Mersey Murder Mysteries Collection - Books 7-9

Chapter 7-1

Detective Constable Sam Gable was growing increasingly frustrated. She"d been tasked with interviewing Sister Rebecca, who was proving exceedingly difficult to talk to. She had no problem accepting that they were working within the cloistered confines of a religious community, but something about the tall, middle-aged nun was irritating the hell out of the detective. Gable asked the same basic questions as the rest of the team, and hoped the others were meeting with greater cooperation than she was.

Sister Rebecca had what seemed an annoying habit to Gable of wanting to talk about nothing but religion, and God in particular. When Gable had innocently asked Rebecca how well she"d known the murdered monk, instead of providing a straight answer, the nun had replied, “Ah, the dear brother, called by our Lord before his time, you may think. But our Lord doesn"t make mistakes, Detective Gable, and therefore we must assume that God himself had a plan for Brother Bernárd that required his presence in the company of our Lord and his angels.”

“Yes, perhaps you"re right, Sister,” she responded casually, “but how well did you know him on a personal level?”

“The Lord calls us to do his bidding and we must follow the path he lays out. Brother Bernárd, though no longer with us, is, undoubtedly continuing God"s work as he walks the paths of Heaven above.”

“Sister Rebecca, did you know Brother Bernárd personally?” Gable was becoming exasperated.

personally“As two souls passing on their way through life, we communicated on matters pertaining to the Lord and his Word as written in the Holy Scriptures. If that constitutes knowing someone, then you may infer that, yes, I did know the dear brother.”

Gable felt as if she were banging her head against a brick wall. If it was going to take this long to elicit a reply to a simple question, she"d be here all day.

* * *

Sofie Meyer was having better luck. When it was mentioned that Sister Letitia was of German origin, it was natural for the team"s German officer to handle her interview. If nothing else, it would ensure there were no language difficulties between them. They could converse in either English or German, whatever they preferred; they might like to revert to their native tongue, as they spent most of their time presently speaking English. As it turned out, they stuck to English. The nun, who told Meyer she was twenty-eight, was pleasantly surprised to find a fellow countrywoman serving with the British police. Sofie spent the first five minutes of the interview explaining the logistics of her loan attachment to the Merseyside Police Force, which Letitia found fascinating.

“So, we"re similar, are we not?” she asked. “I am, I hope, here at the Priory of St. Emma for two more years, having spent almost three years here already, which have passed pleasantly until now … after which I shall return to my convent in the Danube Valley.”

“That sounds a very pretty location,” Meyer said, making small talk to help put the nun at ease.

“It is very close to a lovely small stream that runs through the pretty valley. The location is sheltered and makes for a most pleasant climate.”

Meyer moved to the matter at hand. “What can you tell me about Brother Bernárd?”

“Very little, I"m afraid,” Letitia replied quietly.

“When I arrived, someone mentioned we had a monk here from Switzerland. I tried to seek him out and perhaps find out if he was Swiss German perhaps, that maybe we had something in common as foreigners in a strange land, but …”

“But what, Sister?” Meyer prodded gently as Letitia appeared unsure what to say next.

“Brother Bernárd was what I would describe as a very anti-social person. He didn"t really engage in any meaningful conversations with anyone, Solitary is the word I would use to describe him.”

“But, Sister,” Meyer pointed out, “Is that not the way of many who choose the monastic life?”

“Of course,” Letitia agreed. “And yet, even those who choose the life of a monk or a nun, and spend most of their lives in solitude and prayer, are able to integrate themselves into the life of the community in which they live. We all have our daily tasks here at the priory, and during them we often find ourselves interacting with our colleagues, or even at times with the public, who are free to attend the services at our church or just to visit the priory and spend time in quiet contemplation. Brother Bernárd, placed in charge of our library, was able to immerse himself in his studies and would spend many hours closeted away, out of contact with the rest of us, except for times of services and collective prayer. He would speak a few words after services perhaps, and then return to his cell or to the library.”

“What about mealtimes?” Meyer inquired.

“You must understand,” the nun responded, “that I am not in the habit, excuse the pun, of people-watching as I sit down to eat. Plus, we nuns sit together, while the monks sit on two separate tables as a rule. You would be better asking that question to the other monks rather than me or the other nuns. But to ensure you receive an answer to your question, no I didn"t speak to Brother Bernárd at mealtimes. You might think we could have occasionally swapped pleasantries as we entered or exited the refectory, but I honestly can"t remember that happening. I did have cause to speak with him on a couple of occasions, in the library, I remember. I asked where it was possible to find certain books that might be of use to me in my own studies. He was helpful, I must admit, though he kept words to a minimum, almost as though he didn"t enjoy talking.”

