Prologue
“Forgive me Father for I have sinned,” the contrite whispered words echoed through the confessional wall.
Father Delaney looked toward the latticed grating trying to focus on the penitent but only saw the dark hood of a kneeling silhouette. “How long has it been since your last confession?”
Breathing the words voicelessly, “I have never confessed until now.”
Father Delaney spoke with reluctance, “Please acknowledge your sins.”
“I felt life leave her body. That is when I realized the finality of death. I became nauseated, my mind began to cloud, and then… I became lost. Lost in a place that I cannot escape. I know I will kill again.”
There was a brief moment of silence before Father Delaney could continue. “I hear sorrow, helplessness, and a desire to repent in your voice but I have to ask; what sacramental penance can I advise if you intend to kill again? Your reparation, turn yourself in to authorities."
The confessional box became silent as a tomb for an instant then heavy sobbing and short gasps for breath followed. Suddenly, before the Priest had chance for giving absolution and dismissal, the penitent rose, hurried out the church, and vanished. Father Delaney sat, motionless until the slamming of the exit door jolted his body back to its senses.
"News at Ten," a murder mystery, will be concluded in about two months, give or take a week or two.
R. Austin Meacham
