The priest wiped the sweat from his face. ‘I sometimes think of life’s challenges as an opportunity for learning. You did a good thing, a worthy thing. That’s to your credit. It seems you’re not entirely devoid of empathy or virtue. There is hope for you yet.’

‘Do you really think so?’

‘Yes, yes, I do, absolutely I do. God gave us free will. You chose to help others. That’s to be celebrated. You put your dark past behind you.’

‘Does that please you, Father? Does it give you hope for my ultimate redemption? Do such things reinforce your faith?’

‘We all have the capacity to change for the better with God’s good grace. You are no different.’

‘What, even me?’

‘Yes, you, even you.’

Heath laughed, head back, mouth wide open, his dark fillings in full view. ‘You’re assuming I helped all those victims of random circumstance in their times of great adversity. But you really couldn’t be more wrong. Help? I don’t know the meaning of the word. Nursing gives access to the vulnerable. Crisis work access to the desperate. Such work provided me with ideal opportunities to indulge my true nature to the ultimate degree. It served a purpose. Nursing facilitated my offences. I raped and killed with impunity. Do you hear what I said, Father? With impunity!’

The priest began panting now. His breathing laboured, his voice a whisper as he pulled his collar loose. ‘How many?’

‘How many? How many what exactly?’

‘How many did you kill?’

‘Oh, I’d say nineteen, or maybe twenty. Mainly young children but the odd adolescent too, when the opportunity arose and was simply too good to ignore. I’m not entirely certain what happened to one dark-haired boy I left hanging on to life when my activities were disturbed by a man, who stumbled on the scene of my crime at the worst possible time, before I left Syria. Now, that I do regret. If the police had taken the witness seriously, I wouldn’t be sitting here now. I lost my job; I was encouraged to resign. But things could have been a lot worse. Maybe God was on my side.’

The priest threw a hand to his heart. ‘All those children!’

Heath pressed his face to the screen. ‘You could have stopped me, Father. I wanted you to know that. I want you to live with your guilt for however long you’ve got left as you approach death. Because you are guilty. You’re as guilty as sin. If you’d chosen to speak out eighteen years ago, if you’d gone to the authorities when you had the chance, all those innocent children would still be alive. It’s your responsibility. All those lost lives are down to you.’

The priest felt a sharp pain fire down one arm as the confessional booth became an unfocused blur. ‘You are the devil!’

‘I’ve been working as a teaching assistant at a primary school since returning to the UK. Did I mention that? The opportunity arose, and I thought, well, why the hell not? All those needy children, all those potential victims to target when the time feels right. I’m like a kiddie in a sweet shop. It was far too good a chance to miss.’