Day of Vengeance: Dorothy Martin investigates murder in the cathedral (A Dorothy Martin Mystery) (2 page)

One of them was now out of the running.

‘Murders have been committed in the name of religion before now.’ I looked at the headline again. MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL. ‘“Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?” Alan, this is frightful!’

He sighed heavily. ‘It is. You have realized, haven’t you, that every member of the commission, with the probable exception of the two Archbishops and the two secretaries, is a potential suspect in Brading’s murder? Not to mention a rich source of information about the man. We’ve been looking into the candidates’ backgrounds and qualifications for weeks, and everyone and his aunt has been lobbying us. We probably know more about Brading, and who loved and hated him, than anyone else in the kingdom.’

I rolled my eyes to heaven. ‘I think I need some more coffee.’

Alan followed me into the kitchen. We sat brooding while the coffeemaker did its thing. When we had sat down at the kitchen table, I said, ‘All right. Remind me again of who’s on the commission. I know their names were published, but I didn’t pay much attention.’

‘The dean and I and four others, two lay, two clergy, represent the diocese. There are six representatives from the General Synod, three clergy and three lay persons. One of the latter, incidentally, is our MP.’

I groaned. Our Member of Parliament, Archibald Newsome, is an extremely conservative Tory whom I have always disliked. As an expat American, I can’t vote, of course, but if I could, it wouldn’t be for him. He is a very wealthy and influential man who has been re-elected for years because so many of his constituents owe him favours. Whenever an election comes up, I always think of Chicago, and Tammany Hall, and reflect that politics all over the world are very much the same. Even in the Church. ‘I suppose he’s been throwing his weight around.’

‘What would you expect? As a matter of interest, Dean Brading is – was – a close friend of Newsome’s.’

‘Then that takes him off the suspect list.’ I must have sounded disappointed, because Alan uttered what was almost a laugh.

‘Not necessarily. I’d like to see him left on, if only because he’s an almighty nuisance. I don’t know any of the rest well. The other four diocesan representatives are from far-flung parishes, and as they never happened to be involved in a crime I investigated, I’d never met them until we all assembled at Lambeth.’

‘Well, they’re involved in one now, aren’t they? Is that everybody, then? Six from the diocese, six from the Church at large, and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York?’

‘And the Archbishops’ appointments secretary, and the Prime Minister’s appointments secretary.’

‘Oh, I always forget about the Prime Minister getting in on the act. That seems so odd to an American.’

‘It must do. Dorothy, why are we talking about the bureaucratic details?’

‘To keep from thinking about what’s going to happen. At least, that’s
my
reason. Are you serious about the whole commission being under suspicion?’

‘If I were in charge of the case, which I am not, praise God, that’s where I’d direct my attention.’

‘Who will be in charge? What’s the drill?’

‘The crime happened in Chelton, so it falls to the Gloucestershire chaps. However, a dean is a major national figure, not to mention the fact that this one was a potential bishop. This is high-profile stuff, Dorothy. The Met will get involved, since the commission met in London. Then Church lawyers will be heavily involved, perhaps even the ecclesiastical courts, though that’s highly uncertain.’

‘In short, it’s going to be a huge mess. With you right in the middle.’

That produced a slight smile. ‘Slightly off to one side – at least at the moment. I wish I were out of it altogether. Give me your phone for a moment, will you? It’s slightly less likely to ring before I can get in a call to Derek.’

It didn’t ring, but the doorbell did. Already in siege mode, I peeked nervously around the curtain before opening the door to the dean and his wife, Margaret. ‘Come in quick before some journalist spots you,’ I said.

‘I’m afraid we did rather slink on our way here,’ said Margaret. ‘Dorothy, this is a dreadful thing!’

‘It certainly is, for all concerned,’ I agreed. ‘But come into the kitchen and let me get you some coffee.’ The English often think tea is the cure for all ills. I enjoy tea, but in a real crisis I feel the strength of coffee is required.

‘We may not have much time before the authorities arrive,’ said Alan when he had finished his quick call to Derek, and we had sat down with steaming cups of comfort. ‘We need to compare notes and work out how much we can tell them, given our vows of secrecy.’

‘So soon?’ asked the dean. ‘I’d have thought they’d have other people to talk to first.’

