‘I can help you with the planning documents.’
She smiled. ‘There’s no way we’d get any work done sitting in the same room together.’
‘I promise I’ll behave,’ he said.
‘It’s not you I’m worried about,’ she said with a grin.
‘OK,’ he sighed, ‘I give in. Can I see you tomorrow?’
‘Of course. I should be finished by five.’
‘I’ll do some design drawings tomorrow to give you some idea of what you could do downstairs, then bring them round in the evening.’
‘I’ll cook a meal for us then. But I have to warn you, I’m no Delia Smith.’
‘That’s OK,’ he said with a grin. ‘I see you more as the Fanny Cradock type, anyway.’
‘In that case you can be Johnnie, and I’ll boss you around,’ Jane quickly retorted, making Nick laugh.
‘Do you like soup?’ she asked, deciding she’d have a go at Father Chris’s widow’s soup recipe.
‘What’s in it?’
‘If I told you, it would spoil the surprise.’
Nick followed Jane into the house to get his drawing book. They kissed briefly and he walked back to his car. Standing at the front door, Jane saw Gerry walking around Nick’s Jaguar and looking inside. She watched as the two men had a brief conversation and then Gerry got in the passenger seat.
Nick waved. ‘I’m going to take your neighbour for a quick spin. See you tomorrow.’
Jane waved back as they drove off. After spending time in Nick’s company and then making love with him, everything felt natural and easy between them. She knew she had strong feelings for him, which he had reciprocated. ‘Could he finally be Mr Right?’ she asked herself.
Jane put her house keys in the bowl next to the hallway telephone, then noticed the notepad with Jack the mortuary technician’s phone number on it. She was in two minds about calling Jack but decided it might be better to do it now, as he would probably be busy on Monday morning. She dialled the number and he answered.
‘Hi, Jack. It’s DS Tennison here. I was told you wanted to speak to me about another priest visiting the nun.’
‘Oh yes, thanks for calling me back, sergeant. It may be something and nothing, but it was quite distressing at the time, so I thought I should let you know about it. Anyway, yesterday morning I was doing a suicide post-mortem with Professor Martin. Poor chap jumped off his balcony on the tenth floor of a tower block. He was quite a mess, I can tell you—’
Jane interrupted, sensing it was going to be a long-winded account. ‘DC Lyons mentioned the bishop had sent another priest down to say a prayer for the nun. In fairness, the bishop didn’t know Father Floridia had already done it, so there’s actually nothing to worry about.’
‘I wasn’t worried, sergeant. But I thought the priest’s behaviour was a bit bizarre when he was alone with the nun’s body in the chapel of rest. It was very different to the way Father Floridia behaved.’
‘I guess they all have different ways of praying,’ Jane said, losing interest.
‘I’ve seen many priests and vicars say a prayer for the dead at the mortuary,’ Jack continued, ‘but this was the first time I saw one get down on his knees and cry.’
Jane was suddenly interested again, and wanted more detail. ‘And you actually witnessed this?’
‘He didn’t know I was watching. I forgot to close the curtain on the door window. The priest had his back to me.’
Jane picked up the pen and notepad from the phone table. ‘Tell me exactly what happened.’
‘What, from the moment he came in... or just what he did in the chapel?’
‘From the start would be good, but go slowly. I need to write it all down.’
Jack said that he was in the mortuary when he heard the door buzzer. He asked who it was over the intercom and a man said he was a priest, who’d been sent by the diocesan bishop to view the body of the nun found on a building site.
‘I went to the door and saw a man dressed like Father Floridia, but with a purple shirt.’
‘Did he say his name?’
‘No. I had no reason to doubt he was a priest and didn’t ask. He sat in the waiting room while I prepared the body. When I returned, he asked if I knew how she’d died. I told him I didn’t, and her death was still under investigation. He also asked if he could see the coffin as he’d need to arrange for a similar one to be provided for her reburial.’
‘Did you show it to him?’
‘Yes. Shouldn’t I have done?’
‘How did he react when he saw it?’
‘He didn’t say anything, but he looked shocked, then I took him to the chapel of rest to pray for her.’
‘Tell me exactly what he did, Jack.’
‘He stood by her, laid his hand on her chest, then shook his head from side to side. Suddenly, he fell to his knees and put his head in his hands. It seemed to me he was in a very distressed state. I felt a bit awkward watching him, so I moved away and waited for him to come out, which was about three or four minutes later.’
‘So, you never actually saw him crying?’
‘It was pretty clear he had been from the state of his eyes. He asked me where the toilet was. I showed him and when he came out, he’d obviously washed his face and composed himself.’
‘Did he say anything?’
‘No. He just left the building and got in a car.’
‘What sort of car was it?’
‘It was a black Ford Granada. Someone else was driving and he got in the back.’
Jane could understand Bishop Meade sending someone to the mortuary, but clearly what Jack had witnessed was most odd. Then something very worrying struck her, and she knew the questions she asked Jack mustn’t be leading ones.
‘Did the priest wear any jewellery?’ Jane asked.
‘He had a large gold cross hanging from his neck.’
‘Anything on his hands?’
Jack thought about it. ‘Yes, he wore a gold ring with a large round purple stone.’
Jane felt her pulse quickening. ‘Can you remember which hand and which finger it was on?’
‘His right hand, but not which finger. Sorry.’
‘Take your time and describe the man to me, please.’
‘He was about five feet six, in his fifties, with a round face, black hair and slightly balding.’ He paused. ‘Can I ask why you need to know all these details?’
‘I can’t tell you at the moment, Jack. I’m really grateful for everything you’ve told me, and I’d ask that you keep it between us for now.’
‘My lips are sealed, sergeant.’
Jane’s heart was racing as she put the phone down. The man who’d been at the mortuary seemed very different from the serene and confident man she had met two days ago, but she was now certain it was Bishop Meade.
Chapter Eighteen
Jane had a restless night thinking about Bishop Meade, Thomas Durham and Lee Holland. She woke at six and couldn’t get back to sleep, so she decided to have a shower and go to work.
Sitting in a peaceful, empty office, with a sausage sandwich and cup of tea for breakfast, she started reading through the convent planning documents.
Jane came across something of interest and immediately phoned Nick. He sounded groggy.
‘You not out of bed yet?’ she asked.
‘I was just about to get up.’
‘Pull the other one.’
‘What are you doing up so early?’ he asked, yawning.
‘Working!’ she said. ‘I’ve just found a solicitor’s document which says the convent chapel and grounds were deconsecrated by the diocese in 1964, which was just after the nuns moved out and prior to the purchase of the land by your father. I’ll have to run it by my DCS first, but hopefully you might be able start digging again.’