2015-07-15 12:51:41 +00:00
|
|
|
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
|
|
|
|
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
|
|
|
|
|
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
|
|
|
|
|
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
|
|
|
|
|
<head>
|
|
|
|
|
<meta name="generator" content=
|
|
|
|
|
"HTML Tidy for Windows (vers 14 February 2006), see www.w3.org" />
|
|
|
|
|
<title>Chapter 27</title>
|
|
|
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="imperaWeb.css" />
|
|
|
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" type=
|
|
|
|
|
"application/vnd.adobe-page-template+xml" href=
|
|
|
|
|
"page-template.xpgt" />
|
|
|
|
|
</head>
|
|
|
|
|
<body>
|
|
|
|
|
<div id="text">
|
|
|
|
|
<div class="section" id="xhtmldocuments">
|
|
|
|
|
<h2>27</h2>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Up there, sir," the young policeman said, pointing to the
|
|
|
|
|
hollow arched entrance of the belltower.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>They were standing in the nave of the ornate church building
|
|
|
|
|
which had been built at the turn of the century by a fiery
|
|
|
|
|
monsignor from old Donegal for the greater glory of God. The
|
|
|
|
|
Irish-Catholic families of the parish had been cajoled and
|
2015-09-10 00:34:32 +00:00
|
|
|
coerced, with threats of damnation, excommunication or years in
|
2015-07-15 12:51:41 +00:00
|
|
|
purgatory, into donating money they could ill-afford because of the
|
|
|
|
|
lack of work and their burgeoning families to pay for the Italian
|
|
|
|
|
marble altar, whinstone buttresses and beautifully masoned
|
|
|
|
|
arches.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>A monstrous crucifix with an appallingly bloody Christ nailed to
|
|
|
|
|
a rococco cross hung suspended forty feet over the devout and
|
|
|
|
|
worshipful congregation. The tough old monsignor, who saw himself
|
|
|
|
|
cut from archbishop's cloth, and who wheeled and dealed without
|
|
|
|
|
shame to have the parish promoted to diocesan status, had dreamed
|
|
|
|
|
of building the most magnificent cathedral money could dictate.
|
|
|
|
|
Certainly he succeeded in building a church worthy of the name, but
|
|
|
|
|
all his vanity and ambition were in vain. The good lord called him
|
|
|
|
|
to a greater and everlasting position of worship within a year of
|
|
|
|
|
the consecration of the building. The bells of St Rowan's church
|
|
|
|
|
tolled for the solemn high mass of the monsignor's funeral and he
|
|
|
|
|
was given pride of place in the new graveyard in the spreading
|
|
|
|
|
grounds, after which everybody forgot about cathedrals and went
|
|
|
|
|
back to church.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Father Liam Boyle, the incumbent parish priest was a thin, grey-
|
|
|
|
|
haired man with turned down lips who looked as if the milk of human
|
|
|
|
|
kindness would go sour in his mouth.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>He wore a long black soutane, faded at the cuffs and shiny with
|
|
|
|
|
wear everywhere else, stained with grey blobs of candlewax down the
|
|
|
|
|
length of the innumerable cloth buttons. He rubbed his hands
|
|
|
|
|
together in a worried, nervous way, making them rasp against each
|
|
|
|
|
other in a constant dry whisper.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Must have been up there for days," he said to Jack. "There was
|
|
|
|
|
a fault in the tintinnabula, or so we thought, but he must have
|
|
|
|
|
done something to the mechanism up in the tower. The clock hasn't
|
|
|
|
|
struck the half-hour for days. Our parish horologist couldn't get
|
|
|
|
|
up there to check it out. He opened the trap and somebody stamped
|
|
|
|
|
it down on his head. He's lucky he didn't fall down the steps and
|
|
|
|
|
break his neck."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"So what's the position?" Jack asked the uniformed
|
|
|
|
|
policeman.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"There's a man up in the belfry. He says his name is O'Day and
|
|
|
|
|
he's claiming the ancient right of sanctuary."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Sanctuary, is it?" the priest snapped. "After the vandalism
|
|
|
|
|
that's taken place in this church, he'll have no sanctuary here.
