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She put the Bible back on the shelf and turned her attention to the desk So seeer on why Then she realized--no coh she didn’t see any computer accessories anywhere, either--no printer, no power cords, no internet router She only saw Montblanc pens and high-quality writing paper on his desk Father Stearnsof a Luddite That would explain his lack of internet presence

Slowly she opened the desk drawer and felt a distinct sense of disappoint butof interest--only schedules and lists of Bible verses in i The other desk drawers produced no shocking revelations, either In the bottom drawer she found dozens more Montblanc pens still in boxes Briefly she wondered if Father Stearns had some sort of ink pen fetish Then she noticed s froes of affection and appreciation It rearten teacher at a private school Every Christmas her students’ parents inundated her with every conceivable sort of Teacher’s Apple product in existence Apparently the people of Sacred Heart had learned of their priest’s fondness for high-quality writing instruments and showered him with them every year

You bless us year after year, Father Love in Christ, the Harpers, read one tag

Thank you for saving our e, Father Bless you, Alex and Rachel, read another

Is it a sin to combine a priest’s birthday and Christmas presents? We’ll talk about it in Confession if it is Merry Birthday, Dr and Mrs Dr Keighley, read a tag on a box that held a Montblanc pen and pencil set

Combine Christmas and birthday? With that sentence, Suzanne realized she’d been right Father Marcus Lennox Stearns, born Deceustus Stearns, the English baron who’d et had actually given up a title in the British peerage for the Catholic Church? Unbelievable Not only did he give up his iven up women for the Church Most priests she’d in" variety Humorless, unattractive, socially aard…the opposite of Father Stearns in every way

Shaking her head, Suzanne pulled out one last box, this one red, and flipped open the card

Meine andere Geschenk wird nicht in einer Box passen AABYE

Good God, howher eyes in frustration, Suzanne pulled out her notebook and copied the words down At least this language she could recognize--Ger some kind of bell with her She searched her memory for whatever it was that see her notebook in her purse, she scanned the top of the desk once ht

On the desk Suzanne found one iteraph She stared at the picture for a long tihteen years old, she looked reray eyes, strikingly attractive Suzanne eased the photo out of the fra, Onkel Søren Koain with the Scandinavian inscriptions Suzanne opened her notebook again and copied every word Briefly she wondered if she was staring at Father Stearns’s daughter Had he fathered a child at so his years as a priest? Could that be the reason for the anonymous fax and its mysterious "Possible conflict of interest" footnote?

Seemed unlikely After all, if he did have a love child, she doubted soent and well educated as Father Stearns would sihter on his desk She shook her head in frustration She’d hoped for answers All she had noere more questions

As quietly as she could, Suzanne abandoned Father Stearns’s office and returned to the hallway For some reason she felt drawn to return to the sanctuary instead of her car Patrick’s information from the Wakefield sheriff indicated that Michael Dimir had made his suicide atte to kill oneself was the ulti in Suzanne wanted Michael Dimir to know she heard it

Suzanne found the doors that lead fro the heavy wooden door open, she slipped inside Upon entering the sanctuary Suzanne discovered so on the altar and scattered about the sanctuary She froze as her eyes took in the candle nearest her The burning wick had only begun to turn black Fro footsteps

She wasn’t alone

Michael cast one last look back at Griffin before leaving the bedrooave Michael a little wink on his way out the door and a tiny part of hi But he kneanted to spend the night sub to Nora, needed it even He just sort of wished Griffin could be there too

For soht with Nora in her room But Griffin’s butler led him instead upstairs to the third floor and all the way to a room at the end of the hallway

The butler paused at the door, nodded politely to Michael and walked away Michael took a deep breath, turned the doorknob and stepped into the room and into another time