He spat the words at her and Alex recoiled slightly.
What the
99
hell was the matter with him? Why did he get so defensive every time that missing girl’s name was mentioned?
“Yes.” She kept her own voice cool. “Of course I have.”
“Look, I’m sure you two can manage to lock this place up by yourselves. I’ll walk down to the doctor’s and let him know what we’ve done. He may need to come and see the body or something.” He was calmer, but Paul still couldn’t meet Alex’s gaze. “I’ll meet you back at The Rock.” Nodding to Simon, he scurried back up the aisle and out into the rain.
Simon raised an eyebrow at Alex and she shrugged in return. It seemed that his friend had noticed Paul’s strange behavior too.
“So, where do you think we’ll find the keys?” Simon was obviously polite enough not to want to talk about Paul, and Alex liked that. “I checked his pockets outside, but they were empty.”
Alex nodded past the choir seats. “He’s got a small office out at the back past the vestry.” It didn’t seem like that long ago that she and Ian had sat in there and chatted with the vicar over their plans for the wedding. Bitterness tugged at her heart. Who was she kidding? It was four years and a lifetime ago. So much for “till death us do part.” It turned out that her beloved didn’t want to hang around for that bit. Sniffing, she pulled herself up tall. Screw him. Those days were gone. Long gone.
She led the way, warning Simon to duck through the low doorway as they found the vicar’s office. After the cool emptiness of the church, the cluttered room seemed cozy and warm.
100
“There they are.” Alex pointed to the large bunch of keys sitting on the desk.
Picking them up, Simon paused. “Hey, come and look at this.”
“What?”
“Look at the stuff on his desk.”
Coming alongside him, Alex stared. A pad of paper was open with various notes written on it. At the top was the coming Sunday’s date, and the bland scribblings on the sheet were obviously the beginnings of his sermon. The pen was placed on the sheet, cap still off, not neatly stacked with all the other pens in the tray, as if he’d been disturbed by something. Her eyes flicked across. Next to the pad was an open packet of bourbon cookies, and next to that was a mug, half full of cold tea.
Alex looked back up at Simon. “Well, I’m no policeman, but this hardly looks like the desk of a man about to commit suicide.”
Simon nodded. “I agree. Even the way the keys were on the desk. It looks like he came in here to do some work, and then something disturbed him. I don’t think he killed himself at all.”
Staring once again at all the evidence in front of her, Alex couldn’t help but agree. With what she knew about the reverend, she hadn’t really believed that he’d commit suicide anyway, but now, after seeing his office, she was doubly sure. But it did leave an uneasy feeling in her gut. “If he didn’t kill himself, then what the hell happened to him?”
Sighing, Simon perched on the edge of the desk. “Well, that’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?” He paused. “This whole thing seems really odd to me.”
“How do you mean?” Alex pulled out the desk chair 101
and sat down, letting her grateful limbs rest. Tiredness had become a way of life, but the stress of the past day on top of it was taking its toll.
“Well, for a start, this Melanie Parr business. Don’t you think it’s odd that you didn’t know anything about it?”
She shrugged. “She went missing before I was born.”
“That doesn’t matter. I would have thought that this was a pretty sleepy village, and something like that would have been talked about for years, wouldn’t it? It just seems weird to me that no one even mentioned it to you.”
“The country can be like that, Simon. Strange things happen out here. People are different than in the city. Out here we just get on with it, if you know what I
What the
99
hell was the matter with him? Why did he get so defensive every time that missing girl’s name was mentioned?
“Yes.” She kept her own voice cool. “Of course I have.”
“Look, I’m sure you two can manage to lock this place up by yourselves. I’ll walk down to the doctor’s and let him know what we’ve done. He may need to come and see the body or something.” He was calmer, but Paul still couldn’t meet Alex’s gaze. “I’ll meet you back at The Rock.” Nodding to Simon, he scurried back up the aisle and out into the rain.
Simon raised an eyebrow at Alex and she shrugged in return. It seemed that his friend had noticed Paul’s strange behavior too.
“So, where do you think we’ll find the keys?” Simon was obviously polite enough not to want to talk about Paul, and Alex liked that. “I checked his pockets outside, but they were empty.”
Alex nodded past the choir seats. “He’s got a small office out at the back past the vestry.” It didn’t seem like that long ago that she and Ian had sat in there and chatted with the vicar over their plans for the wedding. Bitterness tugged at her heart. Who was she kidding? It was four years and a lifetime ago. So much for “till death us do part.” It turned out that her beloved didn’t want to hang around for that bit. Sniffing, she pulled herself up tall. Screw him. Those days were gone. Long gone.
She led the way, warning Simon to duck through the low doorway as they found the vicar’s office. After the cool emptiness of the church, the cluttered room seemed cozy and warm.
100
“There they are.” Alex pointed to the large bunch of keys sitting on the desk.
Picking them up, Simon paused. “Hey, come and look at this.”
“What?”
“Look at the stuff on his desk.”
Coming alongside him, Alex stared. A pad of paper was open with various notes written on it. At the top was the coming Sunday’s date, and the bland scribblings on the sheet were obviously the beginnings of his sermon. The pen was placed on the sheet, cap still off, not neatly stacked with all the other pens in the tray, as if he’d been disturbed by something. Her eyes flicked across. Next to the pad was an open packet of bourbon cookies, and next to that was a mug, half full of cold tea.
Alex looked back up at Simon. “Well, I’m no policeman, but this hardly looks like the desk of a man about to commit suicide.”
Simon nodded. “I agree. Even the way the keys were on the desk. It looks like he came in here to do some work, and then something disturbed him. I don’t think he killed himself at all.”
Staring once again at all the evidence in front of her, Alex couldn’t help but agree. With what she knew about the reverend, she hadn’t really believed that he’d commit suicide anyway, but now, after seeing his office, she was doubly sure. But it did leave an uneasy feeling in her gut. “If he didn’t kill himself, then what the hell happened to him?”
Sighing, Simon perched on the edge of the desk. “Well, that’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?” He paused. “This whole thing seems really odd to me.”
“How do you mean?” Alex pulled out the desk chair 101
and sat down, letting her grateful limbs rest. Tiredness had become a way of life, but the stress of the past day on top of it was taking its toll.
“Well, for a start, this Melanie Parr business. Don’t you think it’s odd that you didn’t know anything about it?”
She shrugged. “She went missing before I was born.”
“That doesn’t matter. I would have thought that this was a pretty sleepy village, and something like that would have been talked about for years, wouldn’t it? It just seems weird to me that no one even mentioned it to you.”
“The country can be like that, Simon. Strange things happen out here. People are different than in the city. Out here we just get on with it, if you know what I
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