‘That poor child.’ Sister Margaret sighed. ‘I have been trying to make sense of it. Why would anyone wish to harm a child? A little boy of twelve? You know, I could not help remembering now only the other evening we both stood and watched him playing and splashing with the other child. The old woman who spoke to us said there was evil, but it cannot have been in the children. I have been wondering if possibly someone else was also watching them, someone with a sick and twisted mind. It would have been possible.’
‘I have been thinking the same thing myself,’ Sister Joan said gravely.
‘At least the child will be happy now.’ Sister Margaret’s voice had brightened. ‘Our Dear Lord so loves to welcome children into His kingdom. Oh, there will be rejoicing there now.’
‘There will be anger,’ Sister Joan said flatly. ‘Our Blessed Lord is hardly likely to be rejoicing because a child has been murdered, Sister.’
‘Yes, you are quite right, Sister.’ The brightness had drained from Sister Margaret’s face. ‘I had not thought of it yet in that light. I spoke without thought.’
‘So did I. I didn’t mean to snap your head off, Sister.’
‘Oh, it takes a lot to do that,’ Sister Margaret said. ‘You were right, Sister, to chide me. My opinions are sometimes — naive, I fear, but they give me some comfort and I am inclined to cling to them. It is a matter of finding compensations in even the most stressful conditions. For you it must be a great grief since you were the child’s teacher. We can only thank God for the rule of detachment from personal affections. At least you have that to lend you strength.’
Do I? Sister Joan asked the question silently of herself as she followed her companion up the path. Aren’t the children becoming a substitute for me because I will never bear any of my own? Not much detachment there.
‘I’ll just lock the front door and check that Mother Dorothy doesn’t want anything,’ Sister Margaret said, turning just before they entered the main building. ‘You get a good night’s sleep now. I must remind myself not to talk. To break the rules seems to be becoming quite a habit with me, I’m afraid. As it is I shall have to confess that I’ve lost my rosary. It was loose on the chain and I delayed having it fixed. Most careless. Goodnight and God bless you.’
She and her torch passed within. Sister Joan opened her mouth and closed it before following. There were moments when keeping all the rules became an almost unbearable strain.
Nine
Father Malone had offered mass and hurried away again after drinking a cup of tea in the parlour. Usually he came up to the refectory to enjoy a bit of a chat with the sisters but this morning nobody was in the mood for light conversation. There was an air of strained solemnity among even the postulants who, having attended mass, were shepherded back to their quarters by a heavy-eyed Sister Hilaria.
‘Sister Joan.’ The Prioress stopped her as she was on her way downstairs. ‘I have asked Sister David to take your place at the school for a couple of hours. She prefers to walk over as you know so you can ride Lilith over later. I want you to read through the statements made by the community before the police arrive. It is possible that something in them might strike a chord with you.’
‘Yes, Mother Dorothy.’ She made the expected reply, fighting back a twinge of irritability. The pupils were her pupils and at a time like this would need their regular teacher. She doubted if Sister David would give them the sense of security they required in the face of the sad news to be imparted.
‘Whatever work you are given to do, do it well and take pride in it, but always remember that you are first and foremost a religious,’ Mother Agnes had once instructed her.
The statements, her own among them, had been collected and lay in a pile on the desk, each one signed and dated. Seating herself she began the task of reading them. Those made by the postulants could almost be discounted. The two girls had been in their quarters apart from their attendance at mass. When Sister Hilaria had gone to the dentist Sister Teresa had gone over to supervise their studies. Sister Teresa’s statement bore that out. On the previous evening she had cooked the supper since Sister Margaret had been driving Sister Joan to visit the parents. Nothing there of interest.
Both the elderly nuns had contributed, Sister Mary Concepta weaving little prayers for the dead child in between her assurances that she had spent her time as she always did between the infirmary and the chapel; Sister Gabrielle submitting a brief and concise timetable of her own movements which coincided with those of Sister Mary Concepta.
Mother Dorothy’s own statement was equally brisk and matter-of-fact. Sister David had gone into more detail about the translation of Euclid she was working on for a college undergraduate; Sister Martha had taken advantage of the loosened soil after the rain to pull up some weeds; Sister Katherine and Sister Perpetua had changed the linen and looked after the old ladies between them. All the community apart from Sister Margaret, Sister Hilaria and herself had been within the confines of the convent, and nobody had seen anything out of the common.
She turned with heightened interest to Sister Hilaria’s account.
On the night before last I began to suffer from toothache caused by the loss of a filling. Accordingly‚ after my charges were in their cells, I went to the chapel