|
|
|
|
|
Sacrilege is what I call it. Only last week we had the altar broken
|
|
|
|
|
into and a chalice stolen, full of consecrated hosts, and a rosary
|
|
|
|
|
blessed by the pope himself. No doubt our visitor can explain that
|
|
|
|
|
to us all."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Yes, I heard about that," Jack said. "I'm sure the officers are
|
|
|
|
|
doing all they can."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"So what are you going to do now about this...this
|
|
|
|
|
invasion?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Just leave it to me sir," Jack started to say.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Father," the priest corrected irritably. Jack acknowledged the
|
|
|
|
|
correction with a dry nod.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>He went across to the base of the tower which was built, quite
|
|
|
|
|
spectacularly, over the altar, resting on four arched buttresses
|
|
|
|
|
which merged into the flanks of the walls. A narrow entrance cut
|
|
|
|
|
into the fine-grained sandstone blocks, led to an equally cramped
|
|
|
|
|
staircase which spiralled upwards for three turns before arriving
|
|
|
|
|
at a wide wooden floor. Here, another uniformed policeman was
|
|
|
|
|
leaning on a bannister. He straightened up when Jack appeared.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Where is he?" Jack asked. The constable jerked his thumb
|
|
|
|
|
upwards. Jack tilted his head. The narrow stairway, this made of
|
|
|
|
|
old wood, continued upwards. There was a smell of dust and
|
|
|
|
|
bird-droppings.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"He refuses to come down." the officer volunteered. "We tried a
|
|
|
|
|
bit of persuasion, but he's jammed something over the trap. He
|
|
|
|
|
insists he'll only speak to you."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Jack gave a weary sigh and started up the stairs after telling
|
|
|
|
|
the constable to wait there until he came down. He wanted to take
|
|
|
|
|
this one on his own. The treads had no risers and sank a fraction
|
|
|
|
|
with every step. Almost every one of them creaked and the whole
|
|
|
|
|
stairway looked too old and flimsy to take a man's weight. It
|
|
|
|
|
turned, rose, turned again and continued upwards. The narrow
|
|
|
|
|
lead-hatched slit windows gave little light. Jack kept a tight grip
|
|
|
|
|
of the dusty bannister and wished he knew some prayers. He did not
|
|
|
|
|
look down.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Finally the stairs stopped abruptly at a wooden ceiling
|
|
|
|
|
festooned with the grey triangles of ancient cobwebs. Here, the
|
|
|
|
|
smell of pigeons was much stronger and immediately Jack recalled
|
|
|
|
|
the days out raiding the nests in the old warehouse where young
|
|
|
|
|
Neil Kennedy had been snatched in the dark. It gave him a shiver.
|
|
|
|
|
Something fluttered noisily off to the left where the spars
|
|
|
|
|
supported the wooden floor above, hiding shadows in the corner.
|
|
|
|
|
Jack took the last few steps slowly, paused for breath, then rapped
|
|
|
|
|
on the wood above his head.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>A muffled thumping sound came in instant reply. Jack banged
|
|
|
|
|
again with his fist.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Mr O'Day?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Who is it," a voice replied, also damped by the wooden boards,
|
|
|
|
|
but sounding only a foot or so away from Jack's head.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Jack Fallon. You wanted to speak to me."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"How do I know it's you?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"What do you want me to do?" Jack asked impatiently. "I've
|
|
|
|
|
climbed up so far my nose is starting to bleed."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Get back from the door," the man's voice ordered him. "And no
|
|
|
|
|
funny business, or I'll brain you, I swear to God."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Jack took several steps backward, making sure his feet stamped
|
|
|
|
|
hard on the stairs, though that caused a vibration that made him
|
|
|
|
|
think they could give way any second. Above him, footsteps pounded
|
|
|
|
|
the floorboards. The trapdoor at the head of the stairs opened a
|
|
|
|
|
fraction, showing a thin line of wan light before a shadow blocked
|
|
|
|
|
it off. Jack screwed his eyes up, trying to make it out, but could
|
|
|
|
|
see nothing.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Is that you, Mr O'Day?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Aye, it's me alright."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"I've been looking for you."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"That's no surprise. I've been waiting for you. You took your
|
|
|
|
|
time."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Do you want to come down and talk about it?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Not on your mother's life," the voice said. There was more than
|
|
|
|
|
a hint of a southern Irish accent there. "If I move out of here,
|
|
|
|
|
I'm a dead man, sure as you're born."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Oh, and why's that?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"It's a long story, Mr Fallon, and I don't think you're about to
|
|
|
|
|
believe it. I have to tell you it though, but I'm not moving from
|
|
|
|
|
here. It's the only safe place left."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Well, I want to hear what you have to say, but I don't fancy
|
|
|
|
|
standing down here all day getting a crick in my neck. Can I come
|
|
|
|
|
up?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"No, stay there," the man barked nervously.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Oh, come on man," Jack said. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just
|
|
|
|
|
want to find out what's going on."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>There was a silence while the man considered it. Jack waited it
|
|
|
|
|
out.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Would you have a set of those handcuff things?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Jack agreed that he did. He fumbled in his jacket pocket, drew
|
|
|
|
|
them out and held them up for display. They jingled in his hand.
