St. Benet's by David Blake

Author:David Blake [Blake, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Oak Publishing Ltd
Published: 2019-06-25T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

‘GOOD AFTERNOON,’ TANNER said, entering through the door to the first of two interview rooms at Wroxham Police Station. ‘Remember us?’

Kevin Griffiths looked up from where he’d been sitting, staring at the table. Seeing the two people he’d almost knocked over earlier, he rolled his eyes in frustration. ‘Don’t tell me you’re the police?’

‘Correct! Well done! Have a shiny gold star!’

Griffiths squirmed in his seat, evidently not sharing the humour. ‘Look, what have you got me in here for, anyway?’

‘You mean apart from reckless driving, damaging council property and almost killing a couple of tourists?’

‘Some idiot nearly drove straight into me. I had no choice but to swerve to avoid them.’

As he and Jenny each pulled out a chair opposite the supposed journalist, Tanner said, ‘According to the couple you nearly ran over, you were driving well above the speed limit.’

‘I was doing thirty! It was the other guy who was going too fast.’

‘Is that so?’

‘Yes, it is so!’

‘Well, we can revisit that later. It’s not what we’re here to talk to you about.’

Tanner reached over to start the digital recorder, and after completing the formalities necessary to begin the interview, kicked off the proceedings by asking, ‘Are you absolutely sure that you don’t want a lawyer?’

‘What would I need a lawyer for?’

‘It’s your choice, of course, but I’d strongly recommend that you have one.’

‘Apart from driving into a bollard, which wasn’t even my fault, I can’t see what I’ve done wrong; so I don’t see why I would.’

‘As I said, it’s your choice. So anyway, shall we push on?’

Without waiting for a response, Tanner continued by asking, ‘What we’d really like to know is what exactly you were doing at St. Patrick’s church in Martham earlier today?’

‘I’ve already made a full statement about that.’

‘Yes, of course,’ said Tanner, with an insincere smile. ‘I actually have it here.’

Sliding a single sheet of A4 paper from the case file he’d brought in with him, he read out, ‘“I was looking to conduct an interview with Father Michael Minshall in connection with a story I’m currently working on.”’

‘That’s right.’

Tanner allowed a moment of silence to hang over the room, before asking, ‘Where were you last night, between the hours of nine and twelve o’clock?’

‘I was at home, with my girlfriend.’

‘And the night before?’

‘The same. You’re welcome to ask her, if you want.’

‘We will, thank you. Coming back to today, I’m curious to know why you were in such a hurry to leave the church, after you’d knocked us both over.’

‘Why do you think?’

‘Because you’d just finished impaling the parish priest, and you weren’t too keen to be caught having done so?’

‘You can’t possibly think that I did - that I did - that?’

Tanner didn’t answer. Instead, he continued to glare over at Griffiths, before looking down at his file to ask, ‘I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of something called the Ecclesia Diaboli?’

‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

‘Does that mean that you have?’ questioned Tanner, staring back up at him.

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