‘You and I are not so different,’ Vicar Daniels said. ‘We both want to see justice done.’
‘No, I just find the people responsible for committing a crime. I don’t decide on the punishment. I leave that to the law.’
‘But the law of God is very clear.’
‘And shouldn’t God be the one to decide who gets punished? From my understanding it is about being able to forgive. Isn’t that the way you get peace? Let go of the anger?’
‘I… I tried.’ Vicar Daniels bought his hand to his head and winced.
‘You’re not well. Please, let me help you. Just leave the gun and come with me.’
Vicar Daniels took his hand away from the gun. ‘I’m tired and lost. I did do the right thing, didn’t I?’
Meadows stood slowly. ‘Come on, let me take you somewhere you can rest.’
‘No.’ Vicar Daniels grabbed the gun.
‘Okay.’ Meadows held his hands up and sat back down. ‘Too many people have already died. Don’t you think it’s time to end it?’
‘Yes,’ Vicar Daniels said. ‘That’s what I intend to do but you are distracting me, all these questions. I’m trying to get you to understand.’
‘I do,’ Meadows said. ‘What happened to Erin was tragic. She needed help and the doctor failed her on that count, but did he really deserve to die?’
‘It was the only way. I had to ease their suffering.’
‘And Stacey Evans? I doubt she realised that her actions would lead to Erin’s death. She was just a kid herself. Who knows what guilt she carried?’
‘She was never sorry.’
‘I guess we will never know,’ Meadows said. He noticed the vicar glance at his watch again and wondered what he was waiting for. ‘This started with Dr Rowlands. Is it because you are sick? I saw the letters from the hospital.’
‘This was never about me. You’ve seen yourself the damage that was done to Harry Lewis. Gemma and Rhodri were so thankful to God for sparing their child, but he is still suffering, all of them are. The nightly fits, the worry that the next fit will be too much for his young body. Then there was the anger that ate away at Rhodri and corroded his relationship with Gemma.’
‘But you also suffered. What happened?’
‘It started out as headaches, but not the normal ones you get. Then I started to feel sick. Dr Rowlands said it was cluster headaches caused by stress. So I did what he advised, cut down on caffeine, and take more exercise.’ Vicar Daniels smiled. ‘I guess it’s my own fault. I should have known it was something more serious, but you trust a doctor, don’t you? Each time I went to see him the diagnosis changed, next it was migraines and medication. By the time he referred me to a neurologist it was too late. An inoperable brain tumour. I started to forget things and think things, bad thoughts kept entering my mind. I had chemo but it was only to give me a little more time. My hair fell out, so I bought a wig. I didn’t want anyone to know.’ He tugged hard at his hair and the wig fell away. ‘I’m dying and I didn’t want to leave behind all this suffering, it was a chance to put things right.’
‘By killing Dr Rowlands?’
‘It came to me in a dream. You know that’s the way God communicates with you. There are loads of examples in the Old Testament. I knew then my calling.’ Vicar Daniels looked at his watch then picked up the gun. ‘I’ve told you everything, it’s time now.’
Chapter Thirty-four
‘Wait,’ Meadows said. ‘You haven’t told me where Detective Valentine is. She was only doing her job.’
‘She was sent to stop me.’
Meadows thought that if he could keep him talking the armed response team would have time to get there. He wasn’t sure what the vicar meant to do. Shoot him? And try to get away? The armed response team may have a better chance of disarming him, maybe a shot that would simply disable him, but if they thought the vicar was about to shoot him they may take a fatal shot. Meadows needed Vicar Daniels alive if he had any chance of finding Valentine.
‘You didn’t kill the doctor alone,’ Meadows said. ‘You had help from Donald.’
‘Yes.’
‘And Sarah, Rhodri, Gemma, and Tomos. Did Mary help you?’
‘Yes?’
‘How did you persuade them?’
Vicar Daniels rested the gun on the floor. ‘I didn’t persuade them. It wasn’t like that. They were chosen.’
‘How?’