|
|
|
|
|
The trapdoor opened wider. A pale face peered down.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Right, you can come up. There's a post just inside the door.
|
|
|
|
|
Put those things on your wrist and when you get to the top, put the
|
|
|
|
|
other end round the post."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Jack sighed again, but nodded in agreement.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"And I'm telling you. If you don't do what I say, I'll cave your
|
|
|
|
|
head in."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>The door opened to its full extent, then slammed back to the
|
|
|
|
|
floor with a gunshot boom which reverberated down the hollow length
|
|
|
|
|
of the Gothic tower. Jack walked slowly up the stairs, snapping the
|
|
|
|
|
cuff on his wrist as he did so. Warily, he clambered through the
|
|
|
|
|
space until he could reach the bannister on the top side. He could
|
|
|
|
|
see nothing, but sensed the man behind him. He reached forward and
|
|
|
|
|
clicked the other ring around the upright and stopped.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Right, I'm your prisoner. Now what?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"You can sit down now," the voice said from behind him. Jack
|
|
|
|
|
turned and saw a scrawny man with a scraggy grizzle-grey beard that
|
|
|
|
|
looked ten days from its last shave. He was emaciated and haggard.
|
|
|
|
|
Jack recalled the dead man they'd found on the railway line. He too
|
|
|
|
|
had been just a rickle of bones like the man who said he was O'Day.
|
|
|
|
|
Without a word he turned and sat himself on the bannister. It felt
|
|
|
|
|
solid enough.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>The man came towards him, blue eyes rimmed with red. In both
|
|
|
|
|
hands he hefted a metal bar. On the other side of the dusty room
|
|
|
|
|
there was a set of levers and pulleys. The spar looked as if it had
|
|
|
|
|
come from there. That probably solved the mystery of why St Rowan's
|
|
|
|
|
bells had stopped clanging the half-hour. He wasn't concerned about
|
|
|
|
|
the weapon. The man looked as if he would blow away on a breezy
|
|
|
|
|
day, and though there was a frantic, wildly haunted look in his
|
|
|
|
|
eyes, Jack knew he could get the weapon off him even with one hand
|
|
|
|
|
tied behind his back.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Nice to see you at last, Mr O'Day. I've been concerned about
|
|
|
|
|
you," Jack started.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Not near as concerned as I've been," O'Day said. He stole a
|
|
|
|
|
quick glance to check Jack's handcuffs, then seemed to relax a
|
|
|
|
|
little, although his whole body looked tight as a banjo string.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"You're on the murder hunt, aren't you? The boss?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Jack nodded.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"That's what I have to talk to you about. I don't want to kill
|
|
|
|
|
anybody, and I don't want it to get me."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Far downstairs, something dropped with a clatter and the noise
|
|
|
|
|
boomed up the hollow. O'Day jerked round like a cat, raising his
|
|
|
|
|
lever like a club.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Don't worry. They won't come up unless I tell them, and I'm not
|
|
|
|
|
going to tell them. You've got a promise on that."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Michael O'Day's shoulders slumped. He was wearing what had been,
|
|
|
|
|
until now, a smart and probably well-cut suit with a light blue
|
|
|
|
|
shirt. Now, suit and shirt looked filthy and creased, as if they'd
|
|
|
|
|
been slept in for a week, and they hung on him like drapes. His
|
|
|
|
|
neck was thin and scrawny and his face was so wasted his cheek
|
|
|
|
|
bones stuck out like knuckles and the skin was drawn in as if he
|
|
|
|
|
was sucking on something bitter. Very slowly, he lowered himself
|
|
|
|
|
down to the floor where he'd spread a dark blue winter coat that
|
|
|
|
|
had also seen better days, some of them recent. On the coat, a
|
|
|
|
|
silver chalice with an ornate lid topped by a small cross stood
|
|
|
|
|
gleaming in a stray shaft of light. At its base was a set of
|
|
|
|
|
prayer-beads with a crucifix that seemed to be worked in gold.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Can't eat, can't sleep," he said in a voice that sounded close
|
|
|
|
|
to exhaustion. The dark rings under his eyes deepened as he lowered
|
|
|
|
|
his head.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"It comes for you in your dreams."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"What does?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Whatever it is the old woman called up. Honest to God, I never
|
|
|
|
|
meant anything like that to happen. She only said it was a special
|
|
|
|
|
night. I don't know about the others, but I just wanted my fortune
|
|
|
|
|
told. I needed the luck, for it's been out this past couple of
|
|
|
|
|
months. Big Eddie Carrick's boys have been hunting me for weeks.
