New to the Dalton Files? Please start at The Empty Envelope and follow the leads here.

Dalton File #10

I had prepared myself for any scenario. I had thought about this moment for so long. I had every angle covered… until she walked through that door. My emotions got the best of me and I burst into tears like a little schoolboy. I couldn’t control my emotions. A lifetime of pent-up emotions came pouring out.

Mary started to cry as well. We hugged, and when I looked over her shoulder I saw Sister Bertha crying just as hard as we were. For the first time since I saw Sister Bertha, I thought of how I pictured her in my head before I met her. Suddenly I wasn’t crying. I was laughing hysterically. It was infectious. Both Mary and Sister Bertha were laughing, and they didn’t know why. I didn’t dare to tell them.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that: hugging, laughing, and crying all at the same time, but eventually we sat down. I had so many questions. But first I had to tell Mary my testimony. It was easier this time. She was part of it.

I told her about the morning after she came to see me. I told her how I pushed that drink away from me after Gumshoe meowed at me. Gumshoe, I have to explain Gumshoe. Is that even possible? Not now, focus Dalton. I haven’t had a drop since that night.

I told her how I wandered into the church the next morning, ripped up the envelope, and stepped inside. I told her how I accepted Christ that morning, and how I have been slowly but surely changing my ways. And then I thanked her for all she did for me that night.

Sister Bertha seemed to enjoy hearing my testimony again. She still had a tear in her eye.

Now it was time for Mary’s story. I started with, “I have so many questions. The first thing I need to know is what happened after you left your church for the last time with Dan Donovan.” She started to talk and it opened up the floodgates. Everything that she had avoided talking about for so long came pouring out.

She fell for Dan Donovan hard, just like I had heard. She continued, “I refuse to call him by his nickname. He’s not that good looking anyway.” I chuckled to myself because that’s almost exactly what I said when I saw his mugshot.

“He told me he loved me and that he would do anything for me. He made me feel special. He made me feel loved. I was a sucker,” she looked over at Sister Bertha as she said that, “sorry Sister Bertha. I thought he was sincere. I had a small inheritance, and over time he bilked every red cent out of me.”

“I understand now that he saw a naive ‘church girl’ with a little money, and I became his target. I was so foolish. I wasn’t bad on the eyes either, so I thought he really liked me.” She looked down and blushed at that last comment. “I became dependent on him for everything once my money was gone. I thought about going back to the church for help but I was embarrassed. I was also growing more afraid of Donovan as the stories about him began to pile up.”

I began to understand why Flip didn’t want to tell me too much about what happened to Mary. This was very personal and she should be the one to decide what she wants to say. He was protecting her. I respected that.

She continued, “Then he saw a way I could make him more money. He had an idea for a séance racket, and he thought I was just the one to pull it off. I had ‘the look’ he said, whatever that meant. I was so conflicted because spiritualism is condemned in the Bible, but I had no choice. That’s how I rationalized everything with God.”

“At this point I thought I had done something God would not forgive. It was tearing me up inside. Once I decided I couldn’t be forgiven there was no reason not to continue to do what I was doing. Again, I was rationalizing with God.”

“We were making money hands over fist and he put me in charge of the books! I had a bit of an accounting background before he ‘swept me off my feet’ and he put it to use.”

“But why did you finally leave him and why did you come to me?” I asked her. These were questions I had been mulling over in my head since that night. “Donovan’s behavior was getting more and more erratic and I was becoming more afraid,” she answered.

“One night a man came in to see Dan. He had a little unfinished business he wanted to take care of. That unfinished business was… you.”

I hadn’t seen him around before. His name was, um, Rob, Bob, no Bobby. That’s it. Bobby the babbler, uh Bobblehead something.”

I said, “Bobblehead O’Hoolihan?” She said, “Yes, something like that. You know him?”

“Yeah, I know him. Sort of…”

“This Bottleneck came into the office that night and said a private dick named Jeremiah Dalton was the one who fingered him and sent him up the river on a ten-year stretch. He wanted revenge, and he didn’t care if it meant he would spend the rest of his life in the big house. He also said you were a drunk and nobody would miss you if you accidentally “fell” out of the window of your second floor office. I’m sorry, but that’s what he said.”

I was concerned Sister Bertha wouldn’t understand all that slang, but then I remembered she already knew the story.

“Don’t worry about it. There is a lot of truth to what he said. In fact it is probably all true. Before that night I was on the road to ruin.” I also told her, “Yes, I helped to send him away. He was known for running his mouth and never backing it up, that’s how he got the nickname. He dresses like a big shot, with his gold watch chain and pinstripe suit. But he’s just a little man with a big mouth, loud voice, and a pork pie hat. You didn’t need to worry about what he said, but I’m glad you did.”

“I didn’t know all that, but that was the final straw. I had fraud, spiritualism, and all these other crimes and sins on my conscience and I couldn’t bear the thought of being an accessory to murder before the fact. For some reason your name stayed with me, I think it was God. I had to warn you, even if it was the last thing I ever did. Perhaps that would make me right with God. That’s what I was thinking anyway.”

“Poor dear child,” I heard Sister Bertha say from the corner of the room, and she slipped out and closed the door behind her. I had forgotten she was there.

“She’s a wonderful woman,” Mary said. “Yes, she sure is,” I said. I was smiling again at my original misguided perception.

I have another question, if you don’t mind. “Why the empty envelope?”

She started, but then stopped, “It’s been an emotional day and I’m tired, do you mind coming back tomorrow?” I was pretty drained myself. I could use a break. Besides, I didn’t want to miss what was going down later tonight…

“Sure,” I said, “that would be great.”

We stood up and hugged each other again. We said good night, and God bless you to each other. Tomorrow is another day…

Coming August 29th: The Dalton Files: Dan’s Downfall