Rapture Falls (11 page)

So here he sat waiting to experience the priest first hand, without announcement
,
as he wanted to gage the man first hand and in an honest manner.
He looked again at the dashboard digital clock, the numbers had now crept around to 6.37am, McCullum stretched as much as he could within the limitations of the police issued Ford Mond
eo, he needed a shower,
a coffee
and a toothbrush, he had to settle for the roll of mints that he kept to allay the inevitable morning breath on such occasions.
The early morning was dark and cold and McCullum’s knees cried
out in
submission at the damp and cramp conditions but he was reluctant to turn over the cars motor for the heater for fear of attracting
any unwanted
attention.

The sun was beginning to put in a
reluctant
appearance and the dim light provided began to illuminate the shadowy corners of the churchyard, McCullum cracked his neck and rolled his powerful shoulders he was mid yawn when a flash of movement caught his eye. The figure was gone from his sight in an instant leaving him unsure if he had seen anything at all, his head tilted to the left as his face showed the puzzled processing functions of his brain, his musings were interrupted by the welcome manifestation of Father Jacobs purposeful stride toward the church.

The
priests
age was listed as fifty seven
but he had the walk of much younger man, he was tall and fit looking, the priest suddenly stooped and snapped toward McCullums position, he instantly sank into his seat beneath the windscreen, then immediately chastised himself for his incomprehensible actions, at this distance and in the light there was no possible way that Jacobs could have seen him, but still he felt strangely wary, the priest then turned back towards his church and headed inside.

McCullum waited for a few more seconds before exiting the car into the bitter morning and strode to the church gates, to his surprise they swung open without a high pitched gothic groan
,
the gravel path crunched nosily beneath his feet as he approached the imposingly large solid oak door. McCullum reached out and banged the wrought iron heavy knocker, the sound resonated and echoed throughout the churches interior, soon footsteps began to approach with intention, the door swung open and Jacobs stood before him. A flicker of anger flashed across the priests face so quickly that McCullum was not sure if it had
ever existed
at all, all of a sudden Jacobs
’
charisma flowed in powerful pulsating waves that McCullum felt despite his professional detachment and
surprisingly
he felt a
smile raise across his face despite himself.

“Yes?”
the priest inquired politely.

“Father Jacobs”, McCullum asked not wanting the priest to know that he knew him already.

“I am indeed, how can I help you?”

McCullum fished out his ID and offered it, he watched the mans face carefully,
upon
the presentation of
his police identification,
he had seen faces showing
varying emotions,
fear, guilt, intimidation and excitement, the priest merely looked on impassively with patience, McCullum filed the response away for later review,

“I wondered if you could spare me
a little time to talk about
Arwel Thomas”.

Jacobs dropped his head and lowered his eyes, “Ah, such a tragedy
” he spoke in hushed tones,
“Please, come in come in” the
priest stepped aside and McCullum entered the churches sanctum.

Jacobs led him into and through his house of worship, the light was risen enough for them to navigate toward a door at the rear, the interior of the church was large and airy, the pews were well kept and a lemony scent rose from them presumably from almost constant
,
violent
polishing. A large and daunting alter held sway over the room, McCullum could
suddenly
picture the priest holding court over his disciples,
emanating waves of peace and tranquility, soothing troubles and washing away doubts and fears,
he suddenly sto
pped himself mid thought stream. Sub
consciously
he seemed to have developed an
almost instant like for the priest, thi
s troubled him as he never formed instant opinions on anyone, priding
himself on an emotional detachment that allowed him to observe without judgment.

They had walked through the church in silence until they reached the re
ar door, Jacobs ushered him into a smallish office, McCullum’s aching joints sighed relief with the welcome warmth of the room.

“Please sit Inspector” Jacobs pointed to an antique looking heavy set chair.

McCullum sat into the historic piece of furniture, he had not identified his rank to the priest who must have read his ID very closely in the short space of
time that he had held it aloft.

“A terrible business this suicide” Jacobs spoke quietly and with pain, “I blame myself you know” he swung a look at McCullum, “Not in any direct manner I assure you” he continued with a slight friendly smile. “It is my duty to care for my flock detective, if one of my children is suffering in such a way then I really should have realised”
, the priest stood with his back to McCullum, hands clasped behind his back and head bowed.

“How well did you know Arwel?” McCullum posed.

