The Gospel Makers

by Anthea Fraser

Webb nodded at the two men, both of whom he’d met previously, and gave Hannah a brief, perfunctory smile. ‘I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. Now, Miss James, I believe the deceased was a member of your staff?’

  Hannah moistened dry lips. ‘That’s right.’ Her voice croaked and she cleared her throat and added for the sake of clarity, ‘Yes.’

  ‘Were you aware she was also a member of the Church of the Final Revelation?’

  Hannah gazed at him dumbly, feeling her eyes stretch wider and wider as further complications presented themselves.

  ‘Who the devil are they?’ asked John Templeton.

  ‘A New Age cult who have taken up residence here.’

  Hannah said in a whisper, ‘I’d no idea. None.’ She turned to Charles. ‘You remember I mentioned them at the Governors’ Meeting.’ And added for John’s benefit, ‘Two fifth-formers went to one of their meetings a fortnight ago. They were given tapes and pamphlets —’

  ‘There was a supply of them in Miss Hendrix’s bedsit,’ Webb interrupted, ‘as well as a selection of more advanced cult literature. Also some kind of thesis she was working on. Do you know anything about that?’

  Hannah shook her head. It seemed her ignorance was total.

  ‘It was headed “The Gospel according to Matilda” and seemed to be an account of her religious experiences and interpretations of the scriptures.’

  ‘My God!’ Charles said under his breath — aptly, thought Hannah, fighting down hysterical laughter. ‘It must have been she who involved the girls.’

  ‘It’s possible, sir, though the meeting had been well publicized. There was a sealed letter addressed to a Prelate Lübekker at No. 5, Victoria Drive. Does that mean anything to you?’

  They all shook their heads.

  Well, it bloody does to me, Webb thought: it means there are more of those devils around than the ones we interviewed last Saturday. Which could be very significant.

  More questions followed, to most of which Hannah could give only negative answers.

  ‘Had the deceased — Miss Hendrix — seemed under any kind of strain?’ David asked finally, and she almost laughed.

  ‘She was always under a strain! She hardly ate a thing, lived on her nerves. And no doubt I added to her troubles,’ she ended shakily. ‘About ten days ago, I took her to task for dressing shabbily.’

  Charles said quickly, ‘You couldn’t know.’ Then, to Webb, ‘Miss James and I discussed this, and it was I who persuaded her to speak to Miss Hendrix, try to get her to smarten herself up. To be frank, she dressed like a tramp, though she’d a good salary and no dependants as far as we knew.’

  ‘Her money would have gone to the sect,’ Webb said flatly. ‘They’re always extorting it from their members for one reason or another.’ Nina had told him that.

  ‘You allow them to carry on like this?’ Frobisher demanded.

  ‘They’re not breaking any law, sir. If they do, we’ll be ready for them.’

  He turned to John Templeton. ‘Now, Doctor, I believe the dead woman was your patient? Could you explain the circumstances in which you last saw her?’

  Hannah barely listened as John went through Mattie’s collapse and confinement in the sanatorium.

  ‘I didn’t want to discharge her,’ he ended, ‘but she was adamant. In the end, I agreed on condition that she took things easy and called in at the surgery this evening for a check-up.’

  Webb nodded. ‘Perhaps you’d be good enough to identify her before you leave. She’s at the mortuary.’

  It seemed the interview was at last over. David had closed the file in front of him, the ginger-haired sergeant his notebook. As they all rose to their feet, Hannah, moistening her lips, asked, for the second time, ‘Was it an overdose?’

  Webb hesitated, glancing at her white face, then shook his head.

  ‘Well?’ Charles prompted, impatient on Hannah’s behalf for his reply, yet unsure how she’d react to it. ‘May we know how she died, Chief Inspector?’

  Webb said levelly, ‘She was found hanging from the banisters.’

  Hannah made a small sound and Charles’s arm went protectively round her. He was still supporting her as, in shocked silence, the three of them left the interview room. Webb looked after them for a long minute. Then he turned to Jackson.

  ‘OK, Ken,’ he said wearily, ‘it’s after midnight — I think we can call it a day.’

