Folly (12 page)

He wasn't giving up this treat so fast and made for the trail all dogs and their owners used to go around the pond.

When he stopped, suddenly, one foot raised, Alex's stomach and heart raced for first place in her throat. The dog growled. She spun around and her knees wobbled at the sight of a man bearing down on her in the silvery light.

‘It's O'Reilly,' he said.

She recognized his voice and squeezed her eyes shut, caught between relief and awkwardness.

‘Are you out of your mind?' He sounded more angry than incredulous.

No surprises there.
‘Good morning, Inspector,' she said – calmly, she hoped. ‘Bogie needed a walk but I'm glad to see you.'

‘You can hardly see me. Wasn't that you I saw at the parish hall when I advised people not to wander around alone at the moment?'

‘It's like broad daylight,' she pointed out. ‘And life has to go on. Bogie needed to come out and I was suffocating inside.' He didn't have to know just how descriptive that was of the way she was starting to feel most of the time. ‘A little fresh air was all we needed. The gate wasn't supposed to be open but he slipped out.'

‘We'd all feel better if you slipped back in with him. You came from that cottage, didn't you? Your mum's? I'll walk you back now.'

Now that Bogie knew there was no threat he ran ahead and back again, only to turn and repeat the process.

‘Don't let me keep you from what you were doing, Inspector – we'll go back soon.' She paused and looked him in the eye. ‘What were you doing wandering around out here at this time of the morning?'

He took in an exasperated breath and let it out. ‘Police work often requires long hours.'

She waited. He'd have to say something more illuminating eventually.

‘We're thinking of setting up an incident room in the parish hall,' he said.

He was good at diversionary tactics. ‘Really?'

‘Unless we get a sudden break in this case it looks as if we'll be around for … well, for as long as it takes.'

‘I'm coming to see you in the morning. Should I come to the station still, or the parish hall?'

‘You're seeing me now. What's on your mind?'

He sounded tired but he was trying not to be too short with her. Talking to him now might have been fine, if Brother Percy hadn't shown up at the Black Dog earlier. Now there seemed so much more focus to what she wanted to talk about.

‘Bogie,' she called, hurrying after the dog. ‘Don't get too far away.' This was an opportunity to see if O'Reilly would reveal something she didn't already know.

Unfortunately, Bogie ran obediently back, and at once, taking away her excuse for staying out here. Alex shot off with the dog beside her, forcing a laugh and pretending to play with the animal, who leaped on a bench. He gave her a huge, doggy grin. Alex went to clear snow from the bench and sit beside him. He promptly climbed on her lap and she clipped on his lead.

O'Reilly followed and sat down without being invited.

Neither of them spoke for what felt like ages. Wood smoke drifted, pungent, on the air; some the remnants of fires now little more than embers in the grates of still-sleeping households, some the fresh work of the earliest risers.

Alex looked over her shoulder toward the Black Dog. They kept the colored lanterns on all night. They looked washed out now but she still liked the idea of being a welcome sign to anyone passing by.

‘Is Alex short for Alexandra?' O'Reilly asked.

‘Yes.'

‘Nice.'

‘Prissy,' she said, and laughed. She hadn't expected a personal question. ‘Why are you walking around out here – really? Following up a clue?'

‘You could say that. In a broad sense.'

She laced her gloved fingers together and hunched down into the neck of her parka.

‘It's getting on for five,' he said. ‘Won't your mother be worried if she gets up and you're gone?'

‘Mum doesn't get up at five. Anyway, she'll only think I'm out with Bogie, which I am. What kind of clue are you following?'

‘You don't need to worry about that. I wanted to ask again if you saw anything unusual on the morning you found the body. Anything that's come back to you? Doesn't matter how small and insignificant you think it is.'

So she wouldn't get any information from him, but he expected her to keep answering questions. ‘Other than finding the body, you mean?' Facetious remarks weren't one of her habits but he frustrated her.

O'Reilly didn't answer.

