Sister Margaret smiled. ‘And you are a very good baritone, Simon.’
‘I see you have other skills as well,’ Boon said, picking up a large hand-carved wooden ladle from the chest of drawers. ‘This is lovely. Did you make it?’
‘No. My friend made it. She gave it to me as a present.’
‘What was your friend’s name?’ he asked.
‘Mother Adele.’
‘Did she make all these lovely little animals, too?’ Boon asked, pointing to the miniature figures, amongst which were a mouse, a rabbit and an owl.
‘Yes. She’s very good at carving wood,’ Sister Margaret replied.
‘Could I borrow the little owl to show my friend the pieman?’ Boon asked.
‘As long as you bring him back,’ Sister Margaret replied, wagging her finger.
‘I will, and thank you.’ Boon slipped the owl into his pocket, then removed the calendar from the folder and handed it to her.
‘This is for you. There are some pretty flowers in it.’
Margaret looked at the cover picture, then the next. By the fifth one a tear was trickling from her eye. ‘These are the gardens where I used to live.’
‘Did you plant the flowers and look after them?’ he asked.
‘Yes. We all did.’
‘Mother Adele as well?’
‘Yes. She taught me a lot about plants and how to make tea and herbal remedies from them.’
Boon removed the copy of Dorton’s photograph. ‘Is your friend Mother Adele in this picture?’
Margaret scrutinised it, as if she’d never seen it before. ‘That’s her there, on the bench next to me.’ She pointed to Adele Delaney.
‘You never cease to amaze me, Boony,’ Jane said with a smile.
He didn’t acknowledge her, maintaining eye contact with Sister Margaret. ‘Is there anyone else you remember in the picture?’
Sister Margaret scanned it again. Her eyes started to widen, and her nostrils flared. She pursed her lips and her head started to shake angrily.
‘Who is it you recognise, Sister Margaret?’ Jane asked.
‘He’s a bad man. God will punish him for his sins!’ she exclaimed.
Jane and Boon knew she was talking about Meade as he was the only man in the photograph.
‘What was his sin?’ Jane asked, watching Margaret’s face turning red with rage.
There was fury in her eyes. ‘He broke his vow of chastity to Almighty God! He is a fornicator, a sinner who will suffer in purgatory,’ she shouted.
‘Who did he break his vow with, Sister Margaret?’ Jane asked.
She prodded the picture with her finger. ‘With her, with her. May God forgive us our sins.’ Sister Margaret threw the photograph to the floor and broke down in tears.
‘What on earth is going on!’ Mother Lynne exclaimed as she entered the room. She embraced Margaret to calm her.
‘She became upset when we showed her an old group photograph taken at the convent, I’m afraid,’ Jane said.
Mother Lynne glared at Jane and Boon. ‘I’d like you both to leave.’
‘I’m really sorry, Mother Superior. We didn’t intend for this to happen,’ Jane said.
‘Please, just leave.’
Jane and Boon walked in silence to the car, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
Boon spoke first. ‘She was obviously talking about Meade and Missy Bailey.’
Jane nodded. ‘This is a step forward for us, but as evidence in court it’s worthless, due to her state of mind. Did you hear the last thing she said?’ Jane asked.
‘I was distracted by Mother Lynne walking in. I heard something about forgiving sins,’ he replied.
‘She said, “May God forgive us our sins.” It could be she was referring to herself and others.’
Boon removed the owl from his pocket. ‘I wonder if this is made from birch wood like the slivers found on the knife tip and Missy’s habit.’
‘If it is, that makes things even more interesting. Mother Adele clearly knew how to handle a whittling knife. Phone Julie Dorton when we get back. Ask her if she knew anything about Mother Adele being a whittler. At least she’s a reliable witness.’
‘You think Adele Delaney might have killed Missy?’ he asked.
Jane sighed. ‘I don’t know, it’s all so bloody confusing now. You could argue Mother Adele and Meade both had a motive. However, if Meade and Missy were intimate enough to be touching hands in the photo, it begs the question, why would he want to kill her?’
‘Maybe Meade just turned on the charm because he wanted to have sex with her,’ Boon suggested.
Jane found herself thinking about Nick and wondering if he had used her in the same way. Could it be that his surly, offhand attitude was a deliberate ploy to get her to end the relationship now that he’d got what he wanted?
‘If they were in a sexual relationship, it would have to have been away from the convent. Maybe at the presbytery,’ Jane said. ‘Then again, if Missy realised Meade had an ulterior motive, or thought she was being used, she might have threatened to report him to the bishop, which could be a motive for killing her.’
‘I’d say it would be a pretty strong motive,’ Boon agreed. ‘He’d lose everything if the Church threw him out.’
Jane couldn’t stop thinking about Nick and changed the subject. ‘That was good work, getting Margaret to connect with her past. At first I thought you were pulling my leg about the music being from Handel’s Messiah.’
‘My father was a professional musician, so I grew up listening to that kind of music. I’m sorry the conversation with Sister Margaret went a bit pear-shaped at the end.’
‘Don’t be hard on yourself. You’ve got a good way with people. I was getting nowhere with her.’
‘My grandad suffers from dementia. Thankfully, he’s not in a home as my grandmother looks after him. She taught me how to communicate with him. I visit when I can. We do jigsaw puzzles, word games, listen to classical music and look at old photographs to try and stimulate his mind. Sometimes he knows who I am, but more often than not he doesn’t,’ he said sadly.
‘I’m sure he’s very fond of you, Simon, and your company means a lot to him.’
‘I’ve got a confession to make,’ he said with a grin.
‘Spit it out,’ she said.
‘What I said yesterday about mixing business with pleasure was wrong.’
‘What made you say that?’ Jane asked, wondering if he’d overheard her on the phone to Nick.
‘I’m meeting Becky Rogers for a drink after work later. I’ve told her it’s strictly social and I won’t discuss the case with her.’
‘That’s fine by me, but I wouldn’t tell anyone else for now.’
‘We’re also going on a proper night out on Saturday.’
Jane forced a smile. ‘She’s a nice girl... I really hope it works out for the pair of you.’
Chapter Twenty-five
‘How did it go with Meade?’ Jane asked Stanley as she and Boon walked into the incident room.
He waited until she was up close before replying. ‘It’s best we discuss it in Barnes’s office.’
‘I’ll give Julie Dorton a call about whittling, then join you,’ Boon said.
‘What’s whistling got to do with anything?’ Stanley asked with a bemused look.
Jane laughed. ‘Whittling, as in carving wooden animals. It might be integral to the investigation.’
‘You’ve totally lost me,’ Stanley said.
‘I’ll explain why after you’ve told me about Meade.’
‘Do you want a coffee?’ Stanley asked.
‘That would be nice,’ Boon replied.
‘Then get us a coffee when you’ve finished your phone call,’ Stanley said, handing him a pound note.