‘After I had my diagnosis I was feeling down so I arranged a movie night. They were the only ones to come. No one else bothered out of the whole congregation. The film had a theme of redemption. We talked about those who couldn’t be redeemed, not in this life. I asked them if the hand of God was removed from them, what would they do. Sarah was the first to speak. She said she would kill Stacey and Dr Rowlands if there was no consequences. Donald agreed with Sarah. Mary of course wanted revenge for her granddaughter, Tomos for his mother, and Gemma for Harry. That’s how it started.
‘We planned an experiment to see how easy it would be to carry it out and if it would lighten our burdens. I bought a pay-as-you-go phone, and we placed a false call to get the doctor out of the house. It worked. Then I drove Mary to Ryan Phillips’ house, and we saw that there was no one around at the dead of night.
‘The more we talked about it the more it made sense. No one would miss Ryan Phillips and his mother. If he was left, he would continue to sell his drugs, until another innocent child or person died. Complaints to the GMC about the doctor had done no good, he would carry on ruining people’s lives. How many more would have to suffer? We knew then that God had put us together and we needed to act.’
‘What about Stacey Evans?’ Meadows asked.
‘Gemma knew about Stacey’s affair with Rhodri, she caught a sexually transmitted disease from him, so she knew he had been unfaithful although she never let on to Rhodri that she knew. Stacey was the sticking point, we couldn’t agree on her penance. So, we decided to let God decide her fate and concentrated on our plan for Dr Rowlands.’
‘You called him out to Iris Hawkins’ house,’ Meadows said. ‘Away from prying eyes, and I guess you knew information about Iris you needed.’
‘Yes, I’m a regular visitor. It’s also where I got the gun. It was her husband’s and I said I would dispose of it for her. When the doctor arrived he found his way blocked by my car. I told him I had a puncture and didn’t have a wheel brace. He didn’t even look at my car. He went straight to his boot. Rhodri was hiding, he came behind the doctor, hit him over the head and we shoved him in the boot, tying his hands and feet together.
‘We drove to the reservoir, transferred him to my boot then dumped his car but kept his phone. The others were waiting at the vicarage. I gave the doctor some morphine. I didn’t want him to suffer too much. It wasn’t easy what we did, and it was too much for Donald. He was sick. Mary kept a look out when we did what was necessary then we moved him in the wheelbarrow to the grave. I wrote on him so it would be there for all eternity. We had dug the grave over a few nights taking it in turns. No one went up that part of the graveyard in the winter; by spring the earth would have settled, and the grass grown over. If it wasn’t for the storm the doctor would still be there, and Donald would still be with us.’
‘You sent a text to Linda Rowlands,’ Meadows said.
‘Yes, it was later than planned because we were all so tired. Then I got rid of the phone, threw it in the river. Linda wasn’t that bothered by her husband’s absence and she’s not exactly a grieving widow. We were a little worried about Donald but Tomos went to see him and convinced him that everything was okay. No one had come for us, no one was looking for the doctor, and God was on our side. I saw a lightness come over Rhodri, a release. Sarah was happier than I had seen her in a long time.
‘We had to do the same for Mary. We waited a few weeks then I drove to Ryan Phillips’ house alone and threw a brick through the back door window. It wasn’t possible to write on their bodies but the words on the brick would
burn with them. The next night I took Mary with me. We parked across the road, then when I was sure there was no one around I crept around the back of the house, removed the board from the broken window and poured in petrol. I moved to the front door and poured petrol through the letter box and soaked a rag. I gave Mary the pleasure of lighting the fire. Then she went back to the car. I couldn’t let the neighbours burn, they were innocent of any crime, so I waited until the fire took hold then I hammered on the door. I saw a light come on then ran to the car and drove off.’
‘Where were the others?’ Meadows asked.
‘They didn’t come with us but would have provided an alibi if we needed one; as it was, no one came to ask questions. Mary gave a statement to the police, but it was just routine, no one guessed she played any part in the fire. That just left Stacey. It was left up to Donald. He didn’t want to kill her, just humiliate her. He had been filming her for a while and he uploaded the video, but it wasn’t enough. We arranged another film night and Donald left as we settled down to watch the film. I decided to follow him. I won’t pretend that I wasn’t shocked by what I saw. She’d tempted him and he’d succumbed.’
