The Day Everything Changed

I recognize him in the crowd, though he isn’t wearing his clerical garb. Smiling. Laughing. He even has the gall to tweak a baby’s nose. How many families’ lives had he ruined two years ago on the witness stand when he claimed that young men’s accusations against him were false? Unconsciously my fingers brush against the gun barrel, the tearful testimonies echoing in my head. Justice. I know what they’ll say about me in the parish. Painting me as evil for murdering a man of God. The same families who will no doubt condemn me for what I have to do weren’t there to hear my older brother and my cousins confess the same painful secret about Father Murphy.

A buzzing sound interrupts my reverie. It’s a series of text messages. Alexander, Jonathan, Philip, Michael, Edward. All of them texting prayers. Prayers from George, Frank, Roy, Anthony, and Gerard. It finally hits me, the weight of what I’ve been asked to do. Not just for my brother, not just for my cousins, but for all the families forced to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. For the families dealing with the same tragedy as mine. I replay it over and over in my head...the judge announcing a verdict of not guilty...the anguished screams of the victims and their families...the smile on Father Murphy’s face. It’s that smile that disturbs me, even now.

He walks toward me. I can see something in his eyes--recognition? Fear? He knows who I am, I was in court every day for his trial. “Lidian.” There’s hesitation in the way he says my name. “How have you been? We’ve missed you at Mass.”

“You know why we aren’t there.” Slowly, methodically, I withdraw the gun. “And you know what? You’re going to tell everyone why my family goes to Mass in a different parish.” I point it towards his head. “Go on. Tell them. Tell them what you did to my brother. To my cousins. To other males in the parish.”

“I don’t understand, Lidian. The jury...” He takes notice of the gun and steps backward. “I was acquitted.”

“Tell them, you bastard, or I will.” I look him square in the face. “Tell them what you did. Tell them, God damn it!”

“There’s nothing to tell, Lidian. The jury acquitted me. You were there, you heard the foreman tell me I was found not guilty.”

I step forward. “So my brother lied. Alexander lied. My cousins lied. Philip, Jonathan, Edward, Roy, Frank, Michael, George, and Gerard all lied. And the other young men in the parish who you victimized...they lied as well?” I find the trigger. “That’s what you’re telling me? That they made it all up? That somehow they got together and concocted this story to make you look bad?” I can hear my heart pounding. “No. You're not going to get away with it." Without warning I pull the trigger and watch as he falls. I dial Alexander's number.

"Everything okay, Lidian?"

"Yes."