‘They’ll want to interview everyone who might be concerned, as soon as possible.’

‘But why?’ asked Margaret.

‘So that we won’t have time to compare notes and work out what we’re going to say,’ I said. ‘Has neither of you ever read a detective novel nor watched a cop show?’

‘Of course we have,’ said Margaret, ‘but it’s always the suspects who want to get their story straight before the police get there.’

‘Precisely,’ said Alan, and paused to let that sink in.

The dean was the first to speak. ‘Oh, dear. I hadn’t quite realized … that is, I was thinking of the vast damage this could do to the Church at large, and never thought about the danger to us – you and me, Alan. But, of course, they’ll have to question us, won’t they? There’s been enough publicity about the controversies that they might think …’

‘They certainly might. So, Dean, they’ll ask where you were and what you did between the end of the meeting on Tuesday and last evening.’

‘I … Really, I haven’t the slightest idea. That is, I came home after the meeting. The train was very slow, owing to the construction delays. I missed Evensong, I know. Then … Margaret, did we do anything in the evening?’

‘We’d planned to have dinner with Peggy and Howard and the children, but you were too tired and upset. I scrambled some eggs and sent you to bed with a hot toddy.’

‘Ah, yes, so you did. I felt badly about it. We don’t see our grandchildren often enough. But I was too tired to be good company. What did you do, Alan? I looked for you on the train, but didn’t see you. We’d got separated at Lambeth.’

‘I had driven in. The last time Dorothy and I went to London the delays were infuriating, so I decided to drive, expensive as that is. Then, after the meeting – well, you know how contentious it was. I was feeling fury and exhaustion in equal parts, and decided I was far too tired to drive home. In any case, the traffic was horrendous. So I phoned Dorothy and told her I was having dinner in town. I didn’t get home until quite late. Dorothy was asleep when I came up to bed.’

‘I was not,’ I retorted. ‘I pretended to be, so you wouldn’t fret about my staying up for you. I knew you were upset, so I worried. Margaret understands.’ She nodded and raised her hands in the classic ‘But what can you do?’ gesture.

Alan shook his head and continued. ‘And yesterday I pottered about the house, cleared out the garden shed, worked on my memoirs for a bit – that sort of thing. Dorothy went shopping in the morning and lunched with friends at Alderney’s, so she can’t vouch for my presence here for a good many hours. Not that her testimony would be worth much in any case.’

‘I suppose not.’ The dean looked troubled. ‘A devoted wife would lie for her husband, presumably.’

‘And I,’ said Margaret, ‘am
your
only alibi. You had no services to take yesterday, and you were looking a bit white about the gills. I made you stay home and rest.’

‘I wonder just when Dean Brading actually died,’ I said into a dismal little silence, and just then the doorbell rang.

Again I did the curtain routine at the window. ‘Gird your loins,’ I said. ‘It’s Derek and a couple of other people who look awfully official.’

‘I’ll get it,’ said Alan, and went to the door. The rest of us stayed in the kitchen.

‘Come in, please,’ we heard him say. ‘I’ve been expecting you.’

‘We apologize for disturbing you so early in the day, Chief Constable,’ said a deep voice, ‘but, as you’ll appreciate, sir, we’ve a grave matter to investigate.’

‘I do understand, and there’s no need to use my former title. I’ve been retired for quite some time now. “Nesbitt” will do nicely. And you would be?’

‘Chief Constable Michael Armstrong, Gloucestershire. And you may remember my assistant, Superintendent Frances Davids. I believe you met over a rather nasty case in the Cotswolds a little time back.’

‘Of course I remember you, Superintendent Davids! I didn’t recognize you at first. Something about your hair … well, never mind. Won’t you all sit down? May we offer coffee?’

That was my cue. Alan had, effortlessly, taken control of the situation and indicated that the rest of us were to take part in the interview. I assembled coffee things on a tray, along with a plate of biscuits. ‘You carry the pot, Margaret,’ I said softly. ‘We’re treating this as a pleasant social occasion. Here we go.’ Watson, who had been waiting in the kitchen for something nice to fall on the floor, followed us into the parlour. Both the cats had vanished. They love visitors they know, who can probably be conned into a cat-appreciation session, but they don’t care for strangers.

