Father Malachi Brennan had spent the early half of the morning in the sacristy, after having nabbed all of the melted-down candles from the altars. He'd replaced those, but kept the bits of melted wax in a little covered basket.

Something or other was on his mind, distracting enough to draw him into an organizational frenzy.

So he cleaned the sacristy. Mister Tully was usually around to clean these days, sure, but today it all felt wrong. Out of place. He took everything out of their designated spots and cleaned them, moved them, and then moved them back when he changed his mind.

The sound of the front door being opened and closed was what it took to pull his attention away from his unnecessary task.

Malachi dusted off his cassock at the knees, redid the few buttons near the top that he'd undone, and took a breath before he stepped out of the sacristy. And... almost immediately upon seeing his guest, his brows furrowed. He stepped farther into the light, towards the center aisle of the church.

"Hello," greeted Malachi, "is there something I can help you with?"