by Evelyn James
Speaking to the other lads who had been in the garden seemed to confirm this idea. Not long after Howard had last seen his friend, Ramon had gotten into a squabble with another boy and Father Lound had pulled him to one side to talk. Ramon’s temper had not cooled and he stormed off, Lound had gone to follow him. The other lads had waited for them to return, when they did not, they had decided to leave. The lad Ramon had fought with wanted to go home and his friends decided to go with him.
Over and over again, Father Howard insisted that the last time anyone had seen Father Lound was around four o’clock in the garden. After that, he had just vanished into thin air.
Under normal circumstances, the disappearance of a grown man would not have caused the police to act at once, especially as his suitcase was missing. But war was not normal and the police were conscious that it was a dangerous thing to ignore sudden disappearances. A search was begun and all the lads in the garden re-interviewed. Ramon Devereaux was surly with the police, but did eventually admit he had lied about seeing Father Lound later in the day. He had regretted storming off and was concerned he would not be paid for the work he had already done. When Father Howard saw him, he had made up some fiction about Father Lound telling him to do the work there and then to cover up the fact he had walked off.
The last time Ramon Devereaux saw Father Lound was when he had pulled him aside for fighting. Ramon had to get away from everyone. He had hastily walked away and headed into the woods where he raged for a while, threw stones at trees and generally let out his anger in harmless ways. He never saw Father Lound and did not know the priest had tried to follow him.
Louis Maes confirmed Ramon’s story. Ramon had told him he had to finish filling in a trench or he would not get paid. Louis was not the brightest of buttons and he followed Ramon like a sheep. When Ramon asked him to help, Louis agreed, even though he was not being paid for the task. He also went along with Ramon when he told Father Howard he had seen Lound mere moments before.
The problem was, Louis said whatever Ramon wanted him to say. There was no way to know if the boy was telling the truth.
The police very rapidly discovered that the trail had gone dry. There was no clue to where Father Lound had gone, no witness to him leaving the town. After doing their best to search the area, the police had to admit defeat. Father Lound was just… gone.
The failure stung, but there was nothing to be done about it. After a while, Father Howard stopped asking the police if there was any news and everyone came to accept that Father Lound was not coming back. Whether he was dead or living somewhere in secret, no one knew. The disappearance of the Devereauxs the same night was treated as coincidence at first, then there was talk that Father Lound’s friendship with the family meant that he had run off with them. Everything after that was pure speculation, and the police had wisely avoided noting it in their file. They had to conclude that this was a case they could not solve.
Tommy read every piece of paper in the file, going back to some a couple of times to ensure he had missed nothing. At last he closed the cover and rolled the tension out of his shoulders.
“I can’t say there is much here,” he told Colonel Brandt. “I’ll make some notes for Clara, however. She may see something I can’t.”
“You’ve done better than me,” Brandt sighed. “As you know I have a medical background, with my father being a doctor, but these autopsy notes and findings are defying my understanding. Maybe the terms are unique to Belgium, but even when I translate them they don’t make sense. I think we need to talk to the surgeon who looked at them in the first place, Monsieur Jacobs. He should be able to provide better insight.”
“Is there anything in the file of use?” Tommy asked.
“Only what we already know. The skeleton was found in a grave near the side of the road that leads to the shrine of St Helena. There was no physical evidence at the scene to suggest who was responsible. The impression I get from the file is that the police thought the victim was most likely Father Lound.”
“I don’t blame them,” Tommy nodded. “He did vanish mysteriously. No trace of his suitcase, I suppose? His suitcase was missing from his room.”
“No sign of that,” Colonel Brandt answered.
“Right, well let’s track down this surgeon and see what he can tell us. Maybe there was more to those bones than met the eye.”
They returned the files to Peeters in his office and explained they wanted to speak to Dr Jacobs, the local surgeon who had been called upon to look at the bones. With war still raging in the background, it was difficult in 1918 to transport bodies to the larger laboratories for examination. The next best thing was to get a local surgeon to look at them. Luckily, Dr Jacobs had experience with such things as he had been an anatomist. It was felt his analysis of the bones would be as good as anyone else’s.
Peeters not only gave them Dr Jacobs’ address, but directions to his home.
“He’ll talk your ears off,” he said with a groan. “Don’t expect to get away with just a brief conversation.”
Tommy and Brandt thanked Peeters and headed off to make the acquaintance of the surgeon. There was still plenty of time left in the afternoon, and they aimed to make good use of it.
Chapter Sixteen
Clara believed in striking while the iron was hot. Madame Smet had told them about Lina Peeters’ relationship with Father Lound and Clara wanted to speak to the girl in person and learn what she knew about his disappearance. Maybe she knew nothing, but she must have had her suspicions. It was only natural to wonder what had happened to someone you cared about deeply.
They were able to find out where Lina lived from the helpful nurse they had met before. She had not even hesitated to tell them where to go. The house was not far, even with the two women taking a couple of wrong turns along the way. They arrived just after dinner, a little hungry as they had not eaten. Annie was complaining mildly that they had not been invited to dine at the old people’s home. As a guest of Madame Smet, they might have been offered just a little something. She thought it was bad manners. Clara promised they would eat heartily that evening to make up for it.
