‘I’m right in saying that either button would have blown Devil’s Point apart, aren’t I, Karl?’ he said with more urgency.

Karl didn’t reply, but Priest heard him sneer. He took another few steps forward but panic was starting to set in – he didn’t stand a chance of getting to him in time before the fires of Hell were unleashed on the altar; and Karl wasn’t apparently in the mood for conversation. Must do better. Think!

‘You gave me a choice between intervention and nature, didn’t you? I either had to press a button and intervene or let things take their course. And that’s what you wanted. To prove myself to you, to get to see all this, all I had to do was nothing.’

Karl took out a match.

‘Witness the final act, Mr Priest. That’s what I want you to do. If you were pure enough to understand the test on Devil’s Point then I have chosen you well. Witness what happens here and then tell them everything you’ve seen. Then my work will be complete.’

‘Who’s they, Karl?’

‘The world! Everyone! Then when Dominique’s confession is out there, they will know that he had three victims, not one!’

‘That’s what this is all about?’ said Priest, horrified. ‘You want to be one of Dominque’s victims, along with Elinor and Julian? You tried to ruin Alexia Elias first through The Real Byte. You solicited Simeon to help but you told him too much, you went too far. Simeon got cold feet and bailed on you.’

‘He was going to go to the police!’ Karl roared, turning his head to profile again.

‘If he had, he’d have ruined everything,’ Priest supposed. ‘So you killed him. You somehow got Simeon into the safe the day before the pre-trial conference and he died at some point during the day. You had a perfect alibi, at least for a short while. It’s genius. I guess you must have realised that the police would work it out at some point but you were just buying yourself a few days to get everything together.’

‘Simeon had outlived his purpose, but killing him gave me no pleasure.’

‘You placed him in the back of Elinor’s car so she would get the story. That’s right, isn’t it? You’ve always been looking out for her like that.’

‘You’ve no idea how I feel.’

Karl looked across to where the petrol can was tipped on its side. There was something desperate about the way he said that. The power of it arrested Priest, stopped his progress across the church and left him short of breath.

‘Have you ever known so much desire, Mr Priest, that you would kill just to have a minute of satisfaction?’