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Valerie and the others followed, and as the building became clearer in the twilight, she saw that it was impressively decorative. The trees surrounding it were tall and spindly, casting long shadows across the ground. Valerie felt like they had walked straight into a Henry James ghost story.
They rounded the corner and saw an old priest standing before them. His face was covered in wrinkles, and his hair was thinning. He wore a black gown that hung loosely from his shoulders.
"Father Bryant," Sheriff Carter said with respect as he approached the priest.
"Thank you for coming." The old man looked at each of them with sorrowful eyes and shook his head in grief.
"I'm very sorry for your loss," Valerie said quietly.
Father Bryant let out a sigh and shook his head in disbelief. "Who would do such a thing?" he said sadly.
"That's what we're here to find out, Father," Charlie said.
"Father O'Hara was a lovely man," the old man said mournfully.
"Father," Will asked, "where is the body?"
"This way."
The old priest led them into a small chapel where candles flickered on the altar and incense filled the air with its sweet smell. He kneeled in prayer before getting up again and then moved to a room where they saw the body of a young priest lying motionless on a bed.
Valerie's heart sank. Not just at the death, but at something she noticed immediately. She walked up to the bed.
"There's wet mud on the sheets?" she asked.
"Yes, that's right," the old priest answered.
Valerie looked at Charlie and sighed.
"Hold on," Charlie said, his voice gruff. "Father, did someone move the body here?"
"Yes," the man replied.
"Oh, I wish you hadn't done that," Valerie said, trying not to show her displeasure too much.
"Wherever he was found," Sheriff Carter explained, "was a crime scene. Moving the body might remove evidence."
"He was hanging from a tree!" the old man said. "I wasn't going to leave the poor man there. I and some of the students cut him down and laid his body here. He deserves dignity."
"Christ," Charlie grumbled.
"Do not blaspheme in here of all places!" Father Bryant boomed, his voice taking on a character younger than his years.
"He didn't mean it," Sheriff Carter said, intervening.
"What's done is done," Will now offered. "We only have today."
Valerie knew this was a double meaning. Regretting the moving of the body wouldn't solve anything, and Heinlein was due to call and ask for an update by the end of the day. If they didn't have enough on the killer by then, he would shut them down and replace them with other investigators.
Valerie put on latex gloves and examined the body. She saw the rope marks around the priest's neck, indicating that he had been strangled. The mud on his clothes showed that there had been a struggle, and his hands were bruised, suggesting he had tried to fight off his attacker.
Charlie stepped forward and pulled back the priest's collar. "Look," he said.
Valerie's stomach clenched. There was a large lump protruding from the side of the dead man's neck.
"He must have broken his neck when he was hanged from the tree," Valerie thought out loud.
"I'm not so sure," Will now said, breaking his thoughtful silence. He stepped forward, putting on some forensic gloves and then touched the protuberance from the man's neck.