Lina Peeters lived in a pretty chateau with roses in the garden and a small lily pond. She had yet to marry and functioned as a housekeeper for her brother. The nurse had hinted that the locals thought Lina would never marry. She was already thirty and seemed disinterested in the menfolk of the town. Madame Smet had overheard this and commented that she had always deemed Lina a sensible lady. Besides, she had added, once you have lost your true love it is hard to go for second best.
The nurse had not understood, but Clara did. If Madame Smet was correct, then Father Lound had broken the girl’s heart and left her unable to move on with her life.
They knocked at the door of the chateau and it was only a moment before a pretty woman opened the door to them. Lina Peeters was not quite as tall as Clara, with glossy brown hair and vivid green eyes. She looked sad, that struck Clara at once. It was not that she just looked sombre at that moment in time, there was a sense about her that she was never happy, that joy had left her life never to return. Unlike Madame Coppens, she did not show any surprise at strangers on her doorstep, she barely showed any interest.
“Madame Peeters? I am Clara Fitzgerald, I have come from England to investigate the disappearance of Father Lound on behalf of his sister. I have been told you might be able to help me?”
Lina stared at her dully for a moment, then she nodded.
“I guess I might be able to help,” she sighed. “Emily, that was his sister’s name, yes?”
“Yes,” Clara agreed. “She is desperate to know what became of her brother.”
“Aren’t we all?” Lina said.
She backed away from the door and let them in. Despite her appearance of unhappiness and ambivalence to life, Lina was a good hostess. She settled them in her front room and offered them coffee and cake, the latter most welcome to Annie who was famished.
; “I think about Christian every day,” Lina said when her guests were comfortable. “Who told you to come to me?”
“Madame Smet,” Clara admitted.
Lina smiled softly to herself.
“Madame Smet knew about Christian and I. We were fond of one another, but he never betrayed his vows to the Church,” Lina gave a small moan as she lowered herself into a chair. “I prayed night after night for something to happen, to change our relationship. I prayed that God would let my Christian go free. I never thought my prayers would be answered in such a way.”
“I don’t think this was God’s work,” Clara said gently. “Not that I am a believer, but I think whatever happened to Father Lound had the hand of man behind it.”
Lina became thoughtful, focusing on Clara.
“You know about the bones?”
“Yes.”
“It isn’t Christian,” Lina said bluntly. “I know.”
“How?” Clara asked, wondering if the girl had information as to where Father Lound had gone.
“I went to look at them,” Lina said. “My brother is the Chief Inspector, I had him pull some strings. I had to look at them, so I would know for sure. As soon as I touched that skull I knew it was not Christian. My heart told me.”
Clara’s hopes for a physical clue were dashed. Instinct was all very well, but it could be wrong.
“Are you willing to tell me about your relationship with Father Lound?” Clara asked instead.
Lina smiled, for a moment there was a sparkle to her face that brought her alive and made her not just pretty, but truly beautiful. Some people have an aura around them, Lina was one of those people. When her energy was strong, so she glowed from within. It was a glow that Clara felt was rare these days.
“Christian and I were kindred spirits. I know people say these things, but it is true,” Lina touched near her eye as if she had sensed tears about to fall. “He was a good friend and I loved him. I know he loved me back. But, his calling was a barrier between us. I am not Catholic, that made it hard to understand how his vows could prevent him from being happy.”
Lina bit her lower lip and her head sunk a little.
“We lied to ourselves, pretended we were not in love. It was torture. My brother thought I was insane, told me to forget about Christian and move on with my life, but I could not. Even when we were apart I thought of him constantly. I longed for him. There was nothing unholy or sinful about my feelings, I am sure of this,” Lina took a trembling breath. “As our feelings grew, so Christian became more and more torn. We would meet sometimes and talk about everything, about all the possibilities before us. He was considering leaving the priesthood. He hinted at it. The problem was, I think that would have broken him a little. He was so honourable, so loyal. He took his vows incredibly seriously, yet he also took his duty towards me, his love for me, seriously. I knew there would be no simple answer for us.
“Some people say he left because of me, because of his feelings. He left rather than break his vows. They don’t know Christian like I do, or rather, did. To just run away without explaining himself to me would have been too cowardly a thing to do. Christian could not have lived with himself. If he intended to disappeared, he would have told me why. I know this. I know it in my heart.
“You don’t have to believe me, but I will always trust that Christian did not leave this town of his own free will. He was forced to go, and there was no time to speak to me, no time to even write.”
Lina stopped. Her breathing had become rapid and she was clearly pained by what she was saying.
“All these things tell me he is dead,” she said at last. “Otherwise, he would have tried to let me know. Those first few months I kidded myself, I told myself a letter would come, and when it did not come, I said that it had gone astray. Eventually, I knew it was never coming. That’s when I realised Christian was dead.”
“Then surely the bones…”
“No,” Lina interrupted Clara firmly. “The skeleton in the woods was not Christian. I know this. I know it here.”