  Chapter 14

  Jackson said gloomily, ‘I’m just sorry for the Governor, that’s all. He’s got enough problems without his young lady playing him up.’

  Millie refilled his cup. ‘Come on, love, I’m sure she wouldn’t do that.’

  ‘That’s what it looked like, coming in all dressed to the nines, with that other bloke in tow.’

  ‘She wasn’t there from choice,’ Millie said reasonably. ‘Who is he anyway, this man she was with?’

  ‘Name of Frobisher. Something to do with the school, I think.’

  ‘What’s he like?’

  Jackson grinned. ‘What you’d call a smoothie. Talks posh, natty dresser.’

  Two-year-old Tessa banged on the tray of her high chair and Millie hastily supplied another slice of toast.

  ‘Anyway, all I’m saying is when they went off with his arm round her, old Spider looked as though he’d been poleaxed. And I couldn’t say anything, because he’s firmly convinced no one knows about his little arrangement.’

  ‘Well, no one does except us,’ Millie said comfortably, ‘and we wouldn’t split, would we? Poor Mr Webb, though. I hope it works out for him.’

  *

  Nina learned of Mattie’s death when she arrived at her desk that morning and immediately went to see Webb.

  He looked up from his papers and she was struck by how tired he looked. Probably been up half the night, she thought with quick sympathy.

  ‘I’ve just heard, sir. About Mattie.’

  He nodded. ‘We were called to the apparent suicide of a schoolmistress. It wasn’t till Bob took a look round her flat that he realized she was a Revvie and gave me a bell.’

  ‘She was a teacher, was she? I didn’t know that.’

  ‘Head of English at Ashbourne, no less.’

  Nina looked startled. ‘Then she must have been responsible for inviting the girls, though I never saw her with them.’ She paused. ‘Was it suicide, sir?’

  ‘We’ll have to wait for the PM results. On the face of it, though, I’d say that’s the most likely bet, though of course it could have been rigged.’ He looked up at her. ‘With hindsight, would you consider her a potential suicide?’

  ‘I never spoke to her, so I couldn’t say. I thought she looked odd, but that was all. She was one of those on the stage at the meeting — a Gospeller.’

  ‘Yes, we found her gospel. Enough to put the fear of God into you.’

  ‘Perhaps that was the intention,’ Nina said.

  Webb rubbed a hand tiredly across his face. ‘Quite probably. What did strike me is that this Hendrix woman wasn’t around when we went to the house. Are there any others who live locally but not actually at Victoria Drive? A Prelate Lübekker for instance?’

  ‘I’ve met him, but he’s based in London. There’s Sarah, though — I think she’s local. She doesn’t live at the house, but she spends a lot of time there.’

  ‘Surname?’

  ‘Sorry, sir, they don’t usually bother with them.’

  ‘Any idea where she works?’

  ‘Afraid not.’

  ‘There’s not an American couple with a baby, by any chance?’

  ‘Not as far as I know.’

  Webb sighed. After a moment, he said, ‘Do you still want to go along this afternoon?’

  ‘Certainly. Apart from anything else, it’ll be interesting to see how they handle this.’

  ‘What time are you going?’

  ‘Twelve o’clock. A buffet lunch, I gather, then a pep-talk-cum-prayer meeting. It’ll probably go on till about four.’

  ‘All
right, I’ll give you a clear run, though we’ll need to see them again. Even if murder’s ruled out, we have to make sure it wasn’t a suicide pact. Still, we can start with the school and see what we dig up there.’

  He’d also have to see Hannah, Webb thought as Nina left, and the sooner he got that over, the better.

  Suiting the action to the thought, he pushed back his chair and strode from the room. ‘I’m going out, Ken,’ he announced, pausing at Jackson’s desk on his way through the outer office. ‘The PM’s at eleven-thirty but it should be pretty straightforward. All being well, I’ll meet you in the Brown Bear at one and we’ll take it from there. In the meantime you can get up to date on last night’s report.’

  *

  Hannah was not at her flat, and only after he’d stood for several minutes pressing the bell did it occur to Webb that she would have gone to the school. Which showed how sluggishly his brain was working.