|
|
|
|
|
Ha! That's a big worry. He's Mother Theresa compared to what's been
|
|
|
|
|
after me."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"You know about the killings," Jack said levelly.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"I know about them alright. I was there when the old woman died.
|
|
|
|
|
I was the last one in the room and I thought I was going to die as
|
|
|
|
|
well. After that I locked myself up for a while. I heard about the
|
|
|
|
|
kiddies, on the news, but I didn't connect it, even when that
|
|
|
|
|
bigoted bastard Simpson topped himself. He deserved all he got.
|
|
|
|
|
There was something slimy about that one, I can tell you."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>O'Day's voice was beginning to rise. Jack held out his free hand
|
|
|
|
|
and made a calming gesture. The man stopped and took a breath.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"When the other baby went missing, and you found the woman, I
|
|
|
|
|
started to suspect, because by then I was getting the dreams.
|
|
|
|
|
Terrible nightmares. By the third one, when you got that woman in
|
|
|
|
|
the river - did you know she worked at the police station?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Jack said he did. "I thought you would," the man went on with
|
|
|
|
|
hardly a pause. "Quiet girl, wouldn't have harmed a fly, but I'll
|
|
|
|
|
bet you all that's changed. I don't know what she was doing at old
|
|
|
|
|
Marta's place. It was after she topped herself that it came to me,
|
|
|
|
|
clear as day. I never read anything about the Tomlin fella, or Mrs
|
|
|
|
|
Eastwood, but I've got a feeling they've gone too."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"And Derek Elliot," Jack interjected. O'Day gave a start.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Him an'all? That makes me the last. And that's why I'm staying
|
|
|
|
|
here." He reached and grabbed the chalice.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"This is all I've got. It can't get me as long as I've the
|
|
|
|
|
sacrament with me. Are you of the faith?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Jack shook his head. "Not any," he said.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Well you should be, because it'll protect you from what you're
|
|
|
|
|
after."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"And what is that?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"I'll tell you in a minute. But first of all I have to tell you
|
|
|
|
|
about the night in Cairn House. Did you know they found a boy there
|
|
|
|
|
way back in the sixties? Dead for months and murdered?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Yes. I was just a kid at the time, but we all heard about
|
|
|
|
|
it."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Before my time an' all. But she told me, the old woman did. It
|
|
|
|
|
gave the house a special power, she said. I thought that was a
|
|
|
|
|
whole heap of shite myself, but she believed it, and she knew her
|
|
|
|
|
stuff I suppose. She said the forces gathered where something
|
|
|
|
|
terrible had happened, like it was a crack between here and
|
|
|
|
|
wherever, and she was right about that. You have to know what
|
|
|
|
|
you're up against, and then god help you. Look at me. How old would
|
|
|
|
|
you say I was?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>From the look of the man, Jack would have guessed fifty, but he
|
|
|
|
|
said nothing.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"I'm thirty six years old, for Christ sake. Last week my hair
|
|
|
|
|
was as black as yours. And now look at what's happened to me all
|
|
|
|
|
because of that old Hungarian witch."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"So what happened?" Jack asked softly.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Michael O'Day's shoulders slumped. He sat there on the dirty
|
|
|
|
|
coat, one hand on top of the chalice. He looked dazed and ill.
