‘Really?’

‘It was because they felt that the balance of a bereaved person’s mind, in the immediate aftermath of their loss, could be disturbed,’ the Bishop said. ‘Now, please don’t take what I’m going to say to you the wrong way. In all of my experience, the overwhelming majority of seemingly paranormal occurrences can be explained by abnormal brain activity in people following a recent trauma in their lives. This is most common from a bereavement, but it can also be from moving house, which as you yourself recognize is far more traumatic than most people realize. Both of these situations can play havoc with mental states. May I ask if you or your wife, Emily, have suffered any such recent bereavement – the loss of a loved one?’

Jason shook his head. ‘Touch wood, no.’

‘Do either of you dabble in the occult at all – play the Ouija board, for instance?’

‘Never,’ he replied, emphatically. ‘Neither of us have ever been into anything like that. Although Emily’s business partner, Louise Porter, is a medium – or claims to be.’

The Bishop’s face clouded. ‘She is?’

‘I don’t know if you approve of mediums, or not.’

‘Well, there’s quite a number of negative passages in the Bible about them, but I don’t condemn them out of hand. In the right circumstances some do have a useful role.’

‘OK, well, she came to the house on Monday and went into a trance to try to see what might be happening. That was when the Reverend Fortinbrass appeared.’

Parnassus looked at him strangely. ‘And only you saw him?’

‘Correct.’

‘What did your wife’s business partner have to say about this lady you both saw – who you think might be Caroline Harcourt?’

‘She said something along the lines that she was getting a message for me from a woman. The woman said she was sorry that she damaged my painting, but she was angry that I put her portrait facing the wall.’

He expected a cynical response, but instead the Bishop gave him a sympathetic smile. ‘You saw the Reverend Fortinbrass and had a conversation with him, which your wife and this medium, Louise Porter, claim not to remember?’

‘Yes, correct.’

‘Caroline Harcourt you and your wife have both seen, and the medium has only received messages from?’

‘That’s right.’

Parnassus sat in silence for a while, seemingly immersed in his thoughts. ‘Jason, these things that you are telling me are usually, in my experience, triggered by stress, crises, relationship problems. Often it is this stress that seems to produce strange phenomena that brings echoes from the past. I’ve known couples move into their dream home, only to split up months later. Could any of this have a bearing on what you and your wife are experiencing?’

‘I don’t know,’ Jason replied. ‘I’m open to any explanation.’

The Bishop frowned. ‘This is not good timing, as we are coming into Christmas week; it’s one of the busiest times of my year. Apart from another half hour this morning, I barely have a free moment until after Boxing Day. But there’s a priest with considerable pastoral experience who works with me. May I suggest I ask him to come and see you and your wife – perhaps sometime this afternoon?’