Free The Fool by Morgan Gallagher

His
breathing came under control, his shoulders straightened. Pride
returned to his body, replacing the shame and rage. He returned to
the table, seated himself, and allowed her to continue.
    ‘And this is why you threw Jason Briggs
out?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘And that’s when the graffiti started, the
desecrations?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘But it was stamped out?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Then why were you and Jason Briggs fighting
on the steps of the Church just four nights ago?’
    ‘I can’t tell you.’
    They were at the nub of it, the rub of it.
The place she had not been able to approach until Rome had given
her permission. The place, if her suspicions were correct, she
could never progress from or break into.
    ‘If I called Bishop Atkins in, could he tell
me?’
    ‘No...’ His head dropped down, tears
flooding onto his chest. ‘He could not.’
    ‘Why would that be?’
    ‘Because what had been happening between
Jason Briggs and myself was happening under the Seal of the
Confessional.’
     
    Wyn Jones had cried. He had sobbed until his
broken heart had rid itself of much of the poison that had been
poured into it in the previous months. Maryam had sat and born
witness. When his eyes had run dry, he’d risen, thanked her for
trying to save him, and left her. Atkins returned within seconds,
Andy Scott by his side.
     
    Maryam didn’t hesitate in going straight to
the point:
    ‘Why hasn’t he told the police?’
    Fred sat down and poured himself another
port. ‘I advised him not to.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Because once he tells them that Jason
Briggs has told him secrets in the confessional, nothing will stop
them in their pursuit of what they were. I’m trying to buy him
time.’
    ‘How?’
    ‘About six weeks ago, Jason Briggs suddenly
appeared in the confessional box one day and announced to Father
Jones that he was a Catholic, and that he wished to confess.’
    ‘The police said that he had no
religion.’
    ‘I know. Wyn didn’t believe him and advised
him to discuss things with another priest or to seek support from
the Archdiocese.’
    ‘What happened?’
    ‘Jason turned up back in the confessional
and showed Wyn a confirmation certificate.’
    ‘Oh, my. How could that be?’
    ‘Jason’s father is Nigerian. He came and
went in Jason’s life, turning up every now and then, spending time
with him. When Jason was seven years old, his father visited and
took the boy away for the summer, home to meet his family. During
that time he was seemingly both baptised and confirmed. When he
returned, his mother had finally lost parental rights of
three-year-old Brad, her drug use and prostitution had taken over
her life. His father could have gained custody of Jason, but he
would have had to stay and deal with Social Services. His father
abandoned him. Jason was also taken into care, in a different home
from Brad. Jason never left it. Brad was taken in by his mother’s
sister two years ago. She’d been out of the country and returned to
find that not only had her sister died of a drug overdose, but that
she had two nephews. Jason was fifteen and completely feral. The
police had stopped trying to force him back to the care home. He
lived by, and for, the gang. His aunt never had anything to do with
him. It was she that sent Brad to the Church youth group, unaware
that Jason was actually Catholic. She just wanted Brad off the
streets.’
    ‘And you are sure that he was Catholic?’
    ‘No, that’s why we’ve been stalling. The
certificates Jason showed Wyn were the right place and the right
time but in a different name. They were also very clean and well
kept, which didn’t speak of a seven year old child saving them all
those years. Jason stated it was his family name in Nigeria and
that his father had him given a Nigerian identity. It was his
father’s surname. He’d claimed he’d written to his father’s family
and had the certificates sent to him’
    ‘A tad unlikely.’
    ‘Precisely. We are actively pursuing