A man lay face down on the concrete walkway. Crimson pooled around his body.
Deitrich snapped photos.
We joined the sheriff as he looked on with a grim face. Father Flannery stood nearby, his vestments soaked with blood, his hands stained.
As I got close, I recognized the victim. It was Landon.
"What happened?" I asked.
Father Flannery said, "I was inside. I heard gunshots. By the time I got outside, Landon was on the ground. I tried to administer first aid, but there was nothing I could do. I didn't have a cell phone with me. There was no one else around. I ran back inside and called 911. By the time I got back to him, he was dead.”
"Did you see the assailant?" I asked.
Father Flannery shook his head.
I glanced around, but I didn't see any surveillance cameras. I asked Father Flannery, and he confirmed there were no security cameras in the parking lot or on church premises.
Two 9mm shell casings littered the ground not far from Landon's body. It didn’t take a mental giant to put two and two together. This was most likely the same shooter with the same gun. Ballistics would tell us as much.
As far as I knew, Darrell York was still in the hospital. He couldn't have done this. Daniels confirmed with Deputy Magnussen. He was at the hospital, watching Darrell.
"Unless that guy can be in two places at once, he's not our shooter," the sheriff said.
"Tell me why Landon was here this afternoon?" I asked Father Flannery.
"We had services for Cameron this morning. Landon approached me afterward and said there was something he needed to get off his chest. I told him to stop by today at 3:00 PM. I would have time to hear confession.”
"And did you hear his confession?"
Flannery stiffened. “The process is anonymized. I am bound by oath not to share any information that is given to me during that Holy Rite.”
"Obviously, Landon had something on his mind he wanted to discuss with you, which is relevant to this case. Perhapsinformation that got him killed," I said. "Information that you now know. It could make you a target."
Father Flannery shifted with discomfort. "I'm sorry, but I can’t tell you what we discussed. Anyone familiar with the Rite of Confession knows that.”
"Just like a psychiatrist can't share confessions made by their patients.”
Professional oath or not, it didn't save Dr. Renick. Father Flannery realized that. By the look in his eyes, he had a heavy burden to bear. He'd heard something, and he couldn’t unhear it. The sacramental seal was inviolable. It was against the rules for a priest to violate the trust of the penitent in any way, regardless of whether they were alive or dead.
I gave Father Flannery a card and told him to get in touch if he thought of anything he could share.
Daniels gave us the unenviable task of notifying Landon's wife, Sadie. We set out to find her. She lived at 1334 Orchid Lane.
Jack parked at the curb. We hopped out and pushed through the gate at the picket fence. We strolled up to the two-story French colonial with coral siding, white trim, and a red brick walkway. There was a nice veranda with a swinging bench. An American flag flew from one of the columns.
I rang the video doorbell, and we waited on the porch.
A figure approached the door a moment later, her image distorted by the privacy glass. She called through, "Who is it?"
I displayed my badge and said, "Coconut County."
She pulled open the door, and her curious blue eyes flicked between the two of us. Sadie was gorgeous, with short dark hair that had been highlighted with frosted tips. Her long bangs hung around her sculpted cheekbones. She had full lips, big eyes, and a petite figure. But it looked like she was carrying a little extra weight. Her skin glowed.
The district commissioner had done well for himself—a nice home, a beautiful wife, a loving family. I hated to deliver the bad news. It didn't matter how delicately I approached the subject—it always hit like a ton of bricks. A sledgehammer to the gut.
Sadie went wobbly and almost collapsed in the doorway. JD and I steadied her and escorted her inside to the living room, and helped her to the sofa. She went into a full-blown panic attack.
Jack grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and brought it out to her. Her chest heaved with jerking sobs, and her eyes spat tears that could flood the island.
