‘Hindsight is a wonderful thing, James,’ Tanner said. ‘That man fooled us all. But thanks to you he didn’t succeed in fulfilling his objective of killing twelve people.’

The rectory and the church were now being searched by officers who had already found the priest’s kill list. It was handwritten, and next to the names were one or two words describing their ‘sins.’

Lorna Manning – murderer

Daniel Curtis – sex abuser

Annie Walker – child killer

Those on the list who were still alive would be informed in due course, if that was what the powers-that-be decided was appropriate.

As the day progressed the weather improved and it stopped snowing. Then, for the first time in days, the sun burst through the clouds.

There was, naturally, disbelief among the villagers that Father Silver, their friendly priest, turned out to be the killer, and shock turned to confusion when they learned that he’d claimed that he had acted with God’s blessing.

James took it upon himself to break the news to the victims’ loved ones and those he had interviewed during the investigation – to varied responses. Sonia Jenkins swore she would never set foot in a church again and Ron Curtis claimed that if the police had done their jobs properly his son Daniel would still be alive. Janet Dyer reacted by saying, ‘I always thought there was something dodgy about the priest. I could see it in his eyes.’

And Keith Patel made it known that he would seek to have his mother’s body removed from the graveyard and cremated, so that he could leave the village and start a new life elsewhere.

EPILOGUE

Saturday December 24th

Christmas Eve rolled around, and James and Annie were having a late evening drink in the bar of The King’s Head. Bill had been with them until a few minutes ago, when he’d decided to turn in.

By now a degree of normality was returning to Kirkby Abbey. People were going out and socialising, but there was only one topic of conversation.

James had sent all the necessary paperwork regarding what had happened to head office, but even though the village was no longer cut off it had been agreed that he should stay put, at least until Boxing Day.

The killer priest still dominated the news headlines, but two other stories were also given extensive coverage.

The two boys who’d been missing in Ambleside had at last been found safe and well. It turned out they’d been exploring a derelict house and had become trapped in the basement. And a man had been charged with the murder of the young mechanic in Kendal. He’d already appeared in court where he was remanded into custody.

James and Annie had decided to stay in the pub for the holiday. Their living room carpet was covered in the priest’s blood and needed to be replaced but the earliest that could be done was Boxing Day.

Still, they had a comfortable room and Uncle Bill would be right there with them for Christmas.