“I know all of my children here, I know them and they know me, here lies their sanctuary” he turned and swept his arms wide, “This is where they can always come for my love and understanding”.

“Is there any reason that you can think of that may have been behind Arwel’s motives, any problems that he may
have mentioned?” McCullum was
beginning to feel the
full
fo
rce of the priest’s personality
with
in the
small
confines of
the
office
, making his thoughts swim together, warmly and blurred
.

“I searched my soul many fold for the answer to that question Inspector, but I can find no answers other than the will of God, it was his decision to recall his child to his side and we must all abide by his word”.

“Was Arwel involved with the church outside of norm
al services” McCullum continued, now struggling to even remember his
reasons for being here bothering
this
gentle
man of God
.

“No not really, I believe that he gave a talk to some of our younger members, a positive role model if you will, keeping the youths on the straight and narrow” Jacobs’ friendly smile, McCullum noticed, did not seem to quite touch his eyes.

“Have you ever heard the name Baine before” he asked wanting to turn the conversation abruptly, he scanned the priest’s eyes for recognition or concealment he co
uldn’t be sure if he saw either and disliked himself for even trying, obviously this kindly man was unworthy of his suspicions.

Jacobs folded his arms across his chest and looked the perfect picture of thoughtful consideration, “I don’t think so Inspector, no, no I’m afraid that the name doesn’t ring any bells so to speak, why is it important?”

             
“No I don’t think so Sir, just a name that popped up somewhere”,
McCullum waved a hand
to
dismiss the very notion
.
“Well if you can think of anything please call me”,
he
stood and handed the priest his business card with his police extension and his mobile numbers
whilst
at the
same time feeling dismayed at the wrenching sensation at having to leave the Priests’ presence
.

Jacobs opened the door for him, for the briefest of moments their arms brushed and McCullum felt a stab of revulsion at the
slight
contact, it
passed as soon as they broke
leaving him to wonder if it had ever existed at all
.

McCullum step
ped first back into the church, the
morning
light now cascaded through the
impressive stain glass windows and
the rainbow colours
strikingly lit the interior.
The
Jacobs
followed him out
,
they
reached the door and Jacobs stepped past
to open his exit.

“I’ll be sure to keep you in mind Inspector”
the priest said
bidding him farewell
.

McCullum passed through the doorway back into the damp morning,
floating on the warm words,
he turned to respond and
express a confused thanks but only
fou
nd himself facing a closed door.
H
is crunching footsteps accompanied him back to his waiting car, he suddenly span back toward the churchyard, something was there, something was watching, he scanned the landscape for the source but he could see nothing and no-one. McCullum had possessed and trusted his instincts for way too long now to doubt his senses, someone had been there he was sure, the soggy ground
began
to eat through his feet and creep toward his knees, he shrugged and headed back to the comforting warmth of his vehicle, something
felt
wrong here,
he could not place it but felt a strange urge to protect the benevolent priest, he felt unable to leave as though he now had a new obligation to Father Jacobs and St Paul’s. The longer he sat here across
from the churches shadows the feeling began to subside to dull ache in the pit of his stomach, eventually he started the engine and eased away.

             
Baine watched the man with interest from his vantage point, he could spot the police walk a mile away, from his plain clothes dress he could tell that the man was a detective and from his age and confident composed stride obvious a fairly senior one. The man was tall and powerful
ly built, he had a balance and g
race despite his size, Baine’s keen intuition always warned him of opponents to avoid if confrontation was not extremely necessary and for the time being
at least
it was not. Baine had arrived at the church first thing only to be to
have his plans thwarted by the appearance of
the detective, he h
ad observed their conversation
with
a
growing interest
that had peeked
at the unexpected mention of his own name. If the detective, this McCullum, was any sort of a policeman he would have smelt the priest’s lies when denying any
recognition
of his name
, Baine had no idea of his
own
connection to the priest nor why Gabriel had directed them together but he sure as hell intended to find out.
Baine started
his way back around to the rear of the building, he pirouetted his path through the large gothic tombstones that bared his progress
and began to edge toward a small service door. The
old
disused entrance
groaned and strained in protest as Baine forced it open as stealthily as he could, he came into the building to the right of the alter within the lengthy shadows and moved towards the office door.
Through the
solid oak
he could make out the
sounds of the priest who
appeared to be us
ing the phone, Baine sank down with his
back to the
door
and listened.