The Brothers' Lot - Kevin Holohan [100]
“Get your hands off me, woman! This is important!”
With astonishing strength for his ancient frame, Mulligan shrugged the woman off and pushed her gently but firmly out the door. He grabbed a chair and wedged it against the door handle to keep her out.
“Brother Mulligan! What do you think you … ?” Loughlin fell silent under the glare from Mulligan.
“Whisht!” hissed Mulligan, and raised his right palm toward Loughlin with a flourish of authority and determination that impelled him back into his chair. Mulligan carefully circled Father Sheehan, who sat unperturbed, patiently waiting for this embarrassing interlude to end. The Brother leaned down and stared into Sheehan’s face from very close. Sheehan shifted a little in his seat and cleared his throat. Mulligan stopped his circling and stood to Sheehan’s left.
“It’s him,” he said to Brother Loughlin conclusively.
“Him? Who him? What are you talking about, you old fool?”
“Sheehan. He’s a Sheehan. I’d know them anywhere!” With this Brother Mulligan seemed to reach a pitch of fury that threatened to burst him. He launched himself at Sheehan, who was forced to stand up and remove the Brother’s hands from around his throat with some considerable effort. Loughlin moved from behind his desk and grabbed Mulligan by the elbows. “What on earth do you think you are at?”
“He’s one of them Sheehans. His father informed to the Black and Tans. Well I’d know the face. Think I don’t know ye, Sheehan? Well I do! Went to Jesuit school on Civil War blood money, ye did! Ye hid long enough, but now that I know who ye are, ye’ll not rest easy till I have me revenge! I know plenty of people who’d be interested to know who you are and where you came from! I’m sure you know Archbishop Ryan’s father was shot by the Black and Tans. That’d put a halt to your gallop quick enough if he found out.”
“Brother Mulligan, Father Sheehan is here about the miracle. He’s no one’s informer. That’s all in the past now.” Loughlin nodded to Sheehan, who removed the chair and opened the door. “Go back to your duties, Brother. I need to have a good talk with Father Sheehan. I will handle this.”
Mulligan glared at Sheehan and exited with slow dignity, leaving the door open behind him. Loughlin watched him leave Mrs. Broderick’s outer office and then closed the door softly.
“Have a seat, Father. I think, in light of Brother Mulligan’s information, we have some more things to discuss, don’t you? I think there might be some mutually beneficial agreement we might reach about these, ehm, how shall we say, revelations,” he grinned.
Father Sheehan smiled wanly. He was intelligent enough to realize that he had lost all advantage and a trade of his silence for Loughlin’s was the best he could hope for. The miracle investigation would go through the motions and then quietly disappear and no one would ever accuse anyone of trying to fake anything.
36
The boys lined up by class and year and Brother Loughlin and Mr. Pollock walked up and down the rows inspecting each boy carefully. From time to time they stopped and conferred in urgent whispers before: “You, boy! Over to the other side.”
Each boy selected trotted over to the other side of the yard to Brother Cox beside the grotto of Our Lady of Indefinite Duration. Whatever their fate, the grotto at least offered temporary shelter from the biting wind that sheared across the rest of the yard.
“What are they doing?” whispered Finbar.
“No idea,” answered Scully. His mind was whirring as he tried to figure out what was going on and whether he should concentrate his efforts on getting himself sent to the other side or on being left where he was. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the selection process. Some of the quietest and some of the worst boys were being sent to the other side. He could not figure out the underlying plan. That made him very uneasy.
Finbar looked up and down the