Confession at Maddleskirk Abbey by Nicholas Rhea Page A

re-examination of the evidence with an updated forensic input, that the prosecution’s case was flawed. The prosecution alleged he had stabbed the girls to death whilst he was supposed to be looking after them. Their real father – turned informer – had been killed in a staged road traffic accident some years earlier. It is now known that the accident was set up to kill him. Their widowed mum was struggling to earn a living whilst looking after them and eventually shacked up with another man. According to the evidence at the trial, our monk was a friend and neighbour of the family. He helped to look after the house and children when the mother and her man-friend, the stepfather, were out.’
    ‘That seems suspiciously like the actions of a paedophile.’
    ‘There was no evidence of that, but it was the prosecution’s case that the friendly neighbour – now Father John – cracked and for reasons that have never been explained, slaughtered both girls. Stabbed them umpteen times. Their stepfather was a key witness. That’s the basis of this story.’
    ‘So Father John was tried, found guilty and sentenced to life?’
    ‘Yes, two sentences of life imprisonment, running concurrently. In prison, he persistently refused to admit his guilt and so he was not granted parole – but even if he had been granted parole, his record would have followed him.’
    ‘That can happen, sir. Word has a habit of getting out …’
    ‘Or being let out by someone with a motive of some kind! Anyway, once back in the wicked world outside prison, our supposed killer would have suffered in all kinds of ways. As we know, his past would have been made known by those with a big axe to grind, i.e., the girls’ surviving relatives. Anyway, to everyone’s surprise the convicted killer suddenly admitted hisguilt and, after a lot of discussion among those responsible for such things, he was granted parole. It means he is now out on licence with constant checking of his movements and supervision of his mode of living. And to protect him, he has been given a false identity with all the necessary documentation along with a realistic back story. I should tell you that I learned of this only since arriving here. I can’t promise I’ve digested its full import yet. However, I can say it has altered almost everything so far as our investigation is concerned. We now need to re-think our approach in the hope that we’ll catch a big fish.’
    ‘There’s more to come, isn’t there? I can sense it.’
    ‘You’re right. There is. Remember I said the name of that missing monk meant something to me? I’d come across it in the course of my work – the force is notified of all such ex-prisoners who live in our patch under new identities.’
    ‘I knew that.’
    ‘Well, our monk is such a man, Brian. Father John Attwood is that child killer who’s now out on parole but as you know, he will always be supervised.’
    ‘Freed killers are never really free.’
    ‘They’re always subjected to the conditions of their licence. His real name is John Jacobson.’
    ‘With a long criminal record?’
    ‘No. He has no convictions for any other crimes and has never been suspected, not even for paedophilia. Apart from that double murder, his record is squeaky clean, Brian. And he has always protested his innocence; he insists he did not kill those little girls. Now, after all this time, there is doubt about his conviction.’
    ‘But he admitted the crimes to get himself released on licence!’
    ‘With such a high-profile murder on his record, that is the only way he would have been granted parole. It is widely thought he admitted his guilt simply to get out of prison. He intends to establish his innocence but couldn’t do so whilst inside.’
    ‘Can I ask if you believe he’s innocent?’
    ‘I have no idea, Brian. I’ve not had chance to study the case in depth, or even read the newspaper reports. With the aid of the internet, we can find out