The Crossing by Matt Brolly

Author:Matt Brolly [Brolly, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-02-13T16:00:00+00:00

After the morning briefing Louise walked to St Bernadette’s. The church website stated there was morning Mass on a Friday and Louise saw it as a potential opportunity to speak to some of the parishioners. She was interested in seeing Father McGuire in action in front of the congregation.

Her paranoid side recalled the newspaper article she’d read that morning. The streets did feel less populated than usual. The few people she passed on the way to church appeared to view her with hostility, as if they knew she was a police officer and was somehow responsible for the trauma the town was enduring.

As she rounded the corner towards St Bernadette’s, she was surprised to see lines of children being led into the church by their teachers. They were pupils from the school adjoined to the church. They walked in silence, hand in hand, each wearing identical blue uniforms. What must have been the Reception class was led out by a stern-looking woman wearing a long, flowing dress. They were impossibly young, some of them, moving like toddlers despite being the same age as Emily. It was heartbreaking to think how much things had changed for her niece in the last couple of years. She’d lost her mother, and now she was separated for the time being from her father. Louise tried to see her every weekend, and despite the urgency of the case, promised herself she would go and see her tomorrow.

‘Hello.’

Louise was startled, quickly hiding her surprise at the greeting from a smartly dressed man who’d approached her from the side. ‘Hi,’ she said.

‘We haven’t met before. I’m Simon Goulding, head teacher here at St Bernadette’s.’

Louise nodded and smiled. Goulding was on her list to contact. ‘Louise Blackwell. They’re very well behaved.’

‘Something about going to church makes them this way,’ said Goulding, returning her smile. ‘They’re not always so . . . disciplined.’

‘Is morning Mass cancelled?’ she asked.

‘No, you would be welcome to join us. We are celebrating All Saints’ Day.’

‘Is that linked to Halloween?’ said Louise, knowingly provoking the teacher in order to gauge his response.

‘Not exactly,’ said Goulding hesitantly. ‘I haven’t seen you at church before, but you look familiar.’

Louise told him who she was. ‘I would like to speak to you at some point,’ she said.

His reaction was cordial, but she noted that he shifted his body weight away from her towards the church. ‘I have to go with the children now.’

‘I’ll stay. We can talk afterwards,’ said Louise, not leaving any room for the head teacher to object.

He nodded, and she followed Goulding into the church and took a seat at the back. The Mass was not like any she remembered from her childhood. A group of older children sat to the side of the altar, each holding a musical instrument. Once Father McGuire had greeted everyone, wishing peace to his congregation and receiving ‘Peace be with you’ as a response, the children started to play as everyone stood for the first hymn. Louise hadn’t expected such a positive reaction to the Mass.

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