Bonnie - Iris Johansen [97]
“I’m not supposed to discuss the court case.”
“To hell with that. I’m going to find out anyway. One of Catherine’s CIA buddies is investigating it. Sealed or not, he’ll know everything about it soon.”
Barnabas’s smile faded. “I’m sure he will. The CIA can be very efficient … and ruthless. But he’s got to be very careful.”
“Why?”
“Tell the CIA to drop it, Joe.”
“Talk to me. What was so bad in those transcripts that they sealed the records? Why did the judge do that?”
Father Barnabas was silent.
“Why?” Joe asked again. “Why did the judge do it?”
The priest finally shrugged. “Because I asked him to do it.”
“You did it? Why?”
“Because it would have hurt people who were vulnerable.” He shook his head. “You’re not going to give up, are you? If I tell you, will you call off those CIA bloodhounds?”
“Maybe. If I think you’re telling the truth. But you can be sure that I’ll let them dig until eternity if you don’t tell me anything.”
The priest smiled faintly. “You’re tough, Joe.” He looked away from him at the horizon over the ridge. “The Ezra Bonafel charge was brought by Ezra’s mother, Dorothy. She claimed I had imprinted false memories through hypnosis on Ezra. The memories were of sexual abuse inflicted on Ezra as a child by his father. She refused to believe that the abuse had happened … although Ezra believed she knew about it.”
“What made her think that the charge would stick?”
“I’d done a few papers in medical journals on the possibility of being able to imprint or erase memories. Ezra had blocked out what had happened to him as a child, but the memories began to come back to him during therapy. His mother went berserk. Actually, she was probably more unstable than Ezra. She loved Ezra and couldn’t admit even to herself that she would permit him to be hurt. She had to have someone to blame.”
“And that was you?”
“Oh, yes. She had to make Ezra believe that I was the enemy and not she. I knew she didn’t stand a chance of winning and that it was going to hurt her and Ezra far more than it did me. I tried to talk her out of pressing charges, but she wouldn’t agree. The best I could get was a trial with the least possible publicity in a small town south of Atlanta.”
“She lost the case?”
“Yes. And she suffered a nervous breakdown two weeks after the judge handed down his decision. Ezra stood by her. I believe the responsibility of taking care of her helped them both to heal.”
“And what helped you to heal?”
“The knowledge that I’d tried to do the right thing.” He grimaced. “But it brought me to the point that I realized that my patients sometimes needed more help than I was able to give. I had to do some serious thinking.” He looked back at Joe. “Don’t let those court records surface. It would hurt Ezra and his mother too much. Maybe God’s helped them to forget all that pain they went through.”
“No bitterness?”
“Why would I be bitter?”
Joe studied him in surprise for a moment. Because a woman had done her best to destroy him? No, he could tell that Father Barnabas was sincere. “No reason.”
“You believe me?”
“I believe you.” He turned away. “I can’t do anything else. Who am I to argue with a man Ben thinks is golden?”
Father Barnabas chuckled. “Not only do I ‘shine,’ but now I’m golden? I must be truly blessed.”
Joe glanced at him over his shoulder. “Do you know, I think you just might be at that.”
* * *
A FEW MOMENTS LATER, Joe sank down across from Ben at the fire. The boy was sitting with his chin resting on his raised knees, his gaze fixed on the fire.
Joe was silent for a moment. “Weren’t you even curious about where Ted Danner was going beyond that ridge?”
“No. I could tell he didn’t want to tell me. There are things I don’t like anyone else to know, too.” He smiled. “But he liked me to be here when he came back from the place. At first I thought he was just being nice to me, but I think maybe he was lonely like I was.”
“Past tense. You’re not lonely any longer?”
He shook his head. “I’m … full now.”
“What?”
“There