Lina pressed a hand to her chest, pressing it over her heart.
“Do you have any idea what became of him then?” Clara asked.
Lina folded her hands in her lap. The glow had disappeared. She looked vulnerable suddenly.
“I have many theories. You know that the Devereauxs disappeared the same night?”
“Yes,” Clara nodded. “And some say he ran off with them.”
Lina gave a weak laugh.
“People are stupid, Christian disliked the Devereauxs.”
“I thought he was friends with them?” Clara said, suddenly surprised.
“He was helping them, because it was his duty as a man of God, but he didn’t like them. He felt they were all so full of sin. As Christian put it, God did not make certain things sinful to spoil our fun, no, he recognised these things as being harmful to us, and so he made it plain we should not do them. Christian knew that the Church had added to the list, but that was different, he was talking about the original seven deadly sins. He saw that the Devereauxs were riddled with sin and he desperately wanted to help them so they could improve their lives.
“Madame Devereaux was incredibly proud. Her pride made her vulnerable in a way she did not wish to believe. She hurt herself by this pride, making enemies instead of friends and placing herself in a position where she was tied up in knots by her proud manner. Then there was Elena. She was with a different man every day of the week and was paid for her services. Christian tried to get her decent work, but she would have none of it. She thought it was clever to use her body to earn a living.
“Until she fell pregnant, that is. Then there was Ramon, whose temper and loose morals had caused his family much grief. He stole from people and he hurt those who stood against him. Christian was trying to impress upon him what it was to be a good man, trying to be a father-figure to him, which was very hard.
“No. He was trying to make them better, trying to help them, but to call it a friendship as such is to go too far. I think at times they detested him.”
Though it was not what many others had told her, Clara did not doubt Lina’s insight. She would have been in a position to know all this. Madame Smet had hinted at the same. She had mentioned how Elena had despised the priest, how he was always trying to persuade her to give up her life of prostitution.
“I found a letter Father Lound had sent to his sister. It appeared that he had attempted to erase a name from it. I thought the name might have been Beatrice, as in Beatrice Devereaux?” Clara said, deciding to test Lina’s theory.
“And you thought that implied he was trying to mask his relationship with her?” Lina shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe it was just an error? He wrote the wrong name and could not be bothered to write out the whole letter again? Maybe he thought his sister would read something more into his words than he wanted? I don’t know, there could be a dozen reasons, but I can assure you, Christian was no more than a good servant to those people. He did too much for them. It was like they were his project. Don’t read too much into it. That is what everyone here does.”
Clara felt she had a point. One letter did not constitute an affair. It had seemed a tantalising insight at one time, but the more she learned, the more Clara was inclined to think it was just an innocuous quirk, a minor incident that meant nothing. Father Lound was annoyed at having made an error and decided to take the time to correct it. That could be all it was.
“When did you last see him?” She changed the subject.
“At lunchtime, on the day he vanished. I went to Albion Hope to return a book I had borrowed. There were always many books there and I can read English, even if I can’t speak it. Christian helped me pick out a new book.”
“How did he seem?”
Lina tilted her head and contemplated the question.
“Do you know how often I have gone over those last few hours in my mind, asking myself the exact same question?” She said. “I have s
pent sleepless nights questioning what I saw and what I failed to see. I could tell you a lot of things but, to be quite frank, I have thought and thought about this for so long that I am no longer sure what I actually witnessed that day and what I have imagined I witnessed since.”
“I understand,” Clara replied. “I suppose, if you had felt worried about Christian, you would have considered it more at the time?”
“Yes,” Lina nodded keenly, trying to emphasise that, had she known, she would have done everything in her power to change what happened next. “I was not worried. I didn’t even know he was missing until my brother told me. I was stunned. I still am stunned.”
“Did you ever hear the talk that Father Lound was suspected of being a German spy?” Clara said without thinking, then she corrected herself. “I apologise, that was rather blunt.”
“Please,” Lina raised a hand to indicate she did not require an apology, “Christian has been gone too long for us to pussy-foot around. To answer your question, I was not aware of that. Why would anyone think such a thing?”
Clara gave her a full outline of Colonel Matthews’ ploy to reveal the enemy agent. Lina began to frown.
“What an odd thing. I can say with utter confidence that Christian would never have betrayed us. But then why did he have those papers? Why would he not explain himself?” Lina considered her own questions. “I see why a person who did not know Christian would think it suspicious. However, I also know that Christian would never run away from his responsibilities. Whatever his reason for taking those papers, he would have been prepared to face the judgement and punishment of the British army for his actions. He was not a coward.”
“What if he was protecting someone?” Clara asked. “After all, the military were certain there was a spy in this town, and if it was not Father Lound, then we have to ask ourselves who was it really?”
“I can’t help you. Other than to say it was not me. If it had been me, I would not have allowed Christian to sacrifice himself for me,” a tear escaped Lina’s self-control and trickled down her cheek. “I have never met another man like him, I don’t think I ever will. He was my true love and I would have laid down my life for him. I shall forever be broken from his loss.”