the room and a bedside table stood on one side of the bed. A cheap carpet covered the naked floorboards. A single door wardrobe stood against the wall that housed the only window in the room. Beneath the window was a chest of drawers with three drawers. Wilson opened the wardrobe and flicked through two black coats and an assortment of black and checked jackets. He opened the top drawer of the chest of drawers and found four white shirts and two Roman collars. The drawers beneath contained well-worn underwear and twenty or so balled up black socks. Wilson moved to the bedside table on which stood a wooden lamp. He opened the drawer in the small table and found it to be empty. He noted two wires sticking out from beneath the table and pulled it aside. One wire led from the lamp to the electrical point while the second wire was loose at one end and terminated in the phone jack at the other. Wilson replaced the bedside table and left the room.
Back in the living room, he went to the bookcase and examined the contents. The books were all on religious subjects. The storage areas beneath the bookcase were empty except for a number of white sheets of paper. Wilson withdrew the sheets and saw that the contained type-written notes for homilies. He retraced his steps to the television and the DVD player. Two remote controls stood on the table beside the television. Wilson picked up the remote for the DVD player and pressed the ‘on’ button. The player immediately lit up and made a whirring sound. He pressed the eject button. The flap at the front of the player opened but there was no disk. Wilson pressed the ‘off’ button and returned the controller to its original position.
Monsignor Devlin stood at the entrance door while Harry Graham gave a good impression of someone who was looking diligently around the rectory but who had seen nothing out of place.
“Thank you, Monsignor,” Wilson said moving towards the front door. “The forensic people will be here in an hour or so, but I don’t suppose they’ll find anything that will be a great help to us. I have noticed that there are no photographs of Father Gilroy in the rectory. Maybe you’d be so kind to search his personnel file and let us have a good likeness of the man himself.”
“Certainly, I’ll arrange a photo immediately. Do you have any idea who might have been responsible for this atrocity?” the Monsignor asked.
“Let’s say I don’t think an arrest is imminent. Given the religious situation in the Province and the history of church burnings, this could simply have been the work of a devout fanatic gone wrong. Alternatively, it might be the work of a paramilitary organisation wishing to make a point. The murder of the priest, if that’s who it was, may not exactly fit with that scenario. However, it’s early days. We’re still trying to establish possible motives. Then we can concentrate on those lines of enquiry with the greatest potential of finding the culprit.”
“I thought the first 24 hours were the most important,” the Monsignor said.
“That’s only on television, I’m afraid. Police work is plodding that’s why they call us the Plod. We work away at it until something breaks.”
“Well you can count on my assistance.”
“I will certainly be talking to you shortly,” Wilson smiled. “As soon as we identify the body and if it does prove to be Father Gilroy, I will have to start building up a profile. And since you are best placed to help me in that direction, we will obviously be talking again. You can leave Harry and me here now. There’s no need for you to stick around for the forensics people.” Wilson extended his hand. “I’ll be in touch.”
Monsignor Devlin took Wilson’s hand rather reluctantly. “I would be happy to remain if you think I could be of assistance.”
“Nonsense,” Wilson said affably. “I’m sure you have more important and pressing matters to deal with. If we need you, we know where to find
Back in the living room, he went to the bookcase and examined the contents. The books were all on religious subjects. The storage areas beneath the bookcase were empty except for a number of white sheets of paper. Wilson withdrew the sheets and saw that the contained type-written notes for homilies. He retraced his steps to the television and the DVD player. Two remote controls stood on the table beside the television. Wilson picked up the remote for the DVD player and pressed the ‘on’ button. The player immediately lit up and made a whirring sound. He pressed the eject button. The flap at the front of the player opened but there was no disk. Wilson pressed the ‘off’ button and returned the controller to its original position.
Monsignor Devlin stood at the entrance door while Harry Graham gave a good impression of someone who was looking diligently around the rectory but who had seen nothing out of place.
“Thank you, Monsignor,” Wilson said moving towards the front door. “The forensic people will be here in an hour or so, but I don’t suppose they’ll find anything that will be a great help to us. I have noticed that there are no photographs of Father Gilroy in the rectory. Maybe you’d be so kind to search his personnel file and let us have a good likeness of the man himself.”
“Certainly, I’ll arrange a photo immediately. Do you have any idea who might have been responsible for this atrocity?” the Monsignor asked.
“Let’s say I don’t think an arrest is imminent. Given the religious situation in the Province and the history of church burnings, this could simply have been the work of a devout fanatic gone wrong. Alternatively, it might be the work of a paramilitary organisation wishing to make a point. The murder of the priest, if that’s who it was, may not exactly fit with that scenario. However, it’s early days. We’re still trying to establish possible motives. Then we can concentrate on those lines of enquiry with the greatest potential of finding the culprit.”
“I thought the first 24 hours were the most important,” the Monsignor said.
“That’s only on television, I’m afraid. Police work is plodding that’s why they call us the Plod. We work away at it until something breaks.”
“Well you can count on my assistance.”
“I will certainly be talking to you shortly,” Wilson smiled. “As soon as we identify the body and if it does prove to be Father Gilroy, I will have to start building up a profile. And since you are best placed to help me in that direction, we will obviously be talking again. You can leave Harry and me here now. There’s no need for you to stick around for the forensics people.” Wilson extended his hand. “I’ll be in touch.”
Monsignor Devlin took Wilson’s hand rather reluctantly. “I would be happy to remain if you think I could be of assistance.”
“Nonsense,” Wilson said affably. “I’m sure you have more important and pressing matters to deal with. If we need you, we know where to find
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