He perked up a bit. ‘I guess so. I’ll try calling her again after the meeting.’
Jane told him about the foxglove seeds.
‘Bloody hell. As if strangling and stabbing Melissa wasn’t enough. The foxglove stinks of Mother Adele’s handiwork.’
‘Not necessarily. She might have warned others about the danger of handling or digesting the plants, thus innocently passing on her knowledge — possibly even to Meade, who was a regular visitor to the convent.’
‘Fair point,’ Boon said.
‘I spoke with Melissa’s father in Canada last night,’ Jane said. She told Boon about her conversation with Lawrence Bailey.
‘So, Meade also lied to him about knowing Melissa. The evidence against him is definitely mounting.’
‘Interestingly Malone’s name came up again last night,’ Jane said. ‘Meade told Mr Bailey that Bishop Malone signed a dispensation and the Church couldn’t help him find Melissa because she’d renounced her faith. If Malone was involved in a cover-up about her disappearance it has to be because he knew what happened or was directly involved — plus it would take at least two people to move the coffin.’
‘The pieces of the jigsaw are falling into place,’ Boon smiled.
‘Hopefully. I got a confirmed ID the body is Melissa.’ Jane showed Boon the dental match report.
‘That’s good news, sarge. I’m glad you found the Baileys. You’ll have brought them some closure.’
‘We found them, Boony. We brought them that closure. This is a team effort. You’ve played a big part in this investigation and raised some interesting points others didn’t think of. You are going to make a good detective. I’m looking forward to doing your annual report.’
Boon looked scared. ‘Now I’m worried,’ he said.
‘Is Stanley or Barnes in yet?’ Jane asked.
‘Barnes isn’t. Stanley’s in his office reading a copy of our report. He said he doesn’t want to be disturbed. I think Stanley’s worried Barnes might be taken off the case.’
‘Between you and me, he’s only got himself to blame if he is. He let his emotions get the better of him when he interviewed Meade. Then the way he spoke to Archbishop Malone was naïve for a man of his experience.’
It was nine on the dot when a dour-faced Barnes walked into the incident room, followed by Stanley, also looking downcast.
‘This doesn’t look good,’ Boon whispered to Jane.
Barnes cleared his throat. ‘Good morning, everyone. I’ll keep this brief and to the point. I am to be relieved of my command later this morning and moved to a desk job at the Yard. DCS Salmon, a devout Catholic, will be taking over. In the meantime, complete your reports for a two o’clock meeting with my replacement. I’d like to thank you all for your hard work and support during my brief time on this investigation... especially Stanley, Tennison and Boon.’
His announcement was greeted by a stunned silence. Then one of the detectives said, ‘Why have you been replaced, guv?’
‘It would seem my remarks to the press on Monday about the Catholic Church and cover-ups did not go down well with the commissioner, or the current archbishop of the diocese, Andrew Malone. That said, I am certain, if you carry on with the same determination and enthusiasm, you will as a team solve the murder of Sister Melissa Bailey.’
Barnes left the room. While the rest of the officers started talking animatedly amongst themselves, Stanley told Jane and Boon that Barnes wanted to speak with them in his office.
‘Can I make a quick phone call, guv?’ Boon asked Stanley.
‘Is it important?’
‘Yes, very. It’s connected to the investigation.’
‘Go on then, but don’t be long. Barnes is in a bad enough mood as it is.’
Boon waited until Stanley had left the room, then phoned the News Shopper office, asking to speak to Becky Rogers.
Stanley told Barnes that Boon would be a couple of minutes, and Jane went to get some coffees while they waited for him.
When Boon finally walked in, she thought he looked anxious.
‘You all right?’ she whispered, handing him a coffee.
‘Becky still isn’t at work. I’m a bit worried about her. I’ll tell you why later.’
They were interrupted by Barnes. ‘Is there something you two would like to share with me and Stanley?’
‘No, sir,’ they replied in unison.
‘Just so you both know, the commissioner told me not to go near Meade or Malone without his approval. He’s meeting Malone at the Yard at ten. He said he’d assess the situation and decide what was to happen after their meeting.’
‘So you might still be running the investigation, sir?’ Boon asked hopefully.
‘Afraid not, son. I’m history.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m not particularly bothered. I’ve done my thirty years, so I can retire if I want on a full pension. Did you contact the Kingston police, Tennison?’
Jane nodded, then told Barnes about locating the Baileys, her conversation with Lawrence Bailey and the dental records matching Melissa.
‘Fucking Malone is involved up to his neck. He knows Meade murdered Melissa and now we can’t speak to either of them!’
‘Things might change once the commissioner is aware of all the evidence,’ Stanley said.
‘And pigs might fly,’ Barnes retorted. ‘Stanley updated me about your visit to Sister Margaret. Although I despise the woman for what she did to those poor children, it’s bad news she has dementia. That said, her reaction to seeing the photo of Meade and pointing out Melissa can be used against him as evidence.’
‘She wouldn’t be a credible witness,’ Jane said.
‘You two would be. You witnessed her reaction; you saw her point at Sister Melissa.’
‘We couldn’t actually see who she was pointing to,’ Boon said.
‘Come on, it’s bloody obvious, so what’s the harm in saying it was her?’ Barnes shot back.
Jane knew what Barnes was suggesting, but she wasn’t going to lie in court. She handed him the close-ups of Meade and Sister Melissa touching hands. ‘This is stronger evidence they were in a relationship, which proves he’s lied to us and implicates him in her murder.’
Barnes looked at the photos as Jane continued.
‘There’s something else that’s come up which suggests Mother Adele may have been involved.’ Jane then explained about the foxglove seeds in Melissa’s stomach.
‘All very interesting, but as Mother Adele is dead, not much use.’
‘It’s also possible Meade knew foxglove plants contained a poison,’ Jane suggested.
‘Would the amount of foxglove in her stomach have killed her?’ Barnes asked.
Jane shrugged. ‘I don’t know, but it’s clear it didn’t, since she was stabbed to death.’
Stanley picked up on Jane’s remark. ‘Then it is possible Mother Adele was angry with Melissa and slipped some foxglove in her food to kill her but for some reason it didn’t work. Then later that night, Melissa met secretly with Meade in the crypt where he killed her because she posed a threat to his career.’
‘It still leaves the question of who moved the coffin outside and when,’ Boon said.
‘It could have been Meade and Malone,’ Stanley suggested.
‘God, how I’d love to arrest that bastard Meade! I know I could force the truth out of him and get the evidence we need against Malone as well,’ Barnes said.
Although Jane knew Barnes was fixated on Meade and Malone, she decided it was time to raise her concerns about Thomas Durham and Lee Holland.
‘There’s something else that’s come up in the course of the investigation that I need to ask you about. Thomas Durham and Lee Holland are hiding something, but I don’t know what it is or why.’ She was interrupted by a knock on the door.