A Question of Judgment: A Michael Bishop Mystery Page 22
Chapter Twenty-Six
The next day at school was rather surreal. Hodge made the right call in taking him to the ER. He had a non-displaced fracture of a bone in his hand. The inconvenience would last about six weeks, he was told. Bishop entered the building without having to negotiate his way past the irascible Sister Pat. He walked down to the faculty room to grab his morning tea.
Jack Slater was enjoying his coffee and doughnut while reading the newspaper. When Bishop entered, Jack looked up in surprise. “What happened to you?”
Bishop sported a soft cast on his right hand that extended midway to his elbow. He wasn’t about to tell him the truth until the story came out officially. The arrest from the previous night had not yet made the news, although it was possible that Dr. Andrew’s neighbors or folks at the hospital had picked up bits and pieces of the story.
“Max took a chunk out of me,” he said with a straight face.
“You’re kidding!”
“As a matter of fact, I am.”
Jack thought that was pretty funny, and didn’t bother to repeat his question. He had some news of his own.
“While you were getting mauled by your vicious dog,” he said still smiling at the idea, “something big … real big … went down here.”
“Really?” Bishop asked innocently. If Jack didn’t know of his involvement in yesterday’s meeting yet, someone would tell him soon enough.
“Yup. We all have an email from Art Gleason. Sister Ann and Sister Pat are both on a ‘leave of absence’ as of today, and Ron is going to be the acting principal.” He shook his head as he verbalized the message, obviously still having a hard time absorbing what had happened.
“Well, I’ll be!” Bishop exclaimed.
“Jack gave him an incredulous look. “Don’t tell me you didn’t know anything about this.”
“Okay, I won’t tell you that,” Bishop said with a laugh, adding to Jack’s confusion.
***
As he went to check his mailbox, he passed by the main office. Terry was on the phone, probably fielding calls from concerned parents as they began to hear the news from texts their children were sending them. It was just as well that he didn’t have to discuss the matter with Terry just yet. She had been lurking outside of the principal’s office during that meeting, and she probably had a pretty good idea of what had happened. He would try to answer her inevitable questions later.
Walking into the mailroom, he was surprised to find Sister Pascala picking up her mail.
“Sister Pascala! It’s so good to see you!” He gave her a hug, conscious of the limitations posed by the cast. “I thought you weren’t coming back until after the break.”
“Michael, what happened to you?”
“I slammed my hand in the car door,” he said with a straight face.
“Really?”
He laughed. “No, not really.” He was more interested in asking her a question. “How is your sister-in-law?”
“She’s doing fine, I suppose.”
“Excuse me?” He didn’t understand the qualification.
“To tell the truth, I never did go to Seattle.”
Now, it was his turn to ask, “Really?”
“Really. I must admit I told you a little white lie,” she said apologetically.
“I don’t understand.”
“Blake Driscoll left last night, so I’m back.”
“Did you know who Blake was right from the beginning?”
She laughed. “Let’s put it this way. Sister Estelle and I entered the novitiate together. We’re very good friends.”
“You deserve an Academy Award for that one,” he said kiddingly.
***
On his way out of the mailroom, he bumped into Ron who seemed to be in a rush to get somewhere, but stopped when he saw Bishop.
“What happened to you?” he said with a look of real concern.
“I slipped in the shower,” he answered with a straight face.
“Really”
“No, not really,” he admitted. “I’ll explain later.”
“Good luck this morning.”
“Thanks. I think I’m going to need it.”
“Nah, you’ll do just fine. Any word on those two?”
“Sister Estelle called me last night. She was very nice. She told me that Sister Ann will be working in a shelter for battered women until the council has a chance to discuss her future. Sister Pat will be working at a soup kitchen after she returns from her retreat.”
“She might actually like that,” Bishop said only half in jest.
“Anyway, they’re out for the remainder of this school year. What happens after that remains to be seen. I’m telling you, but this is to go no further.”
“I understand.”
***
His broken hand garnered a lot of attention in homeroom. Susan’s jaw dropped when she saw the cast. “Oh my goodness, what happened to you?”
With a straight face, he answered, “I fell off of my skateboard.”
“Really?”
“No, not really.”
Phil then interjected, “Mr. Bishop, what do you think about Sister Ann and Sister Pat getting sacked?” He couldn’t hide his happiness as he asked the question.
“Are you sure that that’s what happened?”
Challenged on that point, Phil quickly shifted to a less-confident tone. “Well, that’s what everybody’s saying.”
“And does that make it true?”
“No, sir … but I hope it is!”
