Now it hid in the church up at Two Meadows, sheltering from the light. At home in the bell tower where no sun could reach it.
It knew what it had to do and knew how to do it. It rested, clutching the medallion to its chest.
It waited for the coming of night.
'You'll do,' said Kirby, tucking away his stethoscope. Lambert pulled his shirt back on and began fastening it.
'What about the rest?' asked the Inspector, tucking the shirt into his trousers.
'They were fine too,' Kirby told him. The two men looked at each other for a moment then the doctor said, 'Back to normal eh, Tom?'
Lambert shrugged, 'I don't think anything will ever be bloody normal after what's happened here these past couple of months.' He ran a hand through his hair, 'I'm just pleased it's all over.'
'Amen to that,' said Debbie, who was sitting in a chair across the room from the couch on which Lambert perched. They were in Kirby's surgery.
'I hear Jenkins' wife had a little girl,' said the doctor, smiling.
Lambert nodded, 'I sent him on leave to be with her. Walford and Hayes are off too. They deserve the rest after what they've been through. The others will get their chance in a couple of weeks.'
'And what about you?' asked Kirby.
'What about me?'
'When do you take your leave?'
Lambert slid down from the couch, 'I don't. There's still work to be done, John. I'm in charge of the force here; it's my job to see that it gets done.'
'Tom, be sensible. After what you've been through, you more than anyone need a couple of days off.'
'We all went through the same. What about Bell, what about Briggs? At least I'm still alive.'
Kirby turned to Debbie. 'Can't you talk some sense into this hard-headed bastard?'
Debbie smiled humourlessly and shook her head, 'I gave up trying to do that a long time ago.'
Lambert extended a hand which Kirby shook warmly. 'Thanks for everything, John,' said the Inspector.
'You can stop here as long as you like, you know,' Kirby told him.
Lambert shook his head.
'You're not going back home, then?'
'Not after what happened there,' Lambert told him. 'I don't think either of us could face it again. There's a little place in Bramton, about twenty miles from here. I don't mind the journey every day. We couldn't stay here after what's happened.'
Kirby nodded. Debbie got to her feet and joined her husband and they walked out to the car with Kirby at their side. He kissed Debbie lightly on the cheek and watched as both of them climbed into the Capri. Lambert rolled the window down and looked up at the doctor.
'I'll be in touch,' he said, and started the engine. The Capri moved off and Kirby watched it disappear out of sight over the hill. He stood for long moments alone on the hillside, until at last the cool breeze drove him back inside. Into the warmth.
'Are you really going back straight away?' said Debbie, studying Lambert's profile as he drove.
'What choice do I have?' he asked.
'Can't you put someone else in charge for a couple of days? Christ, Tom, two days won't hurt will it?' There was a note of exasperation in her voice. He reached across and placed his hand on her thigh.
'We'll see,' he said, smiling.
They drove for a long way in silence, the policeman taking back roads, dirt tracks, anything he could to avoid the hustle and bustle of main roads. When they had reached a particularly secluded spot he stopped the car and got out. Debbie followed him. He walked away from the vehicle, catching her hand and pulling her close to him. They stood on the hilltop, the whole of Medworth and its surrounding countryside spread out before them. The air was fresh, filled with the scent of damp grass and wild flowers which added an occasional clutch of colour in the all encompassing greenery of the fields. Lambert bent and picked a single bloom, sniffing it before he handed it to Debbie. She kissed him, pulling him down on top of her in that damp field. Their hands sought each other's bodies, their tongues eager for the taste of the other's mouth.
There, in that open field, high on the hill side, they made love with a passion they had never before experienced.
High above the sun shone down, its warming rays covering them.
Lambert woke with a start and looked at his watch. He sat up, startled, shivering. Beside him, Debbie stirred and nestled closer to him for warmth. Lambert began to laugh. He laughed until the tears ran down his face. Debbie looked up at him, his own merriment contagious. She too began to laugh.
She realized what he was laughing at. They were naked. Both of them, there on the hillside. They'd fallen asleep after their lovemaking, beneath the comforting warmth of the sun. She checked her own watch.
Four-fifty.
Still giggling, they dressed quickly and retreated to the safety of the car just as spots of rain began to fall from the rapidly darkening sky. They sat there for a moment, both now free of the tension which they had felt for so long.
'Maybe just two days,' said Lambert, smiling.
Debbie leaned across and kissed him.
He started the car and drove off. It wasn't until they reached the centre of Medworth itself that she realized what he was doing. Even after all he had gone through, the memory was still with him. She realized he was heading for the cemetery. To take one last look at his brother's grave. Lambert still bore the sting of guilt, but now, somehow, he had managed to come to terms with it. He had to see Mike's grave once more.
By the time they reached the cemetery, the sun had retreated from the sky, driven away by a combination of gathering storm clouds and the onset of night. Twilight hovered like a hawk in the darkening heavens.
Lambert shut off the engine and looked across at Debbie.
'Stay here.' He smiled, warmly.
But she was already out' of the car, reaching for his hand, their feet crunching on the gravel of the driveway. An icy wind had sprung up and the first large spots of rain were beginning to fall as they left the driveway and walked the pathway which led to Mike's grave.
A silent fork of lightning split the clouds and Debbie jumped. Lambert smiled and hugged her tighter as they walked. They finally reached the grave and stood beneath the big oak tree which hung over it, listening to the rain pelting down. Lambert read his brother's name and felt no pain, just a deep sense of loss. The wound was healing and he knew it. He had at last found the strength to come to terms with his brother's death. It was as if the destruction of the past two months had somehow put it into perspective. What was the phrase…?
Just a drop in the ocean…
They stood for long moments, close to one another, ignoring the rain which dripped onto them. Then finally, Lambert said,
'Come on.'
It was as they turned that they saw the figure emerge from the church.
At first neither moved and it was obvious that the person hurrying across the cemetery had not seen them. The oak hid them from its view. Lambert squinted through the pouring rain to get a glimpse of the figure, which seemed to be dressed in a uniform of some sort. And it was carrying something…