‘I didn't,' she said finally. ‘What I'd like to know is what you and your people found that
I
didn't notice. I was too shocked to be looking around the way I should have.'

‘Don't worry about anything you didn't see,' he said. ‘That's up to us.'

In other words, mind your own business while the grownups do their work.
‘You've probably done me a favor by showing up,' she said in a rush, unsure why she chose that moment to come clean. ‘I should tell you something. You'll save me a trip.'

‘Go on.' He meant to sound casual, but the timbre of his voice edged down.

‘Something happened last night. I met an interesting man and I want you to meet him, too. Evidently he did come to see your people but he didn't think they were interested in what he had to say so he didn't push it.'

‘What are you talking about?'

O'Reilly stood up and Alex joined him, clutching Bogie to her. She didn't want the man looming over her while she remained seated.

‘What man?'

Brother Percy's permission should have been asked before she threw him to the police again. He obviously wasn't keen on them. ‘He'll leave Folly sometime this morning. I don't know how early but I want to catch him first. I think you ought to talk to him yourself. He's a monk, like the dead man.'

O'Reilly sighed. ‘It might have been useful to keep that connection out of the public eye. Between you and your friend the vet, it was impossible.'

Alex ignored the remark. ‘He wanted to see the dead man but they wouldn't let him because he doesn't have proper ID.'

‘What's this monk's name?'

‘Percy. Brother Percy.'

O'Reilly looked skyward. ‘Anything other than that, like a last name, I can hope?'

‘His order leaves all that behind – they travel light and that includes taking simple names that have nothing to do with given ones.'

‘Who did he talk to among my people?' He was growing more intense.

‘You can ask him all that.' She didn't want to grass Lamb up. ‘He's staying at the vicarage with Reverend Restrick. I wanted to get there early so I didn't miss him.'

‘Why didn't you call me as soon as you thought this was important?'

Now he was unsettling her. ‘I don't know. I was going to see you this morning and I decided I'd bring Brother Percy with me, if he wanted to come. He knew Brother Dominic.'

Heavy silence lasted only seconds. ‘Is that what you think the dead man's name was?'

‘Probably. Brother Percy is sure it's him. He knew about Bogie.' She rubbed her chin on Bogie's head. ‘He did say he's got something he wanted to return to Brother Dominic.'

‘And you didn't think you should come to me with that information at once?' O'Reilly took her by the arm, gently enough, and set off purposefully for the street and the village itself. A thunderous atmosphere descended on them and it was generated entirely by the policeman.

He strode along until Alex was running to keep up with him.

‘Hey, stop!' She planted her feet. O'Reilly released her arm immediately. ‘Are you planning to barge into the vicarage at … at whatever time it is now?'

‘Past five,' he told her, illuminating his watch. ‘And that's what I'm going to do. Or rather I'm going to ring the bell and ask to see this Brother Percy.'

‘Why can't you let me give him some warning first?' Now she really felt guilty.

‘You've done your part. Better late than never. You've told the police what you should have told them the minute you spoke to this man. Why don't you go home? I'll make sure you get inside.'

Bogie squeaked and she realized she was holding him too tightly. ‘I'm not a member of the police force.'

‘No, you're not, and—'

‘And I don't follow your orders, Inspector.' She cut him off. ‘Nor have I done anything wrong. I didn't ask to be involved in this case but I am, and I'm not going to get much peace until it's solved. So forgive me if I'm interested, and for feeling responsible for the person I just alerted you to. If I hadn't persuaded him to stay with the vicar, he'd already be gone.'

‘Don't interfere in police business,' O'Reilly said shortly. ‘Your actions suggest you want to be in the middle here. It isn't your place to decide when and where we do our job.'

Not trusting herself to say another word, Alex took off toward St Aldwyn's and the vicarage. Her face burned and she was glad he couldn't see how he had embarrassed and angered her.

‘OK, OK.' O'Reilly fell into step beside her again. ‘I was harsh, but you asked for it.'

Her teeth ground together with the effort of not saying something she could regret later.