He fielded another question from Jenny. “Mr. Bishop, will you be able to write with that cast?”
Assuming he understood the intent of her question correctly, he replied, “By the time break is over, I should have a bit more flexibility, so don’t worry. I’ll still be able to mark all of your papers.” Her smile indicated that his assumption had been correct.
When Mr. Jennings came on the P.A. system to make the morning announcements, an eerie hush enveloped not only Bishop’s homeroom, but also the entire building. The assistant principal calmly and briefly explained that his two colleagues on the administrative team had taken a ‘leave of absence’ and that he would serve as acting principal for the remainder of the school year. He asked the students and faculty to pray for him as he undertook this responsibility and expressed his belief that with everyone’s cooperation, their year would end successfully.
Bishop heard one of the boys near the back of the room turn to another student and ask, “I wonder what they did to get themselves kicked out?”
The other student answered, “I don’t know, but I’m glad they did it!” Others laughed at his response. Everyone started to chatter at once.
Bishop felt the need to respond. He stood and raised his good arm to get their attention. “Listen, I know that many of you are pleased with the news, and some of you may be confused. I think that it is important to remember that no reason for these actions has been given. You should not assume you know all the facts, and it may very well be that the facts are personal and confidential in nature. Try not to judge people on rumors.”
Just as he finished his remarks, Charlie Mitchell strode into Bishop’s homeroom, happy as a lark. He practically danced his way up to the front desk. “Can you believe it? Mischief and Mayhem both gone in one fell swoop! This is one for the history books!”
Bishop wasn’t sure if his students were laughing at what Charlie had said or at Charlie himself. Bishop lifted his right arm as far as he could to suggest that Charlie tone it down. Whether or not he got that message was unclear, but the sight of Bishop’s arm in a cast, refocused his attention.
“Good gracious, my man! What happened to you?”
“I landed awkwardly as I was jumping off of a trampoline,” he said with a straight face.
“Tough break!” he said with a grin. Those students still listening groaned at his bad pun. Bishop decided not to disabuse him of the false explanation that he had given him. He was quite sure t
hat Charlie would spread his story about the trampoline around the building until someone told Charlie that he had been had.
***
The talk of the day continued to center around the personnel changes at Holy Trinity and Bishop’s broken hand. Other than Ron Jennings and Art Gleason who were present at that meeting initiated by Blake Driscoll, none of the faculty knew what had actually led to the two administrators being placed on a leave of absence. Some of the teachers, assuming that Bishop had had a role to play in that outcome, thanked him for his efforts on their behalf. He deflected any credit, and spoke of Blake’s contributions, which was not only true, but convenient as well since Blake was no longer in the building.
At the end of the day as everyone wished each other a safe and relaxing break, Bishop’s thoughts were centered on one man … Dr. Thomas Andrews. In a quick call last night, Hodge had informed Bishop that the initial evaluations at the hospital contained serious concerns about the mental and physical health of Dr. Andrews. It was highly unlikely that he would live long enough to stand for trial. He kept hearing the last words that he had spoken, Just let me die.
Was he to be vilified for the heinous crime that he had committed, or was he to be pitied for the way he himself had suffered? As with most moral questions, there was no simple answer. He recalled the way Steinbeck had struggled in East of Eden with his characterization of Cathy as a monster. Ironically, by the end of that novel, Cathy chooses to end her own suffering by committing suicide.
Steinbeck does not deny that the potential for evil exists in every human heart; however, he concludes with optimism that each one of us has a choice to make. Do we give in to the evil impulses, or do we choose to do good?
Bishop slept well that night knowing that it is a decision that each of us must face alone.
###
I hope that you have enjoyed this book. Please take a moment to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. You might also enjoy Outline for Murder: A Michael Bishop Mystery (2015) and Schooled in Deception: A Michael Bishop Mystery (2016). I am happy to hear from readers. If you have any comments or questions, you may contact me through my Facebook Fan Page or my Amazon Author Page using the links below.
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About the Author
Anthony J. Pucci taught English for forty-three years. After retiring, a colleague suggested that he write a book. As a result, his first novel, Outline for Murder: A Michael Bishop Mystery, was published in 2015.
A second book, Schooled in Deception: A Michael Bishop Mystery, came out the following year.
His third Michael Bishop Mystery, A Question of Judgment, was published in 2017.
In addition to writing, he enjoys reading, taking long walks, spending time on the New England coast, keeping up with family and friends, and following sports, the stock market, and politics.
A native of Massachusetts, he resides with his wife in a small town in upstate New York.