‘Tempted him? He tied her up and raped her,’ Meadows said.
‘That’s what she drove him to do. He left her tied up and alive. She would have known it was him, even with his silly disguise. If Donald got caught we would all be caught. So I killed her for all of us and I felt at peace. I could leave now knowing that they would be okay. There would be no more pain and suffering.’
‘Stacey’s family are suffering, Jean and Ryan Phillips had a family, and what about Donald’s parents? They have lost their only son.’
‘I know and I pray for them every day. Donald was a lovely boy, and I didn’t want to kill him. That was my final test.’ A tear ran down Vicar Daniels face. ‘He’d got himself in a state and was convinced that he would be arrested and charged with Stacey’s murder. He knew of course that one of us must have gone after him. It was too much in the end and he wanted to come clean. I went up the quarry and took him a flask of tea. I put in some morphine, I didn’t want him to suffer. I told him everything he had done had been for Erin and now he could have some peace. He said the only way to have peace now was to confess. I persuaded him to go to the top of the quarry so we could say a prayer together for Erin. He guessed my intention at the last minute and he struggled but the morphine had made him weak, so it didn’t take much to get him over.
‘The look in his eyes will go with me to the grave. Sometimes I felt like I had been dreaming, then I would get moments of clarity and panic. I never meant for things to get out of hand. When I saw all those people at Rhodri’s house last night, it scared me. They were so angry. It’s not what I want to leave behind. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.’ Vicar Daniels stood up and picked up the gun. ‘I’m so tired now.’
‘Please, just tell me where Valentine is,’ Meadows said.
‘She is safe with Saint Herbert.’ Vicar Daniels gave Meadows a smile then put the gun under his chin and pulled the trigger.
Chapter Thirty-five
The gun shot was still ringing in Meadows’ ears as the armed response team moved in. He had stood up before the vicar shot himself, he recalled shouting out but there was nothing he could do.
‘Are you okay?’ Edris asked.
Meadows turned his head away from the horror in front of him. ‘Yeah, I’m fine.’
‘For a moment I thought… we heard the gunshot.’
Meadows took a moment to gather his thoughts. ‘We still need to find Valentine.’
‘Did he tell you where to find her?’
‘No, he said she was with Saint Herbert.’
‘What? No.’
‘It doesn’t mean she’s dead.’ Meadows put his hand on Edris’ shoulder. ‘We need to think. Where would we find Saint Herbert?’
Edris looked blank.
‘The graveyard,’ Meadows said. ‘A tomb, old headstone, come on.’
Paskin hurried up to Meadows as soon as he stepped outside the church. ‘Rhodri Lewis and Sarah Kelly’s cars have been found parked at ABS hire. It looks like they hired a minibus.’
‘The vicar kept looking at his watch. He was trying to give them time. You need to alert all ports and airports. They could be leaving the country. Get a trace on the minibus and see what direction it was heading. Although I think it may be too late. Hanes, go into the village and look to see if you can find a memorial for Saint Herbert or anything connected to him, that’s our only clue to Valentine’s whereabouts. The rest of you’ – he looked at the uniformed officers that were gathered – ‘search the graveyard. Every inch.’
Meadows got a torch from the car and went to the oldest graves, his torch running over each stone and the surrounding area looking for any disturbance. All around he could see torchlights moving through the graveyard as officers spread out.
‘She’s not here,’ Meadows called to Edris.
‘What about the quarry?’ Edris asked. ‘It’s named after him.’
‘Good thinking.’
* * *
They raced up the mountain side with a stream of blue lights following behind. The barrier was still down allowing them to drive into the quarry.
‘Valentine!’ Edris shouted into the darkness.
‘Valentine, Reena, can you hear us,’ Meadows called as he ran to the kilns.