  At Ashbourne, several cars were parked in the drive. He wondered sourly if one of them was Frobisher’s. His ring was answered by a subdued woman, who conveyed him along the corridor to Hannah’s study.

  She rose as he came into the room and he saw that she was pale and her eyes were circled with shadows. To his relief, there was no sign of Charles Frobisher. The picture of them leaving the interview room with his arm around her had stayed with Webb as a permanent backdrop to all the other worries of the night.

  ‘Hello, David,’ she said quietly. ‘Have there been any developments?’

  ‘Not really. The post-mortem’s in just over an hour; we’ll know more then.’

  She gave a quick frown. ‘There’s some doubt over how she died?’

  ‘It has to be formally established.’

  ‘Then could you let me know the result, please? As soon as possible?’

  ‘Of course. It’ll be necessary to interview some of your staff, I’m afraid those who came into regular contact with her. And possibly some of the girls.’

  ‘Only the house-staff are here over the weekend, and most of them didn’t know her. But the matrons might be able to help; they looked after her last weekend.’

  ‘What about the teaching staff? Can I contact them?’

  ‘They live all round the town, but I can give you the addresses of those most closely involved with her.’

  There was a tap on the door and the secretary came in with coffee. As she was leaving, Hannah said, ‘Amanda, would you list the addresses of the English Department, please? Mr Webb will need to interview them.’

  ‘Certainly, Miss James.’ She turned to Webb. ‘If you call at my office when you leave, I’ll have it ready for you — it’s the next door along.’

  ‘I suppose all this will be in the papers?’ Hannah said, as soon as they were alone again. ‘I’ve already spoken to the house-staff and boarders. I had to do it at once, or the most terrible rumours would have started. Though what could be worse than the truth —’

  She broke off, biting her lip. Webb said quietly, ‘I really am dreadfully sorry, Hannah.’

  ‘Then there’s Gwen,’ she went on, as though he hadn’t spoken. ‘God knows what I can tell her — though John and Beatrice might already have been in touch.’

  ‘Hannah —’

  She looked up then, meeting his eyes. ‘I’ve got to live with this, David.’ Her voice shook slightly. ‘I can never forgive myself for adding to her problems. Perhaps if I’d been more understanding, tried harder to find out what was worrying her —’

  ‘Be logical; she’s hardly likely to have killed herself because you asked her to dress more smartly.’

  ‘It might have been the last straw.’ She paused, looking down at her hands clasped on the desk. ‘I suppose it was naïve of me, but I rather hoped you’d have looked in last night when you got home. I could have done with some moral support.’

  ‘I thought you already had it,’ he said, before he could stop himself.

  ‘I see. Well, yes, Charles was very understanding, certainly.’

  ‘I wouldn’t have wanted to butt in.’

  She said steadily, ‘I’m not sure what you’re implying, David, but if it’s that he spent the night with me then you’re mistaken. When we got home he poured us both a brandy and sat with me until I’d got over the first shock, and then he went home.’

  It was not necessary to add that her state of shock had involved a horrendous shaking and, finally, the relief of tears, when Charles had held her gently and kissed her hair. It would have been easy, she thought now, for him to have pressed his advantage, but he had not done so and she was inordinately grateful. It was not his fault that she would rather it had been David who was there to comfort her when her need was so great.

  Webb said in a low voice, ‘I didn’t think that, not really. I’m sorry, Hannah, I’m behaving like an oaf. I’d better go.’

  She nodded, not sure if she could hold her composure, but as he reached the door she said impulsively, ‘Nothing’s changed, you know. After last night, I mean.’

  It was a badly needed reassurance. ‘Bless you,’ he said softly, and let himself out of the room.

  *

  Only as Nina reached Victoria Drive did it occur to her that the community mightn’t yet have heard of Mattie’s death. Certainly the police hadn’t notified them.

  However, she’d no time to plan any strategy. The door was immediately flung open by Daniel, who caught hold of her hand and drew her inside, kissing her soundly on the mouth. Apparently there were no hard feelings about the other evening.

  ‘The Captain’s arrived,’ he announced excitedly, ‘and he’s looking forward to meeting you.’