The walk to Mallard Lane and St Aldwyn's took only minutes. In the unnatural early light, the church with its leaning gravestones and the hulking silhouettes of whispering old trees took on an ominous cast.

In seconds the moon disappeared, leaving only matte gray skies in its wake.

‘What's the quickest way to the vicarage?' O'Reilly asked.

‘Through the churchyard. I still think it's too early to do this.'

‘You may be right.' He sounded less belligerent. ‘But I can't afford to take any added risk of losing him. If I haven't already.'

Light rain began to fall and Alex yanked up the hood of her parka. Still her face quickly became damp. It felt good.

They walked along beside the church. Faint glowing shone through stained glass windows. Moss-slick gates opened with a creaky whine beneath the roof of a lych-gate into the modest grounds around the vicarage. Bogie was getting heavy in Alex's arms but she didn't want to put him down here.

The Victorian house was handsome, if dark and forbidding. There was no sign of life.

O'Reilly went directly to the front door beneath its heavy arch of bare vine.

He halted abruptly and held up a hand for Alex to do the same. The thick door wasn't quite closed.

The sharp ring of the bell startled Alex. She'd been rattled more than enough for one night.

That ring didn't echo through the house, but sounded as if it hit a sodden blanket just out of sight.

O'Reilly waited a few seconds before hitting the bell again, and lights came up on an upper floor, filtered, dull yellow, downstairs and across the narrow visible wedge of black and white stone tiles on the floor inside the door.

Reverend Restrick arrived, minus his clerical collar and scuffing in check wool slippers. His white hair stood up and he looked harassed. ‘Look at this,' he said of the door. ‘It's a good job Charlotte's away. She's always after me for not shutting it properly. Is something wrong?' he added, which should be expected since calls like this were only likely to be a sign of trouble in the village.

‘I hope not, Reverend,' O'Reilly said.

Alex pressed herself forward. ‘Sorry, Reverend. Brother Percy came back to spend the night with you. Could we speak to him?'

O'Reilly's stare bored into her face.

‘So early?' Reverend Restrick asked. ‘I think the poor man was exhausted … I don't suppose you opened the door?' He looked hopeful.

‘It was already open,' O'Reilly said, all business. ‘I want to make sure I see the brother before he leaves the village. Ms Bailey-Jones has told me what the man said last night.'

So formal now.

‘Yes,' the vicar nodded and stood back to wave them inside. ‘I understand, but he really was worn out. I was hoping he'd get a good long sleep. He thought he'd be away really early but I doubt it.'

‘He could have left,' O'Reilly said, ever the logical one.

‘I'll wake him.' The glance Reverend Restrick gave O'Reilly was disapproving. ‘Wait in there.'

He left, using the passage that led deeper into the lower floor of the house, and they stepped into a library that had always been a favorite place for Alex from when Harriet Burke used to bring her there for extra study cramming after school hours. They'd had the run of the extensive collection. She put Bogie down and he immediately curled up as if exhausted.

Before a couple of minutes had passed, O'Reilly said, ‘Where the hell are they? The place isn't that big.'

Shifting light crept into the sky beyond leaded windows.

They were looking at one another when a shout came from deep in the house.

‘Stay here.'

The detective strode from the library and his shoes echoed on those stone tiles. He was forever telling her where to be. Alex followed him. This was not her style, not her thing, not her business. She didn't want it to be but fate had brought it her way and O'Reilly wasn't going to be unreasonable with her and get away with it.

Bogie's claws clicked along beside her while she followed dim lights toward the far side of the house. She hadn't been there since she was a teenager but knew the vast, antiquated kitchen was this way together with several other rooms she had never entered.

At last she heard muffled voices and her heart speeded up. The closer she got the clearer she heard the detective barking out questions, and the low answers he got.

Alex hurried. She'd better be ready to be blasted for sticking her nose in but without her, O'Reilly wouldn't be here. Abruptly, Reverend Restrick half ran, half staggered into her. He stared, unseeing, and stumbled in the direction of the kitchen.