Bonnie - Iris Johansen [65]
“No, Gallo,” she said firmly.
“Catherine would agree with me.”
Eve knew he was probably right. “Then you won’t ask her, will you?”
He was silent. “It would be the most efficient way to handle it.”
“Gallo.”
“I’ll think about it.” He looked at her. “If you can suggest another way that we can get what we need from him.”
“He seemed confident he could reach Danner. We keep close to him and follow him.”
“But he said he didn’t know for certain where my uncle was.”
“Then he might be expecting Danner to come to confession. We just have to be patient for a little while.”
“With the emphasis on little,” he said. “I’ll play it your way for now, but if it appears to be going nowhere, I’ll call Catherine and ask if Hu Chang has given her anything that would be—”
“No.”
He smiled faintly. “I may not have to call her or do anything at all. When I talked to her on the phone, she said she and Quinn would be on their way here. She’ll analyze the situation and make her own decision.”
Eve should have expected that to happen. “You told her that we had a lead on Donnelly.”
He nodded. “They had already found out that Donnelly had become a priest at that college in Valdosta and taken the name of Father Barnabas. We just combined info and came up with this church as a reasonable meeting place. Quinn is going to be very suspicious. He isn’t going to be any more inclined to understanding the priest’s reluctance than I am.”
No, three warriors with a practical mentality about getting what they want. She might be fighting this battle alone. There was a certain logic to their argument, and she was tempted to go along with their reasoning.
But she had promised Bonnie that she would be careful with Father Barnabas. In her daughter’s eyes, that would include the possible disturbance of the priest’s conscience.
“Then I’ll have to explain my point of view.” She met Gallo’s eyes. “We have to find another way. There has been enough hurt to the innocents. I’m just as eager as you to find Danner, and we will.” She added crisply, “Now what’s the most efficient way for surveillance of Father Barnabas?”
He frowned. “I don’t like—” He broke off. “The most practical method is observation and maybe to bug his car.”
“And how can we do that? Where can we get the equipment?”
“We can call Quinn and get him to contact the local police and get them to help.” He shook his head. “But that would probably mean dealing with red tape. It would be quicker to get the equipment ourselves from one of those local spy-and-surveillance stores you see in some of the malls.”
“They can’t be that popular. Do you think they’d have a store here in Rome?”
He shook his head. “I’ll check on the Internet, but a small town would probably not be worrying too much about spying on nannies or checking to see if their kids are on drugs. But they’d have them in Chattanooga, and that’s right next door.”
“Then go get what we need.”
“You think our good priest is lying about knowing where my uncle is right now?”
“No. It’s hard to judge, but I don’t think he lied to me. But I don’t want to take a chance that he might make a good guess. Do you?”
He slowly shook his head. “We’re getting too close. Let’s go.”
She shook her head. “No, you go. I’ll stay here.” She held up her hand to stop him as he opened his lips to protest. “Observation, remember? One of us has to keep an eye on Father Barnabas.”
“And who would keep an eye on you?”
“Do you actually think Father Barnabas is going to attack me in this church?” She gave him a steady glance. “It’s not likely. He told me he had an appointment with a young couple who are going to be married. You’ll probably be back before he’s even finished with them.”
He didn’t move. “And you won’t try to follow him if he takes off?”
“I won’t do it without calling you.”
“And what if my uncle decides to show up for confession?”
“Then I’ll have to play it by ear.” She smiled faintly. “So stop borrowing trouble and get back here so that you don’t have anything to worry about.”
He hesitated, then turned on his