I greeted Superintendent Davids with an effusiveness that probably surprised her, since we’d met only once or twice over the Cotswold mess. I intended to keep the social atmosphere going as long as possible. I poured coffee for everyone, let Alan make the introductions with Margaret and Kenneth, and then sat back and tried to make myself invisible.

Actually, I felt a little sorry for the Gloucestershire contingent. It was an embarrassing situation for them. Here they were in the middle of a high-profile murder, and two of the possible suspects in the room were a retired chief constable and a senior clergyman! They had to conduct the investigation strictly according to the book, but without stepping on important ecclesiastical and constabulary toes. I sat back to watch the fun.

Alan maintained his firm hold of the initiative. ‘Now then, Chief Constable. I’m sure you’ll want to know, first of all, where I was after the meeting and all day yesterday. You know, of course, that I’d been in London at a meeting of the Appointments Commission. My alibi until the middle of the afternoon is, therefore, impeccable. Two archbishops, among other people, can vouch for me. Unfortunately, my schedule becomes murkier after that. The meeting broke up at a little after three, and as it was not the most comfortable I’ve ever attended, I was not in the best of moods when I left. I’m sorry I can’t give you details, as we’re all sworn to secrecy. I can, later and in private, tell you what I said and did, if you wish, but I can’t speak for anyone else. At any rate, I felt it was unjust to take out my bad temper on my wife, so I walked about for quite a little time before deciding to have dinner in town. After dinner – at Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, if you want to check – I retrieved my car and drove home. The traffic was still miserable – there was a smash-up on the M20 – so it was quite late before I finally got home. And I fear I spent all day yesterday at home, without anyone at all to vouch for my whereabouts most of the day, as Dorothy was out.’ He sat back with a bland smile.

Armstrong, who seemed to be nobody’s fool, smiled back. ‘Indeed, sir. We appreciate your candour, though at this stage there is no question of suspicion resting on anyone. It is possible I may need to speak with you later – privately, as you suggest – about the commission meeting. For now, may I ask why you did not take the train to London and back?’

‘The service has been abysmal of late. You know, of course, that there are works on the line at several points along the way. I don’t enjoy driving in London, but I anticipated a difficult meeting and did not want to arrive already annoyed by transport delays.’

‘Quite understandable, sir. And just to clear the decks, so to speak, you, Mr Dean, were …?’

‘I took the train to London and did in fact encounter delays. I was very nearly late to the commission meeting in consequence, but fortunately not quite. As you know, the meeting took up all of one day and part of the next. I spent the intervening night at a small hotel in Vincent Square. On the Tuesday, I left immediately upon adjournment, but missed the next train home by a minute or two. At that time of day they run every thirty minutes, but there were, again, delays, so it was nearly eight when I arrived at Sherebury station. My wife met me in the car, and we had intended to eat dinner with our daughter and her family, but I was so tired we simply went home instead. My wife felt I needed some rest, and kept me under her wing all day yesterday.’

‘And when did you hear about the death of Dean Brading?’

‘This morning over breakfast, when my wife turned on the television. I was horrified, of course, and began at once making phone calls to attempt damage control.’

Oh, Kenneth!
I didn’t say it aloud, but I rolled my eyes and looked at Alan. He looked grim.

‘Damage control, sir?’ There was nothing but bland courtesy in Armstrong’s voice, but his eyes had taken on a steely look. Watson, sitting between Alan and me, stirred uneasily.

‘I am the dean of a cathedral, Chief Constable. The well-being of its clergy and people are my responsibility. Since the man who died was one of our candidates for the episcopacy of this diocese, his murder may cause untold harm, not only to this diocese but to the Church as a whole. My staff and I are trying to limit the adverse publicity, though I fear it is a vain effort.’

Worse and worse. Alan and I know Kenneth Allenby well, and know he has a hard time killing so much as a spider. He grieves over every death in the parish, and indeed in England. But to Chief Constable Armstrong, who didn’t know him from Adam, he sounded callous, as if his only concern was the fall-out from this man’s death and how it might affect Sherebury Cathedral.

Kenneth really should stop talking until Cathedral counsel was around to advise him.

I opened my mouth to say something bright and breezy, change the tone of the conversation, but Armstrong forestalled me.