“Do you know anything about his background, before he came to St. Emma"s?” Meyer asked but, again, Sister Felicia answered in the negative. Meyer expected little else, based on the nun"s previous replies.

Sofie Meyer and Sam Gable, having completed fruitless interviews of Sisters Rebecca and Felicia, met up outside the refectory, where it had been arranged for them to eat lunch with the rest of the team and the monks and nuns of the priory. With Sister Ariadne having been interviewed by Izzie Drake, and Sister Paulette having given her statement after the discovery of the body, it left Sister Sarah as the only nun still to be interviewed. Gable agreed to handle that interview after lunch.

* * *

An hour earlier, Detective Constable Derek McLennan had been rather enjoying his interview with the elderly white-haired Brother Geoffrey, who was the eldest inhabitant of the priory, though his brain was no less sharp and active despite his 75 years. He had moved to St. Emma to be nearer to his only surviving relative, a brother who lived in Bootle and who was infirm and suffering from a whole raft of infirmities. Geoffrey had left his previous place at a monastery near Bude in Cornwall to be close to his sibling, in case his help might be needed in caring for the octogenarian. However, when asked about Brother Bernárd, he was less than charitable in his words relating to the dead monk.

“He was definitely not my favourite person on the planet, though that sounds rather unkind and uncharitable, doesn"t it, Derek?” Brother Geoffrey had started using McLennan"s Christian name within minutes of meeting the detective. McLennan was quite comfortable with this, in deference to the monk"s age and life experience.

“Not at all, Brother Geoffrey. Just because you"re a monk and a man of God, it surely doesn"t necessarily follow that you have to like everyone you meet as you go through life. Surely, if God gave us the gift of free will, He also gave us the power to choose those we like and dislike.”

The Brother smiled. “Wise words, young Derek. Have you ever considered joining the church?”

“You told me you came here seven years ago. You must have seen a few other monks come and go in that time. Are you telling me Bernárd was the only one you didn"t like much?”

“To be totally truthful, young Derek, I didn"t actively dislike our dear departed brother; it was more a case of not really knowing him, I suppose. Until he arrived, I was in charge of the library, but my eyesight has been failing for years, and even with these,” he tapped the spectacles he was wearing, “I still struggled to see some things clearly, not very helpful when cataloguing or categorising books or papers of antiquity, you follow?”

knowing“So far, yes, but there"s more, isn"t there?”

“Hmm, perceptive too. I shall have to watch you, young Derek.” Brother Geoffrey laughed wickedly. “But yes, of course, there"s more. When Bernárd arrived, Brother Gerontius informed me that he would be taking over the role of librarian, purely due to my sight difficulties. I accepted this of course, and it became my responsibility to explain how our library system worked. Well, what a palaver!” He paused for effect.

“Come on, out with it.” Derek grinned, having forged a firm, quick friendship with the old monk.

“Well, young Derek, the man just didn"t want to know anything. He told me in that guttural and annoying accent of his that he"d find out what he needed to know all by himself and would be effecting his own system of categorising and cataloguing our library, which to be honest, is not very large or particularly impressive. Far be it from me to tell him how to do what was now, after all, his job, I merely showed him where everything was and left him to get on with it. Was he devout? Probably. Was he a good librarian? Not as far as I was concerned. Did he mess up my system after he took over? Most definitely. Did he deserve to die for the crime of messing up the library? Not at all. Do I know who might have wished him harm? No. Anything else I can tell you, young Derek?” Smiling enigmatically, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms under the pouch of his habit, hiding them from view.

McLennan couldn"t help smiling himself. “I think you"ve told me all you can for the moment, thank you. You will tell me if you think of anything that might help us, won"t you?” He handed over one of his cards, which Brother Geoffrey took before he returned his hand under his habit.

will“But of course. Now, I believe it must be nearly time for lunch. I"ve heard a strong rumour that we"re having steak and kidney pie today, my favourite. Are you staying for lunch?”

“Yes, we are, so I hear.”

“Splendid.” Brother Geoffrey rose and, taking McLennan by the arm, led him to the promised land of steak and kidney pie, mashed potatoes and fresh carrots from the priory"s own kitchen garden.

* * *

Having been brought up as a strict Catholic, now relapsed, DC Nick Dodds couldn"t help feeling a little in awe of Brother Simon, who as far as Nick was concerned, stood only one place removed from God himself. He therefore treated the monk, who looked to be in his early thirties, with a deference born of his upbringing. There was, however, one question that he needed to ask, having been primed by Ross. After a few minutes of being told that Brother Simon was originally from the country town of Great Malvern in Worcestershire, and had been a monk since he was twenty-two, Dodds decided to slip in the question.