James didn’t want to put him on the spot by challenging his rather unconvincing explanation in front of the priest. He’d do it later, when there was no one else around. Instead, he watched as Patel turned and headed towards the churchyard exit.

‘Why is he limping?’ James asked Father Silver.

‘He suffers from a serious case of rheumatoid arthritis in his knee joints,’ the priest said. ‘It’s getting progressively worse with age.’

‘Does he work?’

‘No. He manages on benefits and a cash sum his mother left him.’

‘Annie told me what happened to her and why he holds a grudge against some of the villagers. But where was he when his mother fell down the stairs?’

‘At the time he was working as a shop assistant in Manchester and living in a rented flat. By all accounts he was barely managing to pay the bills, but he came to see his mum, Nadia, as often as possible.’

‘So do you know much about him, Father?’ James asked.

‘Well, I know that his father Floyd passed away some years ago. The man followed the Catholic faith and so did Nadia. She joined our congregation soon after she moved here. A delightful, God-fearing woman who died before her time. She left the house to Keith, who has never married, and he settled here. But in my opinion that was a mistake because he’s full of resentment for the villagers. He should have sold up and moved elsewhere.’

‘Why didn’t he?’

The priest gestured at the grave in front of them. ‘He told me he wanted to stay close to her. Couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her alone.’

Father Silver then offered to make James a cup of tea.

‘That’s very kind of you, Father. But before you make it I wonder if you could provide me with a fingerprint sample so that we can distinguish it from any others we might find on the card and envelope.’

‘Of course, Detective. That’s not a problem.’

Back inside the church, the priest stuck his right thumb and fingers against a small, clear handheld mirror that James placed in another evidence bag.

They had a brief conversation then, during which Father Silver was at pains to point out that Patel’s negative comments about the village and its residents were far from true.

‘They’re good people, with a few exceptions,’ he said. ‘But I have to acknowledge that the community itself has become quite dispirited. Too many young families have moved away, partly because there’s so little work. And things are set to get worse with the closure of this church and the school. It’s desperately troubling for me that I won’t be around to offer hope and counselling during the tough times that lie ahead, especially if the person responsible for those cards is not a prankster, but is intent on bringing death and destruction to Kirkby Abbey.’

‘Try not to lose sleep over it, Father,’ James said. ‘The odds are that it’s a hoax.’