shrugged. “Katarina told me about it. I hope you don’t mind.”
His face betrayed his annoyance before he reined it in. “No, of course not. Katarina’s a nice girl. Kind to people.”
“Hmm, kind. Too kind for this place.”
“Yeah, she’s . . . great,” Alonso said wistfully.
“Isn’t she?” I said, slowly moving toward Alonso.
I could tell he was dumb as shit and had lived a cushy life, because he didn’t once seem to realize I had bad intentions.
“Yeah. She’s the only good thing about working in this place.”
“I’m sure your girlfriend wouldn’t be too happy to hear how much you admire her,” I added, lashing out and grabbing Alonso’s hand. I gave it a quick twist, locked the joint, and forced him to his knees.
He cried out, but the wind stole his voice away. I took his lit cigarette from his captured hand and drew a long drag, then flicked it away.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Alonso. I’ve got nothing against you. You seem great—but Katarina Dmitrova doesn’t exist to you anymore. You’re not going to talk to her, or look at her, or tell heryour fake stories about your girlfriend. Or the nurse you’re fucking. Hey, maybe there’s even more than one.”
Alonso was quiet, so I twisted his wrist harder, and he cried out again.
“Now, if I find out you’ve been talking to Katarina or messing around with any other patient—you know, those young ones in there, pregnant and alone, only sixteen... I find out that you’ve touched one of them, and it won’t end well for you, Alonso. I can find out where you live, I can get to you no matter where you are. Next time, I won’t just break the hand, I’ll take it with me when I go.”
I let go and shoved him away. He fell onto the snow, sniveling with pain.
“Get the fuck out of my sight,” I tossed toward him, and leaned back against the wall of the chapel, taking my phone from my robes.
After Alonso finally fucked off, I dialed a number and waited for my IT guy to answer. She was a recent find, sister of my old commander, and there was no one with her skills out there, that I’d found, anyway.
Luckily for me, she’d offered to help me with tech support when I needed it.
“Don’t tell me! Let me guess... You’re undercover in a kindergarten class and need to know the words to ‘Baby Shark’?”
Giada O’Connor was always tickled pink by the situations I found myself in to reach marks.
“Guess again.”
“Okay... You’re posing as a top confectioner in a chocolate factory?”
“No.”
“Austrian goat herder?”
“Nope.”
“Come on, Massimo, give me a clue, then!”
“That’s Father Lucciano to you.”
“Wait, what? A priest? Send me a selfie. I have to see this. Can you cross the threshold of a church? Does the holy water evaporate before it hits you?”
“It sure does.”
“Nice. Okay, lay it on me. What do you need?”
“I want you to check a name for me. Two, actually. First one, Elena Dmitrova. Second is a company.”