The Case Against Satan Read Free Page B

more place for them in heaven
.
    No place in heaven. The battle music swirled around Gregory like a palpable thing, like Godwrath, like Hellfire. His moment of peace had been brief. His eyes grew wet and two words escaped his lips. “Dear God.”
    The music was now so furious that he almost did not hear the doorbell ring.

II
BLACK FIRE
    The housekeeper was asleep, so Gregory arose to answer the door himself. First, he turned off the eruptive, whirling music. As he walked to the door—passing into a vestibule cluttered with halltrees and umbrella stands—he could only think this late caller must be Father Halloran, who had perhaps forgotten something.
    He unlatched and swung open the heavy door.
    â€œIt’s awful late I know, Father,” said the large man who stood before him, “but it’s about the girl here.”
    The girl, of high school age, would not allow her blue eyes to meet Gregory’s.
    â€œThat’s all right,” Gregory found himself saying, “if it’s really important.”
    â€œIt is,” said the man. “Sort of an emergency.” Gregory led them into the parlor, offered them chairs—the girl would not sit down—and quickly struggled into his jacket again.
    â€œNow then,” said Gregory. “Don’t tell me. You’re the Garths, aren’t you? Susan and—”
    â€œRobert,” said the man.
    â€œOf course. I’ll get all these names straight soon. You know, it’s odd, but Father Halloran—he just left—was speaking about you and your daughter only a moment ago.” The oddness of the coincidence was more of a conversational opener for Gregory than a true expression of personal bemusement. He had lived too long, and been on the receiving end of too many coincidences, to feel other than mere intellectual surprise. Emotionally, it was old stuff and he was used to it. He had but to ask himself “What ever became of Father John Doe?” in order toreceive a letter or phone call from Father John Doe the following day; or to suddenly remember a long-forgotten Bible verse and then, beginning to search for it, have the Bible fall open to the exact page and the verse leap to his eyes. And yet Gregory was not so vain as to think himself unique in this: coincidence, he knew, occurred in the lives of everyone with such frequency that it seemed almost the norm, and was met by most people not with the blink of astonishment but with the half-smile and casual nod usually accorded a regular and welcome visitor. Gregory asked Garth, “What can I do for you?”
    Garth told his daughter to sit down; she did; then he said, “We been walking up and down in front of the rectory. I could see Father Halloran was here. I didn’t want to bust in, so I thought we’d wait until he left. When Father Halloran introduced us to you today, Susie took a shine to you, and I sort of did too. And then later, something happened that—” He interrupted himself: “You say Father Halloran told you something about her?”
    â€œWell, a little, yes,” said Gregory.
    Nodding, Garth said, “See, Father Halloran he said she should go to a doctor. A specialist. He said she needed, you know, help, mental help. He said
he
didn’t know what to do for her. I guess he figured she was—well, crazy.” Quickly, he added, “Not that I’m blaming Father Halloran. I mean, he sure had plenty of reason to think she was—not right—after what happened.”
    â€œWhat exactly did happen?” Gregory asked.
    â€œDidn’t he tell you?”
    â€œHe only told me—” Gregory felt the girl’s eyes on him, and said, “Perhaps Susan would rather wait in another room while we talk.” And, saying this, he turned to find her eyes looking into his own, no longer evasive. Yet her voice—she spoke now for the first time—was soft and shy:
    â€œNo, Father. I want