‘And the dead partridge?’

‘An excellent touch, don’t you think? The bird was a regular visitor to the churchyard and, as I said in the note, I thought it would be a good way to seize your attention. So it became a sacrifice. But you chose not to tell the public about the cards, which was why I had to send one to the reporter.’

‘And what about the framed photo of Lorna Manning that you put on Nadia Patel’s grave? Why did you do that?’

‘Two reasons. I wanted to draw attention to the fact that a woman who didn’t deserve to die is buried there. And I knew it would be a good way to bring you and I together again so that I could find out where you were with the investigation. It worked perfectly.’

The priest’s hands were shaking now and James tried to work out if there was any way he could stop the guy from topping himself.

‘I’ve got nothing left to say,’ the priest said. ‘But I would ask you to make it known what I’ve told you. Sinners of the world need to be aware that things are changing. God is striking back against the devil and there will be more people like me who will carry out the work on his behalf.’

He closed his eyes then and started mumbling a prayer. James reacted by stepping towards him, but before he could get close, the priest plunged the dagger into his own throat.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

Friday December 23rd

The priest was dead but the nightmare wasn’t over. James and Annie had to wait twelve hours for the body to be moved from the house. That was how long it took for another helicopter to arrive in the village with a small team of SOCOs and a pathologist.

The village GP had already officially pronounced Father Silver dead; he’d died within minutes of stabbing himself. James had tried to revive him, but had quickly realised it was a lost cause.

James had found his phone in the priest’s pocket and had alerted the other officers in the village. They’d arrived on the scene in minutes, along with DC Abbott.

He was now in the village hall with the rest of the team, having moved Annie into a room at The King’s Head.

DCI Tanner had been briefed and his relief that the murderer had been found was coupled with shock.

‘I’m thankful that you and your wife are safe,’ he’d said. ‘I have to admit this is not how I thought it would end.’

‘He’s not the first madman to claim that God instructed him to kill,’ James said. ‘And he joins an ever-growing list of Catholic priests who chose to ignore the Ten Commandments. I just wish I’d spotted the signs sooner. I should have given more thought to why he received the cards. And, with hindsight, I realise I should have asked myself what sort of person would harp on about only killing those who “deserved” to die. It now seems pretty obvious that it’s something a mentally disturbed member of the clergy might say, especially one who hasn’t got long to live and so has nothing to lose.’