Sidney Chambers and The Problem of Evil (The Grantchester Mysteries) by James Runcie

they move in the same social circles? Did they know people in common?’
    Leonard answered, ‘We are all friends, of course.’
    ‘But some more than others.’
    ‘That is true. The main thing that the two priests shared was that they were known to take in vagrants and they both had an air of holiness about them. They were, and I think Sidney will agree, far more spiritual than we might be; and that may put us out of danger. You, at least, Sidney . . .’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘You are a man of the world and are married: unlike the victims.’
    ‘I don’t see how that makes a difference.’
    ‘Well, I can. If I was naive and a little more devout, I’d be worried that I was next.’
    Hildegard gathered up the plates. There was treacle tart to follow. ‘You’re not frightened, are you, Leonard?’
    ‘I am a priest and a single man. Furthermore people do suspect . . .’
    Sidney interrupted. ‘There’s no need to go into that.’
    Leonard looked to Hildegard. ‘I wouldn’t want you to think . . .’
    ‘We are friends here,’ Sidney reassured him. ‘Your feelings are private, Leonard. At the moment I think the aim is to get at priests in general. Perhaps the murderer is someone who has been badly let down in the past.’
    ‘And these two in particular?’
    ‘What would inspire a man to hate a priest?’ Hildegard asked.
    ‘And what would make him so desperate that he would choose evil over good?’ said Leonard.
    ‘Hate over love.’
    ‘And death over life,’ Sidney mused.
    By the time they had finished the treacle tart they were no nearer an answer.
     
    For the next few days, Sidney tried to concentrate on the quiet rhythms of life but everything he did could be construed as banal in comparison to his investigation. He used his regular walks with Dickens to think through the possibilities of the case. It was just after his return from one such ramble that the telephone rang in the vicarage. A muffled voice that was trying to disguise itself asked if he was Sidney Chambers and if they could meet.
    ‘Who is this?’
    ‘I can’t say. But I know the man you’re looking for.’
    ‘Who are you?’
    ‘Never mind who I am. There isn’t much time. I’m staying in a boarding house in the centre of town. There’s a café round the corner. Meet me in Christ’s Lane at four o’clock. Don’t bring anyone else.’
    ‘Why me?’ Sidney asked, but the caller had hung up.
    He was not sure how to fill the time before the appointment, but when he made his first move Hildegard asked why he was going out again so soon after he had come in. How many walks did Dickens need and why was her husband being so evasive? She wanted to check that in this troubled time he wasn’t putting himself into any more danger. Sidney assured her that he knew how to avoid getting into a scrape.
    ‘It only takes one mistake.’
    ‘I am aware of that.’
    ‘I don’t want you assuming that you are immune to bad luck. We’re happy together. Do you sometimes think that we’re too happy?’
    ‘So happy that there’s bound to be a massive amount of ill-fortune coming round the corner? I do think that sometimes, I must admit, but then I hope that in the past you’ve had enough for both of us.’
    ‘You take on my burden.’
    ‘I take on everything about you, my darling. We are one.’
    ‘Then don’t leave me half a person by dying.’
    ‘I have no intention of doing that.’
    Sidney kissed his wife softly on the mouth. He wished he could stay. He even wished they could go upstairs in the middle of the afternoon. That was the kind of thing louche people did, and if he was a jazz musician like Jimmy Benson he could probably stay up all night and then spend all day in bed with a glamorous singer or, even more appealingly, his wife. He looked her in the eyes. ‘Until tonight then.’
    ‘I’ll make a special supper.’
    Sidney was worried that he was going to be late and began a reckless bicycle route across the meadows,