|
|
|
|
|
Finally, after a few minutes, he began to speak and Jack Fallon
|
|
|
|
|
listened to the most bizarre story he had ever heard.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>When Michael O'Day stopped talking and the silence that followed
|
|
|
|
|
was almost deafening. He sat and stared at the floor for a while,
|
|
|
|
|
then he reached out and lifted the lid of the chalice. From where
|
|
|
|
|
he sat, Jack could see it was half-filled with white discs. O'Day
|
|
|
|
|
dipped his hand in and lifted one out, very carefully, despite the
|
|
|
|
|
tremor of his fingers. He lifted the wafer and placed it on his
|
|
|
|
|
tongue. His mouth worked drily and then he made an exaggerated
|
|
|
|
|
swallowing motion.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"The difference," he said, "between heaven and hell is that
|
|
|
|
|
nobody believes in hell. Look at me. I'm between both of them and
|
|
|
|
|
headed for one. It's all mumbo jumbo, isn't it? Except that it
|
|
|
|
|
works. It can't get me in here, you know. This is the only place I
|
|
|
|
|
can be and not hear that voice in my head. Now I know what it
|
|
|
|
|
meant."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>He looked up at Jack, a wasted, unkempt figure sitting on a
|
|
|
|
|
dirty coat.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"The whispering started a few nights later. I thought I'd left
|
|
|
|
|
the television on, or maybe the radio, but it wasn't that. It was
|
|
|
|
|
as if somebody was talking in another room, just out of hearing.
|
|
|
|
|
But it got louder and I could make out the words. I kept having
|
|
|
|
|
these dreams. You know what happened at the race? It came in, that
|
|
|
|
|
horse. A big grey out of trap six. I was still dead scared, but I
|
|
|
|
|
put my money on and I cleaned up. I took six grand from bookies all
|
|
|
|
|
over Glasgow, and I tell you, I should have stayed there. Maybe if
|
|
|
|
|
I hadn't come back, everything would have been all right, but I was
|
|
|
|
|
pretty much mixed up at the time.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Then I started having the dreams. Terrible dreams, and I was
|
|
|
|
|
cold all the time, as if that wind was still blowing through me. I
|
|
|
|
|
couldn't eat and I couldn't sleep. I felt as if I'd stepped right
|
|
|
|
|
out of the world. The voice would whisper at me at night, but it
|
|
|
|
|
was coming from inside me. It got that I was scared to lie down at
|
|
|
|
|
night, just in case it came when my eyes were closed, but I knew it
|
|
|
|
|
was coming when I read about the others. It said it would use us. I
|
|
|
|
|
don't know how it does it, but it used them, and they're dead, all
|
|
|
|
|
of them."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"And what is it?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"It's nothing on earth. Nothing <em>from</em> this earth. It was
|
|
|
|
|
blacker than pitch and it was moving. That's all I saw in that
|
|
|
|
|
room, but I could <em>feel</em> it." O'Day tapped the side of his
|
|
|
|
|
head. "And I can hear it, in here. It wants me, you know, it wants
|
|
|
|
|
me to do things, to come out in the night. I think it needs us
|
|
|
|
|
during the day, maybe somewhere warm to live, I don't know. It
|
|
|
|
|
whispers at me and tells me things. It shows me things. It sits up
|
|
|
|
|
in high places, where it's dark and I can see what it sees. It eats
|
|
|
|
|
at night. I see it, but it's like it's showing me what <em>it</em>
|
|
|
|
|
sees. It goes back up there at night to feed. But it won't have me.