As the quarry filled with shouts and torchlight, Meadows sat down on a nearby rock. He could feel his hope of finding Valentine alive ebbing away and see it in the faces of those searching. He wished he could light a joint to clear his head. He tried to think over all that Vicar Daniels had said to him in the last moments, and all the places connected to the case. He was fairly certain now that she wasn’t with the others, they wouldn’t risk taking her with them if they were fleeing the country and the vicar had no cause to lie to him. Vicar Daniels must have been sure he could work out the location, Meadows thought.
‘She’s not here,’ Edris said.
‘Let’s go back to the church, there may be something in the records. For all we know, Saint Herbert could be buried at another church or a memorial set up outside the village somewhere.’
As Meadows drove down the mountain the rain started. A few heavy drops at first then it fell in a great torrent so that even with the windscreen wipers at double speed visibility was poor. It reminded him of the night of the storm and the men that stood at the bridge laying sandbags.
‘She could be out in this,’ Edris said. ‘What if she’s lying in a ditch somewhere and the water is coming in. Did anyone check under the bridge? That water rises quickly.’
‘You’re letting your imagination run away with you,’ Meadows said. ‘We’ll get someone to check the bridge, but I was thinking about the night of the storm and how the graveyard is sloped.’
‘Yeah, and?’
‘Sandbags were put along the church. The caretaker said it was to stop the water running below. Some of the old churches had crypts, didn’t they?’
‘They would have buried important people there,’ Edris said.
Meadows put his foot down and when they reached the church, they both leapt out of the car and ran around the outside. Meadows kept his torch on the ground close to the stone of the church building as he looked for an entrance.
‘There’s nothing here,’ Edris said.
‘Then it has to be inside.’ Meadows led the way in. SOCO were collecting evidence and Vicar Daniels hadn’t been moved. ‘Check down the side.’ Meadows moved down the aisle, the sight before him made his stomach flip but he had to pass the scene.
‘I need to get to the nave,’ Meadows said.
Mike, the forensic officer looked up. ‘Go, just try and watch where you step.’
Meadows did his best to use the pathway set out by forensics although some places he couldn’t avoid stepping on as he searched the floor of the nave.
‘Nothing down there,’ Edris said as he picked hi
s way to Meadows.
‘Let’s try the vestry.’
Meadows opened the door and was met by a smell of damp. Against the wall was an oak desk and chair, with shelves above. On the opposite wall, an old wooden cupboard.
‘I’ll check for a register,’ Edris said and approached the cupboard.
Meadows scanned the floor. In the centre of the room was a faded oval rug. He crouched down and pulled the rug. Beneath was a wooden trap door.
‘It’s here.’ Meadows took hold of the iron ring and yanked. The door opened easily to reveal stone steps. The smell of damp and decay grew stronger as Meadows descended the steps.
‘Valentine,’ he called as he shone his torch around.
There was a muffled sound. Meadows shone his torch in the direction and saw two terrified eyes looking at him.
‘Reena.’ Meadows rushed forward with Edris close behind.
Valentine was tied to a wooden post that held up the ceiling. Behind her sat a sarcophagus engraved with Saint Herbert’s name on the side.
Meadows pulled off Valentine’s gag as Edris unbound her hands and legs.
Valentine was shaking violently. Her teeth chattering.
‘It’s okay, you’re safe now,’ Meadows said. He tried to help her to her feet, but she couldn’t stand.
‘I’ve got you.’ Edris scooped her up and carried her to the vestry where he draped his coat around her shoulders.
Meadows fetched a glass of water and handed it to her. ‘Are you hurt?’
‘No, he didn’t hurt me. I’m so sorry. I saw him at the hospital and recognised him. He didn’t have his wig on, and I thought about the synthetic hair found with each victim. I wanted to make sure, so I followed him. I didn’t think he would realise the significance of me seeing him without a wig.’
‘Well, that’s my fault,’ Edris said. ‘I asked him if he knew if any members of his congregation wore a wig.’
‘No, it’s not your fault, I shouldn’t have been so stupid. I thought I would ask him a couple of questions then bring him in. I thought it would make up for messing up with Donald. When I knocked the door he invited me in, said he had been expecting me. Once I was inside he pulled a gun on me. I really fucked up this time.’
A Knot of Sparrows: a murder mystery set in the heart of the valleys Page 22