They walked into the sacristy. Father Vincent pulled out a chair and placed it in front of a huge painting, which dominated the room, a black Madonna, nursing an infant Jesus.

‘It’s rather crude, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘Funny how that sort of thing used to shock people – a black baby Jesus, I mean.’

He climbed onto the chair.

‘Father, please!’ Ma Khethiwe said. ‘Let the girl do this thing for you.’

‘Oh, don’t worry. I’m not as doddery as I look.’ He reached up and found a key that was sitting on the picture frame. ‘There it is.’ He stepped off the chair in a move that was less convincing than his ascent and walked over to a massive cupboard. ‘Made of leadwood,’ he said, as he placed the key in the lock. ‘Not very commonly used in furniture. Lots of it about in Johannesburg, though, because it was used in the mine shafts. Hard as rock. Good for a campfire too, I’m told. The embers smoulder for a couple of days apparently.’

He parted some of the vestments hanging inside the cupboard and fiddled with both hands till he found what he was looking for. ‘Still there,’ he said, as if he’d had his doubts. He pulled out a sleek black case with a prominent zip along one side and a cardboard container about the size of a shoebox. Lindi reached out for them.

‘Just a minute, young lady.’ Lindi felt just the way she used to when Maude told her not to be greedy and wait her turn. Father Vincent looked her straight in the eye.

‘Now I’m not sure exactly what you’re up to, but I have a fair idea. Priscilla told me enough. She is a good woman, one of the best, and she is taking a big risk in trusting you and your friends. If you have any doubts about what you are planning to do with whatever you find here, then you must desist. This is a deadly business. We don’t need any more people to come to harm.’

He paused and looked at both of them. Then he handed over the laptop and the box, as if they were a sacred offering.

‘I haven’t looked inside,’ he said. ‘But Priscilla said it’s his computer and some personal effects the police gave back. She said there were no papers.’

The two women turned to leave, but Khethiwe paused. ‘Please, Father, will you give us a blessing?’ she asked.

‘Yes, of course.’