A VOW OF ADORATION an utterly gripping crime mystery by VERONICA BLACK

Author:VERONICA BLACK [BLACK, VERONICA]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books crime and suspense mystery
Published: 2021-05-16T05:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

Slowing and stopping as she reached the schoolhouse, she was gripped by mixed emotions when she saw Caroline standing, peering nervously out of the open door. After a couple of days of not seeing her she was struck afresh by the other’s tense, miserable look, hands clutching the baggy brown sweater, hair pulled back into a lank ponytail. One couldn’t help feeling pity for the girl and wanting to help her, but at the same time one couldn’t help wondering what made her so spineless. In Caroline’s place Sister Joan would’ve marched boldly up to Michael Peter’s front door and demanded to know the whereabouts of her sister.

‘I was afraid you might have forgotten me,’ Caroline said, opening the door wider and standing aside.

‘I thought it might do you some good to rest up for a little while‚’ Sister Joan said, ‘and anyway I’ve been busy.’

‘Have you found Crystal?’ A trace of eagerness had come into Caroline’s mild eyes.

‘N — not exactly. No, I haven’t found her,’ Sister Joan said slowly, sitting down on one of the hard chairs. ‘Look, I have found out something but I don’t think that it’s something you’re going to want to hear.’

‘What is it?’ Caroline who had also seated herself sat bolt upright.

‘Some days ago I found the body of a man in the abandoned chapel near the Peter house,’ Sister Joan said. ‘I think it was your father.’

‘Dad?’ Caroline stared at her. ‘That’s not possible! Dad’s in the Heart Unit having further tests and treatment and he thinks that I’m staying with friends.’

‘I rang the hospital and he hadn’t turned up for his appointment.’

‘You mean he came down into Cornwall? Without telling me?’

‘He was worried about your sister too, wasn’t he?’ Sister Joan said.

‘We were both anxious‚’ Caroline said. ‘We could never get a proper answer on the telephone and no letters were coming. I never told Dad about her sending me the gold initial. He didn’t know about our arrangement anyway. It was a private one, made in a spirit of fun. Dad can’t stand too much stress, not with his heart the way it is.’

‘The man who died in the chapel had an enlarged heart,’ Sister Joan said. ‘He died of a heart attack.’

‘But why wasn’t I informed? Why didn’t somebody come and tell me?’ Caroline demanded. ‘Oh, of course, I was already down here by then. They’ll be sending out radio messages or something.’

‘They don’t know yet who the man was,’ Sister Joan said. ‘He had no identification on him.’

‘You mean he was robbed?’

‘I think that he got rid of them,’ Sister Joan said, ‘or, to be exact, I thought that in the beginning but now I think that the items were removed so as to make any identification difficult. Caroline, do you recognize these?’

She brought out the credit card, pen and watch from the depths of her pocket.

‘That’s Dad’s pen,’ Caroline said. ‘I bought it for him last Christmas. The watch too. Crystal and I got him that about three years back.

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