Vince nodded. 'We found Norma's body. So she paid for her part in poisoning Thora.'
'And Francis paid for his.' Faro sighed, then continued. 'As for poor Troller, he made the mistake of coming to the crypt at the wrong moment. Moving Thora's coffin single-handed was impossible, the body would have to be removed first. But Norma lost her nerve for that particular operation. So when Troller surprised her lover, he couldn't be allowed to live... '
A shadow moved into the light smiled at Faro and saluted him smartly.
'Captain Gibb led the search party,' said Vince. 'Weak heart or not he did spartan work.'
The old sea-dog - and my prime suspect,' said Faro. 'All he did was to have a real name from the letters of Noblesse Oblige they used for their various aliases. A piece of vanity that was ultimately to be their undoing although, I must confess, it led me well off the track.'
Vince smiled. 'But only temporarily. It wasn't until you showed me Erlandson's name on the passenger list that I got my first clue.'
'I got mine a little earlier. That amazing sermon. Epistle of Paul to the Romans, indeed, confused with King Lear. Do you know, Rose and Emily helped,' said Faro proudly. 'I remembered exactly where the quotations were from when I was reading them Tales from Shakespeare.'
'I still think it's amazing that he could sustain such a role and for such a long time.'
'Our Noblesse Oblige is no ordinary criminal. For one thing we know that he's a highly educated man - his appearance in the pulpit also confirms that. And the fact that he helped Captain Gibb with the Latin translations, that was the first time I had doubts whether the Captain was our man. It all fits in with what we know about our adversary, son of some noble house, who went to university and studied classics. Perhaps even divinity. Another fallen Lucifer, who knows?'
Faro paused, momentarily out of breath.
'You're talking too much. Take it easy, Stepfather. You can fill in the details later.'
Faro shook his head. 'What about him? Did you find his body too?'
Vince shook his head. 'No. Nowhere. He probably was not as lucky as you, his body carried out to sea. It was floodtide when we got there.'
'Floodtide. The cleanser of all evil.'
'Let's be thankful he's been washed away with all his sins. That's the last you'll see of that particular adversary, Stepfather.'
'No doubt.'
Vince looked at him sharply. For, despite his words, Faro sounded doubtful in the extreme.
###
There are fifteen titles in the Inspector Faro series available from bookstores and on www.amazon.co.uk. Available on Kindle:
Enter Second Murderer
Bloodline
Deadly Beloved
Killing Cousins
A Quiet Death
To Kill A Queen
Also available on Kindle in the Rose McQuinn series:
The Inspector’s Daughter
Dangerous Pursuits
An Orkney Murder
Connect with Alanna online:
Author’s homepage: http://www.alannaknight.com
Killing Cousins (An Inspector Faro Mystery No.4) Page 17