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‘Did she attend services?’ she asked Father George.
‘Goodness no,’ he said. ‘She came to the graveyard once or twice a week, walking the dog.’
Kim was unsure why a note of tolerance had crept into his voice, as though this was an activity he allowed her. If the place was open, where was the harm?
‘And you saw her on your way in to ring the bells?’ she asked Terence.
He nodded. ‘Yes, she was here doing her thing.’
‘What’s her thing?’ Kim asked.
‘She walks around touching the graves. She stands there with her eyes closed just feeling the stones.’
Disapproval flitted over Father George’s features but he said nothing.
‘So you went to check on her when you’d finished?’
‘Yes, I’ve had to walk her out a couple of times before. I’m a key holder. I lock up. I don’t even know why I went that far out. I just had this feeling, so I kept walking and that’s when I found…’ He stopped speaking as the images returned full force, and his gaze once again went to the ground.
‘Did you see or hear anything else at all?’ Kim asked.
‘Nothing. I just cried out then called emergency services straight away. I didn’t touch her. I knew she was dead. I stayed with her until they came.’ He raised his gaze again and his eyes were watery. ‘Is that okay?’
‘You did everything right, Terence,’ she said. ‘There was nothing you could have done to help her.’
A sob escaped from his lips. He’d had enough for one night.
‘Go home,’ she advised gently. ‘Someone will be along to take a statement but thank you for checking on her. Finding her so early gives us the best possible chance of finding whoever did this.’
‘I’ll walk him to the car,’ Father George said, guiding him away.
As she watched, she spied Inspector Plant getting into a squad car. She was pleased to see he was holding the lead of an excitable Labrador.
She took a last look around before heading back towards her bike. She glanced up at the bell tower, realising that the bells had been ringing above while Sandra Deakin had been fighting for her life.
THREE
‘Hope you all had a good weekend,’ Kim said, once her team was assembled. A group text message last night had instructed them to attend a briefing at 7a.m. No further explanation had been necessary. They all knew what it meant.
‘Felt like a mini holiday,’ Stacey said.
Kim understood. Rarely did they have a weekend where no catching up on paperwork was required.
‘Getting a bit bored to be honest, guv,’ Bryant said. ‘Jenny sent me out to the pub and told me not to rush home.’
‘Yeah, that’s just cos she doesn’t like you very much,’ Kim said.
‘Fair point,’ he conceded, safe in the knowledge he had one of the strongest marriages she’d ever seen.
They all looked to Penn.
‘Lynne was working so I caught up on the housework.’
There was a second of silence before they all burst out laughing.
He shrugged as though he hadn’t been able to think of anything better to do.
‘Penn, I swear, if I wasn’t gay and married, I’d snap you up tomorrow,’ Stacey said.