|
|
|
|
|
It can't come in here."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Why not?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Because it's a church, consecrated ground. The old woman, I
|
|
|
|
|
don't know how she did it, but she raised a ghost, or a devil or
|
|
|
|
|
something. It's used the others to take those wee babies. Now it
|
|
|
|
|
wants me to do the same, and when it's finished with me, I'll go
|
|
|
|
|
the same way. That's why I have to stay here."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>He sat up straight. "I'm claiming sanctuary."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"You can't stay here forever," Jack said quietly.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"I'm telling you," the man said with surprising strength. "If
|
|
|
|
|
you take me out of here, then it'll get me. You can't stop this
|
|
|
|
|
thing. If it gets me, then it'll make me do the things it wants. It
|
|
|
|
|
just wants to kill."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Jack spent two hours up in the belltower with Michael O'Day,
|
|
|
|
|
going over the story again and again. O'Day was consistent, telling
|
|
|
|
|
it the way he remembered it. Finally, feeling drained and a little
|
|
|
|
|
numb, he told the man that he could stay in the belltower, though
|
|
|
|
|
he told him he'd probably be back to ask some more questions. O'Day
|
|
|
|
|
agreed with that. He got to his feet, moving like an old man. With
|
|
|
|
|
a quick motion he snatched up the prayer beads and held them up.
|
|
|
|
|
The carved gold cross gleamed in the dim light. "Here," he said.
|
|
|
|
|
"you should take this. If you're looking for that thing, then
|
|
|
|
|
you'll need it. I don't think there's anything else can stop
|
|
|
|
|
it."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>He slung it across and Jack caught it with his free hand and
|
|
|
|
|
stuffed it into his pocket. O'Day watched warily, holding the rusty
|
|
|
|
|
lever up in front of him while Jack unlocked the cuffs and put them
|
|
|
|
|
in his pocket, but Jack merely turned and backed down the
|
|
|
|
|
stairs.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>At the bottom, the two policemen were standing with the
|
|
|
|
|
priest.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Is he coming down then?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Not for the moment," Jack told him. He wanted out of the
|
|
|
|
|
church, into the fresh air, somewhere he could think. "He's got the
|
|
|
|
|
chalice. It's not damaged."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Well, aren't you going to bring him down?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"I'm afraid I can't do that," Jack said. "He's claiming
|
|
|
|
|
sanctuary."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Sanctuary?" the priest asked angrily. "I want him out of my
|
|
|
|
|
church."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Unfortunately, the law still stands," Jack told him, making it
|
|
|
|
|
up as he went along. He hadn't a clue whether there was still a
|
|
|
|
|
law, or if there had ever been one outside of films.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"A citizen claiming sanctuary cannot be forced out of a church
|
|
|
|
|
against his will."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>He turned and left the priest standing open-mouthed in the
|
|
|
|
|
aisle.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>There was little time to do any thinking. Jack went back to the
|
|
|
|
|
station and straight into Superintendent Cowie's room, unannounced.
|
|
|
|
|
Ron Cowie was dunking small biscuits in a cup of coffee, though he
|
|
|
|
|
sniffily made no move to offer one to Jack.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"You must have plenty of time to spare," he said with heavy
|
|
|
|
|
sarcasm, "if you can afford to waste it on trespassers."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Just the one trespasser, and, co-incidentally, the very man
|
|
|
|
|
I've been looking for."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>There was nothing for it but to tell Cowie exactly what O'Day
|
|
|
|
|
had told him. The response was entirely predictable. The
|
|
|
|
|
superintendent told him it was both claptrap and balderdash and
|
|
|
|
|
that he was derelict in his duties by wasting so much valuable
|
|
|
|
|
time.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"So where is this idiot?"</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"He's still up there. He's claiming sanctuary. I told him he
|
|
|
|
|
could stay there for the time being. He's going nowhere."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"Nonsense, you can't have people stealing religious relics and
|
|
|
|
|
then disturbing the peace, even if it's only the Catholics they're
|
|
|
|
|
disturbing. Just send somebody over there and get him out."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"I think that would be a mistake. I promised him he could stay.
|
|
|
|
|
It's the best way to get co-operation. Whether anybody believes
|
|
|
|
|
what he says, it's obvious that O'Day believes it. He's as secure
|
|
|
|
|
up there as anywhere."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Cowie opened his mouth to say something, but just at that moment
|
|
|
|
|
there was a knock on the door. A young policewoman popped he head
|
|
|
|
|
through.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>"It's a call for you Mr Fallon. Sergeant Thomson say's it's
|
|
|
|
|
urgent."</p>
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Jack left Cowie spluttering over his coffee.</p>
|
|
|
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
|
</body>
|
|
|
|
|
</html>
|
