‘God rest his soul,’ she said. ‘But a woman was murdered. Whoever did it needs to be found and punished.’

‘Thank you, Mrs Parkin. ‘I’ve got to go back to the station. If you find anything could you fax a copy over to the incident room for me?’ Jane said, handing her the station fax number.

‘That’s fine. But please don’t tell Archbishop Malone I’ve helped you or I’ll lose my job.’

*

Jane told Barnes about her conversation with Mrs Parkin, but decided not to mention her request for any documents about building work at the convent until she knew if there were any. Barnes said nothing on the journey back to Orpington, clearly in deep thought. As they walked across the station yard he finally spoke.

‘I have to say I wasn’t expecting Meade to top himself.’

‘I found this on the desk,’ Jane said, handing him the photograph.

Barnes looked at it briefly, read what was written on the back and returned it to Jane. ‘A veiled confession, I suppose. Suicide is considered a mortal sin in the Catholic faith. He won’t get God’s forgiveness, a funeral mass or burial in a Catholic cemetery.’

‘I didn’t know that,’ Jane replied.

‘That’s because you’re not a Catholic. And before you ask, I was until I dealt with Stephen Phillips’ death and then renounced my faith. Mark my words, there’s going to be an uproar at the Yard over Meade’s suicide. My career is over, Jane, but I don’t want you, Stanley, or anyone else getting dragged down with me. When the top brass start asking questions, I want you all to say you acted under my orders.’

‘I think you’ll find the officers on the squad are all on your side,’ she said.

‘Thank you. But now Meade is dead, the investigation into Sister Melissa’s murder is all but over. I suspect the commissioner and Malone will agree to sweep everything under the carpet. But I’m not going to let that happen.’ Barnes looked at his watch. ‘DCS Salmon will be here in a couple of hours to take over. Let the team know I want an office meeting in an hour. See if Stanley and Boon are back from their inquiries. Tell them to come to my office so we can discuss Becky’s disappearance. We need to find her.’

*

Stanley had not yet returned from searching Becky’s flat. A dejected-looking Boon was sitting at his desk with his head in his hands.

‘You, all right, Simon?’ Jane asked.

‘This is all my fault. I should never have told Becky about Bishop Meade being a suspect. Does he know anything?’ he asked.

Jane sat next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. ‘Meade’s dead. He hanged himself in the archbishop’s office this morning before we got to him.’