Cuthbert's Way (DCI Ryan Mysteries, #17)(27)

“I believe I last saw Jacob at early evening prayers, which began at four o’clock, in the abbey,” he said. “I enquired after his day, we exchanged a word or two about some of the children in St. Cuthbert’s, then he made his way back to the boarding house to oversee the boys’ dinner, at around five o’clock.”

“How did he seem?” Patel asked.

It was a question Ryan would have asked himself, but he was conscious that this was her show; they were merely invited guests.

“Perfectly normal,” Father Peter replied. “There was nothing untoward, if that’s what you mean.”

“He didn’t seem upset, or nervous, in any way?”

“Not at all.”

“What about communications—to your knowledge, had he received anything that might have upset him?”

The headmaster smiled, with the kind of subtle condescension that set Ryan’s teeth on edge.

“DCI Patel, our brother lived a quiet life, here at Crayke. He had very little contact with the outside world, and, therefore, scarcely had the opportunity to receive any communications that might have caused upset. He was a quiet, spiritual man, who enjoyed reading—”

“Mainly Sherlock Holmes,” Father Samuel put in. “Our brother loved to read Conan Doyle.”

“A man of good taste,” Ryan said, from the edge of the room.

The Chaplain looked across at him, then nodded sadly.

“What about you, Father Samuel? Can you tell us when you last saw Father Jacob?” Patel asked.

“It was probably around the same time,” he said, and pushed his glasses a little higher on the bridge of his nose. “I led the prayers at four o’clock and could see our brother sitting with the children from St. Cuthbert’s House on the pews towards the back. We didn’t have an opportunity to speak before he left, which I will lament for all my days.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Patel said, with apparent sincerity. “When did either of you first become aware that something was wrong?”

“Not until later,” Samuel said. “A couple of the boys came to find me at around nine o’clock. They’d returned from their Movie Night half an hour before, to find Jacob missing. There had also been an accident in the laundry room, or a break-in, as we now fear, and they thought it best to report it.”

“Why to you?”

“S—sorry?”

“Why report it to you, specifically?” Ryan asked. “Do you live near to the boarding house?”

“I—no, my cell is in the Abbey. The children came to find me in the Abbey Church, where I was spending some time in quiet contemplation.”

“Part of the Chaplain’s role is to provide ongoing pastoral support,” the headmaster explained. “Father Samuel has been a source of guidance and advice to many of our children, over the years, and they find him very easy to talk to.”

“Around what time did the children come to find you?” Patel queried.

“I’d say around nine o’clock, or shortly thereafter. I went with them to the boarding house and, when I couldn’t find Jacob, I oversaw Lights Out and supervised them for the remainder of the evening. I communicated this to Father Peter at around nine-forty-five.”

“Was anybody with you in the abbey?” Patel asked.

A slow flush crept up Father Samuel’s neck.

“Not—not at the exact moment the children found me, no. But—”

“I, myself, was with Father Samuel in the abbey, directly prior to the children’s arrival,” Father Peter interjected. “I can vouch for the timing.”

There was an infinitesimal pause.

“Yes, sorry, I’d forgotten,” Father Samuel mumbled.

“Thank you,” Patel said, with another of her unthreatening smiles that Ryan was growing to admire. “Father Peter, weren’t you worried when you heard Father Jacob couldn’t be found?”

It was remarkable, Ryan thought, but the man’s face barely moved. It had remained fixed in more or less the same genial expression throughout, and didn’t alter at the implied suggestion that there might have been grounds for action long before he’d taken it.

“Of course, I was surprised,” he said. “However, I naturally assumed Father Jacob had been detained with some urgent matter, perhaps in helping another child or one of our brothers. As you can see, the campus here at Crayke is large, and it’s not always possible to keep tabs on all people at all times.”

“How about the children?” Ryan asked, ever so smoothly.

For the first time, a flicker of irritation passed over the headmaster’s face.

“You may rest assured, the children at Crayke are always well supervised, chief inspector, and follow a regular routine.”

“We’re sure that’s the case, Father Peter,” Patel said, and her eyes flashed a warning for Ryan. Don’t push too far.

He nodded.

“We understand a search was made for Father Jacob early this morning,” Patel said. “Then a report was made to the police control room at…nine-oh-four.”

She looked up from her notebook and fixed the headmaster with a stare.

“Can I ask why the decision was taken not to telephone the police straight away?”