Murder Of Angels - a crime thriller (Detective Inspector Declan Walsh Book 2) by Jack Gatland

Author:Jack Gatland [Gatland, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hooded Man Publishing
Published: 2021-01-09T16:00:00+00:00

As Anjli and Billy arrived outside of Our Lady of the Sea, it started to rain. Pulling up her coat collar, Anjli hammered on the door to the church.

‘The sign said it’s open until ten,’ Billy, ignoring the rain, said as he showed a noticeboard beside the corpse gate.

‘Well, they obviously forgot about that today,’ Anjli replied, looking at her phone. ‘Bloody place doesn’t have a phone number online, either.’

Billy glanced at the web page on Anjli’s phone, seeing a photo of Father Lawson.

‘I can see why the nuns all liked him,’ he whistled. ‘He’s a looker.’

Anjli turned to Billy in mild disgust. ‘Put it back in your pants.’

‘Hey, I’m just saying that if he was twenty years younger I’d be confessing—’ he stopped as the door unlocked and opened to reveal a man in the doorway. Moving into the light, Anjli and Billy saw that it was Father Lawson.

‘Can I help?’ he asked. ‘It’s quite late, but you sounded insistent.’

Anjli showed her warrant card.

‘I’m DS Kapoor, this is DC Fitzwarren,’ she started. ‘We need to speak to you about a birth.’

‘Christenings can be discussed—’ Father Lawson started, but stopped himself. ‘This isn’t a normal call, is it?’

‘No, sir.’

‘You’d better come on in, then.’

Entering the nave, Anjli and Billy followed Father Lawson back to the Altar. He sat on a pew at the front, indicating for the two detectives to join him. ‘So what can I do for you?’

‘Angela Martin,’ Anjli pulled out her notebook, opening it. ‘You may have seen on the news that we found her this week.’

‘Yes, terrible thing,’ Father Lawson nodded. ‘Although I don’t see why I’m talking to you about that.’

‘She was born at Saint Etheldreda’s Mission House,’ Billy chimed in. ‘At the time that you were running it.’

‘I wouldn’t really say I ran it,’ Father Lawson said. ‘The nuns did that. I was connected in an advisory manner.’

‘What kind of advisory manner?’ Anjli looked up.

‘In the manner given to a priest when the Catholic Church wanted a man involved.’ Father Lawson raised his hand apologetically. ‘I don’t make the rules. Poor child. How terrible.’

‘We believe that on the night she was born, there were quite a few babies in the Mission,’ Billy added. ‘We were hoping you could explain this a little more to us.’

‘I don’t understand what you’re saying,’ Father Lawson’s expression had hardened slightly. This was definitely a conversation that he didn’t seem to want to have.

‘We’re saying that on the night that Angela Martin was born to Daniel and Cheryl Martin, we believe that there were three other babies born the same time. One was to Craig and Emma Chapman, down that day from Birmingham, but the other two, twins we believe, were to a nun.’ Anjli looked at Father Lawson as she spoke, watching his expression. ‘A nun who apparently claimed that you were the father.’

‘Ah, yes,’ Father Lawson nodded slowly, his expression unchanged by this revelation. ‘Now I understand. Sister Nadine. She had… well, to be brutally honest, she had an infatuation with me.

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