Evi gave herself a moment to take that in. ‘Four little girls,’ she said. ‘Who would do such a thing?’
‘They’re dropped from the gallery and then their bodies are stored in the crypt. If Millie had fallen that night, if we hadn’t found her in time, she’d have been taken down there as well. That was probably the plan for Lucy, too, but Jenny found her very quickly.’
Evi felt a tickling sensation between her shoulder blades. She clutched both her upper arms to stop the shiver breaking out. ‘That’s quite a leap you’ve just made there, Vicar,’ she said.
‘You were a good Catholic girl once. Ever heard of the Incorruptibles?’
Evi thought for a second then shook her head. ‘Can’t say I have.’
‘I thought of it in the post-mortem, earlier. When I saw Megan and Hayley. Their bodies had been preserved. Hardly any decomposition at all.’
‘I’m listening.’
‘It’s a Catholic and Orthodox Christian belief that certain human bodies, typically those of very pious people, don’t decompose after death,’ said Harry. ‘Something supernatural, the work of the Holy Spirit, keeps them perfect. They become known as Incorruptible.’
‘Incorruptible in soul and in body?’ asked Evi.
He nodded. ‘It’s one of the signs that indicate a candidate for canonization,’ he went on. ‘I can give you countless examples. St Bernadette of Lourdes, Saint Pio, Saint Virginia Centurione, any number of popes.’
‘But from what you told me, mummification, which is basically what we’re talking about, occurs naturally.’
Harry gave a soft laugh. ‘Of course it does,’ he said. ‘I’m not trying to claim the work of the Holy Spirit in this case, far from it. It just got me thinking.’ He turned to face her. His eyes were bloodshot and there were lines on his forehead she hadn’t noticed before. ‘You see, if you’re not taking the supernatural route,’ he continued, ‘you can argue that one of the reasons why so many members of the clergy, relatively speaking, have so-called incorruptible bodies is that their remains were stored in the places most likely to produce mummification – cold, dry church crypts with airtight stone coffins. Like the one almost directly below us.’
Evi couldn’t stop herself glancing down. ‘You’ve told Rushton this?’ she asked.
‘Yep. He’s sceptical at the moment, because the crypt was thoroughly searched in the days after Megan disappeared. But he’s going to have to go down there again now. If they look carefully enough, they’ll find traces.’
‘He’s going to want you on the force,’ said Evi, trying for a smile.
Harry was still looking at her. ‘I find him uncomfortably tactile,’ he said. ‘Always touching me on the shoulder or the arm. Do you think he fancies me?’
Evi gave a little shrug. ‘Can’t think of any reason why he wouldn’t,’ she said.
‘Good answer. Are you busy tonight?’
She made herself turn her face away. ‘No,’ she said slowly. ‘But…’
‘Why is there always a but?’ said Harry.
Evi turned back. ‘I can’t stop seeing Gillian right now,’ she said. ‘The timing is all wrong. And it doesn’t take a genius to see she’s nuts about you.’
‘And that’s my fault?’ He’d taken hold of her hand, was tugging at the glove. She could feel his fingers on her wrist. She tried to pull away, he held firm.
‘Maybe not,’ she said. ‘But whether it is or isn’t your fault, it’s still your problem. Cheer up, there’s probably a guideline you can refer to. Women have been falling for the curate for centuries.’ The glove was being peeled off her fingers. She caught her breath.
‘Never the right ones,’ he said, his hand closing around hers. ‘And what do you mean, maybe not?’
‘You have a great deal of charm, Vicar. I can’t believe you save it all for me.’
‘Well, that’s where you’re wrong. You – and Detective Chief Superintendent Rushton, of course.’ His index finger had slipped inside the sleeve of her jacket. ‘You have such soft skin,’ he muttered.
‘If that child they found last night does turn out to be Hayley,’ said Evi, taking hold of his hand and pulling it firmly away from hers, ‘I can’t begin to predict how Gillian will react. I can’t stop seeing her, not even…’
She stopped. It didn’t really need saying.
‘If the child they found last night does turn out to be Hayley,’ said Harry, leaning back on the bench again, ‘I’m going to have to bury her.’
60
9 November
‘YOU WERE RIGHT, REVEREND. THEY WERE KEPT IN THE crypt. In the third tomb along from the front. We found traces of hair and blood, from both of them. Other bodily fluids as well. Even a button.’
‘God rest their souls,’ replied Harry.
‘Quite.’ Rushton’s voice down the phone was unusually subdued. ‘Of course, we searched that tomb back when we were looking for Megan and it was empty then,’ he went on. ‘So she was obviously kept somewhere, possibly even in the killer’s own house, while we were searching, then moved after all the fuss died down.’
Harry looked at the clock. Six o’clock in the evening. Was there any point calling Evi? It was four days since she’d even bothered answering the phone.
‘We also found traces of blood in the main part of the church,’ continued Rushton. ‘What do you call it, the nave?’
Harry muttered something.
‘From just underneath the gallery. The stones had been washed clean but we dug some of the mortar out from in between them,’ Rushton was saying. ‘We managed to match it to both girls.’
‘And they’ve been confirmed as Megan and Hayley?’
Rushton sighed. ‘Aye. We got the results of the DNA tests a couple of days ago. Not that any of us really had any doubts. We’re still waiting to hear about the remains in the urn that was given to Gillian Royle. God help us if that’s another missing child.’
‘Quite,’ said Harry. ‘Any suspects?’
‘Several leads we’re following,’ replied Rushton.
Harry waited. ‘What about the effigy I found beneath the gallery?’ he asked when he realized Rushton was going nowhere further.
‘We’ve spoken to the family who made it,’ admitted the detective. ‘They say they went to find it on the night of the bonfire and couldn’t. Claim to have no idea how it could have got into the church. There are a couple of prints that don’t match anyone in the family so they could well be telling the truth. The sweater was Millie Fletcher’s, though, her mother identified it.’
‘Then how?’
‘Stolen from the washing line is our best guess. Wouldn’t have been difficult, that garden’s very accessible. I’ve increased police presence in the town for the next few weeks, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the house.’ He gave another deep sigh. ‘We’re talking to young Tom Fletcher and his psychiatrist about this little girl that seems to have been hanging around,’ he said. ‘We need to track her down.’
‘She must live in the town,’ said Harry. ‘It can’t be that hard.’ Rushton had been talking to Evi. Everyone got to see her but him.
‘Trouble is, young Tom’s imagination is on the powerful end of the spectrum. He talks about this girl as if she’s barely human. We can hardly do a house-to-house search for a monster in human form.’
‘Guess not.’
‘And we’ve identified the source of the footprint found in their garden that night. A wellington, as we thought, size eight, rubber soled, made in France. Unfortunately, several thousand pairs are imported every year and there are more than a dozen suppliers in the north-west alone. It’s going to take some time.’
As soon as he’d hung up, Harry tried to call Evi. He got her answer machine and left a message. Then he walked through his quiet house, opened the back door and went out into the garden. On a damp, moss-covered bench beneath a bare magnolia tree he sat down and tried to pray.