Paula adopted an air of boredom as he spoke. ‘Are you finished?’
‘Did you hear what I said?’ His cheeks were flushed with annoyance.
‘It’s on the tape. I’d like to remind you that you are under arrest on suspicion of murder and this is an interview under caution.’
‘Precisely whom is my client supposed to have murdered?’ The lawyer’s accent was about three levels further up the social scale than Paula’s. She sounded like the lady of the manor meeting the peasants at the annual opening of the garden to the public. It was completely at odds with her appearance.
‘Person or persons unknown, at various points over the past ten years. Approximately.’
The woman’s eyebrows rose. ‘Could you be any more vague, Inspector?’
‘The bodies we have recovered are not readily identifiable, but we are confident that forensics will yield some positive IDs as we move on. We do have the remains of eight bodies so far—’
‘He said forty yesterday,’ Keenan interrupted, pointing dramatically at Karim. ‘Which is it? Forty or eight? There’s a bit of a difference.’
‘That does seem extraordinary,’ the lawyer chipped in before Paula had a chance to reply.
‘Bizarre though it may sound, we’re looking at two separate groups of human remains. My colleague interviewed your client yesterday about the discovery of approximately forty skeletons of girls discovered in the convent grounds. At this point, we’re not considering charging your client in respect of those remains. The focus of this interview is a second set of partially skeletonised bodies found in a different part of the grounds. They came to light as the result of a search using a cadaver dog. So far, we’ve found eight bodies. Initial forensic examination indicates they are homicide victims.’ Paula delivered the information in her calmest tones.
‘It certainly does sound bizarre,’ the lawyer said. ‘And why do you think this is anything to do with my client?’
‘We have a witness statement that implicates your client.’
‘That’s nonsense,’ Keenan protested. ‘It’s madness to suggest I have anything to do with this. I couldn’t kill someone if my life depended on it. They must be more girls from the convent, you need to be asking the nuns these questions, not me.’
‘These are not girls from the convent,’ Paula said. ‘They’re young men.’
Keenan reared back in his seat, apparently thunderstruck. ‘That’s impossible,’ he gasped.
‘I have some questions I’d like to put to your client,’ Paula said.
‘I have advised him not to answer anything—’
‘I have nothing to hide,’ Keenan shouted over his lawyer. ‘I know nothing about this. This is an outrage. You’re going to be very, very sorry for what you’ve done today.’
‘Your pastoral care when you were at the Bradesden house of the Order of the Blessed Pearl – did that extend beyond the convent at all?’
Clearly, it wasn’t what he expected. ‘No, my ministry was to the nuns and the girls in their charge.’ Then he turned on Karim. ‘What are you writing down? You’ve got this on tape, why do you keep writing stuff down?’
Paula answered for him. ‘The tape doesn’t always indicate demeanour, Father Keenan. We like our record to be as complete as possible. Did you do any work with the homeless in Bradfield?’
‘The homeless?’ He couldn’t have sounded more surprised if she’d asked about his ministry to the royal family. Doubt stirred in Paula’s mind for the first time. She’d encountered premier league liars over the years, however. A priest was someone accustomed to presenting a façade to the world. She wanted to see his reaction to more pressure than this before she seriously considered whether his protestations might be for real. ‘Why would you think that?’
She shrugged. ‘I’d have thought they’re a group who need all the support they can muster. I’m no expert, but I’m sure you’ve heard the line before – if Jesus came back among us, he wouldn’t be hanging out with the priests and bishops, he’d be down among the drunks and the junkies and the homeless.’
Keenan looked as if he wanted to hit her. He clenched his fists then, realising what he’d done, he swiftly moved his hands under the table. He leaned forward. ‘Of course the church has an active ministry among the weakest members of our society. But I am not part of that team.’
‘That’s odd. We’ve been told that you took a very active role within that community.’
He flushed. ‘Oh, is that what this is? Dead young men and a priest in the vicinity. Nothing like a sitting duck, is there? Not all priests are abusive. Not all of us are hiding terrible secrets. I am not homosexual. I am not a paedophile. I am no kind of predator, I am a dedicated priest. Whoever these poor souls buried in the convent grounds are, they are nothing to do with me.’ His rage ran out of steam and he hung his head, breathing heavily. ‘Nothing. To do. With me.’
Paula waited a few seconds then continued. ‘Our witness says you brought these bodies to the convent for burial. That you said they were young men who had been living on the streets when they died. Young men who had nobody to give them a Christian burial.’
Keenan gave his lawyer a desperate look. ‘This is madness,’ he protested. ‘How am I supposed to have brought these dead bodies to the convent? On the number forty-seven bus?’
‘In your car,’ Paula said.
‘I don’t have a car,’ he said, enunciating every word distinctly. ‘I don’t even have a driving licence. You can check with the authorities here and back in Ireland. I have never had so much as a driving lesson. So how exactly am I supposed to be driving around Bradfield with a boot full of bodies?’
It was, thought Paula, something of a killer punch. ‘According