  He shepherded her ahead of him into the meeting room, now restored to its full length. A long table with a buffet set on it stood against the far wall, and two or three smaller tables with chairs were dotted about.

  Then Nina caught sight of Noah Bellringer, and Mattie was instantly forgotten. A huge, bear-like man with a shock of silver hair, he was standing halfway down the room surrounded by an admiring group. His deep, mellifluous voice seemed to draw her towards him, and she had actually started down the room even before Daniel took her arm to lead her to him.

  Brad, who had his back to them, turned at their approach, and smiled at her. ‘Ah, here she is! Captain, this is Nina, whom we’ve been telling you about. Since she’s almost family, we included her in the party.’

  ‘Of course.’ With the full impact of Bellringer’s attention on her, it was an effort not to quail. As he took her hands in his own huge ones, a powerful current vibrated between them, almost painful in its intensity. Faith healers produced the same effect, Nina told herself, vainly attempting to constrain this powerful personality within acceptable bounds.

  ‘Sister Nina, welcome — welcome! And this is Brother Dwight, my faithful friend and assistant.’

  ‘A High Priest,’ Daniel whispered in her ear, as the tall, black-bearded man next to Bellringer smiled and bowed.

  Annabel was approaching with a tray of glasses, half of them filled with red wine and half with white, and Nina felt obliged to take one. She’d no intention of drinking it, even though it was unlikely to be doctored at this gathering of committed members; she needed a clear head to answer Bellringer’s searching questions without betraying herself. It was a relief when someone came up to speak to him and she was able to move away.

  Looking round the room, it seemed she was indeed the only ‘outsider’; this visit must be to encourage the faithful, not to increase their number. Had anyone noticed Mattie wasn’t here, or didn’t they care? Certainly no one seemed worried; there was a buzz of electricity in the air, compounded of excited anticipation and a kind of exaltation — just the volatile mix, Nina thought uneasily, which could prove dangerous.

  People were beginning to move towards the buffet table, and Lucy and Liz had taken up their places behind it, ready to serve the food. It was a tempting display: delicious-looking salads, lasagne, chilli bean casseroles, bowls of rice and vegeta
bles. It was several minutes before Nina realized that neither meat nor fish was on offer.

  She carried her plate over to join Ruth and Vince at one of the tables and was about to sit down when there was a sudden, urgent ringing of the doorbell, followed immediately by a fusillade of knocks.

  The chatter of conversation died suddenly as everyone looked at each other. Nina went cold. The DCI had promised her free rein; what could have gone wrong?

  ‘I’ll go,’ Adam said into the silence, and a dozen pairs of eyes followed him out of the room. The sound of young, excited voices reached them, then he reappeared in the doorway accompanied by the two schoolgirls from Ashbourne. This was it, then. Nina held her breath.

  Bellringer’s powerful voice boomed across the room. ‘Well, Brother Adam, who have we here?’

  ‘These girls are Initiates, Captain. They’ve come with some disturbing news. It seems that Mattie — Sister Matilda — has taken her own life.’

  For several timeless seconds no one moved. Then the tall, fair girl came forward into the room and approached Bellringer.

  ‘We were told this morning, sir. It’s horrible — no one knows what to do. But we thought you ought to know, so as soon as we got the chance, we slipped out.’

  She looked up at his kindly, concerned face. ‘Please, Captain, don’t send us away. I know we shouldn’t be here but we so wanted to meet you.’

  He put a hand on her shoulder. ‘Bless you, child, of course I shan’t send you away. You’re more than welcome at our gathering.’

  It was too much for Stephanie; the strain and excitement of the last week, the news of Henny’s death and the unbelievable fact of being face to face with the Captain finally overcame her and she burst into tears.

  Annabel moved forward and put an arm round her.

  ‘But Sister Matilda has no need of your tears,’ Bellringer was continuing. ‘She is today in Paradise with the Lord. We must rejoice that she has found peace.’

  Nina dragged her eyes from him to see how the others had reacted. Sarah’d slipped her hand into Brad’s but her face was impassive, as was his. Daniel was standing rigid and white-faced by the buffet table, and, behind it, Lucy’s face was streaming with tears.